Olympics Or Bust: A Former ‘Real World’ Cast Member Heads To Beijing

For as long as he can remember, Tyler Duckworth has been an Olympics fanatic.

But in his 26 years on earth, he had never attended the Games. That is, until Beijing in 2008 — when his personal Olympic dreams finally came true.

“The Olympics mean everything to me,” Tyler shared in an interview with AccessHollywood.com on the Olympic Green. “Most of these athletes will never become millionaires. They’re out there for themselves. And that’s how I feel about my approach to life also.”

Most folks know Tyler from his time as one of the housemates on MTV’s “The Real World: Key West,” (which shot in 2005 and aired in 2006) and while he’s been recognized regularly in China, “The Real World” is an experience that he’s now put far behind him.

“I’m not embarrassed by it. I own it in a positive way,” Tyler said. “How many people in this world get to see every single negative quality about them magnified on TV for other people’s entertainment value? It’s tough to sell your soul, but for me, it’s always been a means to an end.”

When in high school, Tyler trained as a swimmer – and had Olympic aspirations – until an accident caused him to break his back. The dream of being a competitive athlete ended there.

“My coach believed in me,” Tyler recounted. “I was on the path and I was working hard. But in a freak accident I broke my L4 and L5 compression fractures, so I was in a body cast from the neck down. I spent 7 or 8 months completely constricted. For my high school AP exams, I couldn’t even write.”

After graduating from Tufts University, Tyler worked a number of jobs, including shorts stints in media. He’s now working primarily as a physical therapist, and applying to graduate programs in religious anthropology. For the past year and half, he’s worked every Saturday night tending bar in Boston to save up for the Games.

“I’ve had to deal every Saturday night with people pointing and talking and saying, ‘What are you doing working at a bar? Weren’t you on The Real World?’ I know it sounds dumb right now, but I know that when I would be in there at Opening Ceremonies, it would make it all worth it.”

But just attending the Games wasn’t enough for Tyler – to fully satisfy his Olympic hunger, Tyler decided to blog about his experience as well. So along with his hometown friend from Minneapolis, Charley Walters (who lives in Los Angeles), they created OlympicsOrBust.com – a video diary, dedicated to their shared love of the Games. The site’s been live for about 8 months, and they have a few other friends who submit posts for the blog as well.

Their mission was simple. “Two Olympic-obsessed, entertainment-eager, street-savvy, Minnesota-migrated, internationally-innovative, endlessly-energetic, sport-spazzing twenty-something guys strive to attend the 2008 Beijing Olympics and, in a perfect world, serve as some sort of digital journalists.”

Mission accomplished.

They arrived at the Games with no tickets to any events, but have since attended over 12 different sporting events. Their biggest worry? – Not having tickets to Opening Ceremonies? Ultimately, at $3,000 a ticket apiece, they secured tickets the night before.

But without a doubt, the highlight (and lowlight) of the games for Tyler has been women’s gymnastics – he’s a confessed fanatic. He’s a friend of U.S. gymnast Alicia Sacramone, who he knows from Boston, where he currently lives. The U.S. team’s silver medal was heartbreaking for him – he badly wanted the gold for them. But Nastia Liukin’s all-around gold and Shawn Johnson’s balance beam gold, more than made up for that for him.

“It’s scary how much I know about their routines,” Tyler said. “I could barely open my eyes while they were competing. I was so nervous.”

In the time between when our interview took place earlier this week and when this article was published, Tyler’s already headed back to the States. But he’s still updating OlympicsOrBust.com with new videos from Beijing.

And on Wednesday he was on a flight to Washington D.C., and who was on his flight? – None other than Debbie, Whitney and Hilary Phelps.

“They were in coach,” Tyler wrote via e-mail. “So I went crazy with the flight staff.”

“I said to them, ‘She is the mother of the GREATEST OLYMPIAN EVER! And you’re going to make her sit back there?! C’mon ladies!’ So, I got Debbie, Whitney and Hilary all up into first class.”

It’s a duty that comes along with being a true Olympics fanatic.

So what’s next for Tyler on his Olympic journey?

“See you in 2010 in Vancouver and 2012 in London!”