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Rhyne Modlin, 35, said he applied for the show as a challenge for himself.

“The entire thing was about the ‘Can I do it?’ personal challenge,� Modlin said. “I have no idea if this will lead to anything in the future or not, but at the end of the day, I can walk around saying I was on ‘Jeopardy!’ for the rest of my life.�

Modlin’s debut episode will air on May 5. He could not say how many episodes he will appear in.

“Jeopardy!� can be watched on the NBC-owned local TV channel WCNC at 7 p.m. on May 5.

Mental, physical challenges

Not only was preparation for “Jeopardy!� mentally challenging, but the trip to Los Angeles was physically taxing. Modlin said he suffered a series of infections when he was young, including Lyme disease. The long-term effects of the previous illnesses still affect him.

Modlin said his condition impacts his sleep schedule.

“You can’t mess with my body, because in order for me to function at the highest level, I have to stay within that sleep zone,� Modlin said. “By the time I got to the studio on tape day, I was having trouble walking across the lot. I hadn’t been sleeping a lot for a long time, and I was really tired, and I was, I guess, jet lagged on top of everything.�

Modlin drank Mountain Dew to get some caffeine.

Modlin spent nearly two years auditioning and preparing. After a tough series of interviews and auditions, Modlin found out he was selected for the contestant pool.

In February, Modlin got the call that he was chosen for the show. He flew out to Los Angeles for filming in March with his parents, Monte and Sherry Modlin.

Rhyne Modlin said the studio was chaotic and fast paced. Each day the crew films five episodes, Modlin said.

Monte Modlin, 72, said he had no doubts that his son would be chosen. He watched his son prepare.

“I had tabs on my phone keeping track of stuff. I had tabs all over my computer,� Rhyne Modlin said. “I had Word documents. I had 43 notebooks full of handwritten notes that I filled out trying to get ready.�

Modlin said if he saw something interesting, he would write it down, then learn about it. He spent about a month practicing his reaction time with a pen to prep for hitting the buzzer during the show.

Monte Modlin said during Rhyne’s training, he and his wife refrained from discussing some topics in front of Rhyne to avoid giving him inaccurate information.

“It seems like most of the quotes that you hear are usually wrong and misappropriated,� Rhyne Modlin said. “If it’s from a movie, pull up the movie. If it’s from a book, pull up the book. If it’s from the Constitution, pull up the Constitution.�

Rhyne Modlin does not watch “Jeopardy!� He said it has been at least a decade since he watched an episode. Modlin said some of the contestants he met were trying to get on the show for the last 14 years.

Love of trivia, knowledge

Modlin said he has played more than 100,000 games through the trivia company Sporcle over the past seven years.

“It’s interesting because, me personally, I like to have a lot of expert knowledge and a lot of different fields, as opposed to just specializing in one thing,� Modlin said. “I think it’s fun to be able to know a lot of things, and then you can strike up a conversation with somebody about something that’s important to them, and you actually know how to talk to them about it.�

Modlin works at Advanced Hydrogen Technologies Corporation in Â鶹´«Ã½. Modlin and his partner develop industrial processes and technologies, he said.

“We’ve developed a lot of really cool technologies, like dissimilar material bonding and advanced ballistics,� Modlin said.

He said he helped develop technology used in fracking.

Modlin’s favorite trivia categories are geography and physics, he said.