Chanel West Coast and Rob Dyrdek are MTV co-stars and close friends off-the-set. But how much
do you really know about them? Here's the truth about their relationship.
As an aspiring rapper, Chanel was spending a majority of her time on MySpace trying to
promote her own music. She was constantly expanding her network online, and one of her
new connections led her straight to Dyrdek. He told SFGate,
"Chanel talked to my cousins and they were like, 'She's so dumb, she thinks she's a rapper.'"
But he didn't agree at all. He saw something in the aspiring musician and was immediately
drawn to her. Chanel was already a fan of Dyrdek's MTV reality show Rob & Big, so when
he approached her and told her he was a fan of her music, she was stunned. She admitted
to NUVOtv,
"When he said that, I was like, 'Wait, what?'"
From there, their mutual fan-ship quickly morphed into a beautiful friendship.
Dyrdek has never had much to do with rap music, but he clearly knew he needed Chanel in his
life. He offered her a receptionist job and managed to make the job sound appealing. She
explained to 303 Magazine,
"He knew I was aspiring to be a rapper and that's why he was like, 'Do you want to be
my rapping receptionist?' It sounded funny being a rapping receptionist."
She was into the idea and took advantage of the opportunity.
As Dyrdek's receptionist, Chanel appeared quite often on his reality show Fantasy Factory.
And as their friendship grew, so did her role on the television series. She eventually became
one of the stars for seven seasons, and the rest of her career took off from there. Less
than two years after Fantasy Factory's premiere, Dyrdek told SFGate,
"Now she's signed a deal with Polo and is going to get a really big record deal doing
all of these tracks with Snoop Dog and Lil Jon and Chris Brown. She's on her way."
While many MTV fans can only dream of starring on the network, Chanel was hesitant to head
into the entertainment industry alongside Dyrdek. She admitted to LA Weekly,
"The first thing that crossed my head was, 'Is this going to ruin my chances of being
taken seriously as an artist?'"
When Fantasy Factory first aired, Chanel's worries became a reality. Instead of being
recognized as a serious rapper, viewers were beginning to recognize her as a reality star
instead. She told 303 Magazine,
"It kind of was a setback for my music because people, I think, thought it was a joke that
I'm a rapping receptionist."
Because of that alone, her music career seemed to take a backseat. But her success on the
small screen seemed to be only the beginning.
Before her fame and fortune, Chanel had always classified herself as a rapper. Immediately
after Dyrdek met her, he realized how seriously she took her music. He told SFGate,
"She doesn't just think it, she really believes it, and she's actually good at it."
Her determination to make something more of herself is exactly what drew Dyrdek to her.
She was hustling, selling tickets to her own shows, and spending all day on social media
to connect with other creative people in the industry. Dyrdek experienced something similar
on his way to becoming a professional skateboarder. In an interview with Fat Joe, Chanel admitted,
"I think Rob saw that I was a hustler and he really respected that."
The duo's drive eventually led to starring roles on MTV's Ridiculousness in 2011.
When Fantasy Factory came to an end in 2015, Chanel and Dyrdek continued to work together
on Ridiculousness. Dyrdek told The Inside Reel,
"The entire thing is basically a 45-minute improv comedy show with two people you have
great chemistry with."
So naturally, he brought his bestie Chanel on board.
Though Ridiculousness wasn't what they were used to in the reality show realm, this viral
video show became one of the most popular to ever air on MTV. In fact, it was the second
highest-rated show in 2011, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Yet, when Dyrdek asked
Chanel to be a part of it, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. She admitted
to CBS Boston,
"I didn't think Ridiculousness was going to be bigger than Fantasy Factory."
While she continued creating her own music off-screen, she told TooFab that she still
considers working with Dyrdek on Ridiculousness "the greatest job in the world."
Many fans of Ridiculousness may be surprised to hear that she still works on her rapping
career behind the scenes. She told TV Insider,
"I don't think people realize that my life 24/7 outside of Ridiculousness is touring,
in the studio recording, working with my choreographer."
She knows she's more than a reality star — and luckily, her co-star seems to be one of her
greatest supporters. During Season 15 of Ridiculousness, Dyrdek decided to show Chanel's newest music
video for her single "Anchors." He tweeted out to his fans,
"Such an amazing song that [MTV] decided to show the video during our [all-new] episode
of [Ridiculousness] tonight!"
It was a great move for Dyrdek to make. Chanel told TV Insider,
"I've been on MTV for a long time, and I think they've looked over my music just a drop."
While everyone knows Dyrdek as a daring television star doing the craziest stunts, Chanel has
admitted that he's a different person off-screen. She told People magazine,
"It's almost like the camera turns on and, like, that side of him turns on. [...] When
the cameras aren't on, he's a lot more chill."
Though Dyrdek isn't an actor, he clearly understands the entertainment industry. He went big when
he launched Fantasy Factory because he clearly knows that everything on-screen needs to be
bigger than ever, too. The ratings showed that Dyrdek's adrenaline-packed stunts are
a big success. His personality has made him an MTV icon for nearly two decades.
