Tony Brown, the University student “made over” on the MTV show “MADE” in September, finally got the elusive object of his desire — his first girlfriend.
The relationship lasted only a month, but was a stepping stone for Brown on his way to becoming what he hopes to be remembered for — but that is not necessarily a “ladies’ man.”
Brown wants to be remembered for something when he dies, but he is not sure what. He thinks he is getting a good start, though, and he is not planning on stopping.
The political science sophomore introduced himself to the University community and the United States when he went on “MADE” to become a “ladies’ man.” Before the show, Brown spent more time with his computer than with women, and he went to MTV to get help talking to women.
In the six months since MTV taped the show on campus, Brown has been featured on a Pennsylvania University TV show and in three Reveille stories about his experience as a mini media star. He has received hundreds of e-mails from obsessive fans around the globe.
Brown said he has had to change his cell phone number three times and has removed his address and campus phone number from the public directory to keep from getting unsolicited calls and visitors.
But Brown wants to be known as more than just “the guy who was on ‘MADE.'”
As a joke, Brown called himself a ‘Renaissance Man’ — a person with expertise in more than one area. It is not totally a joke, though. There is more to this man than an attention-grabbing plea for a revamped image.
Brown the boyfriend
Now that he has gotten his first taste of a “real” relationship without MTV’s help, Brown said he is learning how to be a boyfriend.
He said he would not call his recently-ended, long-distance relationship with Texas Women’s University student Susan Henry “love,” but he is glad he experienced the relationship. “We’re still on good terms — still good friends,” Brown said.
The break-up came at Henry’s request, though. “I realized I need to take a break, and I’m taking time off to like myself,” she said. “It wouldn’t be fair to him.”
Even though Brown no longer is her boyfriend, Henry said he met her personal qualifications and would meet standards for other women. “He’s really respectful to parents,” she said. “A guy who treats his mom right will treat a girl right.” Henry said when she first met Brown, she had no idea he had been on “MADE.” But, he had to explain after people approached him calling him the “MTV guy.”
She said she felt like she handled it well, but dating a made over “ladies’ man” was “just different.” “I thought it was kind of weird,” she said.
Brown said his chances of appearing in another MTV reality show are “highly likely.” “One of my producers from MTV called and said they might be interested in sending me to Cancun for spring break,” he said. The program would show Brown trying to “get laid” by women in the Mexican tropical paradise, he said.
Brown said he recently “met” a woman on the Internet. She said she was a model. The two might rendezvous in New Orleans for Mardi Gras if the Internet-based relationship goes well, he added. “She wrote in an e-mail that she’s ‘tired of all those big, buff, good-looking guys that have no personality,'” Brown said. He said he takes the e-mail comment as a compliment because he knows he’s not the “best-looking Joe,” but he has personality.
Brown said he knows there is a chance the model might not have revealed her true identity, but he said he does not think she would just try to fool him. “There’s nothing to blackmail me with,” he said.
Political guru
Brown is a political science sophomore, and he gets to flex his political muscle weekly. Every Sunday at 6:50 p.m., Brown serves as a political analyst for the radio show “Your World” on AM station WGBB broadcasting out of Long Island, N.Y.
Joe Salzone, the show’s host, said “Your World” is a variety show, but its “bread and butter” is news and politics. He said the listening audience is made up of 18-to-25-year-olds.
Brown’s latest political talk on the show focused on President Bush’s reasons for military action in Iraq.
Salzone described Brown as “unique” and said he is one of the most dedicated workers on staff for his show. “He’s a good guy — a loyal guy,” Salzone said.
Being on “Your World” gains Brown what he calls valuable experience. “It gets my name out there, and it can help my career,” he said.
The radio show is not Brown’s first venture into the political arena. He ran for mayor of the town of Youngsville, near Lafayette, in 2002. He received 32 of 1,431 total votes cast in the race, according to Louisiana Secretary of State records.
For the race, Brown was listed as an independent, although he is a registered Republican.
Brown’s interest in politics started early in his life. The 1992 presidential election — and particularly candidate Ross Perot — hooked Brown. “My parents took me on a vacation to Hot Springs, Ark.,” he said. “While I was there I met a man who was the head of the Republican Party in Texas.” The man took Brown for a boat ride during which they discussed the election. Brown said he has been interested in politics ever since.
He wants other college students to take an interest, too. “I think everybody on campus needs to go register to vote and vote in the November election,” he said. “It’s an incredibly important election and will determine the future of our country for the next four years.”
‘Mac guy’
Brown also knows a thing or two about computers. He runs a personal Web site, www.mrbrown.net, and said he has been on the Internet since the early ’90s — before most the of world caught on to the trend.
Most casual computer users merely know how to use them, but Brown can talk about computers’ more intricate details, such as how many bits are in a byte. On his episode of “MADE,” Brown made a mistake about the number — eight bits equal one byte. He said he corrected himself, but the correct figures were edited out.
Bits and bytes measure computer memory storage.
Brown also is a member of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which he calls the “governing board of the Internet” on his Web site. According to the organization’s Web site, www.icann.org, its responsibilities include addressing “space” allocation on the Internet and other Internet Protocol or “IP” issues.
Brown recently switched from Personal Computers — or IBMs — to Macintoshes. “I’m a Mac guy now,” he said. “[Macs] are the most perfect computer ever.”
There are some “untrue myths” about Macs that Brown said he wants to clarify since he has started using one. “They have Microsoft Word,” he said. “A lot of people don’t think they do.” Brown also said Macs do not crash and encouraged other students to try them. “Don’t bash the Mac ’till you’ve tried it,” he said.
Inspiration
Brown may not rank with American pop culture’s biggest stars, but he does have small local, national and international followings. The Sept. 8 Reveille story that originally told the University community about Brown’s involvement with MTV still was among the Reveille Web site’s top 30 most-read online stories for January with 213 “hits.”
A Jan. 13 post to another online Reveille archive shows still more interest in Brown.
“I think you are great and if you ever wanna talk, e-mail me,” Kelly Ryan of Dallas said in her post.
People find Brown intriguing. “I still get e-mails from all over the place,” Brown said. “Lately it has been from the Scandinavian countries,” he said. Brown recently received an e-mail written completely in Finnish — a language he does not speak.
Ashley Ransburg, an elementary education junior, is one of Brown’s fans. She has followed his “career” since his “MADE” episode aired. She has a boyfriend and said she is not interested in being romantically involved with Brown, but she thinks his story can be inspiring for people who are shy.
“I respect him for putting his life out there,” she said. “I really wanted him to be happy.”
Ransburg said she watches all the episodes of “MADE,” but she particularly enjoyed Brown’s. “He made it personal,” she said. “I really wanted him to get a break.”
Brown said he thinks he knows why his story connects with people — because a lot of people have problems when it comes to talking to members of the opposite sex. “It’s a common problem,” he said. “A lot of people identify with that.”