Josh Crampsey auditioned for MTV’s “MADE” in February thinking he would not be picked. But, after surviving several rounds of casting, he and two other Boston University students could be given “MADE” coaches.
“I interviewed first with MTV, and then a couple weeks later, someone from the show ended up calling me, and I got a second interview,” Crampsey, a College of Communication sophomore, said. “Basically, several phone calls later, they decided to do a test shoot with me.”
Cameramen followed the “MADE” potentials for two days before spring break to determine whether or not the students would need guidance in reaching their goals.
“We’re just looking at these people in their daily lives, seeing them do normal things and also seeing the story within the everyday stuff unfold,” Nick Richter, a freelance shooter working for “MADE,” said.
Richter said he has to judge whether or not the hopefuls would be able to undergo a transformation.
“Does she go to the gym a lot?,” he said of Shane Romano, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore who auditioned to be made into a Tough Mudder participant. “Does she not go to the gym a lot? Does she have a really busy class schedule, and how is that going to affect her being successful at her goal?”
Tough Mudder, which involves a 10- to 12-mile obstacle course with 25 military-style tasks designed by the British Special Forces, is the “premier adventure challenge series in the world,” according to the website. About 15 to 20 percent of its participants do not finish the challenge.
“There are events all over the country and the world, so I would enter into one of them and try to finish it,” Romano said.
Romano said she thinks the uniqueness of the Tough Mudder challenge combined with her past are what made her stand out to the producers. She declined to elaborate on her experience, but said it has had a significant role in her personal story.
If picked for the show, Crampsey said he will work with a “MADE” coach to be turned into a pole dancer. Crampsey led the cameraman through his daily life in class and with friends for two days before spring break.
“That stuff will be assembled into an audition reel, and then from the audition reel, MTV will decide whether to do an episode or not,” he said.
As a dance minor at BU, Crampsey has trained in modern, jazz, ballroom and Bollywood dance, but he has never tried pole dancing.
“It’s always been something that I wanted to do,” he said. “It seems really awesome and athletic, and hopefully it will work out.”
Similar to Crampsey, CAS sophomore Julie Rosen will be made into a pole dancer if picked for the show, though she said it was not her first choice.
“Originally, I had auditioned to be a roller derby person, like in [the movie] ‘Whip It,’” she said. “But my roommate and I had recently taken a pole dancing fitness class, so that was on [the questionnaire]. The producers were like, ‘How would you feel about that?’”
Rosen said she thinks the producers followed up with her because of how awkward she is, she said.
“They were like, ‘Yeah, we can transform her, it shouldn’t be too hard,’” she said.
The filming and airing schedules of potential episodes are unknown.
“Those details are currently a mystery to me,” Crampsey said. “I imagine it will be in about a week or so when they tell me if they’re going to do an episode or not.”
Rosen said, “They told me it takes six to eight weeks to film. I think most likely they’ll begin filming next semester.”
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