University of Northern Iowa Today


Current Issue	UNIToday Archives	Submit Class Notes	Alumni Home

Success is Red-Hot for PINKS Creator

By CJ HINES

For 15 years, Rich Christensen pitched TV shows to television networks. In one year, he heard the word ‘no’ 70 times.

“I told them, ‘you better take a chance on me.’ The one network that gave me a chance; look where I am. I have the No. 1 show,” the New Hampton native said.

That No-1-rated show is “PINKS®”, which airs Wednesdays on the Speed Channel. The show pits two contestants in a drag-racing style format in the best three-out-of-five races. The stakes? Not mounds of money, a tropical vacation or that dream home, but the title to the other’s car; the pink slip.

Part of the show’s excitement stems from the sometimes contentious negotiations to account for the cars’ varying horsepower, such as giving one car several car-lengths head start.

The show’s slogan is “Lose The Race. Lose Your Ride.” To ensure racers don’t back out, they assign their pink slips to Christensen before the race begins.

While you may think no one is crazy enough to risk losing a car, interest to get on the show has been tremendous. Initially, Christensen put up a $50 Web site and got 11,000 responses, including people who built cars specifically to race on the show.

The first season, part of which was filmed at the Cedar Falls Raceway, attracted 600,000 viewers per show. Just finishing its second season, Christensen estimates that number exceeding 1 million. Hot Rod magazine recently rated “PINKS” as the hottest car show on television.

So, how did someone who admits he can “barely open the hood of a car” create such a success? Years ago Christensen worked on a documentary about Dale Earnhardt and other NASCAR drivers. Being a self-proclaimed TV junkie, Christensen knew how successful reality TV shows were and he remembered all the times he drove past the Cedar Falls Raceway on his way to UNI. That sparked an idea: two drag racers who compete for the loser’s car.

Pinks Photo

Filming for a spin-off show, “PINKS: Ultimate Racer,” begins in August, with a tentative airdate of late September. The spin-off’s focus deviates from that of the original; racers come to the line, race whatever they have. There is no negotiation involved. “After that, it is run what you brung,” said Jerome.

"The first time I was on a track was the first episode. I created the show, it came out of my head, I host it, I produce it. It works to my benefit that I don’t know anything about cars, so I don't have any prejudice. I forget about the camera and just make the show happen.”

But success was a long time coming. After graduating from UNI in 1986, Christensen headed to New York.

“I interned at the soap ‘Another World.’ I worked there for a while and came back to Iowa, took $400 and went to LA. I built a gym and was a trainer, but I kept trying to break into TV,” said the 1986 graduate. “I just believed – I just knew that I could make it. I had people literally laugh at me and say,' You’re never going to sell a TV show.' But my agent and my wife and buddies all said, 'It's just a matter of time.' The whole time I had tunnel vision that someone is going to buy my shows. This network gives me a shot—$5,000 and three cameras—the format was so compelling and my vision was so clear. I just knew.”

One of those buddies is Gavin Jerome (’93), a college friend who works with Christensen on the show. Jerome (UNI classmates may remember him as Gavin Boultinghouse) is the show announcer, track liaison and official.

“It’s great having Gavin here. He’s a 12 on a 10-point scale; he’s the best,” Christensen said. “We hadn’t connected in eight or nine years and I got this show and found him and then we hung out and boom, it was like we were back in college, which is probably not a good thing.”

When Jerome isn’t filming “PINKS,” he lives in Ankeny, where he runs his business, The Morale Mechanic, which provides motivational seminars and tools for business. “I examined the market and realized the one thing that almost every corporate climate needed was a morale boost from time to time. I’ve always had an interest in cars so the Morale Mechanic was born.”

“PINKS” doesn’t take much time away from Jerome’s business, and he always travels with his laptop to stay connected. “We film a couple of days a month and so far I haven’t had any dates overlap. I hope that problem doesn’t arise because I have the best job on television—a ringside seat to the three-ring circus that is ‘PINKS.’”

Also on the show is Christensen’s cousin, Kail, originally from Cresco, who is the finish-line judge.

To equalize the race, competitors negotiate before the race. Christensen moderates the discussion, such as giving the slower car a five-car length head start. Unlike other shows, there are no retakes. “I refuse to do that when I came up with the concept. It’s my show and I want to be honesty with my audience. No retakes, no fake anything, 100 percent real,” Christensen said.

Spending 15 years in Los Angeles hasn’t tainted Christensen’s view of reality. “I’ve had all my failures up front. Thank God I've had some exposure to it. I've seen how kids go to LA and have some success and when it ends, they fall apart. When it's over, I'll move on to sell something else,” he said. “If I had this success when I was 22—the celebrity thing is a joke. I know now how unreal it is.”

In fact, he and his wife, Gayle, chose to move back to New Hampton “the second” he signed the contract.

“I choose to live anywhere in the world and I chose New Hampton. It is the most amazing town. I’m a very private person; in my home, I’m cocoon man. I run into people and it’s ‘Hey, how’s the weather, can you believe that wind last night?’ They’ve all seen the show but they respect my space. They totally honor me but don’t treat me any different,” said Christensen, whose parents and brother, Larry, live in New Hampton. Another brother, Kent, owns Club 4th and Main in Cedar Falls.

“People are really fans of the show but you’d never know it. If I ask them about the show, they’ll talk about it, but that just shows character. Iowa is the best state in the union. And UNI is a great school. I’m a huge Panther fan and supporter of the school. I told people in LA, ‘if you want to go to a great school, go to Northern Iowa.’ I had a really good experience (there).”

Christensen isn’t worried about what happens after “PINKS.” Although he and Jerome are working on a pilot for a game show he feels as if he’s already met his ‘Everest challenge.’

“If the show ended tomorrow, I will land on my feet.”

Filming for “PINKS” third season, which debuts July 12, is underway.