‘Real World’ stars tackle college lecture circuit

Kimberley McGee

Friday, Oct. 26, 2001 | 9:34 a.m.

Reality shows may be tanking in the network ratings game, but people seem to still be interested in the first wave of quasi-celebrities that emerged triumphant from such shows as "Survivor" and MTV's "The Real World."

So much so that the University of Nevada, Las Vegas' student government will host three cast members of MTV's reality show to speak to students about the show, as well as current events.

Rachel Campos-Duffy and David "Puck" Rainey, from the 1996 San Francisco cast and Syrus Yarbrough from the 1997 Boston cast, will appear Monday night at Artemus Ham Concert Hall.

MTV's "The Real World" which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, was created by producers Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. The weekly show sets seven strangers, ages 18-24, in an elaborately decorated home, wired for sound and cameras, in a different city each season.

A camera crew follows the temporary roommates for six months. The idea is to record the love, frustration, angst and oops of everyday life and watch as the roommates "stop being polite and start getting real."

The three cast members scheduled to appear at Monday's event have traveled around the country and are some of the most-requested "Real World" cast members.

They dish about their time on the show, their time off the show, what happened behind the scenes and their lives after the show. Each cast member will be paid about $3,000 for appearing at the UNLV event.

Joseph Lucchese, entertainment director for UNLV's student government, chose the cast mates for their potentially large college-age draw.

"I wanted to get the most bang for my buck and they play to packed houses at other (college) campuses," Lucchese said. "Every college student knows Puck, Rachel and Syrus, and they definitely know 'The Real World.' "

The Puck stops here

The castmembers' reputations precede them.

Rainey, better known as "Puck," was booted from the San Francisco house after much debate by the roommates over his in-your-face, no-apologies attitude. That, and his penchant for launching "snot rockets" in public places.

In a recent phone interview from his mother's home in Sonoma, Calif., Rainey said he doesn't regret being himself on the show, even if it was offensive to some.

"I'm living la vida loca, baby," Rainey, 33, said. "I'm cool. I came into 'The Real World' cool. Everybody else is a knucklehead. It ain't my fault."

Traveling to open-discussion events such as the UNLV gig is a different experience for each cast member. For Rainey, it's a chance to express what's important to him -- or not.

"I'm the P-man. I got something to say," Rainey said. "I'll toot my own horn, OK. I'm (expletive) funny. I'll talk about venereal warts. I get down to the real nitty-gritty."

Rachel's turn

For Campos-Duffy, the opportunity to speak to college students is about focusing on important issues, possibly from a different perspective than that of Rainey.

"It's been one of the most rewarding experiences," Campos-Duffy said from her home near Los Angeles. "The more I do the (public-speaking) the more important the job I do becomes. We talk about a lot of relevant things."

Campos-Duffy was one of Rainey's closest allies at the beginning of the '96 season. His snide remarks and sexual innuendos eventually wore on her. The two dated briefly after the show ended and remain close friends.

"He is one of the top-five interesting people I have ever met in my life," Campos-Duffy said. "But if you are going to be with Puck for the weekend, you have to know that the next 48 hours is going to be all about Puck."

She met her future husband, Boston "The Real World" castmember Sean Duffy, both age 30, at an MTV event in '97. She married the lumberjack attorney from Wisconsin in '99 and the couple have a 2-year-old daughter, Evita Pilar, and are expecting another child in November.

A self-described "news junkie," Campos-Duffy spoke about her political aspirations on the show. She has since pursued a career in television and worked on episodes of the syndicated show "The View," as well as hosted shows on MTV.

She travels about four times a month to "The Real World" discussion groups around the country. At first she expected to discuss politics, race and religion. The audience wanted salacious details about the show.

"They wanted to know who did what to who and where," Campos-Duffy said. "I wanted it to be more about diversity."

She has since learned to focus on speaking to students about the topics that are important to her, while sliding in the juicy gossip about what actually happened on the "The Real World" to keep the audience's hunger for gossip satiated.

"I talk about the benefits of being in that forced-interaction situation you are in when living with people," Campos-Duffy said. "There are benefits that I had not realized until many years later. You have to learn to accept others and grow from (what) they can teach."

College students, in particular, should force themselves to interact with people of different races, cultures and religions to explore new depths of the world around them, as well as themselves, she said.

"I try to let them know they will be truly grateful for the experience," Campos-Duffy said. "I was."

On Syrus' side

As was Yarbrough. He grew up in Santa Monica, Calif., and said that the cross-country move to Boston and the people he met changed him.

"My tolerance (level) grew," said Yarbrough from his car phone as he drove the streets of his hometown. "I think I learned a lot about people and dealing with people. It wasn't easy having people in your face."

Yarbrough, 30, learned to keep his cool under pressure from the constant scrutiny of the unforgiving camera, he said. Each time he left the house he was followed by a cameraman, sound person, producer and an aide who asked for a consent form to be signed by each person Yarbrough met walking the streets of Boston.

The attention was interesting, he said. Women outrageously flirted with him, but on the other hand men would challenge him to a fight and taunts would be thrown his way.

"People tested us all the time when we were on the streets (on camera)," Yarbrough said. "People were trying to push every button. You had to have some sort of sanity and get away from things, keep cool."

The experience was rough at times, he said, but worth it for him, as well as the public.

"The show is educational not because of what you see, but the conversation that it sparks in people," Yarbrough said. "From political (issues), abortion, racism, people learn from the conversation on TV and the conversations they have about what's happening on the show."

The castmembers each said they hope to continue riding on their quasi-celebrity status as long as possible, but also plan side trips into careers in front of the camera, or at least in the public eye.

Campos-Duffy plans to re-enter the world of television after the birth of her second child.

"I'm taking things slow and easy for a while," Campos-Duffy said. "But I'm going to focus away from acting and more toward hosting and broadcasting."

Yarbrough has had a few low-budget movie deals and recently completed a Sears Christmas commercial with singer Brian McKnight. He does upwards of three public-speaking events a week, he said.

"It's hard to think about getting a normal job because what I make an hour at these things is huge," Yarbrough said. "Once you are on the show, you give up your privacy and you have to learn not to have bad days, talk to people who feel like they know you when they come up to you, and enjoy it. I figured out how to make this a lifestyle."

With his beaucoup bucks, Rainey has purchased a 1973 Champion Winnebago recereational vehicle with a reinforced steel-mesh grille, which he calls the "deer grater." Rainey has traveled around the country in the Winnebago, he said, visiting 29 states.

"I'm going to tour the country in my motor home and throw a barbecue and huge block party and no one will know when I'm coming," Rainey said. "I'll just be there."

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