Real World Ace of Clubs
Michael A. Knipp | 2/19/2004 Kappa Alpha brother one of the lucky few chosen to carry on the now 14 year old "Real World" traditionFor years we’ve invited Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray to dramatize the consequences of uniting seven strangers in an IKEA-clad kingdom through the backdrop of America’s headlining cities. Combine a frat boy, a black guy, a homophobe, an Upper East Side bitch, among other incompatible stereotypes, and MTV has another ratings-boosting epoch of The Real World.
The equation results in a Tuesday night tradition at the “10 Spot” to ‘find out what happens when people stop being polite’ and start, well, you know the rest. The formula may be hackneyed, the storylines are perhaps exhausted, but one thing is assured - each new season confers a new reason to feel good about being so bad.
For most college scholars, each new cast of the once ground-breaking reality program signifies another passing year of mundane rurality and missed opportunity; only a few lucky members are chosen to carry on the now 14 year old tradition. Kappa Alpha brother and Real World alum Clyde “Ace” Amerson (Delta Theta ‘98 - Georgia Southern) just happens to live inside of that box.
In early 2003, Amerson and his future housemates boarded a jet plane to the City of Lights - Paris, France - destined to be the latest high-profile experiment in television history.
“It was something I always wanted to do,” says Amerson about his three month jaunt overseas. “I sent in a tape and it just worked out. It was a little overwhelming, but it’s been a positive experience. It was really cool to see the world. I don’t have any regrets.”
But any couch spud with time to squander on a sodden weekend can catch the marathon of re-reruns from the Real World Paris. Although streaming video of intimate moments make for viewing pleasure, it’s what happens when the cameras quit rolling that is a true testament to veracity.
A native of Rome, Ga., Amerson has returned to Statesboro where he attends college at Georgia Southern University. Not your average student, he is an entrepreneur with invested interested in local bars. The Woodin Nikel, a popular hangout that declares Amerson’s national celebrity on its automated message, is co-owned by Amerson and other partners. In addition to the BYOB after-hours spot that he and another KA managed four years ago and Rum Runner’s, an entertainment venture in Statesboro, he is planning to expand his hand in business.
“I’m planning on a move to Birmingham [to open a club],” he says. “I love the restaurant/bar business.”
At 24, there’s ostensibly little in which Amerson hasn’t succeeded. And apposite advice can only come from those who know: “Take chances - take risks if you think you’re a born entrepreneur,” he says. “You might fail, but it’s something you need to do. I knew nothing [when I started], but I kind of learned along the way.”
Although his list of associates now include RW Las Vegas cast members Steven and Trischelle and former Grind host Eric Nies, its Amerson’s legacy that has led him back to the Land of Cotton.
Through the fog of his swelling commitments, his March 5th, 1998, Kappa Alpha initiation reigns supreme amid the miasma of power lunches and post-production appearances. He boasts that he’ll do “anything for the Order.”
“I’ve been hanging out with KAs all over the country. I met some really cool southern gentleman,” he says. “I think KA is going to be strong for a long time.”
With restaurants to govern and a progressively frenzied personal life, Amerson has ushered past thoughts of RW Paris while Generation Next welcomes the current installment of RW San Diego. As the new cast coped with controversy before original episodes even aired, provoked by an alleged rape incident, Amerson is delighted about his return to Dixie.
“I’m not too interested in going back to MTV” he affirms.
(Photo courtesy of MTV Networks. Michael A. Knipp (Beta Rho ‘00) writes an entertainment column for City Magazine in Roanoke, Va.) |
