Christopher "Big Black" Boykin (January 13, 1972 – May 9, 2017) was an American television personality and musician best known for his role on the
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
reality television series
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
''
Rob & Big
''Rob & Big'' is an American reality television series following the lives of professional skateboarder, actor, and producer Rob Dyrdek and his best friend and bodyguard Christopher "Big Black" Boykin. It premiered on November 4, 2006, and conc ...
'', in which he co-starred with professional
skateboarder
Skateboarding is an action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. S ...
Rob Dyrdek
Robert Stanley Dyrdek (born June 28, 1974) is an American entrepreneur, actor, producer, reality TV personality, and former professional skateboarder. He is best known for his roles in the MTV reality and variety shows ''Rob & Big'', ''Rob Dyrd ...
from 2006 to 2008.
Early life
Boykin was born on January 13, 1972, in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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and grew up in
Raleigh, Mississippi
Raleigh is a town in, and the county seat of, Smith County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,462 at the 2010 census, making it the largest town in Smith County. Named for English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, Raleigh has been home t ...
.
He graduated from
Stone High School in
Wiggins, Mississippi
Wiggins is a city in and the county seat of Stone County, Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Me ...
in 1990, and served in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
.
Television career
In a skit for
DC Shoes
DC Shoes is an American company that specializes in footwear for action sports, including skateboarding and snowboarding. The company also manufactures apparel, bags, accessories, hats, tshirts, and posters.
History
The company was founded in J ...
, professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek hired Boykin to be his bodyguard and to protect him from security guards. From November 2006 to April 2008, he and Dyrdek starred in the
reality television series
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
''
Rob & Big
''Rob & Big'' is an American reality television series following the lives of professional skateboarder, actor, and producer Rob Dyrdek and his best friend and bodyguard Christopher "Big Black" Boykin. It premiered on November 4, 2006, and conc ...
'' on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
.
In a 2006 episode of ''Rob & Big'', Dyrdek and Boykin visit the studios of game developer
EA Black Box
EA Black Box (formerly Black Box Games) was a video game developer based in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, founded in 1998 by former employees of Radical Entertainment and later acquired by Electronic Arts (EA). The developers are primarily ...
in Vancouver to do
motion capture
Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...
for a
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
in which they were to become characters. The game, ''
Skate
Skate or Skates may refer to: Fish
*Skate (fish), several genera of fish belonging to the family Rajidae
* Pygmy skates, several genera of fish belonging to the family Gurgesiellidae
* Smooth skates or leg skates, several genera of fish belongin ...
'', was published in 2007. Boykin and Dyrdek also appeared in the 2009 sequel, ''
Skate 2
''Skate 2'' is a skateboarding video game developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released worldwide in January 2009 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 after the spin-off title ''Skate It''. It is the sequel to 2007's ...
''. In 2007, Boykin launched a clothing brand, Big Black, to market T-shirts and hats that bore his catchphrase, "Let's Do Work".
In the show's 2008 season, Boykin set two
Guinness world records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
: one for peeling and eating three bananas in one minute, and another for eating five powdered doughnuts in two minutes, 45 seconds. Boykin left ''Rob & Big'' after the third season, since he was starting a family. MTV premiered ''
Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory
''Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory'' is an American reality television series that aired on MTV from February 8, 2009, to March 5, 2015.
On September 17, 2013, it was announced that ''Fantasy Factory'' was renewed for a sixth season, which premiere ...
'' in February 2009, less than a year after the final episode of ''Rob & Big''. Boykin joined the cast in 2011, and remained until the show's final episode in 2015. He also appeared on three episodes of Dyrdek's show ''
Ridiculousness'', which premiered in 2011. Guest appearances on the MTV series ''
Guy Code
''Guy Code'' is an American reality comedy television series on MTV2. The series debuted on November 15, 2011, and features various pop culture entertainers, top comics, athletes, and specialized experts who tell the story of the special code of ...
'' and ''Snack Off'' (2014) are among his other TV appearances.
Final years
Boykin married Shannon Turley in 2008; although the couple divorced in 2009, they were living together shortly before Boykin's death, due to his worsening health. Their daughter, Isis, was nine years old when Boykin died in May 2017.
Boykin had a
defibrillator implant for his heart. In early May 2017, he was hospitalized in
Plano, Texas
Plano ( ) is a city in Collin County, Texas, Collin County and Denton County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 285,494 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.
Hist ...
, and was placed on a heart monitor.
On May 9, his heart stopped; staff spent 30 minutes trying to revive him. He was pronounced dead at 4:00 p.m.
CDT. Although initial reports did not mention an official cause,
Boykin's heart failure was the result of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boykin, Christopher
1972 births
2017 deaths
People from Raleigh, Mississippi
United States Navy sailors
Participants in American reality television series
African-American television personalities
Place of death missing
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people
African-American United States Navy personnel