Joey Fatone is back on tour. Not with the boys of NSYNC, with whom Fatone reunited with recently for a song on Justin Timberlake's album, but with AJ McLean. Yes, that AJ McLean, of the Backstreet Boys, who were notoriously held up as the rivals to Fatone's NSYNC throughout the ‘90s. For the record, any member of either boy band would deny there was ever such a rivalry, chalking it up to a fabricated lie by the media to sell tabloids. Watching Fatone belt out Backstreet Boys bops or McLean doing NSYNC choreo during their A Legendary Night tour, which runs through July 2024, ought to fully put that notion to bed.
During a month-long hiatus from hitting the stage, the 47-year-old is keeping busy. He's been bopping around the country, and for horse racing season, he'll be hitting up Louisville on May 4 as a partner of Skrewball Whiskey. GQ caught up with Fatone a few hours before he was scheduled to head to yet another event, taking a call from his barber chair, mid-haircut, to chat the Fastest Two Minutes in Sports, his non-existent workout, and pre- and post-show routines.
For Real-Life Diet, GQ talks to athletes, celebrities, and other high performers about their diet, exercise routines, and pursuit of wellness. Keep in mind that what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.
Joey Fatone: Been doing a bunch of stuff with AJ from Backstreet Boys, doing that tour—wrapping that up. I'm actually headed to Arizona [tomorrow] for a charity event, and that's why I'm running around getting a haircut. It's fight night for cancer, so it's been great. Everything's been really really good. Then I'm headed to the Kentucky Derby, so I've been having a lot of fun, but I can't complain.
I go to the Kentucky Derby every year, so with the big horse race, of course, you know, me, I'm always wearing crazy things. So it's kind of like, I'm already kind of unusual, and so we're saying “screw the usual” for Skrewball.
Definitely less. As you get older, you can't bounce back like you used to back in the day. I've always been responsible, and I think my relationship with alcohol has definitely diminished. Nowadays [drinking] is more of a celebratory thing or a I'm on a vacation kind of thing. If you do drink, obviously, it's always that key: Drink responsibly.
Oh, gosh. I gotta pace myself. Back in the day, I'd be able to drink and then go out and then do a show next day. But I don't have a voice if I drink like that. I can't drink at all on tour. If I'm not working, I can throw a couple back.
I've been a lazy ass; I will not sugarcoat anything. I did a thing for AirSculpt, the company that's like a less-invasive lipo. I hate working out. I know that I am going to have to, but in a sense, my cardio is doing the show. It really kicked my ass the very first day that I did the show with AJ. What we do with the show is very energetic. We are running around the stage all the time, singing each other's songs. It's blast; it's a lot of fun. But it's helped me get my stamina back. The first two, three shows, I was in bad shape. I was sore; I was tired. As I'm getting older I know I need to start doing stuff. But I've gotten in the grove before. I've done CrossFit, I've done the two-a-day workouts; I've run marathons. It's just not for me. My workout is nonexistent at the moment.
I've done some crazy shit. At Disney, I've done the [Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge, where you run a half marathon one day and then a full marathon the next] and the Dopey [Challenge, where you run a 5K, 10K, half marathon, and full marathon across four days.] I won't do that again.
I know! It hurts. Oh my gosh. I did the run-walk Jeff Galloway method. It just helps you so you're not killing yourself when you're running constantly.
Just eating healthy, you know? However, man, I'm Italian. I like my pasta, but you know, you got it tone it down. I'm trying to eat my best: good fats, low carbs.
I love everything, man. Oh, gosh. I love Greek salads. I remember I was in Greece when I was doing My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and in two months, I lost a bunch of weight because I was just eating chicken and salads—really fresh and healthy.
Something light usually. I'll have a Caesar salad, but if I'm tired of that, I'll have a steak or a little bit of meat. I try not to eat too much because I don't want to jump around and be like, “Oh I feel like crap.” Usually I'll eat something bigger after the show.
I gotta get in the zone. I stretch out a little bit and be kind of zen—be quiet like the calm before the storm.
We have a prayer. Actually all the band and everyone, we say a prayer right before the show. It's funny because we've been doing that for years. It's amazing because AJ set the prayer up and it's very similar to what we did even back in the day with NSYNC.
I want to just chill and relax. I need a couple of moments to be alone by myself for a minute. I take the time to go over what went wrong, what went right, what was good—those kinds of things. But other than that, it's chill.
He's a great entertainer, man. He's really good at [changing things up] on the fly. A lot of people can't do that. You see a lot of bands that come out and they're so scripted, where everything's just very set. He's really good at flying off the cuff—if we have to wing something or play something else, he's always down for it. And that's the cool thing with our show, it's very off the cuff. Again, it's all about screwing things. Say “screw it, let's have some fun.”