The Real World - GFM Style!

Nine strangers. Picked to live in a house in downtown Denver. And have their lives taped for three days. To find out what happens when an emergency strikes – and you’re not properly prepared.

“Reality TV producer” is another title GroundFloor Media can now tout. Don’t believe us? Check out www.WhatIfColorado.com/episodes.asp to watch all the fun – and meet Bob, Cameron, James, Julia, Kary, Ken, Matthew, Michael and Sophie, our good-spirited contestants!

The reality competition was part of “What If? Colorado,” a statewide campaign launched in July 2007 to educate Coloradoans about the need for emergency preparedness. Sponsored by the Emergency Preparedness and Response Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the campaign invited Colorado residents to submit an audition video to participate in the “What If?” reality competition. We asked applicants to answer one question in their video: “In an emergency, what five items could you not live without and why?”

Boy, did we get some interesting (and in some cases, entertaining) answers! [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3BrbU_TfpQ] More than 120 adventurous people from across the state auditioned for the show, and after our team of experts at the health department helped whittle down the contestant pool to 31 semi-finalists, the public voted online for their favorite finalists – and the rest is history!

Do you know what items belong in a home emergency preparedness kit? Could you rustle up a tasty and nutritious meal if you couldn’t go to the grocery store for several days or weeks? Could you survive a night without power, water or outside communication? What would you need to bring in the event of an evacuation? How can you help prevent the spread of influenza? We put our contestants to the test, and without spoiling the surprise, the overall winner received a cash grand prize of $2,500.

And how did GroundFloor Media fare? Well, after a week of hauling props and designing “emergencies,” we all felt a bit like walking disasters ourselves! But the competition turned out better than any of us ever anticipated – and the laughs we shared throughout the process made all those sleepless nights worthwhile. Now, we’re excited and ready for the sequel!