Bryan Rachal, director of communications and marketing, informs the community and press about UNA events and happenings. However, he shared some interesting things about himself with The Flor-Ala.

From unknown book fame to dreams of acting, here are five uncovered secrets about Rachal.

1. Rachal has lived in seven states so far.

Rachal was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas, before moving to Florida at the age of 2. He attended first grade in North Carolina, second through sixth in Colorado, seventh and eighth in Wisconsin and ninth through college in Arkansas. He lives in Alabama.

He said his father worked for the United States Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration, so, through his various promotions, the family moved several times.

Through moving, his family lived near various colleges, including Colorado State University and the University of Arkansas (his alma mater).

Rachal said he has also visited 45 of the 50 states.

2. Rachal’s younger self is on the cover of an unknown Christian book.

In fourth grade, a classmate’s mother asked his mom if he could do a photo session for a Christian book cover.

The photo shoot required him to wear a golf shirt and blue jeans. He joined three other children for a group picture.

Rachal said he does not remember much about the book or shoot.

“My mother doesn’t own a copy of the book, and I do not know anything about this book,” he said. “So, there is a book somewhere out there with me on the cover, and I have no idea what it is called or what it is about.”

He said he was paid $10 for the shoot.

“To this day, (this) is one of the things that bugs me the most,” he said. “Of all the things that I would want to have in my office, that book would be front and center.”

3. Rachal is an avid fly fisherman.

Rachal said he grew up fishing with his dad with the standard fishing tackle. However, during his time at the University of Arkansas, he and his friend decided to try fly fishing.

The idea to try it came from the film “A River Runs Through It,” one of Rachal’s favorite movies.

“We had never done it before, so we just up and decided to buy a fly fishing rod, and we just taught ourselves how to do it,” he said.

He said they found success while fishing in tailwater, where a dam releases water downstream. After this, they decided to go to well-known fishing spots in Colorado, where Rachal caught the only fish of the whole trip.

Last summer, they both went back on the same trip, coming out successful.

“For me, fly fishing is the ultimate stress reliever,” he said.

4. He keeps trying to get on “Jeopardy.”

Rachal said he is a big fan of the game show “Jeopardy,” so much that he quit high school football to watch the show instead.

“My parents-in-law (are) big ‘Jeopardy’ people, and they do not ever like to watch with me, because I rattle off the answers,” he said.

He said what inspired him to start taking the test was a student he knew in college that went on the show and won a Volvo sports car.

He has taken the test every year for the last five years.

He said he does not know his scores, because the show does not tell participants.

5. He originally wanted to be an actor.

Rachal said he knew being an actor would be tough, so he decided to pursue broadcast journalism.

“I wanted to be able to provide for my family, and I felt that I would be good at acting, but I did not know it would always pay the bills,” he said.

Rachal said despite sometimes thinking about the career he could have had, he is still happy with the career he has.

“All those skills I used when I was wanting to be an actor, I used in broadcast journalism,” he said. “When (someone) needed to go live on TV, it was always me, because I could go ad-lib.”

Rachal shows his acting talents by hosting events on campus and doing impressions of workers around him.

He said despite people thinking he should do comedic acting, he would like to try dramatic acting.

If there is a UNA faculty/staff member or student you would like The Flor-Ala to investigate, contact [email protected].