Chip Gaines is the goofy Waco contractor best known for starring on Fixer Upper, the hit
HGTV reality show he hosts with his wife Joanna.
"La la la la la….
Do you have any lip balm?"
Fans love watching families choose, transform, and move into their dream homes.
But the couple behind the renovations is what makes the show so much fun to watch.
Since Fixer Upper premiered in 2013, we’ve gotten to know Chip as a fun, laid-back showman
who always gets a laugh from his wife, his kids, or his crew.
But there's a lot about this Texas boy you won't see on the show.
Here are some of things you didn't know about renovation pro Chip Gaines.
Before reality TV
Long before Fixer Upper, Chip was already working in the home renovation business.
He actually started while he was in college, and he kept at it after he met Joanna.
Joanna, with her eye for interiors, soon became part of his business.
It's hard to picture Chip and Joanna as anything but successful, but that was the case when
they started their small business after marrying in 2003.
They were broke.
And there was some pressure from their family as well.
"My parents weren’t fighting it, I think they were just wondering…"
"When he was going to get a job.
I didn’t want to have to say that he said it."
In spite of the obstacles, Chip and Joanna stuck with their passion, and it has certainly
paid off.
Athlete Dreams
Chip has cycled through a bunch of businesses, from flipping houses to landscaping to wash-and-fold
laundry services when he was in college.
He certainly never expected to be a reality TV star.
But he did hope to be on TV one day — as an athlete.
Gaines grew up dreaming of being a baseball star.
His plans changed when he didn't make the cut for his college team.
Lucky for us, because if he was still playing baseball, we wouldn’t have moments like
this.
"Um… and..."
Hard work
So how has Chip Gaines been so successful?
Natural talent is a factor, but Chip believes it's way more than that.
He told House Beautiful about his top priority.
"Hard work is the key ingredient.
If you're talented and hardworking, great, good for you, you're gonna make it, you're
gonna go places.
But if you're talented and don't have the work element behind it, the guy that works
harder is going to eventually outpace you and outrun you."
And Chip applies that philosophy to family life, too.
Balancing running a huge business and raising a family at the same time isn’t easy, but
Chip and Jo make it a priority.
Risk taker
When Joanna decided to open Magnolia, her interior decorating shop, Chip was immediately
her biggest supporter.
She was afraid of what would happen if the store failed, but Chip thought taking a chance
was worth it to pursue her dreams.
"I mean everybody’s scared of something, but I have a very high fear tolerance."
With her husband's support, Joanna went for it and today, Magnolia has grown into a successful
brand.
Chip’s approach to life is to just jump in, and that’s been a big part of his and
Joanna’s success.
So what is Chip afraid of?
Snakes, skydiving, and of course, grizzly bears.
"Grizzly bears.
You know, if you get to wrestle a grizzly bear, that’s a nine."
Not a natural
On the show, Chip is known for being the goofball to Joanna’s straight woman routine, but
when Fixer Upper started, he was shy, nervous, and just plain bad at being on screen.
Chip and Joanna described to the Today Show what happened the first time HGTV sent a team
down to Waco to film them.
"I was awful."
"He was.."
"Horrible."
"These lights. The camera. He stopped talking..."
Luckily, HGTV recognized that the Gaineses had something special, and a big part of their
appeal was their ability to work together through moments of crisis.
What’s next
First, they were just fixing up houses.
Now?
They're running a restaurant.
Chip’s latest venture is fixing up a shuttered old restaurant in Waco.
As usual, Chip is taking on his new project hand-in-hand with his wife.
The restaurant first opened in 1919, so there’s going to be some intense renovation, but naturally
that doesn’t scare this demo-day lover.
Plus, the Gaineses already have a bakery at their Magnolia Silos site, which means they
know the food business.
True love
Most fans agree the best part of Fixer Upper is the relationship between Chip and Joanna.
And Chip has never been afraid to share just how much he loves his wife.
"No, I mean, I want my legacy to be, that my kids knew that I loved them, and that my
wife knew that I was faithful and honored her every day of her life."
Swoon!
Seriously, we keep thinking we can't love this couple more than we already do, but it
keeps happening.
Thanks for watching!
Click the The List icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Plus check out all this cool stuff we know you'll love, too!