Best Mental Attitude
How being a mediocre swimmer got me through baking on TV.
SPOILER ALERT: If haven't watched the Great American Baking Show on The Roku Channel, then stop reading and watch. (It's free! And you don't need a Roku device to watch.) This post is kind of a tangent from the normal baking-related content here, reflecting on the incredible experience of being a part of that fantastic show. It's been three months since the show aired, so I feel like I can reveal the outcome.
I was on the swim team from the ages eight to sixteen years old. I started by swimming on my neighborhood team in the summer. After a couple of years I joined the winter (AKA indoor) YMCA swim team too. The thing is, I was never great. I had good technique, and I wasn't the slowest, but I definitely wasn't fast. But I still swam competitively year-round. As I got older, the excellent swimmers pulled way ahead of the pack (they also got a lot taller and more musclebound than I did). But I kept at it. I had friends on the swim team, plus I enjoyed the challenge and camaraderie. After every season, the team would have an end-of-year award ceremony, like you do. Yes, everyone got a participation trophy, but they also gave superlatives to swimmers in each age group. The coaches doled out trophies for the best swimmer, the most improved, and sometimes for perfect attendance. Each year they also gave away a trophy for the best swimmer on the team. (I never won that one.) Finally they presented one team-wide award...for "Best Mental Attitude." Somehow I won that one...twice. Back then, I was over the moon to be recognized. But I never interrogated why I got this award.
After my husband and I bought our first home, my parents gave me a box of miscellaneous stuff from my childhood. It included those "Best Mental Attitude” trophies. I got to thinking: Was this a pity trophy? Were the coaches thinking, "Little Martin keeps on swimming even though he's never going to be great. Good for him"? Possibly. They could tell that I was never going to win another superlative for the sport.
Then I remembered a conversation I had with one coach. At some meets I wouldn't do well, and at some I would do much better. At one meet she told me: "You want to beat the people in the heat with you. Focus on the person in the fast lane and try to beat them." I responded, "Why do I want to beat them? I'm just trying to do my best." I always wanted to do my best. Yes, I understood that If someone was going faster than me, I could use them as motivation to speed myself up. But I still didn't really ever compare myself with others. I was ecstatic when I got a personal best time in the pool or if I got a higher place than at a previous meet. But I really didn’t care much about how I did in comparison to others. I don't ever remember thinking "I want to beat so-and-so.” I thought “I want to be the best I can be, even if that might not necessarily be the best.”
I think that this “mental attitude” really got me through my time on the Great American Baking Show. You see a ton of incredible home bakers on social media, doing gorgeous things with exquisite decoration. I’m kind of a simple baker, with a particular way of baking. It’s not necessarily flashy or innovative. As I prepared to be on the show, I thought about using techniques or flavors that were new to me or that were way outside my “wheelhouse." No, I thought. Dig deep, and use recipes, flavors, and techniques that you love and that you make a lot. Be you. Stretch yourself, for sure, and learn new things. Add a decorative flourish to something that you might just pile with whipped cream. Or add a special touch that elevates the bake into something the judges haven’t seen before. But at the core, just be yourself. Even if that means depicting a LGBTQ+ beach in graham crackers. Even if that means refusing to use fondant for an illusion cake. Even if that means a giant corn-themed showstopper. I kept that attitude of wanting to do my absolute best without comparing myself to others.
And how could I compare myself with the other folks in The Tent with me? Sarah, Dyana, Nirali, Susan, Sean, Karis, Jon, and Stacie are all amazing bakers, creative geniuses, and the most lovely humans. (Go follow them!)
It’s the honest truth: I was there to have fun, be myself, bake my heart out, and try to make some entertaining television. I just wanted to do my best and have fun. I didn't even know if I would make it past the first episode—especially with such a stellar group of bakers. I had some ups and downs, but it turned out that doing my best helped me to do the best.
Not to sound corny, but the biggest prize was meeting the eight other bakers on the show. As an adult, it's rare that you're thrown into a situation where you meet a bunch of wonderful people with a common interest. They're all so fantastic.
A huge thank you to the producers, crew, and everyone behind the scenes on the Great American Baking Show. From the camera operators to the home economics team to the driver who carted us to and from The Tent: everyone from Love Productions was lovely and worked so hard. I can speak for all of the bakers when I say that we miss those folks!
Cheers,
Martin
Reading this was the best. Your bakes were so authentically you (authentically awesome!). I was so proud to bake alongside you in the tent, and it was a well deserved win!