Patricia Krentcil, a/k/a Tan Mom became a viral sensation in 2012 when she was accused of taking her young daughter to a tanning salon. Since then, she has released a number of music videos, has been a regular guest on The Howard Stern Show and made numerous nightclub appearances. Eleven years later, Patricia is again making headlines with a new streaming series and a run for office.
On Tan to 10, currently streaming on Amazon Prime, Patricia’s best friend and music producer Adam Barta and co-producer Gregg Maliff assemble a team to help give Patricia a makeover and give her a new lease on life after the loss of her husband, Richard. Adam enlists the help of his friend and collaborator Dr. Miami, a/k/a Michael Salzhauer, to give Patricia a new look. Also on Team Patricia is influencer Elena Duque, celebrity spiritualist Tracey Woolterton, spiritual mentor Sarah Spiritual and RuPaul’s Drag Race alums Tammie Brown and Rebecca Glasscock to help turn Patricia’s life around.
Currently living in Boca Raton, Florida, Patricia receives treatment from Dr. Miami, who says, “Because Tan Mom hasn’t been that kind to her skin, I had to go slow. We used 2 syringes of filler in her lip and Botoxed her forehead. She became one of my beauty warriors and has an inner beauty that shows through. But it’s ultimately up to her to take care of her skin going forward and maintain the makeover.”
Can Patricia say goodbye to the tanning bed? Will she rediscover her inner beauty? Can she move on with her life and find happiness? All is revealed in this seven-episode series. We had the chance to speak with Adam and Dr. Miami on the eve of the announcement that Patricia is running for U.S. Senate in Florida (Adam and Gregg are serving as her campaign managers.) Learn more about the series and Tan Mom’s political aspirations in our exclusive interview.
I binged the whole series in a day. It’s truly must-see TV. What was the genesis of Tan to 10?
Adam Barta: Well, it’s funny because, you know, this came about very recently. I created a sizzle reel for a show called Tan to 10. This was like in 2020, I think, right when the pandemic hit. So, I have had this concept, I guess, for many, many years, just sitting in my head. You know, what if we give Tan Mom a makeover and see what we can do?
And I think it wasn’t until recently that I had all of the pieces for the puzzle, and that’s kind of why it happened now. You know, my friendship with Dr. Miami, and the people on my team, and Patricia being in the spot she’s at in her life with Richard passing away and looking to really rebrand herself. I think it all kind of came to fruition just kind of serendipitously this year and if you watch this series, you’ll see that it still didn’t work out necessarily the way we thought. It’s a perfect storm and she’s right at the center of it.
So, you know, it’s like you said, it’s must-see TV. I think no matter what she does, it becomes interesting, even when she does the most mundane things. And that’s what’s wonderful about her.
I know how you know Dr. Miami, but how did you assemble this whole dream team of people to work with Patricia?
Adam: Basically, I begged them. I promised them a lot of money and favors. You know, it’s actually the opposite. I’ll be honest with you. Everyone on this show pretty much worked for deferred pay, which just means we don’t get paid until the show actually gets money. So, it really is a labor of love, and that shows you how much the people believe in it.
As far as assembling my team, I have an amazing partner with Gregg Maliff and he’s on the show. He really was the linchpin in getting this all together because he had never met Patricia before. And he really kind of got the experience because it was somebody that didn’t know Tan Mom. So, it was kind of like fresh, virgin meat around her and I think that worked really well. [Gregg] kind of helped me pull in a lot of the people on the team and he has experience in managing a lot of stuff like this, so it was really helpful. He’s been my right-hand man. I definitely have to him give credit for that.
Now, Dr. Miami, when you were working with Patricia, you brought up the term beauty warrior and I just need to know what is a beauty warrior?
Dr. Miami: Well, that term is meant as a term of endearment, but also as a warning because some people, when they look at plastic surgery on social media or TV, they think it’s like a walk in the park. They think like it’s like getting your hair done or getting your nails done. No, it is not. It’s got blood, sweat, tears, bruising and months of recovery. It really is a battle. So that again is to let people know ahead upfront that you can have plastic surgery and for the right person at the right time of their life, it’s fantastic. But it’s not simple. It’s you really have to go in like you’re going into battle.
What was like the biggest surprise in putting the show together for both of you?
Adam: For me, when I started out, I really thought that I wanted this Mama June-like, major shocking and jaw-dropping transformation of Patricia and what I kind of realized throughout the series is that [Patricia] actually is pretty. She has a lot of beauty, natural beauty. She has beautiful eyes. She has a beautiful smile.
Dr. Miami: She has the legs of a 16-year-old. For real. That’s not an exaggeration.
Adam: And after he did her Botox in her forehead, her skin is a hundred percent smooth. So, I think it was more of a realization that it wasn’t going to be a major transformation because she’s not ugly. She wasn’t even unattractive. She’s very attractive. I think it’s just the day that you get her on, you know, how she applies her makeup and that’s more little stuff you can fix day-to-day. So, I think it was more that like the transformation wasn’t going to be so shocking because she’s already pretty. It was just bringing out that beauty she had already.
What was your favorite moment in putting the show together?
Dr. Miami: It’s got to be the finale. The reveal. There was a lot of stuff that didn’t make it in on the cutting room floor. That was a lot of fun.
