Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

YOUTH SPOTLIGHT: Las Vegas Valley teen toughs it out on `Endurance: Hawaii'

Student's video earns him a spot on the show that features physical and mental challenges

Demian Martinez competed in "Endurance: Hawaii" on NBC.

Demian Martinez has what it takes to grab a spot on the third season of "Endurance," one of several shows that make up the Discovery Kids block Saturdays on KVBC-TV, Channel 3.

The question is: Is it the right stuff to grab the grand prize trip to the Galapagos Islands?

"You'll just have to watch (the show) and see," he said of the program that airs at 9:30 a.m.

Demian, 15, is one of 20 finalists who spent a month this summer soaking up the sun -- and rain -- on the island of Kauai on "Endurance: Hawaii."

Demian, a junior at Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Art, decided to compete for a spot on the show after he saw a commercial inviting kids to enter a video for the cast of the third season.

"I just made a tape of myself working out and rapping," Demian said. "And just being crazy."

Entrants were cut to 40 semifinalists, then to the 20 finalists who made the trip to Hawaii. Demian said it rained most of the time, making the challenges even more difficult.

In the first episode, Demian said there is a physical challenge in which participants had to bear hug a metal pole to see who can hang on the longest. The first three boys and the first three girls to fall are eliminated.

But Demian doesn't consider hanging on a pole much of a challenge.

"I started shaking the poles to try to get the other people to fall," Demian said with a laugh. "But I don't think it worked."

After the first elimination, the remaining challengers are broken into teams of two, consisting of a boy and a girl. The object of the game is to collect all 12 pieces of a puzzle. The first team to do so wins the 10-day trip to the Galapagos Islands with one family member of their choice.

"The pieces of the puzzle represent the different types of challenges," Demian said. "There are strength, luck, trust, (knowledge) ... there are more, I just can't think of them right now."

Demian said there are mental as well as physical challenges, but he declined to elaborate, because he doesn't want to give anything away.

As for his future plans, Demian said he is thinking about going to a school where he can hone his skills as an actor.

"I'm not so sure about college. I'm interested in acting and in film," he said. "Right now, I'm part of the theater department (at Las Vegas Academy)."

In other youth news:

• Nick Reynolds, a senior at Palo Verde High School, organized and completed a graffiti cleanup project for the National Honor Society off U.S. 95. More than 35 volunteers assisted in the project.

• Robert Hersh, a senior at Palo Verde High School, has been selected to write a column for Summerlin Magazine that will highlight events at the school.

If you know of a worthy candidate for the Youth Spotlight column, mail information to: Monique Frigard, Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125-0070. Send faxes to 383-4676.