Rick was originally a Subway corpo-humanoid, a spokesperson for the brand who literally became the product he endorsed. As part of his contract with the company he enrolled at Greendale when a new franchise opened there. His main purpose then was to circumvent school policy which stated that a student has to own 51 percent of any business operating for profit on campus. Unfortunately, his time there led to an illicit affair with fellow student Britta Perry which cost him his job. Years later he returned to Greendale as a corporate puppet of another big business but was again forced to leave the campus. His first appearance was in the Season Three episode "Digital Exploration of Interior Design". He is portrayed by Travis Schuldt.
In the 2011 semester at Greendale, the school's coffee shop was replaced by a Subway restaurant after it mysteriously burned down. Part of the business deal Greendale made with the franchise was to enroll its representative who was also named " Subway". Not only was he serving as a corporate entity but also fulfilling school by-laws by owning a small percentage of the restaurant. "Subway" quickly established himself as a model student and popular personality on campus. Britta Perry caught his eye but he fought his attraction due to relationship restrictions written into his company contract. Ultimately he acted on his feelings for her and they had what they thought was a secret liaison in a pillow fort. Shirley and Pierce learned about the affair and alerted Subway's boss. They had a meeting with Dean Pelton and presented audio evidence they recorded. The corporate representative was a first okay with the affair until he heard them performing an illicit sexual act. The rep called "Subway" by his real name "Rick" and had him escorted off campus. He was then replaced by another "Corpohummanoid" also named "Subway".
In the study group's third year at Greendale, they were introduced to a new student named "Subway". He was there to be a representative for the new "Subway" shop taking over the recently destroyed coffee place "Hot & Brown". Although he was upbeat and friendly towards the study group, they were somewhat wary of him due to the odd stipulations of his job. It was also because his company had convinced the school board to go with their franchise instead of the shop Shirley and Pierce had proposed. However, Britta managed to warm up to Subway when he flirted with her in the cafeteria line. It was revealed they liked the same book and he further won her over by being chivalrous to an elderly student Harry Jefferson.
Over at the library, Subway continued to clandestinely woo Britta as they bonded over their mutual love of the novel "1984"Despite his strong attraction to Britta he couldn't be with her due to stipulations written into his contract with Subway. Later, they secretly met inside the tunnels of Abed's newly constructed Pillowtown. Britta admits she was asked by Pierce and Shirley to get close to him in order to bring down his company. She destroyed a recording device Pierce gave her and they became physically intimate. Unbeknownst to them, Pierce hid another recorded the encounter with a back up device he hid in Britta's backpack. Subway is later summoned to a meeting in Dean Pelton's office with the Dean and his boss. Britta was also brought in as Pierce and Shirley presented the recording.
At first the Subway rep has no problem with his employee being in a relationship. However, he changes his mind when the recording reveals Subway took part in a specific sexual act that he considers unacceptable and fires Subway revealing his real name to be "Rick". He is taken away by men in black as Britta professes her love for him. Afterwards, Britta spots someone dressed as Subway in the hallway. When she calls out to him walks by she sees it's clearly not "Rick". She apologizes for her mistake but he claims to be "Subway" and he acts as if he's the man he replaced. He states while he did enjoy their time in the Pillow fort he didn't care for the deviant sexual act she initiated without his consent. He then kisses her on the forehead and tells her to "Eat fresh!" before leaving ("Digital Exploration of Interior Design").
During the 2015 semester at Greendale, Rick returned to the campus this time as an employee of the Honda corporation. Britta found out he was back and confronted him in the schools parking lot where he was pitching Honda vehicles to some students. Although she was happy to see him she slapped him twice for not having contacted her since they were last together. Rick claimed it had taken this long to free himself and told her he was primarily there for her. She started to doubt him when he was distracted by Dean Pelton who was showing off a Honda vehicle he just purchased. Britta accused him of "Guerrilla marketing" his company and was saddened to see he hadn't changed. Rick told her it was different but was forced to admit that like before he wasn't allowed to have a girlfriend.
Rick and Britta are reunited.
She was about to leave when Rick invited her to see the backseat of his Honda CRV. The afterglow of their physical reconnection was disturbed when Dean Pelton knocked on the vehicle's door. Rick asked Britta to hide while he talked to the Dean outside. He found that Craig had bought a CRV and a snowblower in addition to his other Honda vehicle. He was so excited at the prospect of a "Level Seven Susceptible" he allowed Britta to storm off. He came up with a plan to win her back and asked his boss at Honda to test Britta at her workplace to see if she could join the company. When his boss was impressed with her sales technique, Rick made a dramatic entrance and and proposed that she become his guerrilla marketing partner. Although she was reluctant at first, Britta eventually agreed as it allowed them to be a couple in public.
Rick and his boss have a proposal for Britta.
Rick and Britta made their relationship public the next day on campus. Working together they managed to convince Todd Jacobson to consider buying a Honda. Later that night, Rick accompanied Britta to dinner at her parents house where he met George and Deb Perry. Much to Britta's chagrin, Rick's marketing training kicked in as he schmoozed her parents and subtly pitched them about buying a Honda. The drive home was tension filled as Rick explained he would always be on the job as it defines who he is. Britta refused to accept this wanting to be with the real Rick and demanded to be let out of the car. After thinking things over, Rick found Britta at her bar and announced he would quit his job to be with her. Together he and Britta went to the Greendale Alumni dance to see her favorite band "Natalie Is Freezing".
We enjoy Avatar very much!
He and Britta were browsing some of the band's merchandise in the concession stands when Rick overheard Frankie Dart talking on her phone. She mentioned Pelton was looking to buy a fleet of vehicles for the school's athletic department. Britta pleaded with him to let it go but Rick was unable to resist the temptation. He promised to return after doing one last big score and went to make a sale. Rick briefly hesitated and looked back at Britta before he headed off. He soon found out Frankie had set him up and the campus security were there to arrest him when Rick went into his sales pitch. Britta was alerted to the situation and sadly said goodbye to Rick as he was escorted off campus. Sometime later, Rick was in his vehicle not caring that he was getting tears all over his steering wheel ("Advanced Safety Features").
Rick cries it out...in his Honda.
Trivia[]
In his first appearance when he's in the library with Britta, Rick mentions that he has three more years left working for Subway. He wouldn't appear again until three years later in Season Six's Advanced Safety Features.
“Using a groundbreaking but surprisingly legal process known as corpo-humanization, real people such as myself are now allowed to represent the collective identity of corporate business owners.”— Subway
“I don't recall seeing Subway in my PreMenopausal Post-Feminist Experiential Marketing class.”— Britta
“Actually I'm on the wait list for the Pre-Men-Post-Fem-Ex-Mark.”— Subway
“I had a great time with you last night in the pillow fort. The one exception being the deviant sex act you initiated without my consent.”— Subway #2