Captain Jason Chambers brought a little Australian humor to the Below Deck Down Under tip meetings in the form of the mirrorball disco helmet. It is given to the crew member who needed the most redemption from the recent charter. That individual would then have to wear the helmet for the crew night out.
It’s an amusing touch that raised morale, for the most part. It also proved that Captain Jason can find interesting methods to manage his team.
But what is the story behind the disco helmet? Who fashioned it? And how long did Captain Jason have it in his possession?
The helmet changed hands over the years before returning to Captain Jason
“We used to cruise around up in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea and all these remote places. And we had a helicopter and everything. In a helicopter hangar, there’s not much to do except cruising around and there were a few of us,” Captain Jason told Showbiz Cheatsheet.
“So we used to have a few little parties in the hangar. We had a smoke machine and music players and stuff,” he explained. “So we said, ‘We need a mirrorball.’ And one of my deckhands came back from his time off with a helmet, and we made a mirrorball helmet. And that mirrorball helmet got handed down to three or four people over the years.”
But it seems after the helmet traveled the world a bit, it wanted to find its way back to its original owner. Captain Jason regained possession of the helmet, and now it is a permanent fixture on the show.
“I hired an old deckhand back with me before Below Deck, and he brought it back for me after many years. And we used to throw it around and make people dance with it on when we’re on board. People aren’t dancing?” he added. “Throw it on, it will make you dance. So that was where it came from. But we put a bit of a twist to it on Season 1 and Season 2.”
It’s not always been received with a smile
The practice of gifting the helmet to the weak-link crew member wasn’t always so well-received. But Jason insists he has no malicious intentions when he awards it to one of his crew. In fact, it has now become a “badge of honor.”
“We got a lot of flack about it,” Captain Jason said. “But all in all, it is good Aussie humor.”
“It’s sounding it out in front of other people, not letting things slide, but not putting people down,” the captain said of his management tactic. “Just making light of it. I think it sinks in a little bit differently.”
Will the legacy of the mirrorball disco helmet continue with the series? “Hopefully with Season 3,” Captain Jason teased.
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE MIRRORBALL DISCO HELMET? DO YOU THINK IT’S A GOOD WAY TO MOTIVATE THE CREW? WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO CAPTAIN JASON’S COMMENTS?
