DC ExtraTime: Before They Were MTV Stars - AYTO Presents: A Floribama Shot at Love

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

   ESTIMATED READING TIME: 16 Mins.

The story of MTV Reality represents the history of the non-scripted genre as it is recognized by fans and the industry, encompassing almost three decades of some of TV's most unique programming. As MTV celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, during 2021 DCBLOG's ExtraTime franchise is proud to offer this special Flashback series as we look back at some of the most memorable moments, greatest shows, incredible personalities and unique backstories that has shaped this entire genre.

In a week from tomorrow, those in need for some fun to kick off the weekend will be offered exactly that when Florida's fun bunch, MTV's Floribama Shore, will move out of their home state and into Thursdays for Season 4. When it premieres on February 25th, the cast will be venturing westward for the first time for another year of drama and fun, but will the events of what went down last year in St. Pete Beach also be aboard that plane ride? But before we get the answer to that among other things in Montana and Arizona once Jersey Shore checks out of its Lake Las Vegas bubble hotel in 8 days from tonight, there is something else of special interest to those who love our Southern family.

From when DCBLOG began in 2013 up until now, the MTV channel has been through the depths and back, but it is their reality programming that has always drawn in the viewers. The past few years have seen the channel take advantage of their broad catalog of intellectual property and the retro movement to launch relaunched versions of those shows and new generations of those produced by their production teams. An example of this is Floribama itself, which is only part of the global Shore franchise that stretches to Britain and Mexico, indirectly led to the Jersey Vacation reboot, and is among the latest in the long line of series created by a giant in the non-scripted field, Sally-Ann Salsano's 495 Productions.

The Floribama kids have molded what we love about Snooki, Pauly and the rest of the crew with the kind of fun only those who live in the Southern United States know how, and who aren't afraid to show their touchy side. But for one of those who we will be having the fortune of spending some quality time with once again, him being on this cast of crazies wasn't the first time he was on MTV. And for this latest installment of Before They Were MTV Stars, you'd have to look back to earlier in 2017 for his debut... which comes in a totally different house where love is the order of the day, as this post goes out - fittingly enough - on the heels of the long Valentine's Day weekend in the midst of quarantine.

Back in December, that section of the MTV fandom who loves their twisted take on reality dating shows were given a holiday treat to start cuffing season when the first two seasons of Are You The One? were made available on Netflix, along with two past seasons of The Challenge and Teen Mom. To mark that arrival, the casts of both of those seasons did a number of virtual catch-ups on Instagram Live and Zoom, evoking the memories of the many romances (including the show's only true perfect match of Season 1's Amber & Ethan Diamond), epic hookups, Truth Booth reveals and the magic moment of them winning $1 million.

   The eight seasons of AYTO have brought us a lot of those, as well as memorable castmates who've since made their mark on each succeeding season of The Challenge, the U.S. version of global franchise Ex On The Beach, and numerous other shows and music videos... even the World Series. This is where it all began for Nurys Mateo, who since Season 6 ended has worked with Cardi B., Megan Thee Stallion and Chris Brown. Same is true for Devin Walker, who masterminded an nearly impossible comeback to the cash on his season and then went onto several Challenges, as has Tori Deal. The new season of Teen Mom OG that just begun is following the second pregnancy for the one who represents both this show and The Challenge in that sorority in Cheyenne Floyd. And thanks to her prank at the Hollywood sign earlier this month, this was where Julia Rose first made waves before taking on Instagram in the fight for full-frontal freedom.

   For Season 5 of AYTO four years ago, the show expanded the number of cast members to twenty-two singles, which in turn moved the magic number up by one number to eleven. And while it's what happened with the last matchup ceremony that remains the show's most jaw-dropping moment ever when the cast lost - the only time that has happened, a positive legacy has been that it introduced us to Challenge stalwart "Killa" Kam Williams, dating show veteran Derrick Henry, and MTV king Cory Wharton's girlfriend Taylor Selfridge - who also beat Jake Paul to win $10,000 before she became a mom.

   And it also produced not only two babies but also this post's subject who also, as it turned out, had a guest-starring role in that season in the Dominican Republic... and it would be the harbinger of things to come when he was cast on another MTV show.

When we met Gus Symrios more than three years ago on Floribama, he was a baby-faced young gentleman of Greek heritage and youngest of four children who had also forged a reputation among those who read romantic novels in gracing the covers of those as a book model. You probably wouldn't recognize the Gus of Season 1 to that of Season 4, thanks in part to the growth of his hair as evidenced by all of the teaser footage to this springtime venture to the frontier.

