Chip Arndt
Encyclopedia
Chip Arndt is an American
gay
activist, best known as a winner of The Amazing Race 4
in 2003 with former partner Reichen Lehmkuhl
. The team was the first out gay couple to win a reality television
competition. Arndt attended Hotchkiss School
, Yale University
, and Harvard University
, where he was the president of the Harvard Business School
Gay and Lesbian Student Association. Prior to the Amazing Race, he worked as an investment banker.
, a private school in his native Connecticut
, and won a fellowship to a 13th year at Harrow College
in Northwest London
. He earned his undergraduate degree in history, with honors, at Yale University
in 1990, where he was captain of the undefeated golf
team, named All-New England golf champion for two years, and All-Ivy champion for three years. He was an active member in the prestigious Sigma Nu Fraternity. He played professional golf for a time, and worked for five years as an investment banker for Morgan Stanley
in the US
, Europe
and Asia
as well as in a variety of capacities in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles
. He then entered Harvard University
for an MBA in 1996. He was President of the Harvard Graduate School Leadership and Ethics Forum, Chairman and Founder of the Annual Harvard Business, Law, and Kennedy School of Government Debate, and President of the Harvard Business School
Gay and Lesbian Student Association.
competed against eleven other teams the fourth season, taped in January and February 2003, and premiering in May. The couple, who had met in 1999 while Reichen was still in the United States Air Force, had a commitment ceremony in February 2, 2002. While not legally married, they had asked that CBS identify them as a married couple. The identification of a gay couple as married drew criticism from anti-gay groups. By the final episode, Reichen and Chip had an 83% popularity rating on the show's official website. Arndt performed seven of eleven roadblocks (tasks only one team member can perform). In total they placed second on five legs of the race, with their win on the final leg being their second first place, eight minutes ahead of runners up Kelly and Jon. The finale was broadcast on August 21, 2003, with CBS winning both its timeslot and the night. Season 4 would later win an Emmy award
for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program
.
. Later that month, Arndt addressed a group of gay-straight alliance
leaders. Express Gay News named him "Best Local Male Hero" for using "his fame and good fortune to help others." He is a spokesperson for the annual five-state Braking the Cycle AIDS ride benefiting New York's GLBT Community Center, and Miami's SMART AIDS rides, and has helped raise money for other groups including the Point Foundation
, the Human Rights Campaign
, and the Matthew Shepard Foundation
for which he is a Strategic Advisor. He co-founded of The Gay American Heroes Foundation and the website CoupleForEquality.com. Arndt was also one of the commentators on the official CBS Website for The Amazing Race 10
, where he answered dozens of questions from fans of the show about his experiences and behind-the-scenes knowledge about the series, and revealed that he accidentally ran into the returning teams secretly chosen for the program's 11th season, the anticipated "All Stars
" version, at an airport. "A mini reunion ensued. I don't think the producers knew what to do as I saw a few of them through the corner of my eye keeping their distance, as they never interfere with what is happening real time... We all hugged and talked for ten minutes. I even was able to give a hug to the, 'same', camera and sound guys that won with us on our last leg of the race... 4 crews filmed it all." Despite repeated requests, out of respect for the series' integrity, he would not disclose their names. They have since been released by CBS, and the season premiered February 18, 2007. Arndt is once again a commentator on the official CBS site.
Each year, Arndt conducts a golf clinic at the Advocate Golf Classic benefiting the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force NGLTF. As the former Public Relations and Marketing Manager for Care Resource, South Florida's oldest and largest HIV/AIDS services organization, he produced the 2005 AIDS Walk Miami, and spearheaded the 21st annual White Party
, its week-long fund-raiser, which, at his initiative, emphasized a zero tolerance
drugs policy for the first time. Other charity initiative includes a US$100,000 challenge benefiting nine HIV/AIDS service organizations through his participation in two AIDS ride and two AIDS walks in 2007, and solicited donations via a special MySpace
page.
Currently, he is Executive Vice President and Director of Business Development at Merchant Advantage, a Miami-based e-commerce software company he helped found.
Arndt was elected a PLEO (Party Leader and Elected Official) Obama delegate to the Democratic National Convention and was named one of Florida's 27 electors representing the Electoral College. Herein he cast his vote on December 15 in Tallahassee, Florida for President Elect Obama and Vice President Elect Biden. Chip's electorship was historic because he is the first openly gay man to cast an electoral vote in the state of Florida.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
activist, best known as a winner of The Amazing Race 4
The Amazing Race 4
The Amazing Race 4 is the fourth installment of the reality television show on US television The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race 4 featured 12 teams of two, with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around the world...
in 2003 with former partner Reichen Lehmkuhl
Reichen Lehmkuhl
Reichen Lehmkuhl, , is an American former reality show winner, model, and occasional actor...
. The team was the first out gay couple to win a reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
competition. Arndt attended Hotchkiss School
Hotchkiss School
The Hotchkiss School is an independent, coeducational American college preparatory boarding school located in Lakeville, Connecticut. Founded in 1891, the school enrolls students in grades 9 through 12 and a small number of postgraduates...
, Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he was the president of the Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
Gay and Lesbian Student Association. Prior to the Amazing Race, he worked as an investment banker.
Early Life
The youngest and only boy of four children, Arndt attended Hotchkiss SchoolHotchkiss School
The Hotchkiss School is an independent, coeducational American college preparatory boarding school located in Lakeville, Connecticut. Founded in 1891, the school enrolls students in grades 9 through 12 and a small number of postgraduates...
