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by Alex Keen Published: February 26, 2003
Alex Keen: Your first book, A New Ladies' Man just came out. What possessed you to write about how to be a modern gentleman? And what would you say are your qualifications? Colin Mortensen: What possessed me most to write A New Ladies' Man is that I knew I would break new ground with the messages in my book. Guys/girls, men/women want and need to hear what this book is saying. My qualifications I spent the majority of my young adult life extremely confused about how I was to treat girls. I spent much time being the antithesis of A New Ladies' Man. I wasn't succeeding with girls because nobody had taken the time to sit me down and really tell me what they needed mentally, emotionally, and physically (including sexually). For most of my life I couldn't get a girl to look at me. And if a girl did show interest then I certainly didn't know how to play it cool and keep her interested. Basically, I'm qualified to write this book and deliver these messages because these are the things that I needed to know as a young guy that nobody was telling me. I wanted to shatter the silence that cripples young men like myself. And I did it with A New Ladies' Man. A New Ladies' Man is the little black book that every guy in this country is gonna want to get their hands on. I'm very proud of what I've done. Alex: You used an independent publisher to put the book out. Was MTV Books ever an option? And if they were, why say no? Colin: Without mentioning names, there were several powerful publishers interested in acquiring my book. Why didn't I go with them? They wanted to change much of the "racier" content. I have nothing against a big publisher (and have high hopes of someday working with one), it's just that I wanted to maintain the integrity of my work. And that could not have been done if the adult language and sexual content (among many other things) had to go. Alex: Are you planning on any kind of book-specific tour? What kind of promotional plans are in store? Colin: I'm going to be touring to college campuses across the United States doing joint "lectures" and book signings. During the talks I will discuss not only my book but also reality television (MTV's Real World and Battle of the Sexes) and each talk will culminate in a book signing. The publisher's putting the tour together as we speak, but I have also been receiving great support and invaluable contacts from people whocontact me through my website, colinsworld.com. The tour that I will be doing looks like it will be an incredibly successful way of getting the word out about A New Ladies' Man. Alex: It has been several years now since you were in Hawaii for MTV's The Real World. Are there any thoughts or feelings you have about your experience there that you'd like to share? Colin: Yes. Don't go on The Real World the first time, instead, save your energy and your credibility and only go on The Real World the second time (Battle of the Sexes). This way you'll coast past all of the judgment and ridicule and move right into prizes and the possibility of winning 50 large. This is mainly what i have to share about RW Hawaii. Oh yeah, and spend more time with Ruthie... she's cool. Alex: You did some acting following your season of the Real World, and many Real Worlders attempt to break into Hollywood after they complete their seasons. Do you think MTV intentionally looks for actors or do regular people just get tempted by the fame? Or is there something else to it? Colin: Real Worlders are chosen out of a pool of 30,000 plus people. If you're not completely out of your mind then there's probably something extremely intriguing about you. Heck, you may even be talented! You've effectively passed one of the most challenging casting processes in the history of television, so why not keep it up and actually get paid to do it (Hollywood)? That is if you're the type of person who would like to pursue that kind of career. And remember, just because you delivered pizza when you were 19 years old doesn't mean that you want to be a pizza boy for the rest of your life... or maybe it does, who knows? But who am i to judge? Alex: It is obvious from the 11 seasons of Real World that the real people in each cast are edited to come across as specific characters. One "character" has always stymied me and I was hoping you might be able to shed some light. Your fellow castmate Matt never seemed to be a real person on camera. He almost seemed to have several personalities... sometimes the angel who wanted to protect Ruthie, other times the sly cat who then started hooking up with Ruthie's sister. Can you maybe fill in some of the blanks that the editing process confuses? What was Matt like then and do you think he might have been miss-represented? Colin: I won't comment on Matt's character. As for The Real World, and the real world, i think that a giant camera and a five person camera crew would effect anyone's behaivor... even yours. Then you have to take into account editing and you've entered a mindbender that is pretty much unsolvable.  To Buy The Ladies' Man Visit The Store At ColinsWorld.com Alex: You can currently be seen on MTV's Battle of the Sexes competing with other Real World & Road Rulers. These challenges are always MTV's opportunity to milk more drama out of their best characters. How did you pull yourself out of all the mess that goes on between cast members? Are any of the cast different off camera than on camera? Colin: You just gotta think to yourself, if I give these people anything more than two personality traits then they're going to butcher my character. Not to mention the fact that I realized that I was on an MTV game show trying to get promotion for my book, I wasn't striving to create world peace. What's dramatic about living in Jamaica, right on the beach, and competing in ridiculous competitions to win prizes? Maybe I'm on my own here, but I've had to face harder things in life. I don't take these shows seriously so it's pretty easy to keep it drama free. Alex: There has always been speculation about MTV baiting cast members to do "entertaining" (controversial) things on camera. Would you consider this argument legitimate and if so did that happen on the Battle of the Sexes? Colin: Of course they "bait" and even "manipulate" cast members to do the things that they want you to do and to say the things that they want you to say. They don't do these things to the people that have their head screwed on straight because they know we won't stand for it... they do it to the young and the naive. They pretend like they're on your side so that you give them everything and then once they have everything, they take it, twist it, and shove it up your ass (for more info, see Ellen). But in the end, I don't take it seriously, I don't harbor resentment because I can't... if I didn't want to be on their shows then I wouldn't do them. Since I do them, I know what i'm getting into so I accept the outcome (their portrayal of the events). I just wish that more cast members could receive a little bit of guidance pre-shows because it would really help them out by positively influencing their potrayal. You just have to be very careful because you can't control the beast that is a reality TV set. Alex: You've been spending time after each episode to reveal behind the scenes commentary from the Battle of the Sexes. You've talked about what reallyhappened to David E., you've revealed Puck's ability to vomit on call, and you've poked humorously at cast members. Specifically Jamie has been one of your muses. To quote your Episode 4 commentary: "[Jamie] wasn't even sure what country he was in, let alone how many total missions the guys and the girls had won respectively." Was the guy really in Jim Morrison land the whole time or is your commentary just intended to be innocent fun? Colin: I actually really like Jamie. He's a great guy and watching him is the best part of BOTS (for me at least... him and I are never in the show... it's hilarious). Alex: What's next after you conclude promoting the book? Colin: Well, as soon as I can bring my book to the best-seller lists then I think i'm going to join the traveling circus. I mean, at this point, I've been on two reality television shows (The Real World and Battle of the Sexes), one scripted show (NBC's MYOB), I've written a book (A New Ladies' Man), I've traveled around the country speaking to young folks of all ages, and I've started a kick ass website... The only thing left to do is to join the traveling circus. Although, I'm not sure what i'll do. Maybe i'll be the freak show? Alex: Thanks a lot. Colin: Thanks. |
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