thePULSEBy Patrick Douglas
Rob Dyrdek has often been compared to Willy Wonka. Living a seemingly guilt-free and fun-filled life in front of the cameras, the skateboarder, entrepreneur and philanthropist has had his better moments filmed and aired in shows like “Rob & Big” and “Fantasy Factory.”
Allowing people to vicariously live through his childlike endeavors has, at the very least, propelled him to rock star status.
“It feels like my life is reflected inside because everything [on the show] is born from the reality of my life,” said Dyrdek in an phone interview from his home in California. “It’s all based off the reality, but sometimes I push the limits and make it fun and ridiculous.”
In season two of “Fantasy Factory,” Dyrdek jockeys a horse, buys his cousin Drama a couple of mice named Cheesy and Swissy and builds them a tiny skate ramp. It’s all an exaggerated illustration of his real life but an illustration none the less, says Dyrdek.
“If I didn’t have a TV show, would I buy a horse and jockey it for its first race?” he asked rhetorically. “I probably wouldn’t jockey it, but it’s the reality I wanted to buy one just to have one and I just thought how funny it would be if I jockeyed it.”
Dyrdek, already a mainstay in the skateboarding scene and a successful entrepreneur with DC Shoes and Monster Energy Drinks, launched his reality show “Rob & Big” in 2006. The show, which is still in heavy rotation on MTV and MTV2, was all about the adventures of Dyrdek and his bodyguard Christopher “Big Black” Boykins.
Already known as being one of the most fun-loving individuals on television, Dyrdek quickly conjured up the premise of the show “Fantasy Factory” after MTV came knocking a second time. He took over a large warehouse, slapped the Dyrdek Enterprises name on the front and got to work. Eventually the warehouse had a Zip Line, giant foam pit, various skate ramps and, most importantly, his office.
“I was so into it, I just spent my own money and conceptually, it evolved into the Fantasy Factory. One morning, I was high on coffee and was like, ‘Man, this is some Willy Wonka stuff here, man. This is a Fantasy Factory,’” Dyrdek recalled. “I just started obsessing with the most ridiculous stuff I could do and slowly built it out. Now, every day I just go there and it’s like, ‘This is ridiculous.’ There’s nothing like someone coming there for the first time.”
On his shows, Dyrdek has done everything from willingly being attacked by a shark to jumping a car a hundred feet through the air. It’s a dangerous job, but, according to Dyrdek, he’s gotta do it.
“I’ll never do anything gnarlier than getting attacked by a shark,” he said. “I feel like all of [the stunts] have this equal intensity like, ‘Why are you here? Why would you do this to yourself?’ But, when it’s over, it’s the greatest idea ever. The day of? Worst idea ever.”
In addition to the recent release of the first season of “Fantasy Factory” on DVD, you can find reruns of Dyrdek’s shows airing on MTV’s various networks just about any time of day.
“I mean, c’mon. This life is so ridiculous,” said Dyrdek. “You can’t even dream this up. The ‘Rob & Big’ thing was two years ago and how much they still keep it in heavy rotation on MTV2 is really funny. It got so much bigger than I expected.”
