Manwhore Galore!!!: Willis "Chip" Arndt: Beauty, Brains and a Big... Heart

- Get Your Own

Hunky Willis was born on October 2, 1966, and he graduated from the prestigious, private Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, after which he won a fellowship for an extra year at the Harrow School, outside London. ( Wow! ) There he was inspired by Harrow alumnus Winston Churchill. He earned a degree in history from Yale, where he was a champion intercollegiate golfer. While at Harvard, where he earned an MBA, Chip was the President of the Gay Lesbian Student Association and the Leadership and Ethics Forum. In addition to golf, he loves hiking in the mountains and participating in triathlons. Man, he's got beauty and brains...but wait there's more!

During his four years as a successful investment banker for Morgan Stanley, he personally worked to raise over $5 Billion of financing in France, England, Hong Kong, Mainland China, India, The Philippines, Thailand, Argentina, Chile, and the USA. During this period, he convinced a group of 50 fellow bankers to join him in donating time as mentors for underprivileged students at a Harlem magnet school. After leaving Wall Street, he worked in a variety of capacities in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. Currently, he is President and Managing Partner of Arndt Strategies, which provides business and personal life management services to high net worth individuals, including entrepreneurs through Arndt Strategies' own venture fund.

Recruited in October 2002, along with his partner Reichen Lehmkuhl, for the fourth edition of the Emmy-winning The Amazing Race, broadcast in Summer 2003, their participation as a gay "married" couple was totally supported by CBS while being protested by religious extremists. One of my favorite moments from that show was Chip getting out of that freezing cold water ( somewhere in the border between North and South Korea ) in only briefs--and he STILL had a bulge, even with the shrinkage! :-)The unique positive role models he and Reichen presented continue to inspire many gay men and women around the world, and they were the first openly gay couple to win such a competition. And $1 Million.

Chip has repeatedly stated that his primary passion is trying to help emerging gay youth. He is a frequent speaker on LGBT-related issues, including gay marriage and gays in the workplace. He doesn't just speak, he bikes...for miles! He has helped raised money for chairty and AIDS awareness. He will soon launch a website for gay youth support and issues called www.chiparndt.com. Man, so he has beauty, brains, and a big...heart!

He is also a good writer and commentator, and I just had to share with you what he wrote about Tim Hard-on-4-Guys-away:

"Tim Hardaway’s comments are indicative of the ongoing, insidious bigotry and deep-seated hatred that still permeates many parts of the United States of America, and not just toward GLBT people. Mr. Hardaway’s comments show us all that deep schisms exist among conceptions of what it means to be a citizen of America, a country that embraces all people from varying backgrounds and beliefs.

The most unfortunate aspect of Mr. Hardaway’s comments is who said them. Mr. Hardaway is a respected citizen and celebrity of Miami, a respected businessman, a five-time NBA All-Star. He makes money off of his appearances and celebrity name and owns two businesses in Miami. Furthermore, Mr. Hardaway has spoken at many schools and has been a role model and hero for many kids and young adults with his on-the-court grit and excellence. He now gives those same kids and young adults the power, excuse and platform, through his words and example, to practice bigotry and oppress a group of people who he chooses to “hate” (his own word).

At the very least, I am glad he was honest about his thoughts, which showed people and our leaders that great work still needs to be done to overcome learned prejudices in order to move our society to become a more open, loving and tolerant place that respects all people for who they are as American citizens and children of God, not denigrating them as pariahs to be cast out of our society."