Ryan CEST takes a spin as new host of Wheel of Fortune just ah heads up America when you turn on your TV this week something is going to be different after 40 plus years Wheel of Fortune has a new host who is himself sort of an institution in America the guy who seems to host everything these days Ryan seest just listen to a list of his current jobs I'll start with the beginning of the year New Year's Eve the ball drops that starts the Year American Top 40 on air with Ryan seest in the morning ings on Keys FM and then syndicated across the country American Idol and Wheel of Fortune and then some specials here and there Wheel of Fortune distributed by CBS is the latest and possibly the most high-profile job for CEST who grew up in tiny Dunwoody gabble where even as a kid he kept very busy believe it or not I played High School football he said I played strong safety I was Stronger but not that strong I didn't play a lot but I practiced a lot I practiced so much but played Less in the games but High School football in Georgia is no joke it's a big deal CEST said that's my excuse but you can't get much further from Hollywood than Dunwoody gabble something that was not lost on seest who said he always dreamed of being on the air I would listen to Casey kasum while mowing the lawn on my Walkman headphones and I would picture what it would be like to be in Hollywood he said he made his way to Los Angeles in his packed Honda PR Prelude I had one contact at a radio station at the time called star 98.7 which was Loosely affiliated with the station I worked at in Atlanta I met the program director eventually I remember coming home to my apartment in Burbank every day playing my answering machine like hitting the microtape waiting for his voice he said I know the DNA of that show I mean that's the house where I go into and say oh we built that bathroom I know that door is squeaky you want to go over over here for the spoons and the silverware I sort of know that world really well everything that I do has somebody that's a bigger star or a supporting group and it's not about me it's about a contestant it's about a story it's about something else or someone else and I think that does make me feel a bit more comfortable CEST said meanwhile Wheel of Fortune was a house constructed by its creator MV Griffin and meticulously maintained by host Pat sadak for over for decades now CEST has to figure fure out the floor plan including the rules of the game which he says actually took a lot of practice wherever I was working the producers sometimes would come and they'd bring contestants and we would play Wheel of Fortune in hotels just to get familiar with the rules and scenarios and things that could happen so that at some point it becomes second nature