I MET APOLO AT ROOTS, BEVERLY HILLS!!!

[Alysha]

ok so on Friday, March 3 at around 10:40pm, I got a phone message from one of my good friends telling me that it was urgent and for me to call her back. So I did and the first thing she said was, "Do you want to meet APOLO?!?!?!" and I was like, "OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!" To give you some background info, Lauren (my friend) and I have been Apolo fans forever, even before Salt Lake. But during Salt Lake, we went extra crazy....created Apoloism (a religion), told everyone we saw about Apolo, handed out fliers at school, sent letters to his dad....so anyway, she told me about how tomorrow (Saturday, March 4), Apolo would be having a signing at the Roots store in Beverly Hills from 2-4pm, and she asked me if I wanted to go. I was like, "HECK YES!!!!" We decided to get there in time for the store opening at 10am, so we (me, Lauren, our friend Viviene, and Lauren's sister Dayna) got there at around 9:50am and were the first ones there! like no one else was there. haha. we were a little sad to see that because we thought there would be a loooooong line. So after buying matching Torino shirts, we walked around the area and returned at 11:30, and lining up started at 12. And we were at the front of the line!!! Since we were there for so long, the store handed out free Torino hats to the first 20 people! so the four of us had matching shirts and hats on, and we apparently looked "cute," so all these people were taking pics of us, like people from apoloantonohno.com, his official website, and his publicist even took some! so then, at around 2pm, a black Mercedes rolled up to the front of the store, and out stepped Apolo!!!!! OMG it was like my life was made right then and there!!! He was soooooooooooo beautiful!!! even hotter in person, if that's actually possible. Luckily I brought my video camera and filmed it. So then it was time for my friends and I to go in, and I was like shaking and freaking out. OMG and when we got to the table, I was speechless!!! His hair is soooooo beautiful, like this beautiful lightish brown color, and he has such beautiful hazel eyes! On top of that, he was as nice as he seems on TV. He gladly took pics with us and signed our shirts, but it sucked because his publicist was rushing us, and I barely got my book signed. sheesh. and my friend Viviene didn't even get to take an individual pic! Even though it was one of the greatest experiences of my life, I was a little sad because we were so rushed and I didn't get to talk to him as long as I would have liked. I guess that's one of the cons of being the first ones. haha Like I know some girls later on got more things signed and got hugs, and one girl even gave him a kiss on the cheek!!! well I just hope that I can meet him again and do the things I didn't have the chance to do!


me with the poster of Apolo in the window of the store...and dressing like him too!


our matching shirts and hats (my friend later traded and got a blue one like the rest of us)


us with APOLO!!!!!! AHHHHHHHH ;D


hahahah like my bandana?


ok enjoy!!!

[Shi]

thats awesome! you're right about the hair lol. j/k. hell if i know. but that's awesome for you right? yes it is. i met apolo too! lol yea right that would not likely happen since i live in a city that a lot of ppl know about. clovis lol. i wish i could meet him :-(.

[nermiina a.k.a nerka]

you are so lucky top meet him,he looks hott

[Lindsey]

Alysha, the pics are great! lovin' the berets & the bandana!

[fifz]

u lucky yewwwwwww jellousssyyy ;D

[apolosbaby]

omg you're so lucky!!!!!!!! but how the flip can he look even cuter in person?!?! it's like impossible to be that hott!!!!!!! but then again were talking about apolo... *drools*

[bananasmoothieees]

im so mad that i missed it...haha. i like...found out at like...11 that NIGHT that i missed it. i was like..screaming..haaha

[rach2crazy]

LUCKY! ur so lucky ! APOLO!

[apolosgal]

I'm soooo jealous. U R so lucky!! He looks so gorgeous in those pics. I love the jacket he's wearing.

[Bella]

I also went to Roots Saturday March 4 and met Apolo. I saw you guys at the front of line! I was a bit further back, but I definitely saw you and heard you, especially when he arrived.

