'The Buried Life' cast returns to USC Monday night
Students packed the Russell House Ballroom Monday night to hear four friends recount how they followed their dreams and helped others answer one question: “What do you want to do before you die?”
The cast of MTV’s “The Buried Life” returned to USC to share the origins of the show and the ways they have changed lives since then.
The cast’s appearance was part of a college tour sponsored and funded by Verizon Wireless Careers. Student Body President Joe Wright was contacted by the former reality show stars in October and agreed to bring them to campus this semester. USC Student Government hosted the event.
Carolina Productions brought “The Buried Life” guys to campus last March and paid them $25,000 to make their presentation, but Monday’s program was not funded through student activity fees at all.
The four cast members, Dave Lingwood, Ben Nemtin and brothers Jonnie and Duncan Penn, took the stage to the sound of thundering applause. Although “The Buried Life” is no longer on MTV, it was clear that the show and the cast’s message has made a lasting impression on many USC students.
Monday’s program began with Lingwood, Nemtin and the brothers Penn recounting how “The Buried Life” began. Jonnie Penn realized he wanted to do something with his life after being outraged by the high price of yams at the grocery store while in college. Nemtin was inspired when a former high school classmate launched a clothing line despite his lack of experience in the fashion world. Lingwood told the audience about his struggles with weight gain (he put on 45 pounds during his freshman year of college), joking as he looked back on the situation (“I’m baking cookies and I’m stuck in my wetsuit”) but stressing how he realized he needed to change his life. Duncan Penn was impacted by the death of a close friend during a camping trip shortly after their college graduation.
The cast members said their relationship has grown since they began the project.
“When this thing started, we weren’t best friends or anything,” Jonnie Penn said.
The four decided to call their project “The Buried Life” after Jonnie Penn read Matthew Arnold’s poem of the same name as an assignment for school. The goal of “The Buried Life” was to answer the question: “What do you want to do before you die?” The friends compiled a list of 100 things they wanted to accomplish. Duncan Penn recalls thinking, “What’s stopping us from going after every single thing on this list?”
“The Buried Life” began as a two-week road trip in 2006. Lingwood, Nemtin and Jonnie and Duncan Penn planned to cross items off their list and help strangers live out their own dreams along the way. They bought a secondhand camera on eBay, got a company to pay for gas, purchased a 1977 Coachman RV and hit the road. Within that time, the team embarked on a variety of adventures, from making the front page of the newspaper to running a successful business for a day.
Jonnie Penn said the turning point in the first tour was helping Brent, a 24-year-old who spent many years living in a homeless shelter, bring pizzas to the shelter where he once lived and providing him with the truck he desperately needed to keep his food delivery business running. Aiding Brent in his mission inspired “The Buried Life” team to keep the project going beyond the two-week road trip.
After their first tour, the team was contacted by a television producer to negotiate having their own show, but everyone they met with wanted to change the concept. Duncan Penn said he and his fellow team members wanted to maintain creative control, so they didn’t take the initial deal.
It took two years until a network agreed with the four friends and MTV picked up “The Buried Life” in 2009. The show ran for two seasons and followed the cast as they crashed the Playboy Mansion and streaked at a soccer game while helping others reach their goals. Duncan Penn shared the story of Sam, a father who abandoned his son and wanted to reconnect with him 17 years later. While the episode ended with Sam speaking to his son, Laban, on the phone for the first time, the cast said the pair’s relationship has grown since then and the family has spent the last three Christmases together.
Jonnie Penn encouraged audience members to make their own lists, go after their goals and help others along the way.
“Being you inspires other people to be them,” Jonnie Penn said.
“The Buried Life” cast is crossing another item off their list with the publication of their first book, “What Do You Want To Do Before You Die?” The book is not in stores yet, but the cast brought copies of the book with them, giving USC students the first chance to purchase it, as it was the first event at which books have been sold.
The cast then turned the evening over to students, asking people to share what they want to do before they die. Answers ranged from asking Duncan Penn out on a date to opening a free medical clinic. The cast held a meet and greet book signing after the event.