Wil Lash seems like a perfect catch for any lady. An All-American track athlete, a member of a well-known fraternity, and a recipient of his Masters in Public Administration from Indiana State University. So, like anyone with a brain, you’d be hard pressed to figure out why a guy like that would like a gal like New York.

For those who didn’t check the show, Wil (aka Onix) called out the “fate”, er… the faith of New York’s mother. Be it not my place to say whether I agree with Mr. Lash or not, but the grimy move on the show was when Tango and Rico snitched about the incident.

Having since moved on, you can find Onix relaxing with his good friends, being an activist for the Darfur genocide (http://www.savedarfur.org) and sitting down with HHDX. He tells us about how he almost didn’t hop on the I Love New York bandwagon, how he forgives a snitch and even gives one of his cast mates major props.

HHDX: You were an All-American track athlete, member of a fraternity, and have your MPA (Masters in Public Administration) from Indiana State University. What would make such an accomplished person like yourself want the affection of a gal like New York?

WL: I put it like this: I watched Flavor of Love and I was a fan. Just like most people who watched the show, you knew that the entertainment value was present. Even though it was entertaining and people watched for the laughs, at the same time, I felt that it perpetuated some stereotypes. When I went to casting for the show, I had my reservations. I grew up in the church… my father is a Baptist preacher and I didn’t want that stigma. People thought that it wouldn’t be right for me to be on this show. But I looked at it like it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I can go and see what it’s all about… she may actually be cool. It’s like when you meet anyone. I chose to go see what she’s all about. I could chalk it up as an experience. People who know me, they know that I’m not going to go on television and embarrass my family or myself. It may get you somewhere in the end or not. I had a good time. I made some really good friends. Tango, Rico, Mr. Boston, we’re all really great friends.

HHDX: What prompted you to be on a reality television show, let alone one such as I Love New York… particularly after the debacle that she was on called Flavor of Love?

WL: I knew that there was a possibility that it could come off as “ghetto”. But I know that I can carry myself in a different image. I didn’t want people to think that I didn’t belong there, but I wanted to showcase a different person that’s not really portrayed on television.

HHDX: The comments from guys are that the show makes the guys appear like “less than men”. What do you think about that?

WL: I definitely agree that New York has a way about herself that emasculates a person. It is kind of a weird thing, because she’s actually really cool, but she does what she needs to do for television. She turns it up ten notches. But in reality, she is a really cool chick. But she’s not the one for me. I’d hang out with her, but as far as someone who I want to be in a relationship with, she’s not for me. It takes a certain kind of man to brush that off, because she’ll take your manhood away if you allow her. She’s looking for someone who won’t steal her thunder. If you can’t keep up with her, then she’ll get rid of you.

HHDX: The women were surprised with your appearance on the show, given your humble background and seemingly different appeal than the others on I Love New York. Since your elimination, how have the ladies been treating you?

WL: It’s funny how all these different guys on the show got a different following. I am not getting the porn stars [laughs], but I am not necessarily shocked by the attention I’m getting. If you’re trying to win… in some ways you’ll censor yourself, because if it gets back to her, you’ll get kicked off. So, we tried not to rock the boat with her. Everyone has been really supportive… from MySpace to my friends, people understand. Even more so because I was ratted out. I mean… Boston said that her mom looked like Darth Vader [laughs]. She’s a nice woman though. I wasn’t saying anything about her character… I wasn’t trying to tarnish it. I just thought that her display was over dramatic. I thought the whole thing was for the cameras.

HHDX: Speaking of cameras… T-Weed claimed to have $100 million buckaroonies. Do you think that he was doing that for television, in hopes that he would come out the winner?

WL: I think part of it was for television. I am not sure that he’s worth $100 million. He is a smart guy who is doing a lot of things. 100 million, uhh… I don’t know. If he could prove that he’s worth that much then, that’s what’s up. The show never said that if he could, then he’d get vindicated on the show. But he is doing some things. They went extra on embarrassing him. I think he’s brushed it off. You should have seen our faces when it was going down [laughs]. I think that, so far, he’s gotten it the worst. I don’t know how long it’ll last in people’s mind, though.

HHDX: You’re a B-type personality and what’s given from most reality television shows is that friendships are made. When we spoke the other day, you were hanging out 12-Pack. You guys seem like the most unlikely of friends… how’d that come about?

WL: We are kind of opposite. I don’t how many people know this, but I’m older than most of the people on the show. I am 32 years old. Most of these guys are pretty young. We [12 Pack and him] got along in the house because we were both athletes. We had those things in common. You get a bunch of guys together and we’ll form a fraternity… a bond. I think that once we got there we understood that we had a lot of similarities. Because we have that love of athletics, 12 Pack pitched to me about working together. So, we’re putting together a workout video. It’s going to be a workout series called 12 Pack Abs. So, when he came to me with that I scoffed at it at first. But I later figured, hey… that’s not a bad idea and it may just work.