   MTV's original bio on him wrote: "Gus is a southern charmer who prides himself on being respectful to everyone, especially women. So it's particularly devastating to him when he gets caught up in the battle between the guys and the girls. Kicked out of his house when he was 17, Gus had to grow up fast and is ready to party it up this summer. But don't get him wrong. What Gus wants more than anything is to find the right woman and wife up. And soon."

   In his three seasons in Panama City Beach and then in St. Pete Beach last year, we've seen him bond with Codi Butts and Kirk Medas, get into a bromance - and endure a bad breakup - with Jeremiah Buoni, get into words with Aimee Hall and Candace Rice, and of course there's those many flirty moments with Nilsa Prowant. We've also shed some tears watching him open up about that uneasy relationship he's had with his parents, him flirting with local girls in the clubs, and even inviting Mattie Breaux to the Season 3 house just after they made their way to The Challenge: War of the Worlds... and even that time where he actually dressed up with a girl's dress and put on lipstick, too. And when he heads to Montana, he'll have more than a full plate awaiting him there, and that doesn't include those cheesecakes he loves to have.

   An article written by the hometown Perry News-Herald following that first season detailed more of Gus' personal background where, dad Gus Sr. made it known that the Gus we know and love on Floribama is exactly the same as the one who roamed those high schools and even today whenever he is needed back home: "He was a good kid and had a tender heart. Just a fun-loving fella." And his son had plans on following in his dad's footsteps on being a Florida State Trooper before being enlisted in the Marines and pursuing an AA in Criminal Justice around his time in boot camp.

   Just as it was in getting that bruised lip in Namibia, the younger Gus also got banged up a bit: a broken arm while going skateboarding and then breaking his leg while on the local soccer pitch, and both needed surgery. And during the year & a half's worth of recovery, he dated a local model which then brought him through the door of being not only a cover boy on countless romantic books, but also modeling work with Armani and Hugo Boss. And the dad felt so appreciative of that hustle in him telling the Herald, "He's always wanted to work and provide for himself. It's driven him to where he is today."

For someone who might be described as the playboy of Floribama Shore, Gus actually made his MTV debut just months before he made his way to PCB, which brings us to his where he calls home: since he was a young kid some two decades ago, he and the Symrios family have called Perry, FL outside of Tallahassee their home. Growing up in a town with only 7,000 residing inside its limits, pretty much everyone knows each other - and to think that not one, but two of them have made it onto one of the icons of cable TV is a pretty remarkable thing that they can take some sort of pride in... that's because it just so happens to be where Hunter Barfield comes from also.

IG @GusCalebSmyrnios

   To Challenge Nation, he's the one who had his heart broken when he had all of his $500,000 won on Final Reckoning taken stolen by his partner Ashley Mitchell and him going off on her after the fact. But while he recovered from that by eliminating her the very next season, returning to the final on WOTW and becoming a father after that, AYTO was where it all started for Hunter when he was part of its Season 3 cast, arguably its most successful class. And he was the first of several guys to walk into the truth booth with Kiki Cooper (who not only was courted by Devin, but also once dated Teen Mom Maci Bookout's ex Ryan Edwards) as the house became obsessed with finding her match. And there was that odd moment that made his family cringe a bit when he stuffed a sock into his underwear to try and impress the ladies when the guys had to pay the price by stripping down their pants for costing the house a money-losing blackout in that season's second matchup ceremony.

   When he posted a picture of them in the WOTW elimination arena Gus captioned, "Straight out the 850 and same small town✊🏼 Been playing ball together since them little league days all the way to high school, now we taking on the challenge house at the same time 💪🏼 Perry Fl reppin!" It's that lifelong bond that helped Gus get comfortable on WOTW with someone he's known for a long time, along with Mattie as she returned to the spotlight after doing the CMT show also produced by the team behind Jersey and Floribama, Party Down South. And also perhaps, it's that connection that also brought Gus to the attention of those who produce Hunter's original MTV show...

When the matchmaking process that identifies every perfect match in the AYTO house takes place before the singles move in, it's perhaps as rigorous as the Harvard application process as it ranges from matchmaking science to talking to those related to the singles looking for love. And a signature moment each season has been when those who the cast knows personally make a stop in the house -- either in person or virtually -- to help dish out juicy information about the singles. It can be their parents, best friends, or most especially the exes who come walking onto the beach in one of the getaway challenges that determine who goes on dates, entries to the Truth Booth and if they're perfect matches.

