BY DC CUEVA
■ @DC408Dxtr @ TW / IG / YT
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| Twitter @MTVCoryWharton |
For those college kids who've been inching to escape that cold, they've been given reason the course of the past month to do just that by either of two words. One has been of following the teams they follow or despise the most with March Madness, and an NCAA Basketball Tournament that's been anything but ordinary this time around, with teams going down like fall leaves including the first #16 over #1 upset in men's tournament history.
The other is defined by two simple words: Spring Break. There was a time for many years when MTV jettisoned its entire regular programming schedule for one weekend in March, and from Friday afternoon until the wee hours of Monday morning -- 60 hours in total -- gave America reason to binge-watch all of this wildness from Cancun, Florida and South Padre, TX to living rooms and dorm rooms before the term even actually existed.
In previous posts posted on here the past two years -- and a compilation of those that was soft-posted here on Sunday, this site has shared with you the times when alumni and current cast members of the Trifecta of The Challenge, Are You The One?, Real World and soon, Ex on the Beach, have flown down to the warmer climate to partake in all the Spring Break madness, and to keep that MTV tradition alive in the social media age. And now as Easter weekend begins tomorrow, we'd like to share with you some Postcards from Spring Break '18.
🌞TEAM REAL WORLD & AYTO
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| IG @MTVMikeCrescenzo |
For his fellow Real World Ex-Plosion roommate, Jay G. once again exchanged the cold of the Big Apple for the sun of South Padre -- an annual tradition since he was made part of this world when he and Cory had to endure what many others will have to go through on EOTB soon. There's no sighting yet of whether the rave bird that was on his shoulder last year have reunited, but once again he was joined by two-time MTV alum Mike from AYTO Season 3 and Real World Bad Blood, and his NY roommate Morgan from AYTO Season 4 and Second Chances. Both not only share quarters but are also the exes of AYTO Season 4 alum turned Challenge power girl Tori, but it's as if you might not recognize Morgan at first: he bleached his hair before he made to trip down to South Padre, and he even acknowledged that -- yes -- he does look almost exactly like Zach Morris.
Also joining them for this year's event is a returnee in Joey from AYTO Season 5 and a few who, when we last saw them, it was the reunion months ago for Season 6 and after the comeback of the year last year: Audrey, Geles and Zoe. And below is Mike and Morgan hosting one of the stage shows at Spring Break with -- you guessed it -- a wet T-shirt contest (Yes, somewhat too steamy for some but still appropriate to post on here).
For the veterans of this ecosystem, ten years ago last St. Patrick's Day was the anniversary of one of the most infamous moments in Challenge history, and one which was the subject of an In-Depth longform post during Invasion of the Champions last year and a follow-up on key figures from that season also last year. It was the final of The Gauntlet III when Eric Banks, "Big Easy", was medically evacuated from the Mexican heat and eventually cost his stacked team of veterans -- including Brad of this Vendettas season -- their deserved title and giving it by default to the rookies. But despite that anniversary, it hasn't deterred Eric any one bit as he once again parties down south serving as a tour operator for the thousands in South Padre, as it is for RW/Challenge original Syrus Yarborough. And it seems that no night at the club at Spring Break nowadays would be complete without a visit from an person who we've seen a lot in the Transformer movies: a robot.
🌞JENNA/VEGAS
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| Jenna's SnapChat |
Along with her crush Dione, recently divorced (and an NFL QB's friend) Dean, aspiring singer Sabrina and college prankster Dylan, one who was also in the suite was Jenna Thomson, a South Carolinian who grew up feeling isolated a bit from everyone else, and from the outset in Vegas it was almost the same thing in her first trip cross-country. And if you thought what happened last year on Dirty 30 with what Camila did was worst, then what Jenna did was on that level of stooping that low: racist overtones emerged with her when she talked to her friends back home, which led Ammo to expose her online (which was the reason for him to on that last Challenge), and only hastened the tensions she had with Atlantan CeeJai Jenkins. And after having to deal with so much, the writing was on the wall that CeeJai and Jenna would get into more than just a verbal argument, and in the season finale they did so physically... two times.
After getting kicked out for that fight and isolating herself from the world just after all of that was exposed for everyone to see, it seems Jenna has learned her lesson. And she got to join all of the aforementioned people in South Padre to work the many concerts that have taken place on the world famous beach of this quaint resort town, which included our next subject...
🌞LIL' PUMP
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| @AudreyyyCharline, @SyrusMTV and @CoryWharton_IG |
The song that accompanies that video is "Gucci Gang" by Lil' Pump, who doesn't turn 18 years old until later this summer but that for someone who got expelled several times from Miami high schools had finally found a refuge in music. At 16, the man aka Gazzy Garcia and Omar Pineiro -- best known as Smokepurpp -- collaborated on the former's self-titled debut track and other singles on SoundCloud, where its 3 million streams saw him emerge onto the South Florida scene with several festival spots. Follow-up hits "D Rose" and "Boss", and them getting 70 million collective SC plays and over 100 million YouTube hits, eventually led him to a major label record deal and his debut album in 2017. And "Gucci Gang" helped to make Pump a household name: top-3 single on the Billboard Hot 100, platinum status, and a presence on SnapChat in everyone doing that dance.
