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How did some Guido juicehead personal trainer (and reported exotic dancer) from Staten Island with a stupid nickname become a household name and one of the most beloved reality stars of the new millennium? Blame the overwhelming popularity of Jersey Shore — and those unreal abs.
Six months ago, if Mike Sorrentino had tried to go to a club in Manhattan on a Saturday night, he probably would have been taken for exactly what he is: a bridge and tunnel jerk who would stop at nothing to take a girl — any girl — home. You know the type. With their Ed Hardy shirts, gold chains and waaay too much Axe body spray, they may as well have “sleezeball” tattooed across their overly tanned foreheads, conveniently left bare since their hair is always combed skyward. They’re the type of guys that come up behind you and start grinding up on you when you’re dancing with your friends. Or open a conversation with “Damn, girl” or “Hey, sexy.” And although that kind of thing may not be every girl’s cup of tea, these guys always manage to get some girl to go home with them at the end of the night, usually wasted out of their minds and sometimes even with a grenade accompaniment.
Now, after the sweeping success of Jersey Shore, Mike is known to all simply as “The Situation,” the nickname he gave his incredibly sculptured abdominal muscles. They’re the kind of abs that can only be achieved through the perfect combination of Muscle Milk, GTL and even more hours spent at the gym. The Situation undoubtedly worked to craft his abs with a single-minded determination borne out of years of unpopularity and geekiness in high school. (To prove my theory, check out this high school yearbook photo.) But his work has paid off. Just one lift of his tank top during the premiere of Jersey Shore, and The Situation was instantly more memorable than quiet Vinnie, beefy Ronnie and even DJ Pauly D. When he started talking about himself in the third person and took on the self-proclaimed role as the Man of the House, that was just icing on the cake.
By the time he hooked up with Snooki in the hot tub, you knew The Situation was not just a sleezeball; he was a sleezeball with a heart of gold, and the endearing ability to make fun of himself. That’s a skill that many reality stars never master. It’s managed to propel Mike beyond Jersey Shore and into success in the real world (although we’re desperately awaiting season two, set in Florida). He spoofed himself in a Funny or Die video and on Lopez Tonight, was snapped by Terry Richardson with Bar Refaeli for Interview magazine, and now does stuff like hosting bikini contests. And while six months ago he may have had to wait in line and pay a cover to get into clubs in New York or Miami or Vegas, now he (and his fellow Jersey Shore castmates) command upwards of $7,500 just to make an appearance at a club for the night. The Situation Nation, as Mike calls his fans frequently on Twitter, has indeed taken over.
But the question remains: would you go home with him at the end of the night?
