It may seem like it's all fun and games for professional skateboarder-turned-TV personality
Rob Dyrdek, but there's more to this guy than just viral videos, daring stunts, and an impressive
behind-the-scenes business hustle. This is the untold truth of Rob Dyrdek.
Four years before wedding bells were ringing for Dyrdek, the MTV star's sister, Denise,
was the first to get hitched. It was a special moment for his sis, of course, but it was
also a pretty special moment for Dyrdek himself, because he decided to become ordained for
the event, which was featured in an episode of Fantasy Factory. At the altar, he announced,
"This is intense."
The star took his role very seriously, preparing for months prior and even offering up his
own office, the Fantasy Factory, as the couple's wedding venue. His right-hand man, the late
Christopher "Big Black" Boykin, took over the music, leading a choir as the newly wedded
pairing took their first trip together down the aisle.
However, Dyrdek had to make sure that his sister's new mister was serious about his
new role, as well. He had previously declared,
But before signing off on their marriage license, Dyrdek pulled out a silver platter and asked him,
"If you're a true brother of mine…"
"Okay."
"...you'll knock out all the scorpions."
"Ah!"
"Oooo!"
And Denise's husband did just that. Now that's true love.
Dyrdek clearly lives an exciting life. He told The New York Times in 2011,
Since there's pretty much always something crazy going on in the Fantasy Factory world,
it shouldn't be a surprise that Dyrdek's fans are eager to get involved. Some might be a
little more eager than others, however, and apparently figured there must be even more
fun going on at the TV star's house.
One of Dyrdek's craziest fan encounters includes one family of strangers, who started showing
up to his home every year on the 4th of July to take a photo with the reality star. While
this may seem borderline creepy, it doesn't seem to bother Dyrdek. He described it to
The Hollywood Reporter in 2012, saying,
At that point, this unlikely Independence Day custom was five years in the making, but
no word on whether the situation has since evolved to a barbecue invite and fireworks.
Dyrdek and Big Black appeared to be best buds on screen, so it was easy to assume these
two went way back. However, when Dyrdek had an idea for a show about himself and his security
guard, he called up a local security company for recommendations. He explained on Jon Interviews
in 2018,
The two went on to star on Rob & Big, which premiered on MTV in 2006 and lasted three
seasons before Dyrdek was done. He told Liveaboutdotcom,
Dyrdek claimed his other businesses weren't getting the attention they deserved, so he
brainstormed. He claimed,
The perfect balance was born: Rob & Big turned into Fantasy Factory, and luckily, Big Black
was on board. Sadly, two years after their hit reality series ended in 2015, Big unexpectedly
passed away. Dyrdek later explained on Jon Interviews that he still has a hard time believing
Big is actually gone.
"In my mind, he's still in Texas. I just haven't seen him for a while."
The Fantasy Factory that Dyrdek turned into his office holds a lot more than just desks
and computers. So it might not be so surprising that there also happens to be a landing pad
for an alien spaceship built on the roof, y'know, just in case.
It all started when Dyrdek met Riley Martin, a regular guest on The Howard Stern Show who
claims he's actually been abducted by aliens. Martin told Dyrdek an assortment of interesting
things about himself, and Dyrdek told The Hollywood Reporter in 2012,
Martin claimed the MTV star has "alien DNA." Judging by his Young Hollywood interview that
same year, it seems like Martin might have gotten inside the reality star's head, as
Dyrdek revealed he believes he's part-extraterrestrial, about one-sixteenth alien, to be exact.
"I believe I've been abducted, and I am somehow a form of some weird extraterrestrial race."
Whether or not Dyrdek's actually of extraterrestrial origin, he's going to be prepared with his
rooftop landing pad.
"I'm going to have to get back to the mothership sometime."
Dyrdek hates the stigma that comes with all skateboarding movies, so in 2009, he set out
to make a good one. After all, there seems to be nothing this guy can't and won't do.
Skateboarder, entrepreneur, reality television star, world record breaker, and screenwriter
can be added to Dyrdek's vast list of achievements.
