DC ExtraTime Flashback: Before They Were MTV Stars - The First Step

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

The story of MTV Reality represents the history of the non-scripted genre as it is recognized by fans and those in the industry, encompassing nearly three decades of some of the most unique programming on television. In the coming months, DCBLOG ExtraTime is proud to bring you a special Flashback series as we look back at some of the most memorable moments, greatest shows and incredible personalities that have helped to shape this entire genre.

For nearly three decades now, MTV has written the book to an entire industry of how to do, perfect and master a genre it has made its own: reality TV. Starting with when The Real World premiered in 1992 and continuing with the likes of The Challenge and so many other shows since then, an entire form of entertainment was born which paved the way for every network to have a piece of the reality pie, and has produced a litany of incredible moments, shows and people that consistently dominate pop culture.

   So many of the biggest figures of the moment right now, and of the past twenty-eight years, come by way of MTV Reality shows: from a group of strangers from in & around New York City who became the closest thing to a royal family as MTV has ever produced, to a man who blazed a trail before eventually becoming part of the new Fab Five on Queer Eye. And thousands of others have followed in their footsteps on a slew of shows that range from just those living their lives on camera to competing their tails off in the quest for glory, and so many others along the way.

But regardless of whether they've done just one show or many of them over several years, for most of these people they share a common trait: their journeys to being part of the MTV family began began by simply auditioning to be on a show on the channel (or sometimes outside of it), or simply being chosen thanks to having an incredible story or background that would relate to the young adult crowd that watches its programming. And for many of them, they took time out of one of their days to create a video that would eventually change their lives and make them part of television history.

   If you are fond of the milestones we all get to mark in our lives, you'll never forget the first time a baby got to say anything out of their mouths, or when they take their first steps. For sports fans, there is nothing like winning a championship for the first time or when, as a parent, you see your son or daughter make their debut on the playing surface. And for musicians, there's that ultimate coming-of-age moment when you get to hear your song on the radio for the first time.

As we here at DCBLOG prepare to begin our ninth year going Inside MTV Reality and covering The Challenge Double Agents this Thanksgiving holiday weekend, we'd like to take a moment to look back at that time where some of those who have been part of this family got to film a casting tape that would eventually bring them to the likes of not just Real World and The Challenge, but also Are You The One, Jersey and Floribama Shore, and so many other series that have graced the channel.

   No matter how young they look, how long it's been since they made these tapes or what they were doing before becoming part of what's called the "D-List," there's nothing like taking The First Step.

DC ExtraTime: Before They Were MTV Stars - Hooters Girls

Repost from during Are You The One? Season 4, a related story on this will be featured in the next DCBLOG post to come later today (Nov. 12, 2020).

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

In my six trips to Las Vegas the past decade, my preferred way of going up & down the Strip has been of taking the LV Monorail. An air-conditioned tram behind the casinos takes many of the city's 40 million annual visitors to their preferred places quicker & cheaper than a taxi. When I head down towards its southern terminus at the MGM Grand, across the way within view of the station is an off-strip hotel & casino bearing the name of America's most renowned restaurant brands, whose logo bears the image of an owl and the name of his famous call.

Since it began operations in 1983, Hooters has grown from a hometown restaurant in Clearwater, FL to a national brand now spotted in over 450 locations in the U.S. and 25 other countries. The company's image is best personified by the waiting staff featuring primarily attractive, young ladies wearing a white tank top and orange shorts and having sex appeal too... Thus, the term Hooters Girls is the most notable feature of this restaurant that serves up American food. And it's only part of a Tampa Bay empire that's also included video games, airplanes and sponsorship, even with occasional legal history too.

Two recent alums of the Real World/Challenge franchise are former Hooters Girls. When we first saw her on the premiere of RW Portland three years ago, we met Averey from Tempe, AZ as the girl from Michigan who had who moved out to the desert with her only piece of home, adorable dog Daisy, to get a new start. Clever video techniques she used in her casting tape saw her go from wearing her typical outfit in the sun-soaked locale that is the Phoenix metropolitan area, to wearing the signature Hooter Girl outfit. She says in the tape, "I do work for Hooters - as funny as that is.  So this would be, 'Normal Girl Day' (typical outfit)... Hooter Girl (Hooters outfit)... Don't Be Jealous." 

Four years earlier, we had Boston'er Emilee on Real World Cancun who, too, worked at Hooters. In her casting interview, she discussed the perceived enigma that comes with working there: "I hate when people treat me like I'm ignorant because I'm not. I mean, I work at Hooters. And I was just talking to a girl the other day about how we have these customers come in, and they come in with these expectations of that you're going to be stupid. And I hate people like that; that's my #1 pet peeve. My self esteem isn't with what I look like, it's with my intelligence. And I hate when people be a little mean.  It's not even sometimes words...It's just a superiority. And it's like, especially with guys, who I hate when someone tries to tell me what to do or questions my ability. It really just p.....s me off. That's my #1 pet peeve. My friends know it, my mom knows it, it really irritates me."

Credit: Hooters.com

Recently, last year saw not one, but two Hooters Girls on Season 3 of Are You The One?. When we met Augusta, GA native Britni - who we featured here last week, she had worked for some time at a local location there before she found her own perfect match in Chuck. And second, while her AYTO 3 ex Devin has made rounds in the Rivals house, Kiki recently spent the past two months focusing on her own challenge: winning the 20th Annual Hooters International Swimsuit Pageant in Las Vegas. She won the regional pageant for the Mid-Atlantic region back in May, which saw her advance to Nationals in Las Vegas over a week ago.

