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| Archives October 28, 2007 www.webdigestweekly.com |
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| It’s been a while now since Burton Roberts’ impressive reign on Survivor: Pearl Islands in 2003, but this tenacious man has continued to climb to even higher peaks than he attained on the hit reality series that made him famous. Burton has done what not many of his counterparts have been able to achieve. He’s evolved away from his status as merely a reality TV star and into a full fledged player in the entertainment industry. As one of the first contestants to ever be voted off Survivor and then voted back on, he made viewers appreciate his presence all the way to the end. Now, as a successful producer and creator of hits himself, he isn’t letting anyone down as his evolution continues. Back in the spring, Burton created and produced the surprise hit Camp Reality on the Fox Reality channel. Using no more than a camcorder, he organized a troop of his fellow stars from the reality genre and followed them around as they competed in challenges to see who could cut the mustard. No one was voted off. There was no winner. It was just pure fun, all seen through the eyes of Burton and his camera. With a possible second edition of this hit in the works, Burton is now producing the new hit Around The World For Free; a web-based adventure series starring Amazing Race winner Alex Boylan. The premise is for Alex to make it all the way around the world on nothing more than the help and support of his viewers. The new show is off to a fine start and made headlines right from the beginning, kicking off on the CBS Early Show. Catching up with Burton was a lot of fun. He’s been a friend for some time now and I’ve been pestering him for months. (Laughs.) Never one to sit still for long, I figured I better tie him down for an interview while he’s in between projects. Around The World For Free, along with another successful venture called Yacht Channel, keeps him quite busy but he’s always the same friendly, welcoming, and warm person I’ve come to know. He’s a Texas native who loves his home state, but there is no grass growing under his feet. |
| WDW |
| Burton Roberts Movin' On Up |
| JCP: Okay…Now for a few nosy questions to satisfy your fans: Married/Singe/Divorced/Involved? BR: I am single right now, but always looking. Work takes up a lot of my time, so I am realistic about life and timing. The right person will be there at the right time, I am sure. JCP: Do you have any children? BR: No, I cannot say that I do. JCP: What are your hobbies? BR: Pretty much anything outdoors. I love trail running/hiking, mountain biking, adventure racing, playing football on the beach, traveling, extreme sports, etc. JCP: Who are your heroes? BR: My parents and my brother for sure. I also have a ton of respect for Mark Burnett. JCP: Favorite food? BR: Steak and hamburgers. JCP: Favorite place? BR; Austin, Texas. The best city in the world! JCP: Favorite movie? BR: I loved 300, which is one of the more recent movies I have seen. Gladiator also. JCP: How casual a person would you say you are? Would you say shoes, socks, or bare feet? BR: I wear flip flops, cargo shorts and a t-shirt as often as possible. If not those, then jeans and boots. JCP: What advice or wisdom have you learned that you can share? BR: Do what you love and be passionate about what you do. Don’t work or do things for the wrong or artificial reasons. JCP: And what are you most proud of? BR: The fact that I am chasing my dreams and doing exactly what I want in life and never feel like work is really work. JCP: Burton, thanks so much for giving me this wonderful interview. BR: Carey – always good to talk to you! |
| JC Parrish |
| It’s always a pleasure to chat with Burton. He has so much going on and he always exudes such an enthusiasm that it’s contagious. He’s an amazing athlete, having competed in Mark Burnett’s Eco Challenge and the Challenger World US race, where his team currently came in fifth in the latest installment, and he’s an even more amazing entrepreneur. With successes like his star turn on Survivor: Pearl Islands and producing Camp Reality under his belt, the Yacht Channel and Around The World For Free are right up his alley and just what his friends enjoy most from him. I always think of Burton as movin’ on up, to quote the theme from The Jeffersons, because he’s never sitting still and he’s always planning ahead. He’s a man the whole country came to admire on Survivor and now he’s growing with each project he undertakes. To put it simply, Burton is one dynamic individual. He’s a good man to know. Burton’s Links: www.aroundtheworldforfree.com & www.yachtchannel.com. |
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| JCP: Burton, thanks for spending some time with me. BR: Great to be talking to you, and thanks for your time. JCP: You've been a busy guy lately, I understand. BR: I have been working a lot on my production projects, mainly Around The World For Free (ATWFF), which just launched a month ago live from the CBS Early Show. JCP: Tell me about Around The World For Free. BR: ATWFF is an online interactive travel show where my production partner, Alex Boylan - who you may remember from winning the second season of The Amazing Race, is traveling around the world without any money. He is not only getting help from locals everywhere he goes – by working or just out of kindness, but what is really cool is that we created a social networking site to support him along the way. Every day he posts video and blog updates to the site and asks for assistance from the online community and people can get in touch with him to offer suggestions, advice, or hook him up. For example, as he is going through South America, if you had a friend living in Peru, you could put them in touch and Alex could stay with your friend and maybe even get a job for the day. JCP: Where did the idea for the show come from? JCP: How is it being received? BR: So far, it has been great. Alex left NYC about a month ago and made his way to Florida and over to the Caribbean and just now entered South America. The generosity from the online audience and the kindness of the locals is more than we ever expected. JCP: How about Yacht Channel? What are you doing there? BR: The YC (www.yachtchannel.com) is great! We had a couple of trips this summer to St. Tropez and the Monaco Yacht Show that were both amazing. We are currently editing some of the footage and putting it up on our website so everyone can take a look at some of the destinations, yachts, and people we got to see and interact with. JCP: What prompted you to get into producing and creating reality shows? BR: I had always worked in the internet industry and thought I would forever. After Survivor, I really wanted to pursue my passion of travel and adventure more, so I left the internet industry to “figure out what I wanted to do.” It was during this time that I started an adventure travel company and began to think of production projects. While I did not have any experience in production or much knowledge about it, I loved the entrepreneurial aspect of it and the challenge of taking on a new project. Amidst many people telling me it is too hard to do and that I could not do it, I went ahead and created, financed, and produced my first show – Camp Reality. JCP: Camp Reality was a surprise hit on Fox Reality last spring. Are you planning a second edition? BR: Camp Reality was my first show and I loved every minute of it. I learned so much every step of the way and I know there will not be another production for me exactly like that ever again. The concept is simple, but fun, and I would be very interested in another one – we will have to see what Fox Reality thinks and if they want to do another one. JCP: What other projects do you have in mind? BR: I am currently spending most of my time on ATWFF and YC, so there is limited time left for me to take on other projects right now, but I am always thinking about them. Our production company, Around The World Productions, probably has about 5-10 ideas in mind that we plan on pursuing as soon as we can. Some will actually grow from ATWFF, which will be a lot of fun to see that concept expand. JCP: How did your experiences on Survivor motivate you? BR: The main thing it did was reconfirm to me that I do not need anything materialistic or otherwise to be completely happy. I was stripped of everything and stuck on an island and had the time of my life. It truly was a little piece of paradise to me. Once I returned, I realized the wrong things in life were motivating me, which is why I decided to follow my passion of adventure and travel. JCP: Are you still friends with anyone from Pearl Islands? BR: Of course. I stay in touch with Ryno and see him on a regular basis, and I talk to and see Jonny Fairplay when he comes out to L.A. I email with a number of the other people, but after over 3 years, people do tend to drift apart some. JCP: What’s next for you, man? BR: Enjoying life, working hard, and pursuing my dreams – always with adventure and travel in mind! JCP: Where do you see yourself in say five years? BR: Running a production company, traveling the world, and doing what I love. |
