Photograph by Dan Monick

Rob and Big

The multitude of field producers and video cameras that it takes to shoot a reality show finally vacates Rob and Big's darkened three-story Hollywood Hills crib, giving Rob Dyrdek, the 33-year-old pro skater/entrepreneur, and Chris "Big Black" Boykin, his 35-year-old best friend/bodyguard, a chance to reflect on the true nature of their friendship and the January premiere of the third season of their MTV buddy show, Rob & Big.
Serena Kim

You two are close enough to shave each other's backs and appear in thong underwear. Do you ever wonder if viewers suspect a different kind of relationship?
Big Black: Personally, I'll let them think what they wanna think. If they really wanna see us in our full natural habitat, they gotta come to some parties and check us out. We're batting from the right side of the plate; there's no left field going on.

Rob Dyrdek: We're such normal dudes that it's like funny to us, the ambiguity that's inside the show. It's just the audacity that two guys that are as straight as you could possibly be, getting into some fishy situations.

BB: I was in the navy, so I was naked around 30, 40 guys in my berth. I've come to be very comfortable in my sexuality.

RD: You're an exhibitionist. I'm not in a thong!

BB: I'm the thong guy. And that just comes from playing football and being in locker rooms. Being in a jockstrap was nothing to me. Being in a thong is nothing. I'll put a thong on right now and do the interview.

RD: Let's not get crazy. You know how we feel about the thong around the house after hours.

Do you guys ever argue?
BB: He might get angry because I take a dump with the door open.

RD: Believe it or not, this relationship that we have is very pure. Especially at this stage and what it's become. We both respect it and how special something like this really is.

With MTV's new Life of Ryan show, do you see skateboarding reality shows as the next wave?
RD: They just sort of come from time to time. Jackass was skate based, which led to Wildboyz and Viva La Bam. We take more of a comic approach, and Ryan's is more like The Hills with skateboarding attached. A skateboarder is the ultimate rock star, because it's a mix of being a rock star and an athlete. The stars of our sport have big personalities. They're characters.

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