Page 1 / 2 - Home

Becoming a Real World roommate was also somewhat of an accident, albeit a fortuitous one. Working behind the scenes in television production, Tyler submitted an audition tape to Bunim-Murray Productions as a joke. “It was a chance happening,” he reports. “I put together an audition video and submitted it. Six or seven months later, I got a call from the casting people. I didn't take it seriously until after I was in Los Angeles for the finals.”

Call Tyler “The Real World 's pretty, blonde, gay guy,” and his surprise rings authentic: “To be called that is funny because that's not how I think of myself. I'm self-deprecating,” he says, "But I appreciate the compliment.”

He found the reality of The Real World: Key West, a far cry from his expectations. Tyler remembers, “I thought it was going to be much more glamorous. For one thing, I thought there was going to be a red carpet wherever I walked.” Arriving in Key West, last summer, he found, “There was a dirt road, and not a red carpet.”

Sensitive to The Real World's well-earned reputation as a playground in which young hard bodies ball, booze, and brawl, Tyler believes the Key West season offers much more than young adults behaving, well, like young adults. Earnestly, straight-faced, Tyler tells me, “This season has a lot of substance. We deal with some very difficult conditions and situations. I'm proud of the direction in which the seven of us took this series.”

What did Tyler gain from The Real World? “The series was an opportunity for me to get to know myself, and to better understand the relationships that I've had in the past. It's definitely not about Tyler going out to gay clubs and trying to get laid.”

Having run last year's Boston Marathon, Tyler cast himself as The Real World embodiment of athletic youthful competition.

But why would he subject his severely compromised body to the punishment of athletic competitions, on camera, for the world to see? “I want viewers to see that they can overcome the obstacles in their lives,” he answers without hesitation. “They'll see me enter marathons and triathlons and do very well in them.”

What won't they see? “They won't see me the day after the competitions when I can't move,” he deadpans.

In a moment ripe with self-understanding, Tyler reflects, “I'm young and I have the back of a 50-year-old man. That accident took many things away from me, and I'm just trying to appreciate all that life has to offer by doing athletic things, despite my injuries.”

As for the hurricanes, Tyler refers to Katrina, Rita, and Wilma collectively as “the eighth roommate,” adding, “It was an amazing experience to live through them, and it'll be a fun, educational experience for viewers to watch us live through them.”

How about the other roomies--the human kind--with whom he shared the Key West house? “We have a familial bond,” he states. “I don't like all of them, but I love all of them. Two roommates that Tyler loves and likes are Paula and Jose. He explains, “Paula and I have dealt with similar issues in our lives, as have Jose and I. The three of us come from very different, but difficult, backgrounds. Having to rise above our difficulties in order to succeed underscores our friendship.” Tyler's other four Real World housemates are Janelle, John, Svetlana, and Zach.

Looking beyond the series, Tyler wants a career in TV sports production, perhaps as a future Olympics Producer.

On a personal level, he hopes his real-life real world will include a partner and children. “I absolutely want to be a father!” he tells me. “I've always wanted to adopt a Chinese girl because they're so unwanted in China.”

If you like what you see, and you can keep pace with a ballsy blonde dynamo, then you may want to contact Tyler through MTV.

Who knows? You may find genuine, not MTV Real World, love.

As Tyler puts it just before our interview ends, “Right now, I'm very single.”

And that's not something he wants in his real world.

Page 1 / 2 - Home