Are they casuals or super fans? The Challenge: USA cast seem to be all over the map when it comes to their knowledge of the game. And just in case, they reached out to past players for advice.
In these two new videos provided exclusively to Us Weekly, the competitors open up about their favorite past Challenge players and moments, in addition to which veterans of the game they reached out to for tips prior to playing themselves.
“When CT carried Johnny Bananas on a backpack and just threw him in the trash,” Big Brother alum Enzo Palumbo recalls as his favorite moment in Challenge history.
As for advice, both Shantel Smith and Danny McCray talked to fellow Survivor alum Michaela Bradshaw before heading out to play.
“I actually spoke with Michaela. She didn’t fare so well on her first season of The Challenge because I saw something with a list,” Danny says of her time on The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies. “She just told me the social game is really important.”
Cut to Michaela actually popping up on screen, pleading, “T.J. [Lavin], bring me back. I learned all my lessons. Actually, I made a list. I’m gonna do great next time. You just watch.”
Meanwhile, Domenick Abbate, another Survivor alum, said, “Going into The Challenge, I did get to speak to one person. It’s [Survivor season 39 winner] Tommy Sheehan, who gave me some nuts and bolts, and told me, ‘Don’t hold back. You’re here for this. Make sure you embrace it. Make sure you play this game as hard as you can, the same way you did on Survivor, if not harder. The Challenge is going to push you a little further and really test you mentally a little harder.’ Tommy told me, ‘Hit it and hit it hard.’”
Survivor season 27 winner Tyson Apostol says season 33 winner Michelle Fitzgerald told him the Challenge experience would be “life-changing” while his friend and season 29 winner Natalie Anderson said, “Bring earplugs to sleep at night.”
“Honestly, that was the greater advice,” Tyson admits. Watch both videos above!
The Challenge: USA premieres Wednesday, July 6, at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT.
