Ready for ‘The Challenge’

It’s just one day until the official start of Spring Break but the break has already begun for some.

This break, MTV will be in Acapulco, on the Pacific coast of Mexico, airing special programs and they have four OSU students on their guest list.

Richard Zachary Ackman, a.k.a Zac Ackman, twins Brett Appling and Brandon Appling, and Jason Evans will be competing on the Spring Break edition of MTV’s “The Challenge,” formerly called “Real World/ Road Rules Challenge,” as Team Oklahoma State.

They are leaving Friday and will be there for a week, fighting against six other college teams, including Western Michigan University, Boston College, Purdue University and Texas Tech. There are three girls on their team, too, but they are not from the Stillwater campus.

It  started when they booked tickets with Student City, a travel agency which also works with MTV.

They initially planned to head to Panama over the break, but all plans changed when Ackman got a call from the casting director of MTV, asking him whether he and his friends were interested in participating on the show. Soon a 30-minute Skype interview with the head casting director followed, and March 4 they were notified of their inclusion in the cast.

They have undergone physical tests, had to shoot a 10-minutelong introductory video about themselves and their town and are bound by a 50-pagelong contract.

But Ackman said all this trouble is worth it.

“We will get backstage access to meet celebrities and we can attend the exclusive MTV parties,” said Ackman, 20, an advertising major.

The 21-year-old Appling twins, Brett and Brandon — seemed more excited about getting famous and getting the prize money.

“We get paid for each day that we survive there and our entire trip is being sponsored by MTV,” said Brandon, who is studying business.

They could not disclose the prize details but said they were hoping it is something big and grand, including some cash. In order to get it, they and their female counterparts will have to sweat it out in physical challenges, and they seemed pretty confident of winning.

“We are all athletic boys,” said Brett, a marketing major.

Of the four, Evans seemed to be the calmest, probably because he has already been on a reality show “Next,” and is quite used to the limelight, as his friends pointed out.

Although the other three spoke about their upcoming experience, Evans, a marketing major, former marine and the “old man of the group,” as he referred to himself because he is 24 years old, fiddled with his phone and occassionally gave some input.

All four said they are excited about this opportunity to represent OSU and to showcase their talents and strength.

T.J. Lavin will host the show, which will air daily at 7:30 p.m., March 22-26, on MTV.

“It is going to be a blast and we are going to have a lot of fun, but we are also very serious about it and want to win it,” Ackman said.