Rumor has it that you’re retiring from challenges on MTV, is that correct?
Yes. I no longer want tot do any of the challenges or any other kind of shows like that. Just because I went in and I took everything that I could take from the show. I mean I got plenty of exposure, I got the girl I’m going to spend the rest of my life with, I made friends that are going to be the best men in my wedding, and the girls that were on the show are going to be very important parts of my life forever, I’ve seen the world and I’ve been to almost every state in the United States with the exception of a couple. I don’t know, the money, the girl, the friends, I took it all. I don’t really think there’s a whole lot more to take. Now I am getting into the realm where if I keep doing this stuff, then I’m going to be kind of pigeon holed a lot easier, like if I end up doing five or six of these shows like some of the other people do. I just want to kind of get out and concentrate on some other projects.
So there won’t be any Real World Wedding series featuring Wes and Johanna?
I told the people at Bunim/Murray that I was only retiring until they raised the price on the prize pool. And so it’s like, I can talk a whole big retirement game but everybody knows what will change my mind about all sorts of different things. If MTV came to me and was like, “I’ll pay for your wedding and do this, yada yada yada.” I’m sure I would cave. But there would have to be a very substantial amount of financial accommodation to put the most private thing in the world on national television.
You’re attending Arizona State, right?
Yes I am.
And what is your major? What are your future plans, as far as college and job future goes?
Well, right now I am in a marketing major at Arizona State. It’s the 17th best marketing program I the country. That’s just really of business that I want to be a part of, just everything about it really intrigues me. And I’m also extremely interested in entrepreneurship and I thought marketing would be a great way for me to basically learn how to sell, which is what I’ve been doing. I’m also involved with another project called The Arizona State Edmonds Entrepreneurial Initiative, which is kind of like a big entrepreneurial competition of sorts. Everyone just proposes different business plans and the good ones are awarded a bunch of money and other things and pretty much just go to town on the business for the next couple of years. And we’re in the process of getting ready to propose to the school a Real World/Road Rules kind of people mocking event, which should be pretty neat. We’re bringing down people like
Svetlana, Brad,
Nehemiah and stuff like that. We’re just going to get a bunch of people together and have them box. It’s as legitimate as it gets. Right before I was talking to you guys I had a meeting with the Arizona Boxing Commission. We’re spending the big bucks trying to turn all these people that have never fought before into professional boxers, which should really be a neat little thing that we’ve got going on.
So aside from this business venture with your fellow cast mates, do you stay in touch with them on a friendship level as well?
Oh yeah, totally. There’s not one person from my original cast that I don’t keep in touch with in one way, shape or form. I mean one of them I live with and see on a daily basis. I even ask for time off from her, sometimes. And Nehemiah, who is from my original cast, lives 10 minutes down the street. So I don’t like, ever have any long conversations with him catching up but I see him once a week. The rest of the people on the show I pretty much just keep in touch with on the phone and emails. We like to send each other pictures and catch up every once in a while. Some of them are going to be fighting for me, so I see them at all sorts of random places in my life.
Aside from watching yourself on MTV, are there any other shows that you follow religiously?
I really, really like That 70’s Show. I watch a lot of sports and ESPN and stuff. Followed shortly there after by
Entourage.
Would you ever want to do a guest appearance on Entourage?
Oh, hell yeah. I would love to do a guest appearance on
Entourage. I’d love to do a guest appearance on any one of my favorite television shows. I mean
The Real World was one of my favorite television shows and I made one heck of a guest appearance on that one. That changed my life.
You had mentioned being pigeonholed as a specific personality, having done so many Real World episodes. Do you think you’ll ever be able to escape that personality that you’ve been given, or do you even want to escape that personality?
The thing is, I’ve changed so much over the course of my life. If people want to bring up stuff that I did when I was a single, 19 year-old, fraternity guy on
The Real World, being followed around by cameras for my entire life for the first time ever, if they want to judge me based on that scenario, versus how I acted after I got the girl I am going to spend the rest of my life with, after I bought a house, after I went back to school after taking so much time off to do stuff like this. There’s a whole lot of growing up that I’ve done and if people can’t assume that there’s a lot of growing up to do and if people can’t assume that I’ve possibly changed to give me the time of day in real life and to give me that chance, I don’t want to be friends with them, I don’t want to work with them, I don’t want to sell them anything or nothing. If you’re going to judge me like that, you’re the naïve one, you’re the weak one, you’re the stupid one, if you’re going to judge me like that, I don’t care. So go ahead, judge me, it’s fine with me.
(Interview Conducted By Cameron Curtis)
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Photo Courtesy of tvgasm.com