Eric Nies
Encyclopedia
Eric Nies is a former male fashion model
and reality television
personality. He first gained fame as a cast member on MTV
's The Real World: New York
, before going on to appear that show's spinoffs and other reality shows, such as The Grind
and Confessions of a Teen Idol
.
and Anna May, a pre-school teacher, and grew up in Ocean Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey
. He and his older brother John Nies
posed nude
in Bear Pond
(Little, Brown and Company
, 1990), an "infamous book" of photography by Bruce Weber
. Their cousin, Kenneth John Nies (who "usually goes by KJ") is also a model and fitness professional.
's reality television program, The Real World
. Nies was working as a model during the show's filming, and was sometimes shown on photo shoots. He was known for his impressive physique, often appearing shirtless in episodes of the show. After his exposure on The Real World, he went on to host the MTV series The Grind
, which featured a studio audience dancing to popular dance tracks. He has also hosted and participated in a number of MTV
's Real World/Road Rules Challenge
s.
Nies also appeared on a number of dance workout videos and fitness product promotions. As each workout video progressed, while the other participants remained fully clothed, Nies invariably removed layers of clothing until bare chested. He also promoted the videos on daytime television
shows such as The View and Donny and Marie
, similarly attired. He also regularly presented The Grind dance show with no shirt, prompting on one occasion guest Queen Latifah
to ask him: "How much do they pay you to show your nipples?"
In 2000 Nies developed an exercise product with his brother John called the 'Abaratus'. It was a long elastic band which when attached to a wall or door enabled the user to do abdominal exercises. However by his own admission it did not sell well, and quickly disappeared from the market after a failed series of infomercial
s.
In 2002, Eric Nies joined longtime friend Doug Hertling to develop an entertainment guide called Glide Magazine, which was quickly purchased by Viacom
and rebranded as MTV Magazine.
He appeared on VH1
's 2008 reality TV series, Confessions of a Teen Idol
, in which former teen idols attempt to revitalize their entertainment careers.
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
and reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
personality. He first gained fame as a cast member on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's The Real World: New York
The Real World: New York
The Real World is the first season of MTV's reality television series The Real World, which focuses on a group of diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras follow their lives and interpersonal...
, before going on to appear that show's spinoffs and other reality shows, such as The Grind
The Grind (TV series)
The Grind was a Dance music show broadcast on the cable television station MTV between 1992 and 1997.It replaced Club MTV, and featured people dancing to music tracks in a studio, linked by various hosts, including Eric Nies and DJ Jackie Christie. While Club MTV was mostly Dance, House and...
and Confessions of a Teen Idol
Confessions of a Teen Idol
Confessions of a Teen Idol is an American reality series that began airing on VH1 on January 4, 2009 and concluded on February 22, 2009. It ran for eight episodes. The series was hosted and produced by former teen idols Scott Baio and Jason Hervey...
.
Family
Nies is the son of former NBA official Jack NiesJack Nies
Jack Nies is a retired National Basketball Association referee. Wearing #35 throughout his 31-year career, only Dick Bavetta and Joey Crawford have had more years of NBA officiating experience than Nies. Nies officiated 2046 regular-season games throughout his career, making him the sixth referee...
and Anna May, a pre-school teacher, and grew up in Ocean Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey
Ocean Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey
Ocean Township is a township located in east central Monmouth County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 27,291.Oakhurst and Wanamassa Ocean Township is a township located in east central Monmouth County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
. He and his older brother John Nies
John Nies
John Nies was a 6th round pick in the 1990 NFL Draft out of University of Arizona to the Buffalo Bills where he played for one year as a punter...
posed nude
Nude photography
Nude photography is a style of art photography which depicts the nude human body as a study. Nude photography should be distinguished from glamour photography, which places more emphasis on the model and her/his sexuality, and treats the model as the primary subject. Nude photography should also be...
in Bear Pond
Bear Pond
Bear Pond, published by Little, Brown and Company in 1990,, is an "infamous book" of nude photography by Bruce Weber and poetry by Reynolds Price. Among the models featured are Buffalo Bills punter John Nies and his younger brother Eric Nies who later gained fame as a cast member on MTV's The...
(Little, Brown and Company
Little, Brown and Company
Little, Brown and Company is a publishing house established by Charles Coffin Little and his partner, James Brown. Since 2006 it has been a constituent unit of Hachette Book Group USA.-19th century:...
, 1990), an "infamous book" of photography by Bruce Weber
Bruce Weber (photographer)
Bruce Weber is an American fashion photographer and occasional filmmaker. He is most widely known for his ad campaigns for Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Pirelli, Abercrombie & Fitch, Revlon, and Gianni Versace, as well as his work for Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Elle, Life, Interview, and Rolling Stone...
. Their cousin, Kenneth John Nies (who "usually goes by KJ") is also a model and fitness professional.
Career
Nies first gained fame as a cast member on the first season of MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's reality television program, The Real World
The Real World
The Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the...