   The annual visit of the exes to the AYTO casa has provided for some precarious moments: Season 1 saw Andre McCoy's ex come walking in with no idea that TMZ would later spill the tea that he was secretly married to her with kids before going out to paradise. Season 6 in 2017 offered the series' only moment of a past castmate returning to the house when that aforementioned Taylor came by as Joe Torgerson's ex-girlfriend and gave an earful Houstonian Geles Rodriguez, also an EOTB alum. And who can forget the expressions on the faces of those who have to watch their ex walk in while watching in secrecy back in the house - most especially when Southern belle Britni Thornton freaked out seeing her ex-man from back home in the Masters city of Augusta, GA on the beach.

By the time the last quarter of the Season 5 house's ultimately unsuccessful journey to the money began, the cast had their annual blowout party underneath the stars in the Caribbean. But they still had to deal with the non-matched couples still being together, which was a key factor in the house losing the while thing -- and that included getting an early blackout that they would not fully recover from.

   Week #8 of the group's quest for love and its getaway challenge saw the guys become the focus for a game called -- and get ready to try and say this three times -- "I Knew You Were Gonna Try and Ruin This by Bringing My Ex-Boyfriend to This Island." The challenge's objective was to try and figure out through interrogation and sorting things out with answer choices -- of the ten men who walked out, who were exes and who were decoys, for which half were of the former and the other were of the ladder... and also to try and identify which girl he was paired up with prior to going to the Caribbean.

   Quite obviously, host Ryan Devlin's words struck a huge chord with Taylor and the rest of the girls who had to see their past come back one more time as they had the luxury of just watching this challenge go down from the couch... and when she saw them Bay Area flight attendant (and who once got close with Julia's man Stephen McHugh of Season 4) Hannah Fugazzi could care to say, "Oh my God! You're lying. I'm freaking out. Is my ex gonna say I ran him over with a car? 'Cause I did."

Shannon Duffy, who had a costly relationship with Floridian Tyler O'Brien but would eventually become a mom with her true perfect match in Season 6's Anthony Martin, jokingly recalled her most memorable experience with a former significant other: "The worst thing I've ever done to an ex-boyfriend is punch them in the face in front of all of their friends. I mean, I feel pretty bad. I said sorry. We broke up, like, a month later."

   Indiana native Hayden Weaver, who had the house's biggest romance with Clevelander Gianna Hammer and who share a now 3-year-old baby boy (in addition to her joining Season 1 original Ashleigh Morghan in a Rachel Levin video), asked who turned out to be Tyranny Todd's ex of why he broke up with the future Winter EOTB single & Blind Date suitor after just eight months together, and he cited their constant arguing for why their love turned sour. He then asked guy #5 if he cheated on her, and the man who turned out to be the ex of Hayden's match Carolina Durate replied that it took place very early on, and she reacted, "We were broken up when I f____ that guy."

   Jaylen Adlam from KC asked guy #7 of his reason for breaking up with his ex, and he answered, "She's pretty argumentative. She gets into arguments about anything, and she thinks she knows the most about everything." And he turned out to be the ex of Houstonian Casandra Martinez -- who also appeared on the 2018 Bachelor spin-off The Proposal along with Garland Brown of Season 2 -- as she uttered in the living room, "Bye. That's why you're my ex."

   Buffalo's Joey Amoia asked guy #2 - another of Taylor's exes - of why she & him broke up, for which he put the blame on drama and tensions within their group of friends... and as she watched it Tay was left saying, "You thought it was better." And Staten Islander Mike Cerasani asked guy #3 if he smashed on night 1, and he replied, "Yeah" -- it turned out to be that ex Hannah was bragging about to the girls.

And when it came to guy #4 in that bunch, OC resident Ozzy Morales asked him how he and his ex broke up... and Gus responded, "We met in high school. We helped each other through a lot of situations, and it eventually led to us falling for each other. And I mean, all I've got to say is whoever comes after me, they got some big shoes to fill, man."

   When it came to competing to see who's real and who are decoys, Jaylan wondered to himself, "I see number four and I go, 'He can't be real.' He looks like Johnny Bravo." As it turned out, Jaylen was right: the man who had a good resemblance to the Cartoon Network character was straight up frontin' to the guys as one of those five decoys once everything was figured out... and he was one of those recruited by those behind the scenes to try and fool the guys.