While all we saw from her in Hawaii was of getting played by Big D during the season and being sent into the Truth Booth many a time, it's a much different Kiki when she's at her local Hooters in Fairfax County, VA outside of Washington, D.C.  Their description of her writes, "Kirsten is a spirited jokster from Chantilly who loves to pull good-natured pranks on her co-workers. She has a master's degree in special education and loved her internship with a self-contained autism class at an elementary school. Kirsten's hobbies include snowboarding, wakeboarding, spending time with her two dogs and going on as many roller coasters as possible!"

Kiki spent last week in Vegas and at the PALMS Resort & Casino taking part in the Pageant along with 78 other beautiful women from around the world, as well as all related matters such as calendar photography and the like, which included the vote for Miss Fan Favorite. With that always lucky number of #7, she received strong support from her fan base who's followed her the past 12 months in voting for that award, which unfortunately she didn't win but is still a sign of her popularity among AYTO fans. In the end, Fort Lauderdale Hooters Girl Sable Jade Robbert took top honors, but Kiki did enjoy the great week she had in Sin City to make memories with the ladies and add more to her appeal as one of the most-popular Trifecta castmates of recent years. Next stop: Challenge perhaps?

- I AM DC @DC408Dxtr

#TheEscapeYouDeserve

DC ExtraTime: Some Inspiration for the Class of 2020

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Usually in times like these when the weather is warming up, we'd be in a celebrating mode with the unofficial start of the summer being this past Memorial Day weekend, and teenagers & young adults celebrating that coming of age moment when they graduate high school and college. Unfortunately, that is not the case this time around, as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to permeate everywhere we are right now as parts of the country are reopening as the death toll exceeds 100,000.

It's with this in mind that the academic year has been cut short in many areas, most schools revert to distance learning via the internet to connect to their students, and the time-honored traditions of proms and graduations being axed due to social distancing and to curb the spread. It has been an unusual last quarter & trimester for those in the class of 2020 and those who had plans to have the time of their lives being cut short. This blogger's extended family knows it well, as my nephew's 5th grade promotion ceremony was called off, among other things.

However, there have been countless numbers of stories that have taken those in need of a break from the depressing news of the past two months - and the past few days in the Midwest - to give them some inspiration... and with our focus on MTV Reality and it being an escape for all of us in TV land, there are two such stories we'd like to share with you for some inspiration for the Class of 2020... which also happens to double as this DCBLOG site's 1200th post.

DC ExtraTime: Before They Were MTV Stars - Triplets, Dresses... and a Situation

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

In the midst of this Valentine's Day weekend, soon the sun will set on the fourth installment of the American adaptation of MTV's global reality dating phenomenon, Ex On The Beach. But unlike the first three seasons of this version and over forty other different seasons of the show that have aired in the U.K. and thirteen other global territories, Peak of Love has taken place not on a sandy beach under a scorching sun, but at a winter resort with snow, colder conditions and plenty of heat coming from heaters and a sauna to keep everyone warm during cuffing season.

For a series that was introduced to us here two years ago by having four of its alumni from the originators of the EOTB franchise in the United Kingdom, each U.S. season of Ex On The Beach has had representation from competitors from The Challenge. Several seasons' veteran Cory Wharton starred on that first season which debuted after Vendettas in 2018, soon followed by his fellow Young Buck Nelson Thomas, Bloodlines alum Nicole Ramos and Big Brother transplant Jozea Flores on Season 2, and Cory's Final Reckoning partner Devin Walker & his ex Marie Roda in Season 3.

Peak of Love has had four past Challengers taking up residency in the chalet: Rivals 2 finalist and Real World Portland roommate Marlon Williams, his ex and several times competitor Jemmye Carroll - also an RW alum from its second trip to New Orleans in 2010, and Free Agents champ Laurel Stucky, who was the first ex to arrive when this season debuted back in December. Laurel is the ex of the fourth Challenger of this season, Nicole Zanatta, who was on The Real World Skeletons five years ago and who has made it to the final of both her seasons on Invasion of the Champions and Vendettas.

When we first saw her in Chicago at this time in 2015, Nicole forged friendships with her roommates, had a rough fight one night with one of them (Jason Hill) near the end of that stay in the Windy City, and was part of a long line of Staten Islanders to make their way to reality TV. We, of course, got to see Nicole on Invasion and Vendettas where she forged that now infamous relationship with Laurel, which in turn brought them to New Zealand during this Challenge offseason. And she's found time to do these shows in between what is always a proud duty in her part of the Big Apple: being an EMT and a firefighter, and where she also works alongside one-half of SI's most well-known reality duo: Angelina Pivarnick of Jersey Shore.

You may or may not like her, but while Ex On The "Peak" is her fourth different series she's done for MTV (having also starred on last year's U.S. adaptation of European reality format Game of Clones), you probably don't know that Nicole was on national TV before she made it onto The Real World. And before becoming the most well-known person in her household, this Staten Island native found herself in a totally different environment than when she's been in her MTV life: with the ones she's known her entire life going through picking a key element to the one magical day where love wins. By chance, this installment of Before They Were MTV Stars also stars a fascinating man with abs who returns to our TV screens with his crew once Nicole leaves the Peak at month's end.