Nies: From ‘Real World’ to ‘Grind’
Taraneh Arhamsadr | Oct 27, 2003 | Comments 0
We are very often told to make the best of the chances life gives us. When faced with an amazing opportunity, we can either see the potential it holds in furthering our future success or simply take it for granted.
Former ‘Real World’ cast member, Eric Nies is an example of someone who took a small opportunity and turned it into a successful career.
We all live in the world of reality television where every major network has a few different reality shows. The fan base for the reality TV phenomenon continues to grow.
When MTV’s ‘The Real World’ began 15 years ago, many people had never seen anything like it before. It documented young people going through their daily experiences with a camera crew following them everywhere. Nies appeared on the first season in New York City, and many remember him as the resident heartthrob. After taping wrapped up for that season, MTV producers kept Nies on the network to host the popular dance show ‘The Grind.’
‘The truth is, I really didn’t do anything, as crazy as that may sound,’ Nies said. ‘MTV came to me to see if I was interested in doing ‘The Grind.’ The show lasted for three years. After about two years we started doing the workout videos. So I went straight from being a reality personality to a talk show host. It wasn’t like I had planned that. After I started hosting ‘The Grind,’ my business mind started to work and I thought about all the possibilities.’
Nies is currently involved in many endeavors. He recently co-created ‘The Road to Reality,’ a documentary about the ‘reality’ of reality television along with several other former ‘Real World’ cast mates. Nies believes the documentary will dispel myths regarding the lives of the cast members post-show.
‘A reason that we made that, is that what you don’t know is that we don’t make any money off those shows, in the world of cable TV you don’t get paid residuals.’
Nies also continues to participate in annual ‘Real World’ reunions, including projects and challenges.
‘The reason why I still participate is to bring awareness to the other projects that I’m working on,’ Nies said.
Nies’ current project is to help create A Moment of Hope, a service organization for children dealing with the aftermath of Sept. 11.
According to the A Moment of Hope Web site, it is a youth organization that is based around one simple goal: ‘to empower the youth of the world
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