If you go back and watch the very first episode of Summer House, the guy you see on screen is almost unrecognizable compared to the sober, soft-spoken man we see today. Honestly, it’s jarring. Back in 2017, Carl Radke season 1 was the quintessential "tall, blonde, and handsome" villain-turned-heartthrob of Montauk. He was the guy who walked into the house with a "work hard, play harder" mantra that felt like a relic of a different era.
He was 31. He was selling dental supplies. He was also, by his own recent admission in his memoir Cake Eater, struggling way more than the cameras ever showed.
The Dental Salesman and the "More is More" Lifestyle
In the early days, Carl’s identity was tied to his hustle. You’ve probably forgotten, but he used to brag about being a top-tier dental salesman. He’d talk about "crushing it" in the city and then heading out to the Hamptons to blow off steam. It felt very Wolf of Wall Street lite.
But there was a weird tension there. Fans often pointed out the irony of a dental salesman having noticeably discolored teeth at the time—something Carl eventually fixed with veneers years later, citing childhood trauma and dental issues.
Looking back, the "play hard" part of his life wasn't just about rosé and pool parties. Carl has since been incredibly open about the fact that during Carl Radke season 1, he was abusing alcohol, cocaine, and Adderall.
He recently revealed that he used to hide in the bathroom during filming, splashing cold water on his face and giving himself frantic pep talks just to get through a scene. You don't see that on the show. On the show, you just see a guy who can’t seem to commit to a girl and keeps "sending it" with Kyle Cooke.
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That Messy Fling With Lauren Wirkus
The central drama of the first season wasn't the house shares or the chores—it was the "will-they-won't-they" (and then "they definitely shouldn't have") relationship between Carl and Lauren Wirkus.
It was a classic reality TV disaster.
- They hooked up early.
- They broke a bed.
- Carl started "Carl-ing," which essentially meant pulling back the second things got serious.
The most infamous moment of the season? The wedding. Carl told Lauren he was going to a wedding with his mom. Standard, right? Except he sent a photo to his housemate Stephen McGee that showed him at that same wedding with another woman.
Stephen, feeling the "bro code" didn't apply to lying, showed the photo to Lauren. It was a mess. It set the stage for years of Carl being labeled as "non-committal" or "avoidant."
The Family Secrets We Didn't See
One of the weirdest things about rewatching Carl Radke season 1 is seeing his Syracuse University diploma on the wall. If you look closely at the screen, you'll see a name that isn't Carl. It says William Radke.
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Actually, his name is William Carl Radke.
His family has a tradition of going by middle names, a trait he shared with his late brother, Curtis. In season 1, Carl’s brother was briefly mentioned as being a "drug addict," a comment Carl later regretted because it caused a rift between them that lasted until Curtis's tragic passing in 2020.
At the time, the show framed Carl’s family life as relatively stable, focusing instead on his "playboy" antics. We didn't know the depth of the addiction issues running through his family or how much he was mirroring his brother's struggles while trying to maintain a "perfect" image for the Bravo cameras.
Why Season 1 Still Matters for Fans Today
People usually skip the first season of long-running reality shows, but with Carl, you kind of have to see where he started to understand the stakes of his current life.
The "Cocaine Carl" era—as some fans call it—wasn't just about being a jerk at brunch. It was a man in the middle of a spiraling health crisis. He was trying to be the "alpha" salesman and the "hot guy" of the house while internally falling apart.
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The Evolution of Carl Radke
| Then (Season 1) | Now (The Aftermath) |
|---|---|
| Dental Salesman | Sobriety Advocate & Author |
| Secretly struggling with poly-substance abuse | Multi-year sobriety journey |
| Avoidant in relationships (Lauren Wirkus) | Highly publicized (and ended) engagement to Lindsay Hubbard |
| Going by "Carl" but hiding "William" | Open about his real name and family history |
The biggest takeaway from looking back at Carl Radke season 1 is the realization that reality TV is rarely "real" in the way we think. We saw the "fizzling romance" and the "pool party antics." We didn't see the man who felt he had to perform a version of masculinity that was literally killing him.
How to Watch Season 1 Like an Expert
If you're going to go back and binge the beginning, keep an eye on Carl's eyes. You’ll notice the "Adderall stare" or the moments where he seems completely checked out during conversations with Lauren.
It’s not just "bad editing." It’s the visual record of a man who wasn't really there.
If you want to understand the current Bravo landscape, you need to see the origins of the Radke/Hubbard friendship. In season 1, Lindsay and Carl were just friends (mostly). Lindsay was tied up in a toxic cycle with Everett Weston. Seeing Carl and Lindsay navigate their own separate disasters in the same house is some of the best foreshadowing in TV history.
Actionable Insights for Bravo Fans:
- Watch the "Pick-Up" Scenes: In his book, Carl mentions that some of the most dramatic conversations were filmed after the fact. Look for changes in hair length or tan levels.
- Track the Careers: Notice how many people actually had "real jobs" in season 1. Carl’s transition from sales to "full-time reality star" is a case study in how the genre changed.
- Read the Memoir First: If you read Cake Eater before watching season 1, the show becomes a completely different experience. It turns from a comedy into a documentary about a mid-life crisis.
The Carl of today would probably want to give the Carl of season 1 a hug—and maybe a glass of water. It was a rough start, but it's the only way to appreciate how far he's actually come.