A Dorchester couple made their prime time TV debut on Monday night. David and Stephen St. Russell— known as the “Renovation Husbands”—are featured in HGTV’s newest show “Battle on the Mountain,” which premiered on Monday, Jan. 22 at 9p.m.

The six-episode series was taped over six weeks last summer in Breckenridge, Colorado. It follows three teams coached by HGTV stars as they work to upgrade similar mountainside homes using a $100,000 budget. The winning team is the one that realizes the biggest boost to the property’s value.

HGTV judges tour the spaces and pick a team to be awarded a $3,000 cash prize. The winner of the entire competition is awarded a $50,000 grand prize.

David, 35, and Stephen, 33, have earned acclaim already for their design work in Dorchester and other Greater Boston homes.

Both men hail from Western Massachusetts and attended Longmeadow High School. After graduation, David stayed close to home and attended Springfield College where he studied to become a physician's assistant. Meanwhile, Stephen moved to Boston to study architecture at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

After college, the couple relocated to Boston as a couple in 2017.

Photo courtesy Renovation Husbands.

“We were renting in the South End, and we were looking for something actually more affordable to rent,” David said. “We drove by this house which was boarded up at the time in total disarray and somehow managed to scrape together every single thing we had to buy it.”

That home was a completely gutted 1893 Victorian in Dorchester. The couple has been documenting their renovations for seven years on their blog and their Instagram account, which currently has 230,000 followers.

“We had someone reach out to us maybe over two years ago, for participating in casting for “Battle on the Beach” which is the show prior to this one. We had a lot going on and didn't think it was the right time for us,” said Stephen. “They reached out again the following year saying that there's this new project, same format, and it's called ‘Battle on the Mountain.’ Right away we clung to it because it felt like it was more of our aesthetic and what we were drawn to. Then we went into the interview and casting process.”

Their popularity online is what may have interested HGTV in their participation, but the married design and DIY team worried if they would be just as successful on TV.

“We’ve never done anything like this before and really had very little idea of what to expect walking into it. There wasn’t actually much we could do for preparation going into it,” said David. “Most of it was just acclimating to the idea of being on TV. We went in with excitement and ready to go, but really had no idea how challenging it might be. It ended up being the hardest thing we've ever done.”

The first episode introduced the three teams: David and Stephen; Amber and Trey Masciarellis of Bellaire, Ohio; and Lymari and Tony Navarro of Bloomington, Indiana. During the two-hour premiere, the teams will pick out which house they will renovate and immediately get to work on improving the kitchen and dining rooms which will be judged by guest stars Chelsea and Cole DeBoer from “Down Home Fab.”

Future episodes will showcase improvements to the main bedroom and bath, living room, guest suite, bonus guest room, and the exterior.

“When you watch these shows you kind of expect that there's some movie magic that goes into it. We heard that we were going to renovate the house over six weeks, and we really did just that. We had to work our butts off for six weeks straight, designing, renovating the spaces ourselves, and doing it in crazy timelines,” Stephen told the Reporter.

Even though the Dorchester residents are not used to working under such fast-paced conditions, they agreed the most difficult part was just being on camera constantly. Having to film meant that the contestants could not just worry about revamping the home but were constantly pulled away to film interviews and challenges as well.

“We are used to seeing ourselves on our own Instagram and things we produce. But to have someone else recording you and then also editing and portraying you in a certain way, it's a little nerve-wracking because you don't know how you will come off and when you're in this crazy, intense situation,” said Stephen.

Luckily David and Stephen were supported by HGTV star Rico León, who's used to being in front of the camera on his own show “Rico to the Rescue.”

“We were paired with Rico, and we were actually kind of shocked by that. We didn't know that there were any new mentors this season, so that was a little bit of a surprise. We had been going in thinking that it might have been one of the original mentors but then they paired us with Rico, and it ended up being really great,” David explained.

It was also nice to have the support of León also since the contestants could not tell anyone about “Battle on the Mountain.”

Even when the couple returned to Dorchester in late August, they had to wait months to share the news.

“We’ve just lied to everyone we know,” joked David. “Only our attorneys and HGTV know what happened. We’re deflecting and playing dumb. We want everyone to experience the roller coaster of the show firsthand. We don’t want to spoil it for them.”

The couple looked forward to watching the premiere with family, friends, and neighbors on Monday. Their work however is not complete as they have already taken on a new project working on a cabin in Maine.

Those interested in keeping up with David and Stephen's work in Dorchester, Colorado, and Maine can check in on the Renovation Husbands online, on social media, and of course on HGTV Monday night.