One former HGTV star had a secret reality show past before the home renovation network came knocking. Clint Robertson, known for his series “Boise Boys” with best friend Luke Caldwell, was a runner-up on season 10 of “The Apprentice.”
Despite losing to Brandy Kuentzel in 2010, Robertson went on to have a successful career in television.
From Apprentice
During a recent YouTube interview with Paul Mikel and Rob Nelson for their podcast, “Post Worthy,” Robertson explained how he got his foot in the door with reality TV.
“Well, you know, 2008 rolled around and took a put a big divot in real estate. I was fortunate that I had an little blood pressure issue that turned out to be a magnesium deficiency, but God used that to get me to basically sell everything I had in real estate,” he said. “And as an attorney CPA, you know, I used that for my real estate, personal real estate transactions. But then it was over. After we sold everything and the market crashed, we were kind of saved from all that crash. But we were able to go up to northern Idaho with the boys and kind of sabbatical up there and weather the storm if you will.”
He went on to share that while living in Idaho, he fell in love with the concept of the “business competition show.”
“I always thought I bet I could do pretty good on that. So I just sent in an application and didn’t hear anything back. So I thought I’m going to go stand in line at one of these in-person applications,” he continued, adding that he drove down to Las Vegas to apply. “One thing led to the next, and next thing you know I’m flying out to New York to do the show.”
According to Robertson, “tons of opportunities rolled in up front.”
To HGTV
Following his time on “The Apprentice,” Robertson said, “The good thing is from ‘The Apprentice’ that kind of opened some doors, [because of] some familiarity.”
He explained that when his son started college at Boise State University, he decided to buy a condo in the area. Roberton quickly realized that Southern Idaho was a “Goldilock Zone” for real estate.
“You can buy real estate, renovate it, and sell it, and make a lot of money. So, I started doing that,” he explained, adding that he “ran into” Caldwell and the pair began flipping houses. “So he was working from one end. He’s real good designer and I was working from the practical, you know, the numbers, construction. So, we just tagged up on one house.”
Production companies began flooding their inboxes with proposals for television shows.
“And then the next thing,you know, we’ve got years and years of episodes,” he added. “We just got on and started being ourselves and doing what we do, joking around, having a good time, and making money for our families so we could support our families.”
In addition to their hit show, “Boise Boys,” the duo went on to star in other shows like “Outgrown.” They ultimately walked away from the network to create their own production company.
“Lo and behold, by the time the dust settled, we had amassed a big following. And so that’s why we decided to move on, create our own production company, and we’re knocking out shows as fast as we can right now,” he explained. “We’re fortunate to have just received an offer from a global distributor to distribute our show internationally all over the world.”
