5 things to know about ‘Bachelorette’ contestant Kenny Braasch, a boy band manager from Oak Lawn
Kenny Braasch not only wore a shirt to meet Clare Crawley on last week’s Season 16 premiere of “The Bachelorette,” the T also featured a picture of Crawley’s dogs, Honey and Elbie.
“I’m not a suit guy, so I did this instead,” Braasch told Crawley, who then pet her dogs on his chest.
There are typically a few contestants from the Chicago area on “The Bachelorette” each season. Season 16 is unique because the cast was selected before filming was supposed to begin in March, but COVID-19 delayed the start of production by a few months and some of the initially announced suitors didn’t make the final cut.
Crawley, a 39-year-old California hairstylist, ended up meeting 31 men. Front-runner Dale Moss briefly played for the Bears, while journalism professor Garin Flowers studied at Northwestern University. But Braasch — a 39-year-old boy band manager who hails from south suburban Oak Lawn — is the only contestant that’s said to be from the Chicago area.
Braasch is one of 23 suitors who remain on the ABC network show, which airs at 7 p.m. Tuesdays. If he looks familiar, it’s because the former basketball and baseball standout at Oak Lawn Community High School is a model who has appeared in local media, often shirtless.
Here’s what we learned about Braasch from a spin through his Instagram page and local appearances. (ABC typically doesn’t make contestants available for interviews before they are shown leaving the show.)
1. Braasch has modeled for years. One of his recent gigs was being the face of the Joker in the “Mortal Kombat 11” video game. He has also walked the runway for Neiman Marcus and posed for Vogue Russia and Naperville magazine.
2. He’s a cover star too. He appeared on the July 2020 cover of Desnudo Magazine and the February 2014 cover of Today’s Chicago Woman for its annual singles issue. He’s also shirtless on the cover of the locally-published romance novels “Born Wild,” by Julie Ann Walker, and “Kissing with Fangs,” by Ashlyn Chase.
3. He’s a loyal White Sox fan who said he’ll never don a Cubs shirt or consider himself a Cubs fan. “I respect Cubs fans that stay Cubs fans, and I respect Sox fans that stay Sox fans,” Braasch told the Daily Southtown in 2016 as the Cubs earned a spot in the World Series. “I don’t respect, ‘I’m a Chicago fan.’ I like people when they’re loyal.”
4. Years before he competed on “The Bachelorette,” Braasch appeared on Steve Harvey’s daytime show, which was taped at NBC Tower before production moved to Los Angeles in 2017.
5. Besides being a model, Braasch works as a talent buyer for the 115 Bourbon Street bar in south suburban Merrionette Park. He manages the Boy Band Night, a group that pays tribute to bands such as the Backstreet Boys and One Direction. He also manages the Ron Burgundys (“yacht rock at its smoothest”); the Hair Band Night (“the best of the 80 1/4 u2032s hair band era like you have never heard before”); Motown Nation (“Motown and 60 1/4 u2032s smash hits!”); American Pie (“Americana and other acoustic driven rock!”); and the Country Night (“delivering all your favorite new country hits plus the classics!”).
115 Bourbon Street is hosting “Bachelorette” watch parties each week with alcohol and steak taco specials.
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