HEYA! YOU KNOW THAT HALF THE PEOPLE WHO WATCH THIS SHOW THINK YOUR NAME IS SANTINI...



Yeah, yeah that's funny like The Great Santini!



OK LET'S GET TO IT...I HAVE GOTTEN SO MANY EMAILS ABOUT YOU - I JUST WANT TO RUN A COUPLE BY YOU AND THEN MOVE ON....



** SHERRY wrote: "Santino, like most bullies, uses his physical size as a weapon and justifies the verbal and physical abuse he inflicts as "not really hurting anyone." Like most bullies, he is unable to internalize the criticism he receives and use it to change his behavior."



I think that's preposterous to take me for my snippets and sound bytes and hear only my reaction to a situation that you don't see the whole thing on TV. In the lingerie episode when I said, "those girls were lame, they haven't had sex," you don't hear what Marla and Guadalupe's convo. If people heard what they were talking about then they would agree with me. Inherently I think that Marla, Guadalupe, Diana, and the rest are great people but we were all on top of each other all day, and you have to listen to them and hear their farts and burps it's grating on the nerves. It's why I know that when I was irritating to other people I knew what I was doing.



It's a defense mechanism about self-preservation. Things got lonely and sad and I didn't trust anyone. There was a point when people couldn't look me in the eye when I was speaking seriously. I felt like people were scared in that situation and there was a lack of humor in the room. My sense of humor and ability to use humor was what helped me get through the experience.



** JEANNETTE writes: "All my friends are of the opinion that the only reason Santino made it to the final 3 is because the producers kept him on for drama because he is such a drama queen." DO YOU THINK YOU WERE JUST KEPT ON FOR DRAMA BY THE JUDGES?



No I don't and I think the more time that goes by the more the viewers of the show will realize I was a real designer before I did the show and I still I am. I have a lot of personality and layers and things to say and I'm funny and can dance and sing and all those things that come into play but I'm a designer and I have a passion for creating beautiful clothing and fleshing out my vision and I'm in love with the process of coming up with an idea, putting it on paper, getting the materials and creating it with my hands and making it something beautiful. The problem on the show is that my biggest fear was not having enough to show when the time was up and I needed to get my point of view across and sometimes it meant piling more stuff on in order to show a point of view. I was hoping the judges would see that at least I had a point of view and was good with color even if it was a train wreck. All my designs were memorable, for better or worse. And that's ok for it and me pisses other people off.



** KANDI WRITES: Everything the guy makes looks like some pre-teen girls got into the fabric remnants and tied them all onto each other to play dress up.



Oh Andy why are you reading me these mean emails!? Sorry you don't like my clothes, Kandi.



I GOT NUMEROUS EMAILS FROM PEOPLE FURIOUS ABOUT THE JUDGES NOT HANDING YOU AN "AUF WIEDERSEHEN" FOR YOUR LINGERE AND JUMPSUIT. IN RETROSPECT, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THOSE TWO OUTFITS?



Heidi picked team leaders based on the designs I pitched to her. I created an unpolished version of what I showed her but nonetheless it was what I showed her. Everything that was over the top and Bavarian was supposed to have a sense of humor. I think it's great to have a sense of humor when you're talking about sex. That's where I was coming from. I had a concept, a color story, a point of view and three looks that all worked with one another. It got to the point of being a little much but I liked my lederhosen lingerie more than Diana's group that got a free pass and Daniel Franco's group too. If Daniel Franco had done one of his looks that showed a variation within his collection then he would've stayed. They all were very similar.



Let's just put the jumpsuit to bed now. God bless Kara but she was the most scared out of all of the designers all season. When we drew each other's names we said we'll look out for each other and I said, "I'll do whatever it takes to make it look like you made me over - I'll shave my face and cut my hair and do something out of the spectrum of what they see me being - preppy, all American and groomed." So I'm busy making my own outfit and making hers. When she put on the jumpsuit she was like "I feel so sexy" and dancing all around - we get out on the runway and she just stood there like a lump. She looked uncomfortable and it was not because of the outfit. I also think that she was yanking out her sleeve during the judging period but she swears she wasn't. I do think Kara should've won for how she made me over.