Adam: Yeah. We were filming that for six hours. I will say actually one of my favorites is when she walks into Dr. Miami’s office and she’s about to greet him and she says, “This is the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever made me do.” And it’s just so raw because Patricia, she really, I guess wasn’t aware of his schtick. So that was funny seeing Patricia’s real reaction and the finale, of course, is definitely one of my favorites.
Well, you mentioned the cutting room floor. Are there bloopers and outtakes we might be seeing in the future?
Adam: Well, originally, we had planned an eighth episode that was supposed to be what you didn’t see and we kind of put a pin in it to see how the series does. So, if the series does really well, absolutely. And to be taking a step further, I would love to do a reunion special where we can reunite Dr. Miami, Patricia and Elena and have everybody sit down, Real Housewives style and talk about the drama from the show, especially Elena. I think that would be great.
I know this was a show about making over Tan Mom but did you take away anything special from working on the show that you didn’t expect?
I would say Patricia’s connection with the LGBT community, you know, I, the thing is, that was really interesting, was when she first started out, Patricia, she was a joke. You know, there was a whole infamous incident with Bianca Del Rio when she’s on the stage at XL, I think it was, and she’s drunk and falling over, and Bianca’s just making fun of her, and it was really a low point. I think it was the lowest point of Tan Mom, and I think what happened and the amazing transformation that happened is now she’s become a part of these drag shows where she’s performing and being a comedian and they’re laughing with her and she’s celebrated and that she’s learned to celebrate the differences, her differences, what makes her weird and odd, what make other people weird and odd.
And she’s really learned to bridge that gap. I feel like now, instead of people laughing at her, they’re laughing with her. She’s making them laugh. And that was the biggest, happiest thing I got out of this for her.
Dr. Miami: You’ve got to be able to laugh at yourself. It’s very important in life to be happy.
Are we going to see any more of your drag persona Adam? I thought that one of the highlights of the series for me was seeing you in drag.
Adam: I would love to…listen, if I could do makeup – I say this often – I would be on RuPaul’s Drag Race, I would be auditioning every season. But my makeup skills are absolutely, totally terrible. So, I’m self-aware of that fact. However, I love doing characters, and I love doing drag. So, I think you’ll see more of it, but it’ll probably be in the way of characters and stuff like that, rather than like an actual drag persona that’s going out and performing, but who knows? You know, I love doing it. So, it’s just a matter of if people don’t want to throw up when they see my drag.
I thought it was so much fun. I loved your little impromptu parade in the street.
That was really crazy, like when she’s out there screaming. We were worried about that too, because we’re on the streets of Florida. We didn’t know what was going to happen but it went well. I’m glad the way it kind of resolved itself though and I’m glad that we did it to say we did it.
Okay, so now we can talk about since we’re talking about Florida and drag, Patricia’s now announced that she’s going to be running for public office. Can we talk about that a little bit?
Yeah, she, uh, you know, I’m her campaign managers along with Gregg Maliff, the producer from the show. And really what it is comes down to is, you know, she got an eye-opening experience, you know, she had a catharsis, I want to say, during this process, and it really made her want to change and give back to the community. She realized where a lot of the community was suffering, especially in the gay community, you know, doing the show at Hamburger Mary’s, and then seeing the cathedral, and seeing all the work that they do, because, you know, a lot of what you didn’t see in the show is her seeing and hearing about the cathedral, and what they do, and it really moved her. I think that kind of was the impetus for this happening now and it’s the right time. I think at the very least she can spread a message of positivity inclusivity and diversity and that’s really what she’s about. That’s what I’m about. I’m 100 percent like that and, also, Dr. Miami is very much responsible for this because he was part of the transformation team. I want to give him credit for giving her the confidence to do this.
Dr. Miami: Do I get to be a surgeon general? Oh, is that not her? That’s not Senate. Senate can’t give it. That would be wonderful though.
Adam: And you can lobby her for good regulation in the surgery industry, maybe fairness or something, I don’t know.
Would there be a possible reality series behind her hitting the road and campaigning for this position?
That’s a good idea. We haven’t discussed it yet. We’re kind of really nailing down her platform and what she’s about and kind of getting that statement out there. And then I think we’ll see. It really depends on the support she gets, you know, if she has a lot of people that are interested in this message, then yeah, I think we get out and we just kind of go with it and just see where this can take us. Because look, you know, 10 years ago, this would be considered absurd, but in 2023 with people like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, it’s like, you know, everybody’s a reality star in Congress. So why not?
What is next for you, Adam? You obviously have a full plate with Patricia running for office. But for you personally, is there anymore music or other projects coming up?
I’m kind of done with music. I’m actually developing a concept, hopefully with Dr. Miami. We’re working on kind of in the very initial stages of it, but it’s a reality competition show like never before. So definitely stay tuned. Oh, and we’re doing a Halloween special on the 26th, a seance with the queens. It’s going to be Kahmora Hall hosting a drag queen seance. So that’s going to be quite interesting and it’s coming to streaming later this year.
Watch Tan to 10 now on Amazon Prime. Follow Patricia on Instagram and Twitter, and keep up with her campaign here. Follow Adam on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Follow Dr. Miami on Instagram and Twitter.
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