Sydney, Australia; Monday 5 May, 2014: On Friday night, MTV Australia and New Zealand crowned their newest VJ, Kristian “Krit” Schmidt in front of the masses at a VIP party in Auckland. Krit beat out hundreds of hopefuls to take the title of MTV VJ, after competing in two days of challenges against the chosen Top Ten finalists.Krit has been inundated with well wishes and support after his cousin, The Rock, congratulated him on Twitter. “I’ve been on a nonstop high since Friday and everyone has been sending me love. As for my phone and social media – it’s been out of control!” said University of Auckland lecturer, Krit.
The Rock said of his cousin’s win, “Proud of my cuz @KRiT84! MTV is gettin’ a great host. Helluva sense of humor, hard worker & drinks from a pimp cup.”
Krit will be relocated to Sydney and join Aussie VJ, Kate Peck, as the face of the channel and take part in all aspects of being an MTV VJ. From interviewing local and international celebrities, attending red carpet events and blogging across the MTV platforms, Krit will do it all and feature on MTV, MTV Hits and MTV Classic on SKY NZ as well as MTV, MTV Music and MTV Dance in Australia.
Narrowing down the Top Ten to a final five was no mean feat with Simon Bates, Director, MTV Australia and New Zealand saying, “MTV is dedicated to finding and nurturing the best new talent across the world and has helped launch the careers of Ruby Rose, Darren McMullen, Jason Dundas and Russell Brand, to name a few. New Zealand produced talent of a world class standard and it was incredibly hard narrowing the hundreds of entrants down to a Top Ten, let alone choosing a winner. In the end, Krit’s personality and ease in front of the camera made him stand out from the crowd and we genuinely feel he has what it takes to go all the way.”
Hundreds of hopefuls were narrowed down to a Top Ten who partook in two days of MTV challenges before the winner was crowned. Finalist challenges included MTV Trivia and shot roulette, reading MTV News, interviewing New Zealand DJ and Producer, P-Money, partaking in press interviews and working out with boxing up-and-comer, David Nyika at the SKY Arena Boxing Alley.
WATCH KRIT IN ACTION HERE
