Michael Noval would give you the shirt off his back. And his pants.
As one of the producers of the Emmy-award-winning show “The Amazing Race,” he did just that on more than one occasion during a research trip for one of the show’s segments in Senegal.
“The kids there had nothing,” he says. “They’d come up to you and offer you something that they made and reach out and touch your shirt because they didn’t have shirts. So, I routinely gave my clothes away. I was walking around in my underwear a lot of the time while I was there.”
Most of the time, he’s fully clothed, especially when he’s en route to work in places like Moscow, Beijing, and even the remote regions of San Diego.
Noval spends a lot of time in airports. And it’s in airports – specifically men’s rooms in airports – where he recycles his copies of Best Friends magazine by leaving them for others to read. He says it’s a practical place where the magazine will be enjoyed by a captive audience.
“I like to leave the magazine where no one expects to find it,” he says. “You know the top of the little garbage box there in the airport bathrooms? Well, it serves as a great makeshift shelf, so I just leave the magazine there.”
Leaving the magazine in public places – most people drop it at more mundane places like their vet’s office or hair stylist – helps spread the word about Best Friends.
It’s part of the Give the Gift and Pass It On campaign, which supports Best Friends’ goal of doubling membership this year, our 25th anniversary, so that we may double our efforts to create a world of No More Homeless Pets.
Noval has also done the “Give the Gift” part, giving the gift of Best Friends membership to himself as well as his brother and sister-in-law.
As part of his gig on “The Amazing Race,” Noval makes sure the tasks demanded of the contestants – who embark upon a 55,000-mile road trip and treasure hunt spanning five continents to win a million bucks – are actually feasible.
“The contestants are so hyped up with energy they didn’t know they had. It gives them an edge to do things they wouldn’t normally even think of doing,” Noval says. “The whole idea of the show is to throw the world at the contestants.”
Noval is leaving “The Amazing Race,” but will continue to expand his professional auto-racing career, which he characterizes as more like a disease than a calling. In 2004, his team won the Baja 1000.
He’s currently working with a friend to build a green off-road racing vehicle and has spent a great deal of time at his auto mechanic’s shop, which is the other unexpected place he likes to leave his Best Friends magazines.
“Again, it’s not like you’d expect to see an animal magazine there,” he says. “There’s Car & Driver, Hot Rod and then there’s the zinger – Best Friends.”
As someone who has seen more of the world in six years than most people see in a lifetime, Noval is the first to tell you that it’s our responsibility to take stewardship of our globe as well as care for creatures who can’t care for themselves.
“It’s pretty simple really,” he says. “We’re all responsible to some degree. If there’s ever a time in your life when you have a smile on your face, you owe something back.
“I can’t help every critter in the world, but I can do what I can when the opportunity presents itself. Being a member of Best Friends? Giving a membership to someone else who will appreciate it? Leaving a Best Friends magazine for someone else to read? Well, that’s a no-brainer.”
Photos courtesy of Michael Noval
As part of Best Friends’ 25th anniversary in 2009, our goal is to double our membership so we can double our efforts to bring about a time when all companion animals have a forever home. What can you do to help? Give the Gift of a Best Friends membership to family and friends.