"What could we do with our lives?"
It's the question the cast of "The Buried Life," a popular MTV television show, posed to a packed auditorium during last night's appearance in the Koger Center.
The four stars and creators of the show — brothers Duncan and Jonnie Penn,
Ben Nemtin and Dave Lingwood — devised a list of 100 things they want to do before they die, including escaping from a deserted island, delivering a baby and capturing a fugitive, all of which they've completed during the reality documentary series's past two seasons.
"We were all going through a similar feeling of not having anything to put our energy into. We started talking about life and how we were kind of discontent ... and we came up with the idea of going after a list of 100 things to do before we die. That's kind of where the concept came from, just trying to figure out what we could do with our lives," Lingwood said.
No. 53 on the list was making their own TV show, which MTV gave them the chance to do. They said they turned down other production companies that wanted to take the idea and exploit it, but they made the deal with MTV, agreeing that would be executive producers of show and control the whole process. Along the way, they've helped many others cross things off their own bucket lists, such as finding long-lost relatives and realizing their lifelong dreams.
The idea for the show came from a Skype conversation five years ago, when the four friends agreed they all needed something to do with their lives.
Though the show revolves around the group's hilarious shenanigans, like a quest to steal a lock of Robert Pattinson's hair and streak across a soccer field (which ended in a naked arrest and a night spent in jail), the show touches on some emotional subject matter as well.
The foursome helped a woman find the courage to visit her mother's grave for the first time and helped a man find the son he hadn't seen in 17 years.
The last item on "The Buried Life's" list is going to space, a task the members said is turning out to be quite the challenge.
"We've had some talks with people, and the technology's just not there yet," Lingwood said. "We have a NASA consultant that we have working for us, so we're trying to work something out."
The cast encouraged students in attendance to go after their own dreams, and the presentation ended with an open floor for students to announce their lifelong dreams and wishes, which included trips to Africa and writing a book.
Bradley Wiggins, a first-year history student, confessed to the packed auditorium that she was 19 years old and had never been kissed. The members of "The Buried Life" invited her on stage to kiss Duncan Penn to the deafening cheers of the crowd. As Wiggins demonstrated and Lingwood reiterated, the hardest part of accomplishing a dream is getting started.
"Take the first step. Figure out what you want to do, if it's small or big, and start working towards it. Just follow up and get going," Lingwood said.
Jonnie Penn followed up with his own advice for students.
"The crazier your friends think you are, the better," Jonnie Penn said.