Grantham resident to appear on show
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on December 1, 2014 1:46 PM
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John Tart III, from Grantham, is one of 12 men and 12 women appearing on Season 4 of "The New Redneck Island," which airs on CMT. Touted as the "Redneck Brad Pitt," Tart said he enjoyed the experience and tried to stay true to his Wayne County roots.
John Tart III never considered himself a redneck, but he's willing to play one on TV.
The former state 4-H president from Grantham will be among the 12 men and 12 women on season four of "The New Redneck Island," which premieres Thursday night on CMT.
The 2004 graduate of Southern Wayne High School had actually never seen the show when a casting director called him last spring.
He had formerly twice been a finalist for another reality show, "Big Brother," for seasons 10 and 16.
Tart comes from a farming dynasty. The son of John Jr. and LaRue Tart is also the grandson of John Tart, who holds the distinction of being the state's FFA president for two terms, 1944-1946, and is a former county commission who earlier this year was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the N.C. FFA Association. Tart III was state 4-H president in 2004-05 and graduated from N.C. State University in 2009 with a degree in poultry science.
In addition to supporting the family farming business, Tart occasionally judges livestock shows, owns an entertainment company, Two Brothers Entertainment, and is pursuing a master's degree from N.C. State in poultry science.
His goal was always to go to veterinary school, he said, but if reality shows beckon, so be it.
After filling out applications and participating in a Skype interview, though, he heard nothing until late summer, when he was told he was a finalist.
The show flew him to Atlanta, where he participated in a battery of psychological and medical tests. And then he was sequestered.
"They locked us in a hotel for about a week," he said. "We could not meet anybody else. The only interaction we had was with room service.
"They secluded us. They didn't want us to form alliances (with other castmates)."
Then the producer told him he'd made it onto the "new" Redneck Island.
"This season is way different than the previous three. I thought I was getting into that scenario, on an island down in Mexico," he said. "This is not that. They call it the 'new Redneck Island,' it's a different demographic they're aiming at."
The 10-week show was filmed in Lake Hartwell, Ga. Tart said his first experience with castmates, was, again, being isolated.
"We were on a boat. We couldn't talk to anybody," he said of the ride to the shooting location. "They wanted to make it as realistic with us meeting.
"They've got a military background, two have football backgrounds, martial arts. At that point I knew it was going to be a totally different season."
Like any good reality show contestant, he acquired a persona.
"Before the show even happened, I was on the phone calling one of the casting directors. I heard them say in the background, 'Is it the one that looked like Brad Pitt?' So I used that to play it up," he said.
The show's premise includes a lot of social interaction, but also features physical and mental competitions and ultimately castmates voting one another off. The last one standing nets the $100,000 cash prize.
Tart said he knew scheming would come into play and used his intellect as well as social skills.
"I had a game plan setting out from the beginning that I wouldn't get too close to anybody and remember it was a game," he said. "It wasn't a real-life situation."
Tart admitted there were a "whole lot of shenanigans" on the show but he believes he will be portrayed well.
"I'm a guy that likes to sit back and lead," he said. "I just kind of sat back and watched for a little while. I like to lead from the outside. A lot of times if anything was going on, I would try to exclude myself from the drama. I think it helped me in the game but it's truly who I am as a person. I think I stayed true to who I am, the morals I have and how I was raised.
"I definitely had family on my mind. I had this area on my mind, too. I tried to create a good background and I didn't want to destroy that for a TV show."
He said he enjoyed the experience and developed some friendships. And while contractually he cannot say how far he made it on the show, he said he was "there for as long as I hoped I would be."
The show's 90-minute premiere airs Thursday at 10 p.m.
Updates can be found on Facebook, which has a show page and ones for individual castmates. Tart can also be found on Twitter and Instagram, at @thelegendaryJT3.