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With their super-sized personalities, architecturally impressive hairstyles, and their tendency to speak of themselves in the third person, the eight cast members of MTV’s Jersey Shore are rapidly becoming America’s latest guilty pleasure. And for these self-described Guidos and Guidettes, looking good is a complete way of life. “A guy from [the] Jersey Shore is a guy that is looking good, feeling confident, taking care of himself,” DJ Pauly D tells PEOPLE at the Spike TV’s Video Game Awards 2009, proudly pointing out that it takes him nearly a half an hour to sculpt his impenetrable hair. “It takes me twenty-five minutes to get it right. Greatness takes time, and this hair right here is greatness. I have it down to a tee, but this is a process right here.” And it’s not just the guys who can wax philosophical on the topic. “At the end of the day, it’s not about Italians coming together, it’s about a lifestyle,” says Jenni (aka “J-WOWW”) “We all live by a certain lifestyle…. the hair, the make up, the tans…being fit. It’s all preparation for the summer.” And while there are some that have to try harder, others feel it’s actually effortless. “It doesn’t matter what I’m wearing,” says “Snooki”, who proudly admits to donning full makeup when she goes to the gym, “I look good in anything!” For the show’s detractors who insist that it only serves to reinforce negative Italian-American stereotypes, Mike (aka “The Situation”) asks that people show a little patience. “It’s only the first episode,” he tells PEOPLE. “and we’re only seven days in, so you have to give us a chance.” The Staten Island native, whose nickname is the result of a woman pointing out his chiseled abs in a nightclub, adds, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” –Reagan Alexander
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