Secret Millionaire: "Regular Underwear Might Give Me A Rash!"
Episode 3 Recap by Jenny Lane
December 12, 2008
Tonight’s Secret Millionaire is Myles Kovacs. He is the cofounder of DUB magazine, which I had to look up – it’s an “automobile lifestyles magazine.” As I looked a little further, it seems that the magazine specifically covers hip hop celebrities and their cars.
Myles is 35 and is from East Los Angeles. He’s Japanese and Hungarian, but grew up speaking Spanish. In high school, he did deliveries for a rim shop that Tupac frequented. A few years later, he started designing custom wheels and promoting nightclubs. After seeing the value that a celebrity can give to a vehicle, he started DUB magazine. In 2000, Myles launched the DUB Custom Auto Show and Concert Tour, which is now a 16 city tour. He still designs wheels, including the first production 30 inch wheels that were purchased by Bam Margera for $150,000. Now he’s designing remote control vehicles as well.
Myles was recently chosen as “one of the nation’s ten biggest thinkers for big business in the 21st century” by Newsweek, who says that Myles is “gunning to make DUB the next Playboy, a launchpad for lifestyle.” He has been able to partner with entertainers, as well as large mainstream corporations. DUB was one of the few companies to ever be branded on Pepsi products. He also does speaking engagements, and says his goal is to “educate those in need of the kind of information that will point them in the right direction in business and in life.”
Myles lives with his wife Cynthia, and their two children. He is very active with his community, and works with several charities. Cynthia will be participating in this challenge with Myles.
I have to say that when I first started reading about Myles, I was guilty of a few eye rolls. But the more I read, the more it seems that he’s a very genuine, caring individual. I think it will be easier for him to deal with being tossed into a bad neighborhood, considering where he grew up. I have to wonder how he’s going to masquerade as a poor guy in Watts and not get recognized by anyone along the way.
Our first look at Myles is as he’s driving a black convertible Lamborghini. Then we see his house, which is of course huge. He talks about all of his cars, and says “I wanted the Batcar, I couldn’t have that, but I was able to get the Lamborghini Murcielago.” Myles says to have that is a symbol of achievement, especially since he came from practically nothing. He tells us that he grew up nearly broke in East LA. He says he had to hustle as a kid, and now he’s been able to “legitimize that hustle.” We see him at work, both at the magazine and at the shop.
Myles says that he’s a strong man, but behind every strong man, there is an even stronger woman. Cue the wife, driving in a white convertible BMW. Cynthia says it’s fun having money, because they both had nothing when they met. She talks about their 7,000 s.f., seven bedroom, eight bathroom house. They have a little white dog that they dress up in little pink sweatsuits. Myles and Cynthia have two children, a son named AJ, age 10, and a daughter named Mikalah, age 9.
On the first day of the challenge, Myles and Cynthia change out of their Chanel and Rolex, and put on jeans and sweatshirts. Myles says “I’m used to sleeping on 600 thread count sheets and wearing designer underwear, I don’t know if I’m ready to go out there and wear regular underwear, it might give me a rash!” They take their $110 allowance for the week, say goodbye to their kids, and climb into a taxi.
In the taxi, Myles and Cynthia find out that they are heading to Kalmia Street in the Watts neighborhood of South Los Angeles. Myles says he only knows one thing about Watts, that it’s where they had the riots. We’re told that nearly 50% of Watts residents live below the poverty line. Not surprisingly, gangs, murders and drugs are rampant.
We’re told that Myles and Cynthia will claim that they are part of a documentary about living in Watts. I still think that people would think it was suspicious to have a documentary crew appear out of nowhere, and have two people that are completely unknown be the focus of the filming.
As they drive through the neighborhood, the obvious poverty seems to surprise Myles more than Cynthia. He sits in the cab with his mouth open, staring at the homeless, graffiti and garbage. They turn onto their street, and see several police cars and several men being arrested in front of an apartment building.
The cab pulls up to a small, but reasonably cute house. Luckily, the police activity seems to have been down the street several blocks, and things are quiet here. They walk up to the front door and stare at the recliner that is sitting on the front lawn. Cynthia looks at the neighbor’s house, and seems horrified to see that there is a refrigerator sitting outside. Myles points out the bars on the windows. As he puts the key in the door, he says that there are pry marks on the door. Cynthia asks “what are pry marks,” and he explains that someone tried to force the door open.
Inside the house, Cynthia says “oh my God, look at the curtains!” The house really doesn’t look all that terrible. They say it smells, which I don’t doubt, and I’m sure it’s dirty, but it doesn’t look uninhabitable. Myles says that the heater doesn’t work, and they both immediately start sneezing.
Myles and Cynthia head out on foot to find some groceries. They find a small grocery store, where Cynthia says “we need Perrier and Monsters (energy drinks).” Myles reminds her that they don’t have enough money for that. He suggests ramen cups, which Cynthia doesn’t like the sound of at all. Myles also tells her that they can’t afford the Ruffles that she wants. They spend $37, and Cynthia looks less than happy with their jugs of water and ramen.
As they walk back to their house, Cynthia takes in the sights and sounds, and says it’s a little nervewracking. They go into their house, and make sure to close and lock their front gate, doors and windows. As they go to bed, Cynthia tells Myles that he’s going to be the one to sleep closer to the door.
The next morning.....
Jenny lives in the Silicon Valley with her husband, daughter and five furry kids. In addition to all things reality tv, she loves Nip/Tuck, Big Love and the Food Network. She’s addicted to her laptop, so if you’d like to feed her addiction, you can e-mail her at Jenny@RealityTVCalendar.com.
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