The whole thing was such a huge thrill for me. I heard about his appearance on Ohnozone and being in LA, I decided I could not miss out on this opportunity. There were about 200 people there, mostly teenage and twenty-something girls, but some families and a few adolescent-looking boys who looked like short track
wannabes.

He was wearing a tan shirt under a brown leather Roots jacket and loose jeans with red and white rhinestones on the back pockets (had to peek). He was
signing autographs and posing for pictures. He had his gold medal from the 500 meters right there with him laid out on the table in front of him. It was very finely etched and way shinny. There was an agent/publicist/handler type person there who was taking photos on people's cameras and he was really rushing people through, so no one really had a chance to talk to him much. Although, from reading about other folk's encounters, I've figured out that the people at the front of the line got a bit more leway in terms of time and pictures, so by the time they got halfway through the line, I guess the agent was really pushing to make sure everyone in line got to meet Apolo before he had to split.

Apolo actually seemed a little overwhelmed, but very present and sort of amused by the whole circus atmosphere. But still, he was very down to earth (as much as anyone could be in that situation) and not at all pretentious. I waited in line for nearly 1 1/2 hours, so I got to watch him for a while before it was my turn. There was a family with some little girls in line ahead of me and Apolo was so charming with them. He squated right down to their level and flirted shamelessly! It was adorable to watch. Also, he looked to me like his mouth was tired from smiling, you know how it gets, like at a wedding or something when you are smiling for over an hour straight and you feel like your lips are going to fall off? LOL

He looks exactly like his pictures, except his hair is a bit darker and his eyes are a bit lighter brown. When it was my turn, the first thing I noticed when I got up close to him was his teeth. He has the most amazing teeth I have ever seen. They are absolutely perfect. He said "Hiiiiiiiii" (it seemed to go on a long time) and I said "Hi, Apolo, would you sign my book? Just, uh, anywhere on this page..." (Duh, right). I had 1 1/2 hours in line to think of something clever to say and that's all that came out when I was standing 12 inches in front of him. I opened a large black leather book to the page I had set aside for him and handed it to him. I was too shy to tell him that the book contained the signatures, autographs and quotes of people who have inspired me throughout my life and that he was the first athelete I had ever selected to grace it's pages. Instead, I just watched him as he leaned over the table on his elbows and carefully signed his autograph. When he stood back up, he handed the book back to me with one hand and ran the other hand through his hair and flashed one of those picture perfect smiles with those blinding white, perfect teeth. I didn't have a camera with me (I may never forgive myself for that) so I just reached out my hand to him and said "thank you and congratulations on your success." (Duh again, right?) His handshake was firm and his hand was really soft and warm (good skin care products!). He looked me right in the eyes and still smiling said "Aw, thank you". He signed a huge autograph in my book - very nice and neat, not sloppy. Kind of impressive after signing about 100 before me.

I walked around Beverly Hills in a cloud for about an hour after that before I got in my car and drove home.

Apolo is such an inspiration to me. His looks are amazing, but to me, it's the spirit which animates the nice looking face and body that makes him most attractive.

That's my story... I wanted to share it with you all.

[Lindsey]

What a great story, bellamusici! We wish you had a camera, too! But it was still great to hear about your experience... thanks for the details!

[Bella]

Thanks, Lindsey. It's fun to relive the experience.

[CrimsonAngel]

Hey Bella, I didn't know you met Apolo at the Roots store! Way to go! Way to go for you!

[Bella]

Yeah, the split second that I got to look him in the eye and have him look back was a moment I will never forget... mostly because I dared to do it. The best part was getting to watch him interact with everyone else before it was my turn. He seems like such a wonderful, warm person. I know change is inevitable in life, but I hope that he holds onto the things that make him most special despite the fame and fortune. I hope he nevers loses the ability to focus outside of himself and make someone else feel special... even if it is for only a split second. That day, he made two hundred people feel special and that is amazing!

[californiagrown]

Thats such a sweet story i loved it