MALIBU – Clementine saw the fence and climbed over.
Never mind that the fence ran along a section of the Malibu pier and stood some 20 feet above the water below.
She is one of three Rad Girls, who, along with Ramona Cash and Munchie, are unafraid of trying new stunts and pranks. They are all college graduates, and they force people to reevaluate their expectations of what is and isn’t acceptable.
In the middle of August, all three met a reporter and photographer at the Malibu Inn, a popular restaurant, and challenged the mentality that when men do gross stunts it’s acceptable, even humorous, but when girls do it it’s looked at negatively.
Recently they moved from their homes in Santa Cruz, Calif., and moved to Los Angeles. They used to be on the cable channel Fuse, but the network is switching to more music programming, and the trio was left in limbo.
Dedicated fans have created a petition to bring them back and so far have collected more than 4,000 signatures, but with their future hazy, the Rad Girls are continuing to film and publicize their show through appearances, interviews and their budding Web site, http://radgirls.tv.
The women, who all have bachelor’s degrees, and in Romana Cash’s case a master’s degree, say they are going against society’s expectations of how they should or shouldn’t act.
“To me, if someone really has a very strong negative attitude about what we’re doing it’s either because it intimidates the shit out of them or a lot of those people probably deep down want a little bit of that side to come out and they’re just too afraid to show it,” Munchie said.
For years, Cash had joked about making a female version of “Jackass,” the popular MTV show that had guys doing dangerous and self-injuring stunts and pranks. But it remained an idea until Cash visited a friend, Liz Bull, in New York in June 2005 and after a few too many drinks tossed around the idea. A good friend of Bull’s, Jason Martinez, who worked on MTV’s “Viva La Bam,” was also in town and loved the idea.
Cash already knew Munchie from working together as waitresses at the Santa Cruz club Catalyst and Munchie knew Clementine through romantic relationships with members of the band The Expendables. But all four, including Martinez, the so-called fourth Rad Girl, all came together for the first time at Munchie’s 25th birthday party.
But before they could start filming, Cash broke the femur in her right leg skateboarding at Scott’s Valley skate park outside Santa Cruz. She was hospitalized for five days and friends who had been interested in being on the show backed out, worried about her health.
“I had this weird feeling because (Cash) didn’t call and I was like ‘something must have happened to her,’” said Clementine, who originally had weekend plans to go surfing with Cash.
Cash was determined to go ahead with the show. Munchie and Clementine were also interested and joined in. But what started with an initial stunt of pouring Tabasco sauce in Clementine’s eyes took from August 2006 until March to begin filming with Fuse.
The three maintained their regular jobs until they started. Clementine worked with autistic kids as a behavioral technician, Cash taught third graders and Munchie worked at a bar.
“This is really weird because I’m a role model for children being like, ‘that is not appropriate behavior inside a classroom,’” Cash said. “I’m coming up with these ideas to do and I don’t want to say deceitful, but just juggle having a secret night occupation.”
When they started filming, the group left their old jobs and moved temporarily to West Hollywood and filmed all over Los Angeles. They had 12-plus hour days as they had to make 10 episodes in five weeks.
The Rad Girls, who collaborated on ideas with two writers, left little unexplored. They visited a senior living center and made out with a 69-year-old and an 80-year-old. Cash walked in and out of stores and restaurants pretending to be a mermaid.
In one stunt, the trio took a collection of their pubic hair (and, unbeknownst to them, the camera crews was also included) and put it into a burrito. After mixing it with two other burritos, each woman took one.
Clementine broke hers in half and found the pubic hairs, but she ruined the suspense and they redid the stunt with Munchie eating the pubic hair burrito.
“I had a stomach of steel,” Munchie said. “The same thing with the camel penis and the bull balls. On camera, I can’t fucking puke. But then in real life, I’m the puker of the group.”
The most extreme stunt started as a contest to see who could pee the most in a bucket inside a moving van, but it turned into a urinating, vomiting and defecating contest.
“It totally started out like a pure hardcore competition of, like, who’s going to have the best aim,” Cash said. “We’re girls. It’s not like we’re boys and we can just take a piss in a beer bottle. This is hard.”
But with no ventilation, and with Munchie, who gets car sick, already queasy from a Mocha and a large power drink, the puking began. Munchie started and Cash followed. Clementine pushed too hard and the contest got “real raw.”
“I wasn’t going to take a shit. Then Ramona was like ‘do it,’” Clementine said.