DC ExtraTime: Remembering Bootstrap

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

Instagram @WestonBergmann

Sixteen years ago when they tuned to the premiere of Season 16 of The Real World in Austin, MTV viewers first discovered a 19-year-old young fella whose audition tape that got him casted showed him sporting a mohawk while attending Arizona State University and being depicted as that stereotypical frat guy in college. But once you got to really know him a bit more, you knew that Wes Bergmann was anything but: someone who was an aspiring entrepreneur who would eventually become the most prominent face of his own business incubator company back in his home base of the Midwest.

The Wes most of us know is the one who has evolved greatly from his college days to being part of Challenge royalty: falling in love with a Latina in Texas, getting heated in The Duel elimination arena en route to the first of his two titles, the countless times where he has put his political playbook to work, and of course the dealings he's had with a seven-time champion including its most recent chapter last year. And whether you like him or not, you always had to respect what this guy from KC has done over the years -- there's perhaps no better ginger man than him in the world of MTV Reality television.

He's not quite yet at the level of many of his fellow contemporaries in this world of the fifth major sport... that is, in the rapidly-growing category of those who are parents and those who are about to welcome new babies. But in a way, Wes has spent much of this time outside of the Challenge house also being a dad... and last month, he got to say farewell to his own "man's best friend" and the one who's his biggest fan -- his beloved dog.