DC ExtraTime: MTV Royalty Takes Over Miami Swim Week

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

The state of Florida: it is many things to many of us -- starting with the joke that the shape of the state itself looks almost like a private part. To some, it's that state whose tropical climate this time of year sees a scorching hot sun, high temperatures and humidity, and an always present risk for severe weather headlined by it being located in hurricane alley. To others, it's that state with a rather different approach when it comes to politics that's made it both a laughingstock and a haven in this divisive America... just the actions of its governor and a notable resident of a district in Palm Beach will suffice.

But Florida is also a place that's become a capital in two worlds: some of reality television's most buzzworthy series have the backdrop of the Sunshine State, from The Real Housewives franchise on Bravo & Peacock, to Miami being part of the community of VH1's Love & Hip Hop. And Miami has become a rapidly growing destination in the fashion world, and nowhere is it prevalent than in the Fashion District in the Wynwood neighborhood, where major clothing retailers and distributors are located in the area, along with a slew of fashion agencies located all around Greater Miami.

Following the Memorial Day weekend, South Florida welcomed back the fashion industry for the first time in twenty-four months when Miami Fashion Week took place in early June. And before the eyes of the industry in this multi-billion-dollar business turn to the major shows in New York and Europe, earlier this month the big wigs again returned for a couple notable fashion shows taking place just before the major autumn shows -- and where the focus turned to everyone's favorite kind of clothing in this part of the country: the swimwear. And there, we find three leading ladies in MTV Reality land get to strut their stuff on the runway, and in one's case, follow in the lead of an all-time queen in this world.

DC ExtraTime: Someone You Should Know - The Bad Boys of TikTok

*** NOTE: Due of the subjective nature of the subjects of this story -- and as part of an effort to promote a negativity-free zone across all of my social channels, DCBLOG has disabled the comments section at the bottom of this article. ***

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

Estimated Reading Time: 16 Mins.

Over the part of the ten years this DCBLOG site has been running, this ExtraTime series has afforded us the chance to introduce everyone to some amazing people who the stars of the MTV reality shows we cover here get to mingle with around this world of ours. And a frequent subject of this series has been of social media stars and influencers, including a pair of brothers who have been in the news quite a bit.

On several occasions on here we have focused our lens on the Paul brothers, who take on the status of being without any question the biggest and most scrutinized pair of siblings in all of YouTube. Logan got to take on Floyd Mayweather in the ring last year, and who recently admitted to having been forged out of $3.5 million for a shoebox which he thought were full of valuable Pokémon cards -- only to find that it was not the case. Not long ago, the older Paul brother was aboard the same L.A.-bound plane from London as the only one of The Challenge's British Invasion to take the crown back to the Isles when he shared that long flight to California with one-time exotic dancer Rogan O'Connor.

The younger half of this dynamic duo is Jake Paul, who a few years ago found himself on an MTV show -- but one that didn't air on the linear channel itself. In 2019, he had his big and much-publicized wedding night that crowned his now-infamous showmance with Tana Mongeau chronicled for the first generation of MTV's No Filter series on its YouTube channel. A year prior, Jake invited MTV king Cory Wharton's girlfriend -- Are You The One and Ex On The Beach alum Taylor Selfridge -- to play a viral YouTube challenge to be the last one standing in a frozen pool for $10,000, and she won. And shortly after, Jake scored his perfect match in another alum of an MTV reality dating show: Julia Rose of Season 4 during her battle for social media freedom from the World Series to the Hollywood sign.

Last month, the world of fight sports once again focused their eyes on the Paul brothers as the younger half took to the boxing ring for his latest battle as Julia watched from ringside. But as it turned out, the focus on that last December 18th night in Florida were on another pair of social media stars who found themselves center stage, and who are our focus of this latest installment of Someone You Should Know: The Bad Boys of TikTok.

DC ExtraTime: More Pranks with That Florida Man & His Florida Friends

 FOLLOW-UP  Someone You Should Know:

YouTube Prankster RossCreations (May '21)

.

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

This past weekend, all of us got to put 2021 in the same category as 2020 and the thousands of other years that came before it: giving it a proper send-off on the year's last day and a night of partying that lasted last well into the first hours of New Year's Day (and in the case of this year, the long New Year's weekend). The year's final seven days gave every journalistic organization a chance to look back on the year's biggest news and some of their most memorable stories of the last twelve months... and while we aren't a big operation by any means we at DCBLOG still have our own collection of outstanding work from the 365 days that just past. But one that seems to stand out in many ways has to do with something that brings together a reality soap opera with comedy and stranger things that will want you to forget for a moment how bad the past twenty-four months have been in this world.

By way of the hundreds of those who've entertained you on a cable channel that's been around since your parents were your age, the ExtraTime series has afforded us many opportunities to introduce you to some incredible people in the ten years of our coverage of the world Inside MTV Reality television. We have featured other reality stars from outside the channel, musicians, athletes and beyond whenever they meet the personalities of the most-talked about reality shows there are... but our most profiled people on here outside our primary beat over the years have been social media influencers and personalities from YouTube, TikTok, SnapChat and Instagram who dominate the timelines on their respective apps, and whose videos on those platforms are just about everywhere you go.

And while we have featured that guy from Ohio who's burst onto the scene through his much-hyped boxing fights and him bringing two girls from the same MTV show to his pool and into his heart, there is another YouTuber who has made his mark in the world of viral videos without all of the hype that surrounds Jake Paul or his older brother Logan. And provided that things have not spiraled out of control where you live -- and as many of us report back to work and to school on this Monday after the 2-week long winter break for Christmas and New Year's, the man known as RossCreations and his troupe of pranksters have given us reason to look forward to the start of the week, including this first weekday.