In his first go of performing on this big stage as a bona fide star - and just a few weeks after being cuffed for firing a gun inside his LA area home, Pump had the chance to perform in both Mexico and in South Padre. and he had the chance to be the latest in a long line of those famous people who have touched base with Syrus when they met in the hotel lobby down south, as well as Cory. He also had a chance to hang out with the AYTO girls up in South Padre when Audrey and Geles got to hang with him and DJ Carnage, all while the ladies were working a weekend with Student City, the firm which was the job that the Real World Cancun cast had on their season.
🌞#ULTRA20
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| IG @MaseRobbiee |
Those who watched Real World Bad Blood a year and a half ago saw Robbie Padovano -- aka Maserobbie, move into the house in Seattle from New Jersey who had no idea of what to expect when his ex, Jennifer, came to the Pacific Northwest (and who in turn dated Peter, Mike's bad blood counterpart). Like Morgan and Jennifer, we last saw Maserobbie offering some side comments to TJ Lavin from the VIP section during the Dirty 30 reunion. But because he's a DJ and has using his brand name to increase his standing in the NYC DJ scene, it was no surprise that he joined with hundreds of thousands of fellow EDM enthusiaists for #ULTRA20. There, he was on the crowd on the final night of Ultra Fest to see SHM take to the stage for the first time since they last performed at that very same event along with two of his friends from back home.
Also there was Casandra Martinez, who we saw on AYTO Season 5 and Second Chances, who hung out with her perfect match -- soon to be Ex on the Beach castmate Derrick H. (in his 4th MTV show in over a year), and had a relationship for a bit with Staten Islander Mike - who was also in Miami for Ultra despite them breaking up a while ago. But she may have one-upped Robbie a bit for the most jealous moment of all of our subjects: in her time in Florida, Cas not only got invited to the afterparties for a number of the acts who performed at Ultra, but also got to step foot inside the house by the waterfront that will host the upcoming Jersey Shore Family Vacation when America's favorite Guidos and Guidettes return to our screens in one week from now.
And as the Shore crew prepares to reenter our lives, it's not just the Trifecta community who have had time to indulge this month... two groups of Floridians have also had a chance to relax and have fun.
For one group, the cast of Floribama Shore had the time to get themselves set for a second stay in their Panama City Beach humble abode, and as they're filming right now so many more people are in town than their first season, meaning there will be plenty of Spring Break'ers for them to mingle with. En route to the Panhandle, the bromance of Gus and Jeremiah got to hang in Arizona, and then joined Aimee and Nilsa in another party capital, New Orleans, to not only party on Bourbon Street but also film an MTV promo tie-in to one of this year's highly-anticipated movies of the summer blockbuster season with season 2 of their show also slated for that time too.
And for the other set from the Sunshine State, Siesta Key wrapped up its first season earlier this month, and after filming & watching themselves on TV they finally got to go back to just being like us: ordinary people on a Monday. But for the island's reigning King & Queen -- and after their blowout on the finale, Alex & Juliette got to exchange swimwear for something that's always used one week of the year and just for out of town rendezvous: winter clothes for a trip to Lake Tahoe, where they got to snowboard. And back home, Kelsey had a slice of her Midwest roots come to Florida when she watched St. Louis Cardinals spring training with friends from back home.
As those of you who are on your Spring Break right now or are ready for the upcoming week off next week for, are these the kinds of experiences you'd want to have, or wish you'd had, for that week off? Be lucky if you're part of Team MTV... this is one of the many rites of being part of this family: enjoying and working an event that was once a MTV staple, but one that can now be experienced in the comfort of your hands watching it on social media on your mobile just as it was in a different time and place. And if you're one of those who are thinking of auditioning of getting onto any of the feeder shows that head into The Challenge, who knows... this could be you at this time next year, partying down with those who you watched here on this year's Spring Break.
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This week saw The Challenge reach its final destination when the twelve players left on Vendettas learned their fate of who would be going to the Czech Republic, and who among them will go for the big bucks, including old roommates of those who we featured. Find out how they and the rest of the field fare and who makes it into the final when the 'Pulse of Week 13 of Vendettas comes your way this Easter weekend, along with another trip into the Strategy Room. And if you've just watched it, feel free to vote on our two Twitter polls at @DC408Dxtr and sound off to us at #DCChallenge.
But before all that, after the cops were called yet again to their cabin - will things ever cool off between JBrew and Alessandra, and if Marc can seal the deal with Taylar? And what happens when a love triangle begins to brew in the snow? Those are the questions facing the gang of Winter Break: Hunter Mountain, and we'll have last week's episode covered here tomorrow before a new episode of that airs later that night. And make sure to share these DCBLOG links on social media so more of your fellow MTV fans can sample our distinctively outstanding coverage.
Join us for all of that and more coming up here this weekend... be sure to be with us then.
- I AM DC
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