During the days of Aqua Net and Poison, Eric Lowell (pictured at right) was a flamboyant presence at Las Vegas’s Chaparral High School — not exactly out, but not quite bolted in the closet. Taking part in lip-synch contests and having a flair for hair, Lowell caught some unwanted attention from some of Chaparral’s bullies, including a mulleted guy named John. Now married to a man and living in Seattle, Lowell got to confront his teenage tormentor when members of Chaparral’s class of ’89 were brought together on this season’s High School Reunion, a reality show on the TV Land network. The highly charged confrontation between Eric and John takes place on Wednesday night’s episode at 10 p.m. Eastern/Pacific, and Lowell took some time to discuss with Advocate.com how it was to relive the ultimate adolescent fantasy.

Advocate.com: Why did you want to take part in the show?
Eric Lowell: I figured it would be a good time. I didn’t seek out to be on the show. I joined a Facebook group that someone set up for our graduating class, and someone said we should try to get on this show, and I thought that would be cool. But they never said when it was filmed or how long, so I didn’t apply. Then one of the casting producers contacted me through Facebook and gave me information on when it was filmed and for how long. So I found out I was able to get off work and applied.

How many people were there?
It started out with about 14 or 15 of us.

How long were you together?
About two weeks. Filming was a little less than two weeks [on Hawaii's Kauai island], but we were there for a little bit after.

What reaction did you expect from John?
The tension with John was kind of surreal. I can’t wait to watch it to see how it’s edited. I’m not a confrontational person, and if I had gone to my actual high school reunion, I wouldn’t have said anything to John. I appreciate having the opportunity to force myself to tell someone how I really feel. Beforehand, I kind of went through points I wanted to make and let him know how his words affected me. When I first heard him coming down the train tracks in his drunken stupor I knew it wasn’t going to go how I thought it would. But I kept my cool. I let him make an ass out of himself while still letting him know how I felt.