DC ExtraTime: Someone You Should Know - YouTube Prankster RossCreations

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

In much of the past decade, MTV fans have become accustomed to Challenge Wednesdays and the fifth major pro sport of The Challenge taking place at the middle of the week -- same goes for the show that introduced America to the art of using a phony online identification to create a love affair, Catfish. But after the end of another exciting season of the show that began the subgenre of reality competition shows, summer 2021 will turn see the focus of MTV Wednesdays shift to drama and two of the shows which represent the legacy of when the channel began a new subgenre: reality soap.

This coming week on Wednesday May 12th, The Hills begins its eighth overall season and the second of the New Beginnings spinoff, almost two decades since its predecessor Laguna Beach began, and for which the visit of Kristin Cavallari will no doubt be a must-see. But in the hour prior to us returning to California again, it's Season 4 of its East Coast counterpart, Siesta Key, as those who grew up watching her, Lauren, Speidi and their power clique provide us with their brand of juicy drama. The past four years in that beach town outside of Sarasota, Florida have provided us with plenty to devour, and all indications are that we should be in for another sultry summer ahead of us.

Instagram @SiestaKey

During Season 3 last year, someone who was a bit player of sorts in its first two summers finally emerged into being a permanent part of the Floridian friend group. Amanda Miller was there for that opening birthday party in Alex Kompo's house and promptly gave the town's authority on elitist gossip, Chloe Trautman, a broken nose when she flirted with musician and resident player Brandon Gomes. But two years later, Amanda would find herself once again in the drama, this time in what is always a mouth-watering prospect in these reality soaps - and any MTV Reality show for that matter: a love triangle which included not just BG but also an ex of hers that came back to try and win her heart again.

That other guy in the triangle was JJ Mizell, who loves anything to get that adrenaline rush of thrills in surfing, wakeboarding, snowboarding and motorcycling. He also came back into the picture as Amanda's ex, and there were plenty of moments involving the two exes last year: them and Brandon sharing the same boat along with Jared Kelderman (the one who sparked that brawl with Alex to begin Season 2 and flirted with Kelsey Owens), JJ melting down at his own birthday party that took place at Amanda's house, and them finally ending things for good at the Friendsgiving dinner get-together by the beach on Thanksgiving night. And who can forget them kissing outside at a night of country line dancing at everyone's favorite watering hole: the local hometown saloon.

We won't be seeing JJ or Jared when we reconvene for this year's trip down to Siesta Key when we return to Florida next week... but if you're one of those who loves to go on YouTube for the sake of getting that much needed comic relief during these times, than you might be seeing them in the background of videos created by the guy who, outside of Florida's most chill friend group, just might be the most famous figure in all of the Sarasota area. And it's here that, in this installment of Someone You Should Know, we'd thought we'd like you to meet one of their friends: the local prankster with millions of followers and who goes by a variation of his last name: RossCreations... and for someone who's not on the show, his life of making us laugh just might be fascinating enough to be a soap opera itself.

DC ExtraTime: Before They Were MTV Stars - The First Time Club

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Brandon (right) with Christina, Joel & Marie
in The First Time Club (Facebook)

Tonight as we near the finish line of this lost summer of 2020, Siesta Key will wrap up its third season as MTV kicks off the countdown to the Video Music Awards. It's one that's given fans and casual reality viewers plenty to talk and buzz over in a ride that began back in January and now ending this last week of August with both the season finale and a virtual at-home reunion to come on afterwards, hosted by a member of my sister's graduating class of 1995 at this blogger's alma mater Milpitas High School, The Real's Jeannie Mai. And it's safe to say that this has been quite a summer times two in this dual suburb of Sarasota and Tampa Bay, Florida.

It all began when one of JoJo Fletcher's Bachelorette suitors, Robby Hayes, stole and then broke the heart of the show's main protagonist who just turned legal age. We've also had more ongoing drama with her and her ex-boyfriend, who moved on to a childhood friend of his who helped to make them the first in this clique to become parents. There's also the bombshell dropped by one of the girls that she is now dating someone who's not only twenty years older than her, but who also happens to be an ex-producer of the show itself. And there are other things that have had those from Robby's Bachelor Nation alumni to big name movie stars join in on the fun of watching a show born out of the spirit of The Hills and Laguna Beach, for which the producers of the ladder created this spiritual relaunch.

What started out as just a typical TV pilot paid for out of the wallet of a rich local entrepreneur who also happens to be the father of that new baby daddy has turned into something much more. Since it debuted three years ago, Siesta Key has stayed true to what its West Coast predecessors preached back in 2004 ago when Laguna introduced the subgenre of reality drama in mixing what you love about daytime soap operas with eye-catching cinematography and a catchy musical soundtrack. Not to mention, there's that group of hotties who bring on the drama and who have brought their own brand of it, following in the footsteps of Lauren Conrad, Kristin Cavailari, Spencer & Heidi and those who starred with them on their two shows out in California.

But you probably not know that, for a couple members of the original seven as well as one other bit-part player in the drama, Siesta Key isn't their first time being on camera... as they appeared in an independent drama film just before they and their friends were discovered by MTV. In a strange twist to this, you won't believe which role an unlikely outlet has in helping give three future castmates their first taste of being in front of the camera. And at the same time, it's also helped to serve an important purpose, as you're about to find out in this installment of Before They Were MTV Stars.