HHDX: So, what has been the best experience that you’ve had since the show has ended?

WL: I have gotten really good feedback. No one has had anything bad to say about me. I was concerned about that at first. It’s not that I care so much about what people think, but I wanted to see if people would look at me and be judgmental or would they be positive. They like the fact that I didn’t go out like a punk. I’m not really the fame-seeker type, but it is crazy how you could go from being nobody to people calling your name. That’s crazy. I am not a celebrity, but it’s crazy to see how many people are watching the show.

HHDX: Two of your other friends… Tango and Rico took to heart some things you had to say about New York’s mother. Although, this lead to your elimination, on your blog you say that you were ready to leave the show. What was it about New York that made you realize that she wasn’t worth all the fuss?

WL: It was like this: When you’re there with all these guys and it’s a competition, some people are working hard at winning the prize. Everything is fair game. That’s why I formed a bond before it all happened. But in the end it came apparent that I really wasn’t feeling her and she wasn’t feeling me. So… I took a backseat. When you got all these guys pushing up on her, my first instinct is that I’m not going to go after you. If you want to talk to me… then come talk to me. I was bringing my personality into the show, instead of changing up for the sake of competition. I know that it’s her show… but she has things to prove too. That may have been what led to my demise. People, at the time, would tell me that I need to step my game up; to let her know that I wanted her, but I didn’t [laughs]. We’ve had conversations… we talked. There was one time where she told me that she was glad that I was here because I brought sanity to the show. You don’t see the times on the show when we got to talk and really build. Normal conversation doesn’t make it on television. A lot of the real moments you won’t see aired. They’re trying to make a comedy show out of it. When you watch the Bachelor, you have those moments. They take those contestants seriously. They feel that the audience wants to see that, but not on I Love New York. You might see that later on, but I can’t speak to what’s going to happen. There may be some real moments, but right now… no.

HHDX: Just like the saying goes, “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” You and Tango still speak after the fact, whereas, most people would cut ties quickly. Why still be cool with someone who you labeled as a snitch?

WL: Here’s the thing; we all had the agreement that we know that it’s a television show and a lot of things are instigated and manipulated. So, we told each other that if we say anything about one another on camera is that it’s because it’s competition. That it’s made for television. We agreed that we’d still come to one and say what was said. They felt pressured to go tell New York about it. His first instinct was to tell me what was said. But later that night, we go into elimination and he still wants to tell me, but he wanted to do so after the eliminations were over. He thought that he was going to be kicked off because you really didn’t know how New York would react. If you look at his face, you can tell that he’s distraught. He even told me that he had something to tell me after elimination. He knew of the possibility. We were cool before that and after I figured out what happened afterwards, I told him that he did me a favor. I couldn’t stay any longer. I really didn’t want to win the competition. Tango is a stand-up dude. Aside from that moment, he’s always had respect for me. We just let bygones be bygones and at the end of the day, I got what I wanted and we made for great television.

HHDX: The success of the show usually means one of two things – there will be another season of the show or there will be a spin-off. Since I Love New York is already a spin-off, could you see there being another season?

WL: I don’t think there’ll be another season of the show. They’ll take a few characters from the show and possible do something with that. I don’t know necessarily who, but you could see some of the people who stand out on the show. You can check out the V-Spot and see who they feature, but I can’t really say exactly or give too much information.

HHDX: Honestly, the scenes between Heat and 12-Pack are hilarious, so what would you say was the funniest thing that wasn’t aired on the show?

WL: Actually, that moment on the last episode was ridiculous. While I was there, the funniest thing had to be the drunken moment. You heard me say that I looked to the left... that I looked to the left and looked to the right and it smelled like a brewery. But I actually said that when I was at church. They took that and put it for another scene. Sitting next to them at church was hilarious. He [Heat] just has these ways of moving. I didn’t know if he was drunk or if he had Parkinson’s, but it was funny. Mr. Boston in that thong was hilarious. No one got to see the whole scene. But when he came out, he’s just straight comedy. He’s just unexplainable. People don’t know if it’s an act or if it’s real. He’s quirky. He’s just one of those guys who’s comfortable. He’ll do anything. It’s like how he is in real life. He’s no different now, than how he was in the house.

HHDX: When it’s all said and done, when you look back at what you’ve done, how would you sum up your television experience?

WL: I’d say that the only thing that I had wanted to accomplish was to go and have a good time. I wanted to create an opportunity out of the experience. I thought about what would I do if I could get into hosting a reality show or a game show or something like that. That’s more my forte in things. I really wanted to experience that, keep my dignity and come away without looking like your typical reality star. That’s pretty much all I wanted. When I told my parents that I was on the show, I told them that they’d be proud of me. I came out really being myself. I appreciate all the fans who actually see through the smoke screen. I thank the people for supporting me.