He even agrees with Chanel when it comes to how he acts off-screen. Behind the scenes,
Dyrdek is all business. He told The New York Times,
"I'm so serious with the stuff I do in my normal life. It's almost like the television
stuff is an outlet to be crazy."
Skateboarding was the start of Dyrdek's successful career after becoming a pro at just 12 years
old, according to Foundr.
"I did whatever it took to go pro, I skated every day, entered local contests, even built
a mini-ramp in my parents' backyard."
Seeing as Chanel spends an awful lot of time alongside him, it only makes sense that she's
picked up some skateboarding skills.
In 2013, she was asked to perform at the X Games, a skateboarding competition that Dyrdek
has been a part of. In between rapping, Chanel could be seen skating up and down ramps while
chatting with fans.
One of her craziest skateboarding stunts, she admitted, was when she was dared to skate
down a steep hill while shooting an episode of Fantasy Factory. She explained to WZRA
TV,
"Even professional skateboarders, they don't just randomly skate down steep hills like
that."
So it was truly a success when she made it all the way to the foot of the hill without
falling. While she presumably doesn't spend as much time on a skateboard since Fantasy
Factory ended its run in 2015, she still tells fans that she considers herself a "skater
girl," according to In Touch Weekly.
When Dyrdek was creating his own cartoon for Nicktoons in 2012, he already had the perfect
name in mind — Wild Grinders. He explained to Cartoon Brew,
"I came up with the name when I was eleven years old, when I needed a name for my first
skate crew."
While he wasn't surrounding himself with the same individuals in the entertainment industry,
he still had the perfect people in mind to voice the characters along with him. And so
Chanel became a part of his cartoon crew.
Surprisingly, when the series first aired, Chanel may have been intended as only a guest
star — but she had something more permanent in mind. She told WZRA TV at the time,
"That was kind of my goal. I'm like, I really want to be a part of the Wild Grinders permanently."
It was after showing Dyrdek her serious skateboarding skills off-screen that he decided to hire
her to voice the character of Flipz full-time. After all, she understands exactly what it
means to be a part of his skating squad.
Dyrdek has put his co-stars in pretty uncomfortable situations — and Chanel knows about this
all too well. While she may find it extremely embarrassing, many viewers at home find it
extremely entertaining — and that seems to be Dyrdek's end goal.
"I'm gonna pee in my pants or something"
On Fantasy Factory, fans never knew what Dyrdek had in store for the day. It turns out, neither
did his crew. Chanel would even try and get information from the camera guys to see what
she should expect. She told WZRA TV,
"I never know what we're getting into. It's, like, every day Rob has the craziest ideas."
Yet, however crazy their days turned out to be, Chanel was always seen taking it like
a champ. She somehow turned her most embarrassing moments into the most memorable ones. In a
promo, Dyrdek said,
"You never knew what you were going to get. But it's always priceless."
Dyrdek gave Chanel her big break in the entertainment industry. Along with it came a big paycheck,
too. However, not many people know that during the first few seasons of Fantasy Factory,
Chanel was still struggling behind the scenes. She explained to 303 Magazine,
"I was so broke. It was weird because you're on a TV show and people know you from being
on TV, but I couldn't even afford a car."
In fact, the day Dyrdek approached her about being a part of the show, she barely had enough
money to afford food. Luckily, she's come a long way since then — a very long way.
She's now worth an estimated $3 million. Since Chanel spent a majority of her childhood watching
her parents make it in the music industry, her pay days are a sign of her success. She
went on to say,
"I can help my mom out who struggles. When I just saw my family in New York, [I was able]
to pay for the whole dinner for my family — that's a cool feeling."
Though many fans may have suspected some heat between Chanel and Dyrdek, the two have never
dated. She told InStyle,
"He lives in a mansion with the cutest family. So he's super happy."
In 2015, Dyrdek married his girlfriend Bryiana. The two are apparently so madly in love that
they even recreated their wedding after five years. He shared on Facebook,
"I love my wife so much and am so thankful for the life we have created together. Can't
wait to do it again and again every five years!"
Chanel isn't married, and it seems she's been busy focusing on her rapping career — though
it seems she aspires to have a family just like Dyrdek one day. According to In Touch
Weekly, she wrote in a since-deleted 2019 Instagram post,
"Can a successful and powerful man marry me already so this industry can finally stop
holding me down?"
She's also revealed on Ridiculousness that she would love to have kids.
After meeting over a decade ago, it's obvious that Dyrdek and Chanel have grown close. She
told In Touch Weekly that they were like family. Fans are loving whatever they do together,
and MTV is, too. Ridiculousness has been around since 2011, and it doesn't seem to be going
anywhere anytime soon. Dyrdek explained to HuffPost,
"The show is made the same way you and your friends would all sit around and watch this
stuff and what would pop into your head."
Their show certainly wouldn't be the same if they weren't as close off-screen as well.
Not only have they navigated the entertainment industry together, but they've experienced
a lot of life together, too. She told People magazine,
"I've basically grown up in my 20s on this show."
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