Tony Tran, a Hopkins alumnus, is now a reality TV star. Fittingly, he is not on the The Real World or The Hills but rather on Beauty and the Geek. In the show, one beauty and one geek work together as a two-person team by teaching each other their respective specialties to win competitions against other beauty-geek teams. Unfortunately Tony lost in the first round of competitions because he was not up to speed on his rap knowledge: He didn't know who Eminem was. After having the privilege of interviewing Tony, I can vouch that a) he was robbed, b) rap is probably the only thing he is not knowledgeable of and c) he is a great catch. Tony is a smiling Chinese 26 year old. He was born and raised in Arkansas, then came to Hopkins from 1999-2003 as was one of our many "slacker" students - he was a biomedical engineering major and pre-med. Now he is a second-year medical student at an osteopathic medical school in Missouri.
Tony actually tried out for the season two show after one of his friends suggested that he would be great for it. He didn't make it for that cast, but his interview tape was so loved that he was asked to join VH1's Pick Up Artist. Unfortunately his busy medical school schedule did not allow him to do that show. Luckily though, Beauty and the Geek asked him to interview again and chose him as a contestant for the current season.
After talking to Tony for a while and seeing him on the show, it is evident that he embraces his geeky persona, so I asked him if there was ever a time in his life when he specifically came to term with being a "geek." Tony responded, "I'm happy with myself, and I consider myself a nerd, not a geek. You are who you are!"
He told me some stories that certainly would qualify him as a nerd. When he was younger, his parents did not speak much English. To help Tony, they gave him the World Book Encyclopedia set A-Z, and Tony read nearly every page. He boasted that he had been to over 100 libraries and has more than 50 library cards from libraries around the country. He explained that he uses a hotel's address as a local address, which is required to be a member of a public library. Tony told me that the classical definition of a geek is a clown who bites off chickens' heads. Tony's definition, however, is someone who strives for one goal which takes over his life. I asked him what that one goal is for him and he responded, "I love to read books, I love to collect books, and I love studying." I asked him, "Do you love doing well on tests or the whole process?"
"The whole process," Tony said. Tony gave me some good insight about reality TV and Beauty and the Geek. He explained that he could not divulge to me specific events that were not televised in the show for legal reasons. Tony did tell me, however, that the seemingly beautiful mansion is falling apart and they could only take five-minute showers because there was not enough hot water and the power went out occasionally. He also shared with me that Ashton Kutcher did not like him for some reason. Tony guessed that Kutcher disliked him because Kutcher questioned him a lot and apparently made a comment about his Doc Martens, which, according to Kutcher, are too trendy for a geek to wear. Tony explained that his Mom bought the shoes for him. Tony did teach Kutcher to tie a bowtie, which was exciting. Tony explained to me that he developed a love for bowties because his coolest professors wore bowties. In his volunteer work, Tony said, the kids who love to play with his bowties.
Returning to the subject of the show, I asked Tony what it was like being on a reality TV show, and if he could give us any inside insight as to how scripted, fake or planned the show is. He responded that he couldn't tell me how long he was on the show. He said, "I was surprised how much it was like a movie set: there were a lot of people working on set, and the one hour show you see on television takes two days of non-stop filming (besides the hours from 2 to 7 a.m.) to make."
Tony stressed the following point: "If you say one nasty thing in the two days of filming, it will definitely show up in that hour of television."
He also noted that the entire cast became sleep-deprived really quickly because the set lights in the house would go off at 2 a.m. and they woke them at 7 a.m. the next day. After constant sleep deprivation, he observed that people became moody, which added to the drama of the show. He assured me that the show is definitely not scripted aside from the promos for the show.
I asked him if he was really upset when he was eliminated. He responded, "Yes, once you're eliminated, you go straight to the hotel and fly home; but at the same time I was kind of relieved because my school would make me do an additional year of med school if I took another week off."
I continued by asking what the highs and lows of being on the show were.
"The low was the lack of sleep, and the high was meeting all the cool and amazing people who worked on the show-I loved Pam and Nicole," Tony said.
Continuing, I inquired as to who he'd like to see win and who he thought might actually win. "Shay and Joshua, I would like to see win. They need the money. I think Jazmine will win - she is so smart. Both of her parents are professors," Tony paused. "I also had a crush on Nicole and Katie," he said.
I asked him if his life has changed since being on the show. Tony responded that he has not changed after the experience, but people do recognize him, which is "sort of awkward."
Surprisingly Tony also received some hate mail. People e-mailed him claiming that he made Asians look bad and like cry babies - they of course aired all the times Tony became upset. However he said that the hate mail didn't bother him much.
I asked him if he had a different perspective on reality TV because of his experiences on the show. He said, "Yes. I now know that you can't judge people on reality TV - they may appear mean, but if for one minute they say something mean in a two-day period, that will be what is emphasized in the one-hour show. I have a different viewpoint now of reality TV."
I then ended our interview with some personal questions. I asked, "do you have a girlfriend and if not, are you looking?"
"No, and yes I am always looking - I have only kissed two girls in my life - my Mom and my sister," Tony said. I was a bit surprised to learn this. I asked what he thought of the girls at Hopkins.
"Girls at Hopkins are unbelievably picky; either they say they are going out or studying. They are so career-driven," he said.
I invited him to share what he likes to do in his spare time. "I read, listen to music and lectures ... I don't go out Friday or Saturday because I work the 8 p.m. - 12 a.m. library shift - a shift that no one wants to work."
After having a very long conversation with Tony, I found him fun to talk to, very personable and kind.
He even loves romantic comedies! Tony said, which will make any girls' heart melt, "If I don't find someone, I want to adopt kids. I already have girl names picked out - Athena, Belle and Autumn-Day." Whatever might have happened on Beauty and The Geek, I think Tony is quite a catch.