   In the end, Hayden & Carolina would be one of the two couples chosen to go into on the date, which ultimately got them into the Truth Booth, became a perfect match, and then proceeded to pull a Bananas on her on the Second Chances spinoff after Season 5 (and she'd later be engaged with Cam Bruckman from Season 4). They were joined by now Miami lawyer Michael Halpern and fellow Floridian Kathryn Palmer - the girl who also introduced us (in the blog sense at least) to college friend Robby Hayes of The Bachelorette, who then dated Siesta Key queen Juliette Porter.

One day while watching it back a few years after it aired, this blogger happened to have spotted Gus on that episode, and yours truly was left to ask, "Well, wait a sec... is that @GusCalebSmyrnios from #MTVFloribamaShore on #AYTO Season 5? Sure looks like him..."  And he responded to that maiden MTV appearance in his social stories, "IT ACTUALLY IS 😂. Got asked by a producer to come in as a fake Ex on one of the games. A year later MTV hit me up to do Floribama 🤘 was like 20 here."

   When he saw a side-by-side pic of Gus and Johnny Bravo on Instagram just after that AYTO cameo aired Mike commented below, "This is the first thing I thought when I seen you lol 👌🏻", and Gus responded, "@_mikecerasani_ bro I walked out and was like damn I know he knows I'm fake I remembered you from Cali!" And there was much more in store in the Twitter-sphere when Jaylen joined in on that lookalike talk...

Tell me y'all don't see it… #AYTO pic.twitter.com/nwuf1iSW8D

— Trillmonger (@TheRealJayJuice) March 2, 2017

I'm dead 😂 pic.twitter.com/qsmGWsY3Wj

— Gus Caleb Smyrnios❌ (@GusSmyrnios) March 2, 2017

@AREUTHE1 they weren't lying #ex4 pic.twitter.com/J28A9gpHn1

— Gus Caleb Smyrnios❌ (@GusSmyrnios) March 2, 2017

IG @GusCalebSmyrnios

If you're been rolling with Are You The One? from the beginning like we have here from day 1, it's easy to think of Season 5 as those bunch of losers among the eight seasons of this guilty pleasure. But as we've mentioned before, it still gave us a memorable cast despite that nightmare ending: this bunch also included (to make it all 22 on here) EOTB Season 1 queen Alicia Wright, Taylor's AYTO love interest Andre Siemers, Edward Williams aka "Adonis" from the This One's for the Ladies docu-pic, and Kari Kowalski.

   But by the time that this site has posted this very Flashback article, the Season 5'ers didn't know at the time that there would be a secret twenty-third member to this Season 5 cast in the preface, "...and introducing Gus Smyrnios"?  She may not have been in that living room with the girls after she was one of those two Truth Booth matches that season, but Killa Kam had absolutely no idea that she would share the same stage of The Challenge with one of those decoys just two years later, in addition to being chosen as that part of the group of those from around the southern U.S. who would bring their sense of fun to a global franchise, and her also being part of a Challenge power couple herself. And who knew that the exes visit to the AYTO 5 house would also double as, "A Floribama Shot at Love?"

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DCBLOG has been covering not just every step of the AYTO series from when it began in 2014 until its most recent and revolutionary sexually-fluid season with Double Agent Amber M., but also Floribama Shore from when it began while Nurys' Season 6 was airing. This weekend we'll take our first look at Season 4 of Floribama, and we'll have the Pulse of all of the episodes to come soon after... and we'll also have more on the big news over the Valentine's Day weekend of Gus' partner Jenna announcing her & Zach Nichols' incoming entry into parenthood, along with engagement news for one of the AYTO subjects mentioned above.

   This is not the first time someone from the Floribama Shore cast appeared on MTV prior to coming down to PCB and SPB: in 2018, we took a look back to Candace appearing on the channel's relaunch of 2000's cult reality hit Fear Factor hosted by Ludacris, and where she competed with a friend of hers from back home in Memphis. Check that out here, part of the unique vantage of point of ExtraTime and our offbeat focus on MTV Reality, its people, moments, shows and the world through this prism. If you like what you've seen, bookmark us and like, comment & share our posts on social media by sharing your thoughts to @DC408Dxtr.

For those out west, this blogger will join you on DCNOW on Twitter for The Challenge and The Life We Live ahead at @DC408DxNow & #DCChallenge, and see you soon Challenge Nation...

- I AM DC

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