Deaf wrestler auditions for Real World
By: Jared Hudson
Issue date: 10/23/09 Section: News
University of Memphis student and former high school wrestler Ashten Johnson is hoping to make history as the first deaf cast member on "The Real World" television show.
As he stood in front of Newby's on Highland Avenue for MTV reality television show auditions last week, the junior business major said he liked his chances of being selected for the show, known for its colorful array of characters.
While some could see the disability as a handicap, Johnson said he sees his ailment as a window of opportunity.
"There are so many different forms of communication nowadays, such as texting and e-mail," he said. "It would be interesting to see how others interact with a deaf person on shows like 'The Real World.' I think an audience would want to see that."
If Johnson were selected by MTV, it wouldn't be the 21-year-old's first time in the television spotlight.
When he was 7 years old and living on the West Coast, Johnson acted in two feature commercials, one for U.S. West Communications and one for Johnsonville Sausage before his father, Larrick Johnson, transferred to the naval base in Millington, Tenn.
He attended Brighton middle and high schools where he picked up football, basketball, baseball and soccer - every school sport he had time for - until it became clear team sports weren't his best option.
"He wouldn't get the ball hardly any because he was deaf," his father Larrick explained. "He wanted to find something that relied on him and no one else."
Johnson found his sport in the sixth grade when he took up wrestling at Brighton High School where his father coached.
Johnson and his younger brother Demetrious idolized wrestler Dan Gable, who won a gold medal in the 1972 U.S. Summer Olympics in Munich. They practiced relentlessly every day, either in the backyard or in the house.
"It was a 24/7 commitment for the boys," Larrick said. "We would even take some weekends to critique what they did wrong in the last competition."
As he stood in front of Newby's on Highland Avenue for MTV reality television show auditions last week, the junior business major said he liked his chances of being selected for the show, known for its colorful array of characters.
While some could see the disability as a handicap, Johnson said he sees his ailment as a window of opportunity.
"There are so many different forms of communication nowadays, such as texting and e-mail," he said. "It would be interesting to see how others interact with a deaf person on shows like 'The Real World.' I think an audience would want to see that."
If Johnson were selected by MTV, it wouldn't be the 21-year-old's first time in the television spotlight.
When he was 7 years old and living on the West Coast, Johnson acted in two feature commercials, one for U.S. West Communications and one for Johnsonville Sausage before his father, Larrick Johnson, transferred to the naval base in Millington, Tenn.
He attended Brighton middle and high schools where he picked up football, basketball, baseball and soccer - every school sport he had time for - until it became clear team sports weren't his best option.
"He wouldn't get the ball hardly any because he was deaf," his father Larrick explained. "He wanted to find something that relied on him and no one else."
Johnson found his sport in the sixth grade when he took up wrestling at Brighton High School where his father coached.
Johnson and his younger brother Demetrious idolized wrestler Dan Gable, who won a gold medal in the 1972 U.S. Summer Olympics in Munich. They practiced relentlessly every day, either in the backyard or in the house.
"It was a 24/7 commitment for the boys," Larrick said. "We would even take some weekends to critique what they did wrong in the last competition."