Contains excerpts originally posted in DC ExtraTime sections of DCBLOG's MTV Trifecta coverage
on November 2015 and this past week, re-posted here for the interest of readers.
BY DC CUEVA
As you prep for tonight's new episode of The Challenge Invasion, DCBLOG would like to present to you this bonus edition of ExtraTime to focus on a member of the Real World/Challenge alumni who we originally featured in one of our posts back in November 2015, but who resurfaced in an article that appeared in The New York Times over a week ago that brought into light the growing problem of homelessness among college students in the U.S.
Because of the timeliness of that article being posted earlier this month, we are reposting not only our original article from November 2015 on Preston Roberson-Charles from Real World Back to New Orleans and three Challenge seasons when he traveled to Asia that summer, but also our Follow-Up on him which we presented at the end of our 'Pulse diary of last week's Challenge episode. We're doing this for the sake of those of you who don't want to scroll all the way down from our weekly episode coverage to those posts.
Enjoy these two pieces of ExtraTime as we catch up with Preston.
PRESTON THE TRAVELER
Now, as we post this shy of tomorrow's AYTO 3 finale and ahead of Bloodlines in 2 weeks, we're still recovering from the ultimate underdog story in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship: former boxing titleholder Holly Holm pulling off a stunning upset of women's bantamweight champion and previously-undefeated Ronda Rousey this past weekend in Melbourne, Australia. As was mentioned by me after the Warriors game Saturday night on DCNOW, it was only when I was in the parking lot after that thriller that the news got to me of that fight and its shocking outcome. And as a longtime boxing fan, it provided shades of Mike Tyson's KO loss to Buster Douglas 25 years ago in just about the same exact parallel that the UFC's biggest star endured on Saturday night.
While Holm's victory undoubtedly broke the internet, reaffirmed fight sports' unpredictable nature and together with a New Mexico upset win earlier became the biggest day in New Mexico sports history, it added to the allure that when a underdog overcomes the odds and shocks the world, it becomes an indelible sports memory. USA hockey in Lake Placid, Villanova hoops, the Miracle Mets, Giants/Patriots in SB XLII and recently Vinci over Serena all come to mind. And in the case of the fifth major pro sport, we've had moments in recent Challenges where those underestimated on paper make a deep run in the season when it all matters on the field: Jay & Jenna last season, Johnny & Jessica last year and their Portland roommates Jordan & Marlon on Rivals II.
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| Pic Credit: MTV |
The experience of flying down to the Gulf Coast five years ago and later with Team MTV to Asia, South America and where Bloodlines will be in Bodrum, Turkey inspired Preston to pursue a new passion of his: traveling. And last week on the new social blog site Medium, he shared his experience of his most recent endeavor: spending his entire summer in Southeast Asia. There, far away from the American lifestyle of dreaming big and living large back home in Brooklyn, Preston's travels across the continent was a totally different reality: third-world countries deeply religious, where poverty is prevalent and where everything is not what we're used to here at home.
His first-person accounts documented his adventures back to the same Thailand he went to for Rivals II as well as Vietnam and Cambodia, and in his words he "connected with the spirituality of the land and the people." When he was in Thailand, he even briefly considered about staying permanently there and joining a Buddhist Monastery before deciding otherwise to keep on traveling. When he set foot in Saigon, he gained an deeper understanding as someone from the U.S. of a city and country at the heart of controversy back home years before he was even born. It was no surprise that he also felt for those who had to endure the horrific scenes caused by Americans on their nation.
After that life-altering experience, Preston traveled next door to Cambodia and visited beautiful cities catered to tourists and towns whose residents don't exactly have the rich life as those who travel to the city. And before leaving Asia, he visited the Best Way for Children Foundation's orphanage, met the poor kids and people in the neighborhood where he was treated as if he was a distinguished dignitary. And using the last $120 he had on the trip, Preston purchased all sorts of food for the needy that more than made them the most luckiest people in the entire country.