. Nies was working as a model during the show's filming, and was sometimes shown on photo shoots. He was known for his impressive physique, often appearing shirtless in episodes of the show. After his exposure on The Real World, he went on to host the MTV series The Grind
The Grind (TV series)
The Grind was a Dance music show broadcast on the cable television station MTV between 1992 and 1997.It replaced Club MTV, and featured people dancing to music tracks in a studio, linked by various hosts, including Eric Nies and DJ Jackie Christie. While Club MTV was mostly Dance, House and...
, which featured a studio audience dancing to popular dance tracks. He has also hosted and participated in a number of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Real World/Road Rules Challenge
Real World/Road Rules Challenge
The Challenge is a reality television game show on MTV that is both dependent on and spun off from the network's two flagship reality shows, The Real World and the now cancelled series, Road Rules. It is currently hosted by T.J...
s.
Nies also appeared on a number of dance workout videos and fitness product promotions. As each workout video progressed, while the other participants remained fully clothed, Nies invariably removed layers of clothing until bare chested. He also promoted the videos on daytime television
Daytime television
Daytime television is the general term for television shows produced that are intended to air during the daytime hours on weekdays. This article is about American daytime television, for information about international daytime television see Daytime television....
shows such as The View and Donny and Marie
Donny Osmond
Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond is an American singer, musician, actor, dancer, radio personality, and former teen idol. Osmond has also been a talk and game show host, record producer and author. In the mid 1960s, he and four of his elder brothers gained fame as the Osmond Brothers on the long...
, similarly attired. He also regularly presented The Grind dance show with no shirt, prompting on one occasion guest Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Her work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy...
to ask him: "How much do they pay you to show your nipples?"
In 2000 Nies developed an exercise product with his brother John called the 'Abaratus'. It was a long elastic band which when attached to a wall or door enabled the user to do abdominal exercises. However by his own admission it did not sell well, and quickly disappeared from the market after a failed series of infomercial
Infomercial
Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...
s.
In 2002, Eric Nies joined longtime friend Doug Hertling to develop an entertainment guide called Glide Magazine, which was quickly purchased by Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
and rebranded as MTV Magazine.
He appeared on VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's 2008 reality TV series, Confessions of a Teen Idol
Confessions of a Teen Idol
Confessions of a Teen Idol is an American reality series that began airing on VH1 on January 4, 2009 and concluded on February 22, 2009. It ran for eight episodes. The series was hosted and produced by former teen idols Scott Baio and Jason Hervey...
, in which former teen idols attempt to revitalize their entertainment careers.
Appearances
- The Real World: New YorkThe Real World: New YorkThe Real World is the first season of MTV's reality television series The Real World, which focuses on a group of diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras follow their lives and interpersonal...
(1992) - The Grind (1992) Host
- Hangin' w/MTV (1992) Host
- Days of our LivesDays of our LivesDays of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
(1993) Disc Jockey - Above the RimAbove the RimAbove the Rim is a 1994 drama directed by Jeff Pollack. The screenplay was written by Pollack and journalist-turned-screenwriter Barry Michael Cooper , from a story by Pollack and Benny Medina....
(1994) Montrose - The Brady Bunch MovieThe Brady Bunch MovieThe Brady Bunch Movie is a 1995 American comedy film based on the 1969–1974 television series The Brady Bunch.The film features all the original regular characters, all played by new actors...
(1995) Hip MC - The Real World Reunion (1995)
- The Real World Vacations: Behind the Scenes (1995)
- The Real World Reunion: Inside Out (1996)
- The Real World You Never Saw (1997)
- Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Road Rules: All-Stars (1998)
- The Real World You Never Saw: Boston + Seattle (1998)
- The Real World: Tenth Anniversary Special (2000) Host
- Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Seasons (2002) Co-Host
- Dance FeverDance Fever (2003 TV series)Dance Fever is an American variety game show hosted by Eric Nies. The three celebrity judges were Carmen Electra, Jamie King, and MC Hammer. The two-hour series premiere aired on ABC Family on July 13, 2003....
(2003) - The Road to Reality (2003)
- Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Sexes (2003)
- RopeSport: Extreme Workout (2003) Host
- RopeSport: Advanced Workout (2003) Host
- RopeSport: Intermediate Workout (2003) Host
- RopeSport: Basic Workout (2003) Host
- Real Hot (2004)
- I Love the '90sI Love the '90sI Love the '90s is a television mini-series produced by VH1 in which various music and TV personalities talk about the 1990s culture and all it had to offer. The show premiered July 12, 2004 with the episode "I Love 1990" and aired two episodes daily until July 16, 2004, when it ended with "I Love...
(2004) - Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Sexes 2 (2004)
- Celebrity Paranormal ProjectCelebrity Paranormal ProjectCelebrity Paranormal Project is a paranormal reality television series that originally aired from October 22, 2006 to November 1, 2007 on VH1. The show is currently on hiatus, so it is unknown if VH1 will re-air the show and begin with a second season...
- Episode: Wooden Lucy (2006) - Confessions of a Teen IdolConfessions of a Teen IdolConfessions of a Teen Idol is an American reality series that began airing on VH1 on January 4, 2009 and concluded on February 22, 2009. It ran for eight episodes. The series was hosted and produced by former teen idols Scott Baio and Jason Hervey...
(2009)