Long blonde hair, collections of bracelets on the wrists, round glasses and a beaded chain… The darling of the fifteenth season of Beijing Express stands out with its look – which has earned it comparisons, among others, to Isabelle Balkany, Sophie Davant or Mercotte. But Etienne Aujean is also shocking sentences and unfailing defeatism that have been making the rounds on social networks since the M6 program left “in the footsteps of the Golden Eagle”. His “c’est foutu” is already famous.
It must be said – and he admits it himself – this 53-year-old general practitioner from Antibes is not really cut out for the challenge. ” Beijing Express, I knew mostly by name. I started because, usually, I travel as often as possible, with my wife and sometimes alone, and with the Covid and the restrictions I was deprived of it, explains the Azurean to 20 minutes. I was happy to go on a human adventure. I embarked on a very personal process. I didn’t tell anyone. »
” I do not play any sport “
His singular profile seduced the production. Etienne is part of the “pair of strangers” he forms with Vanessa, a 29-year-old from Aveyron. Their personalities are radically opposite. She is always in a good mood. He is most often discouraged. And, above all, not athletic for a penny. He confirms “not having trained at all” before leaving for Kyrgyzstan, in Central Asia. ” No no no. I don’t do anything in particular. I do not play any sport. I work a lot and the rest of the time I rest, ”assumes the fifty-year-old.
He also didn’t revise the mechanics of the game. “Some know the rules by heart. For me, nothing was calculated, he says. Some are there to win 100,000 euros and that’s fine. I left to discover people, places and situations. »
“Unexpected situations, unexpected thinking and attitude”
From his own analysis, Etienne Aujean is “a contemplative” who “likes to take his time”. Complicated when you participate in a game where the goal is to complete stages as quickly as possible. However, from the first broadcast, the practitioner, who practices in Cannes, saved his partner from elimination by winning the final duel provoked by Alex and Sylvie, another duo from the Alpes-Maritimes.
With each episode – the third is broadcast this Thursday, Etienne delights the public. His temper and his reactions are the subject of memes and many humorous messages on social networks. “Some comments are very funny, he admits. If people like it, so much the better, if they don’t, too bad for me. But I am like that. There is no game on my part. And then, to unexpected situations, unexpected thinking and attitude. »
His patients, “amused” to follow his adventures, do not miss a beat. “They look at me and some talk to me about it. If the show makes me look like a real pessimist, for others and for them anyway, I try to be as optimistic as possible. I am always there to give hope, ”concludes this ultimately very endearing candidate.