This is a totally different Preston than what we saw on MTV being that back gay man whose mom had dealt drugs while he was young and being both confrontational and outlandish. We all remember his battles with the other Ryan in the RW NOLA house, him becoming romantic with Marty Party and idolizing Lady Gaga in house parties around Big Easy, and yes those three Challenges and producing an MTV doc in between too. This summer in Asia more than changed his outlook on life, and considering how he was an underdog on his three Challenges and given the timing after Ronda Rousey's loss, this was worthy of telling this story here on the blog.
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FOLLOW-UP
PRESTON'S BIGGEST CHALLENGE
We first met Preston Roberson-Charles on Real World Back to New Orleans seven years ago this summer, where he clashed with both Ryan's in the house - the late Knight and the hairstylist Ryan (with a tainted toothbrush included), got cuddly with a guy named Marty Party, and with his sense of style channeled his own Lady Gaga in dressing in a wig and drag a few times in the Big Easy. Then, we saw Preston on three Challenges: Battle of the Seasons II, Rivals II and Free Agents... and in the ladder two, we saw him & Knight go to the last guys' elimination, and him alone coming up big when they played soccer down in Uruguay.
And in that story we brought you here in November 2015, we showcased Preston's trip to Southeast Asia, and to Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, where he was able to experience a new side of what these countries look like first-hand. Visits to the same Saigon seized by Americans in that time of turmoil known as the Vietnam War, seeing Buddhist Monasteries in Thailand and spending the last money in his wallet to help the needy in Cambodia brought a new outlook for him, where being in a third-world country offered a dose of reality compared to the lush lifestyle back home in the U.S.
Well, this Follow-Up will sure bring a different side to him beneath having that good sense of style and carefree persona that served as his calling card. It wasn't long ago that Preston was living in a Michigan house in his childhood as his mom was dealing drugs in his neighborhood. And in the three years since we last saw him on MTV, life has not been the same for him: he deleted his social media shortly after we posted our post on him, and that was just the beginning.
Last weekend, The New York Times - yes, that same NY Times that's been an object of affection of the man residing in the White House - and its education reporter, Elizabeth Harris, wrote two posts on the growing problem of being a student who is also homeless - something thousands across this country have to go through. This included a supplementary feature article on one of those people, who happens to be Preston. There, he gave her and a Times photographer an intimate portrait of life both after the Real World and as a former homeless man who's now a college student -- a far cry from the guy who we described in our Who Are These Newbies? profile on him during Rivals II as a cross between Rajon Rondo and Sisqo.
For two years until last winter, Preston lived not in an apartment, but in the shelter system of New York City. He described of his time as, "...it's like you're in limbo. You spend a lot of time by yourself when you're homeless because you get tired of explaining yourself to everyone." He was one of the exactly 127,600+ residents of the nation's largest city to have lived in the city's municipal shelter system last year, which also includes 45,000 homeless kids according to the Coalition for the Homeless. In the past decade, the number of homeless New Yorkers in these shelters jumped 78% since 2006, and African Americans like Preston account for nearly 60% of its total population. Of course, the numbers don't bring into account the thousands who sleep on the streets, in underground subway stations and other public places throughout the five boroughs.
Around doing those three Challenges and being an executive producer of an MTV/BMP doc on people coming out, Preston traveled (including that aforementioned Asia trip) and worked as a caregiver, among other things, as he searched for what the post-MTV life would offer. But when he rented a Brooklyn apartment that had bed bugs, he knew things would get a bit tense. And after realizing he didn't have enough money to rent another room in that complex, he began to sleep in his friends' places, which he did for nearly six months. He even relented revisiting the same apartment building where he and a friend had a falling out.
It was there that Preston would find himself living in somewhere different: a hotel located near JFK International Airport that had the elements of every other hotel located down the street from a major airport millions fly into every day. But because the folks in City Hall had maxed out the space in its shelter system, it chose that hotel as an overflow shelter space, far from the subway and where the usual amenities found in these hotels are scarce, such as laundry service. It was here that Preston had his laptop and other things stolen, while he served as a phone survey man to help pay the bills while searching for that next job.