(GUEST JUDGE) FREDDIE LIEBA LOVED IT, SO I THINK THAT CAME INTO PLAY FOR YOUR BENEFIT. IN THE REUNION SHOW AND IN TONIGHT'S EPISODE YOU SEEM TO BE ALITTLE MORE TONED DOWN/REPENTANT. WAS THAT A RESULT OF WATCHING YOURSELF ON THE SHOW?



No. It's in my nature to sometimes be toned down and I had some explaining to do. I'm sitting hearing one-liners that I'd said and all I think of is 'I hope whoever I said that about isn't feeling bad right now' because that wasn't my intention when I said it. When someone asks what I think about Zulema's outfit or a comment Daniel made, then I respond honestly - and that's what I did throughout the show. Daniel V. is really good with choosing his words. I threw caution to the wind and acted like the cameras weren't around and that came off in my "character" and I was as real as I possibly could be.



WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM WATCHING YOURSELF ON THE SHOW?



On top of being a great designer I probably have a big future in television.



OH MAN I AM GONNA GET SO MANY EMAILS ABOUT THAT RESPONSE YOU ASS! WELL IS THERE ANY ONE THING YOU REGRET SAYING ON THE SHOW?



No I really don't regret anything I said. The only thing I regret is if I hurt anyone's feelings, seriously. That wasn't my intent I don't know the people on the show well enough to hate them and if that's what comes across then that's not right. . I read all these death threats and mean comments on the web, and those people who watch me on the show don't know me well enough to hate me!



WHAT WAS IT LIKE GROWING UP IN ST. CHARLES, MO... WERE YOU A "COOL KID" OR PICKED ON OR A BULLY OR WHAT?



Growing up I attended a private Catholic school and I definitely was an outsider but at the same time constantly inviting myself to the party. I always had to invite myself to the party and when you grow up people want their friends to look just like them. I never had that as a kid yet I was funny and once I did show up at the party I was the life of the party - I'd be the guy dancing with all the girls - the first one to show up and the last one to leave and I'd bring a crate of records with me. It mattered to me that I was having fun with the "cool kids." The thing is that I was in that group yet there was always something that kept me on the outside - sometimes it was the way I looked or being black or not recognizing what I am.



YOU COMPOSED THE MUSIC FOR YOUR RUNWAY SHOW... DO YOU DO THIS IN YOUR SPARE TIME?



Yeah I do. Music's been my greatest inspiration and I think music and fashion go hand in hand. Most great designers also are talented musically.



OK SANTINO WE'LL SEE YOU ON TV TONIGHT!



Dude, don't tell me that's the last question, that's BS.



OK - ONE MORE...ARE YOU INTO BOYS OR GIRLS?



Dude, I've answered this before and this is what's f----d up about this. Everybody thinks that people who say they're bi are making excuses or skating around saying they're gay. I don't really care. I think being gay is so important. Anyone who is gay is blessed on this earth if they take into account the positives and negatives of the situation. It's a beautiful world... The bottom line for me is: when it's right it's right. It's like apples and oranges. I wish I could be one thing or the other because it would make stuff easier in my life, but that's now how my life is. I don't want this to be another thing for people to hate on me for. I find beauty in men and women and most of all intelligence.



OK THAT'S GOOD THANKS MAN!



No, no - one more question, come on.



NOW THAT I'VE ASKED THE SANTINO AFTER DARK QUESTION I AM STUMPED... ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY.



Yes I'd like to add that Tim Gunn didn't tell me that that chiffon had been used the season before by Austin Scarlett (in the inspiration episode). It wasn't until Jay said that on the runway that I knew that was the same fabric. I missed the episode last year. He's actually spoken in his blog saying that it was Austin's fabric but this is exactly the thing that he guides us against at Mood But actually, some people ran around like crazy at Mood because they had nothing in mind in terms of fabric and Tim spends a lot of time with them, but I always went in there with an idea. He said later that he didn't want to say anything to me once we got in the design room because it was too late. The fabric matched my inspiration picture perfectly so whatever.



OK SANTINO - THIS IS THE LONGEST INTERVIEW I'VE EVER DONE. LET'S GET ON WITH OUR DAY.



OK bye!