Dyrdek spent months developing the idea for a full-length skateboarding film called Street
Dreams, but after pitching the script he co-wrote with friends to multiple agents, sadly, nobody
wanted to make it. They simply didn't like how it would have a hard R rating. On In Depth
with Graham Bensinger in 2016, he explained,
However, he's never let anything stop him before, so he set out to make it himself.
Working with a producer friend, he hired a crew, actors, set up a nationwide meet-and-greet
tour, and paid to have it shown in over 30 theaters. He admitted,
Almost seven years later, Dyrdek finally saw a return in his investment from iTunes sales.
He revealed,
Realizing how popular viral videos are, Dyrdek sold Ridiculousness to MTV at the same time
he pitched Fantasy Factory. He admitted to Foundr,
However, the series didn't air until 2011, two years after Comedy Central's Tosh.0 premiered,
and comedian-host Daniel Tosh publicly accused the skateboarder of stealing the premise on
social media. On Larry King Now in 2014, Dyrdek explained,
However, he admittedly made, in his words, the "uncanny mistake" of exacerbating the
situation on Twitter, writing in a since-deleted post,
According to IFC, Tosh quipped in response,
Shots fired, but neither appeared to be serious. Still, as Dyrdek told Larry King,
"The reality of it is, is my show came out after his…"
"It is what it is."
"...and it created this thing."
And that seemed to be the end of it. But what makes Dyrdek's show stand apart, according
to the man himself, is that it's not scripted. He explained to HuffPost,
Tuning into any episode of Fantasy Factory might make you want to live each day like
it's your last, after watching all the crazy things that Dyrdek does onscreen. If living
out each day to its fullest is your M.O., you can officially live out every February
1st as Rob Dyrdek Day, too.
In 2012, the mayor of Los Angeles dedicated an entire day to Dyrdek because of his dedication
over the years to keeping kids off the streets and in skate parks that he's built across
the city. As he accepted the honor at city hall on an episode of Fantasy Factory, he
said,
The crowd of councilmen were understandably confused during his otherwise inspirational
speech, so he explained:
"Did You Really Do Everything Kind?"
Though Dyrdek keeps busy with his many business ventures, he's always made time to give back
to kids around the local Los Angeles area, previously explaining to HuffPost,
When Dyrdek was a teenager, he was more interested in hitting the skate park than the books.
He told AzTeen Magazine in 2010,
So right after celebrating his sweet 16, Dyrdek picked up his skateboard and made a sweet
deal with a skateboarding sponsor. He later explained to Inc.,
Instead of living a life of gowns and tassels, he moved himself to California to pursue boarding
and business. During his skateboarding career, the star set an impressive 21 world records,
and still holds 16 as of 2020, including most skateboard nollie kickflips in one minute
and highest skateboard ramp jump into water. Dyrdek told Guinness World Records in 2014,
Even though Dyrdek became a serious success with an estimated net worth of $50 million,
he had many failures along the way. He explained,
Instead, he stuck to what he knew, skateboarding, and eventually MTV took notice of the boarder
and businessman. Dyrdek told AzTeen Magazine,
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Dyrdek had no plans to stick around the world of MTV once he turned 40, as he admitted during
his In Depth with Graham Bensinger interview in 2016, adding,
So when his big birthday rolled around two years before that, it was a big deal to make
him stay, for both the network and for Dyrdek's wallet. Dyrdek admitted,
And MTV quickly came through. As much as the iconic channel has built up Dyrdek's crazy
career, he's helped MTV grow, too. Though Fantasy Factory is long gone, Ridiculousness
continues to run rampant on the network multiple times a day and gives MTV some pretty impressive
ratings, making it a no-brainer to keep the famed skateboarder on board.
While he's continued to stay busy making millions on MTV, Dyrdek is also dedicated to boosting
his various businesses. He revealed on Jon Interviews,
His main focus isn't television, but after almost two decades with MTV, Dyrdek doesn't
seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. He went on to say that he'd love to, quote, "evolve
into just being a pure businessman, which [he] enjoys so much more," but added,
"I'm going to be on TV for a while here."
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