NATCHEZ — Natchez natvie Dunbar Merrill has been to quite a number of areas around the world so far in his life.

Perhaps best known nationally for his stint on MTV’s “Real World” reality television show, Merrill has spent the last few years of his life traveling all across the world. His tours have included stops in Hong Kong, Queenstown, New Zealand and Sidney, Australia.

Recently, however, Merrill has found a new calling right here in his home town: online retail.

Merrill recently launched his adventure outfitters store, Black Water Paddling Company, via its Web site at blackwaterpaddling.com. The vision behind the online store is to help bring attention to Natchez, as well as serve as a means of financial stability for himself.

“The main thing was, people of my generation are kind of saying, ‘It’s hard to move back to Natchez because there’s so few jobs there in the high-end service sector,’” Merrill said.

“As small as the world is now, you don’t have to live in places like Baton Rouge, New Orleans or Jackson to make a decent living for you and your family. I wanted to create a store that would allow me to work in Natchez.”

Merrill described Black Water Paddling as an “adventures outfitters store,” with the purpose of supplying equipment and services for water sports, paddle sports and performance activities. He plans to eventually open a physical location in Natchez in the near future, and all of his products will say “Natchez, Miss.” somewhere on them.

With so many sporting goods stores around the country already, Merrill said he wishes to give Black Water Paddling a unique feeling to it.

“Instead of creating a typical outdoors store, I’m trying to create my own brand name,” Merrill said.

Merrill is also trying to create a better world for the younger generation. A portion of all proceeds from his store will go towards the Boys and Girls Club of America, something that Merrill said he is very passionate about supporting.

“My girlfriend, Elise Baker, did two years of teaching for Teachers of America in extreme low-income and inner-city areas,” Merrill said. “Through her, I was able to learn about so many kids that were only in elementary school who had already ruled out college. I was like, ‘What the (heck)?’

“The Boys and Girls Club addresses these problems by taking these kids in and pretty much gives them a cultural overhaul. It teaches them to believe in themselves and become productive members of society. The more I study it, the more I see it as a solution to the nation’s problems.”

Merrill’s love for the outdoors dates back to his high school days, when he was into whitewater rafting. More recently, he started kayaking in 2004. Merrill said he thinks Natchez would benefit heavily from stressing its many water attractions.

“I think the Mississippi River is the city’s single greatest asset,” Merrill said.

“There are too many ‘hook and bullet’ mindsets around here, where people think the only outdoors attractions in Natchez are fishing and hunting.”