Adam Mizrahi's bio on Bravo's website for its newest reality show, Camp Getaway, describes him as someone "fluid in friendly banter." I can confirm that as accurate. When the 36-year-old and I spoke, he asked me almost as many questions as I asked him. The man knows how to make and hold a conversation with a complete stranger, even when it's supposed to be a one-sided interview.
This skill surely takes him far as a social coordinator at Camp Getaway, a 300-acre summer camp in Kent, Conn. that hosts adult sessions every weekend for a 21+ crowd to come and act like a kid again. The series centers around eight social coordinators at the camp (Adam is one of them), and their job is to basically make sure that the adult campers feel included, have fun, and stay safe. This is Adam's third year in the role, making him a mentor to the six newbies on the social coordinating squad (there's another vet on the staff, Dr. Monica), but it's his first year with reality TV show cameras following him around.
For the two years without cameras, Adam felt the pressure of trying to impress his bosses, camp owner and director David Schreiber, and David's right-hand person, Claire Sorrels. "I think when the cameras come in, it's no longer David or Claire [you want to impress] ... It's now the cameras. Same level of pressure, 'Am I doing these things the right way?' You're kind of nervous, but after a while, you just forget about it," he says.
The cameras caught Adam in what seems to be some sort of a love triangle between he and fellow social coordinators Sophia D'Angelo and Randall Klein. It'll be interesting to watch, he says, but in the moment, when it was all going down, he remembers feeling confused. "I think at the end of it, what folks will see is that it does get a bit messy, like most relationships or triangles that surface," he says, but he wouldn't have it any other way.
"What I wouldn't want to see is something very linear, where everything is all dandy and good, because that's just not reflective of the real world. Whether it's my nine-to-five job, or it's a volunteer position, or even if it's working somewhere on the weekend, there are ups and downs that happen. The workplace can get a bit messy," he says.
If Adam needs advice on how to handle watching some of his more awkward relationship drama play out on reality TV, he should call up Kyle Cooke from Bravo's way-underrated, absolutely perfect show, Summer House. Adam ran into Kyle and fellow Summer House star Lindsay Hubbard at a party and is looking forward to getting to know the other Bravo-lebrities that live in New York City. (Word to the wise, Adam: Kyle has been through it, and could probably doll out some sage wisdom.)
And since Adam is a mentor to the other social coordinators on the show, he could trickle down some advice of his own. He's honored to be in a position of leadership, he says, and he discovered early on how to best approach the situation: he wanted to be hands-off. "With a very well-educated and very skilled group of individuals, who are also motivated to do a job and do a job well," he didn't need to micro-manage or micro-advise, he says.
Also, for what it's worth, the show only features eight social coordinators, but any given weekend there are 20 or 25 other social coordinators working at the camp who aren't being filmed, Adam tells me. "It's a whole operation with highly skilled and intelligent folks. Folks that run their own businesses, folks that are pretty high up in their career, and they just do this for the volunteer component of it." There are social coordinators who are way more seasoned than Adam, he says.
Even though Adam may not be the most experienced social coordinator, he does have a mature and healthy perspective on the show: "I don't know what they'll end up showing... but at the end of the day, whatever happens, I just have to own up to it. It is who I am. I'm not a perfect being, and I just need to take that with stride," he says.
Having covered lots about the show, and lots of "friendly banter" about Burning Man (he's been, and yes, camp is somewhat like that experience in the desert, only less intense and more accessible); New York neighborhoods (he's in Long Island City now, but once considered living in my neighborhood in Brooklyn); food (the food at camp is great, and Adam has a real sweet tooth); relationships (he's single); and plans for this summer (if camp isn't an option, he looks forward to being able to hang out with friends in the city); I ask him how he's preparing to be a Bravo reality TV star.
"Therapy," he says.
Camp Getaway airs Mondays at 10 p.m on Bravo.
Read more about the Camp Getaway cast:
- Neely Fortune Is An Ultra-Marathoner Who’s Training To Be A ‘Camp Getaway’ Reality Star
- ‘Camp Getaway’s Nile Lundgren Was Born To Be A Bravo Reality Star
- Adam Is Preparing For ‘Camp Getaway’ In One Way: “Therapy”
- ‘Camp Getaway’s Dr. Monica Talks Transition From Normal Person To Reality Star — And Reveals Which ‘Housewife’ Came To Camp
- ‘Camp Getaway’s Sophia Says The Show’s Trailer Was “Hard To Watch”
- Randall From ‘Camp Getaway’ Talks FOMO, Reality TV, & The Advice She Got From A ‘Below Deck’ Star
Feature Image: Bravo Media