INUVIK - Grade 9 student Christian Van Vliet is holding his own on a nationally-televised reality show, and says he's up to the challenge.

Christian Van Vliet, centre, who is on a TV reality adventure show, shares a group embrace with a few of his biggest supporters. From left, Chris Church, Deeron Vittrekwa, Caroline Kaufman, Eudia Matua and Allison McDonald. - Andrew Rankin/NNSL photo

"I approached auditioning with a lot of confidence," he said. "It was something I thought I could do and when I got the call I was on the show I wasn't that surprised."

Currently he's one of the remaining contestants on the YTV adventure reality series "In Real Life," which premiered Oct. 4. He's gone head to head with 18 teenagers from across the country competing in all kinds of extraordinary challenges from high-tech espionage to dolphin training to lobster fishing.

Airing every Monday night, the 10-episode series follows Van Vliet and his fellow contestants as they travel from one North American location to another, from Montreal to New York and even Ingonish, Cape Breton.

The last one standing wins the ultimate prize - college tuition money and an all-expenses-paid family vacation.

After the fourth episode Van Vliet is still in the hunt. The series is prerecorded and he's not allowed to say how far he made it on the show.

But he said the adventure, which was a gruelling schedule from May right into the thick of summer, has left him with some incredible memories.

"The coolest part about being in the show was a tie between being with the people and just the whole experience of it. I travelled to places I never thought I'd be, from Lake Placid, N.Y., to Ingonish."

Van Vliet auditioned for the series about two years ago at the advice of his mother's friend. After a Skype interview and some more paperwork, the 14-year-old was cast for the show, beating out about a thousand

He's hoping more people in town will tune in to the remaining episodes. The straight-A student is a proud Inuvik resident and thinks living in Inuvik gave him a leg up on the competition.

"Honestly, being from a town like this, I didn't feel intimidated. I felt like I had a little bit of an advantage because here you have to fight for yourself a little bit."

His classmates Deeron Vittrekwa and Chris Church said they're surprised he's done so well on the show but added he has all the tools to succeed.

"He's a smart guy; he's a great runner and always has been a really good role model to kids in this town," said Vittrekwa. "It's nice to see him doing so well."

His mother Carmen couldn't agree more. The family has been glued to the TV since the series began. She's just impressed that her son put it all on the line in the competition. Beyond that, everything's a bonus.

"We know that he's a smart kid," she said. "It's just him to go out there and do things. We're so proud of him."

But this won't be the end of Van Vliet's on screen aspirations. He's currently auditioning for two roles which he's keeping a secret. The 14-year-old remains confident about his chances.

"I'm kind of determined, you know," he said. "I set a goal and I'm going to do it."

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