, a private school in his native Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, and won a fellowship to a 13th year at Harrow College
Harrow College
Harrow College is the largest college in the London Borough of Harrow. It opened in 1999 following a merger of two former local colleges, Greenhill College and Weald College .Ofsted has reported the college as Outstanding for Social and Educational Inclusion...
in Northwest London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He earned his undergraduate degree in history, with honors, at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1990, where he was captain of the undefeated golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
team, named All-New England golf champion for two years, and All-Ivy champion for three years. He was an active member in the prestigious Sigma Nu Fraternity. He played professional golf for a time, and worked for five years as an investment banker for Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....
in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
as well as in a variety of capacities in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. He then entered Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
for an MBA in 1996. He was President of the Harvard Graduate School Leadership and Ethics Forum, Chairman and Founder of the Annual Harvard Business, Law, and Kennedy School of Government Debate, and President of the Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
Gay and Lesbian Student Association.
The Amazing Race
Arndt and former partner Reichen LehmkuhlReichen Lehmkuhl
Reichen Lehmkuhl, , is an American former reality show winner, model, and occasional actor...
competed against eleven other teams the fourth season, taped in January and February 2003, and premiering in May. The couple, who had met in 1999 while Reichen was still in the United States Air Force, had a commitment ceremony in February 2, 2002. While not legally married, they had asked that CBS identify them as a married couple. The identification of a gay couple as married drew criticism from anti-gay groups. By the final episode, Reichen and Chip had an 83% popularity rating on the show's official website. Arndt performed seven of eleven roadblocks (tasks only one team member can perform). In total they placed second on five legs of the race, with their win on the final leg being their second first place, eight minutes ahead of runners up Kelly and Jon. The finale was broadcast on August 21, 2003, with CBS winning both its timeslot and the night. Season 4 would later win an Emmy award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program
Outstanding Reality-Competition Program is a Primetime Emmy Award given out during the primetime telecast since 2003.The Amazing Race won consecutively every year since the category's inception until Top Chef ended its streak in 2010...
.
Post-Amazing Race
Arndt has been active in the GLBT community following the win, and has appeared on the cover of The AdvocateThe Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
. Later that month, Arndt addressed a group of gay-straight alliance
Gay-straight alliance
Gay–straight alliances are student organizations, found primarily in North American high schools and universities, that are intended to provide a safe and supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth and their straight allies .-Goal:The goal of most, if not all,...
leaders. Express Gay News named him "Best Local Male Hero" for using "his fame and good fortune to help others." He is a spokesperson for the annual five-state Braking the Cycle AIDS ride benefiting New York's GLBT Community Center, and Miami's SMART AIDS rides, and has helped raise money for other groups including the Point Foundation
Point Foundation (LGBT)
The Point Foundation is the first and largest national foundation to support academic achievement in higher education among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students by providing financial support, mentoring and hope to meritorious students who are marginalized due to sexual orientation,...
, the Human Rights Campaign
Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign is the United States' largest LGBT advocacy group and lobbying organization; according to the HRC, it has more than one million members and supporters...
, and the Matthew Shepard Foundation
Matthew Shepard Foundation
The Matthew Shepard Foundation is an LGBT rights group founded in December 1998 by Dennis and Judy Shepard in memory of their 21-year-old son, Matthew, who was murdered in Wyoming in October 1998.-The Matthew Shepard Point Scholarship:...
for which he is a Strategic Advisor. He co-founded of The Gay American Heroes Foundation and the website CoupleForEquality.com. Arndt was also one of the commentators on the official CBS Website for The Amazing Race 10
The Amazing Race 10
The Amazing Race 10 is the tenth installment of the reality television show The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race 10 features twelve teams of two with a pre-existing relationship in a race around the world....
, where he answered dozens of questions from fans of the show about his experiences and behind-the-scenes knowledge about the series, and revealed that he accidentally ran into the returning teams secretly chosen for the program's 11th season, the anticipated "All Stars
The Amazing Race 11
The Amazing Race 11 is the 11th installment of the reality television show The Amazing Race...
" version, at an airport. "A mini reunion ensued. I don't think the producers knew what to do as I saw a few of them through the corner of my eye keeping their distance, as they never interfere with what is happening real time... We all hugged and talked for ten minutes. I even was able to give a hug to the, 'same', camera and sound guys that won with us on our last leg of the race... 4 crews filmed it all." Despite repeated requests, out of respect for the series' integrity, he would not disclose their names. They have since been released by CBS, and the season premiered February 18, 2007. Arndt is once again a commentator on the official CBS site.
Each year, Arndt conducts a golf clinic at the Advocate Golf Classic benefiting the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force NGLTF. As the former Public Relations and Marketing Manager for Care Resource, South Florida's oldest and largest HIV/AIDS services organization, he produced the 2005 AIDS Walk Miami, and spearheaded the 21st annual White Party
White Party
The White Party is the name of a number of circuit parties held annually, catering to the LGBT communities. Its name comes from the requirement that party-goers dress in all or almost all white...
, its week-long fund-raiser, which, at his initiative, emphasized a zero tolerance
Zero tolerance
Zero tolerance imposes automatic punishment for infractions of a stated rule, with the intention of eliminating undesirable conduct. Zero-tolerance policies forbid persons in positions of authority from exercising discretion or changing punishments to fit the circumstances subjectively; they are...
drugs policy for the first time. Other charity initiative includes a US$100,000 challenge benefiting nine HIV/AIDS service organizations through his participation in two AIDS ride and two AIDS walks in 2007, and solicited donations via a special MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page.
Currently, he is Executive Vice President and Director of Business Development at Merchant Advantage, a Miami-based e-commerce software company he helped found.
Arndt was elected a PLEO (Party Leader and Elected Official) Obama delegate to the Democratic National Convention and was named one of Florida's 27 electors representing the Electoral College. Herein he cast his vote on December 15 in Tallahassee, Florida for President Elect Obama and Vice President Elect Biden. Chip's electorship was historic because he is the first openly gay man to cast an electoral vote in the state of Florida.