As no one was calling back to find that next job, Preston realized that college credits were needed, and he enrolled for the ensuing fall semester afterwards. With it came a move to another shelter which he found to be a bit too close for comfort, and came yet another move. But because he was short on funds to get a deposit on getting an apartment, Preston looked to a new option: budget-friendly hostels. Here, guests can rent a bed inside a dorm and live like they're in college with a bathroom, lounge, kitchen and all else for under $50.
And his new surroundings was located within distance of what would be not only where he would go back to school - LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, but also landing a gig as a counselor for a school program providing a lifeline to students on the edge of dropping out. During his fall semester last year, those harsh realities set it yet again: on a money crunch he sometimes had to sleep under his desk in his office in order to not spend more on those increasing hostel costs and had to do his best to not get caught by the overnight security guards.
But through it all, Preston has persevered from this rough life. And just a few months ago, hard work paid off when he went to Craigslist, found an apartment in Woodside in west Queens for just $850 a month. And with the help of LaGuardia, he was able to secure a loan, make a deposit and finally move out of those cramped quarters into a place where he can finally get comfortable. At last, with a comfortable bed, school time and a job around classes, Preston does feel like he's himself a bit more. But he's also mindful of what might happen next, and he's doing whatever he can to stay the course and not return to life being homeless.
One Trifecta alum who has pledged her support to Preston is Sarah, who along with friend Susie Meister, co-host the Brain Candy Podcast and discuss this world around them along with Challenge stuff too. She took to Twitter @ImSarahRice to vent and give one important partner some advice.
"THIS is why we need to have after care!! PLEASE take the time to read this! Thank you @nytimes for telling his story ❤. he's not the only one with this story. Many face hard times after the show and get no aftercare. We first need production companies like @BunimMurray to create aftercare plans for at-risk cast!!A number of sports organizations such as the NFL, NCAA and the U.S. Olympic Committee have programs in place to help retired football players, student athletes and aspiring Olympians receive assistance in getting employment and planning for their lives after the limelight of their athletic days had faded. Sarah added there that she and those at The Challenge/Real World's production firm, Bunim-Murray Productions, have discussed this matter of wanting to have post-filming therapy after a season ends, and they do concur with her that something has to be done.
"ya @BunimMurray ! Why don't you guys be trailblazers &provide your cast with resources after the show?!! at the VERY least, can you give them some therapy to help them transition back in to the "real-real world"!? 🙋🏼one more thing- the people who need it the most, won't ask for help. So it NEEDS to be provided. @MTV @nytimes @BunimMurray #BETHECHANGE"
A fan named Jaime tweeted to her, "Truth...already trailblazers with Real World and Challenges why not with after show care? You know who the cast is and their struggles!" Having a good sense of what this is about, I do agree with them that along with documenting them on these shows, reality production companies should help to consult with outside companies to offer advice on what fellow alumni should do post-TV, such as being offered help on handling things like college, housing, health and other things like those who aren't reality TV cast members.
In all, Preston's story once again proves that the people you see on MTV and the shows we call the Trifecta are real people like you and I. They go through the same struggles that we, ourselves, all go through... and homelessness is one of those serious issues a lot of millennials have been dealing with. He had already dealt with a lot before heading to New Orleans seven years ago, and as his bio stated, "Despite a rough childhood, he's somehow managed to grow into a carefree individual who walks to the beat of his own drum." When we've not seen him on MTV, he has had to endure not only with his mom dealing drugs when he was young, but also this latest ordeal of being homeless. But he's come back from those shelters to get to a good place in his life again. That's something to be proud of.
For more on this article, check out The New York Times at NYTimes.com... due to the site's paid subscription model, access behind the paywall may be required to view the article.
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- I AM DC
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