Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Da'Vonne Rogers. Da'Vonne (@DayDavonne_) made her Challenge debut on The Final Reckoning after appearing on two seasons of Big Brother. After impressing viewers with her partner Jozea and making it halfway through the season, Da"Vonne returned for War of the Worlds. Coming up just short of the final after being eliminated in a razor thin purge Challenge, Da'Vonne developed a reputation as Queen of the Killing Floor along the way, going undefeated ...
May 14, 2019•2 hr 14 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Theo Campbell. You might think all Theo Campbell (@Theo_Campbell91) brings to the table is good looks. Then you might hear him chat you up and realize it's gotta be his infectious personality. All before coming to find out he is an Olympic-level sprinter who competes in national competitions across the UK and barely missed the team. Theo joins Derrick (@DerrickMTV) and Scott (@SHOTOFYAGER) to talk about how he went from track star to Love Island s...
May 06, 2019•1 hr 46 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Mattie Breaux. Mattie Breaux (@MattieLBreaux) is the most physically imposing and physically intimidating female rookies to make her way onto The Challenge in quite some time. Having started on CMT's Party Down South, she's no stranger to a good time either. Mattie brings the good times to Challenge Manias to tell Derrick (@DerrickMTV) and Scott (@SHOTOFYAGER) how she wound up on TV, when she found out The Challenge was interested, what it's like ...
May 02, 2019•2 hr 20 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Dee Nguyen. Only a few challenges left before the War of the Worlds final and Dee Nguyen (@MsDeeNguyen) is still in the game! Dee joins Derrick (@DerrickMTV) and Scott (@SHOTOFYAGER) to talk about how she made her way onto The Challenge all the way from Australia, why she chose Wes, whether he was the perfect partner for her, how she felt during the Nany/Georgia elimination, why Ninja blew up at Turbo and MUCH MORE! For MORE Challenge Mania includ...
Apr 29, 2019•1 hr 36 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are supposed to be joined by Dee Nyugen. Sadly, they are not. Instead, we are joined by Tony Raines (@TonyRaines) to discuss War of the Worlds. For more of this interview, check out Patreon.com/ChallengeMania - Dee will now be joining us next week! We also reveal the next city we are coming to for Challenge Mania Live! Robinhood is giving Maniacs a FREE STOCK like Apple or Spring at Robinhood.Mania.Com Poshmark will give you $5 off our first order by using the ...
Apr 23, 2019•1 hr 24 min
A Game of Thrones-themed episode of Challenge Mania! Derrick Kosinski (@DerrickMTV) & Scott Yager (@SHOTOFYAGER) take YOUR questions, break down War of the Worlds so far, discuss the premiere of Game of Thrones and MORE. Plus, we end with a lengthy clip from last week's episode of The War Room featuring Melinda Collins (@MelindaStolpMTV) where we break down last week's edition of The Challenge. Check out our new merch at www.ChallengeMania.Shop ! BetterHelp is giving our listeners 10% off at...
Apr 17, 2019•2 hr 7 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Paulie Calafiore. Love him or hate him, say what you will about Paulie Calafiore (@PaulCalafiore_) but he has been one of the standout performers on this season of War of the Worlds. Alongside his partner, Ninja Natalie, he has performed well in daily challenges and even this past week when finally thrown into elimination against Kam and Ashley. Paulie returns to Challenge Mania, having vowed to both Derrick (@DerrickMTV) and Scott (@SHOTOFYAGER) ...
Apr 09, 2019•2 hr 23 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Gus Smyrnios. Gus Smyrnios (@GusSmyrnios) is one of the stars of Floribama Shore. He recently made his Challenge debut on War on the Worlds, where he and Jenna made it all the way to episode 8. Gus joins Derrick (@DerrickMTV) and Scott (@SHOTOFYAGER) to talk about landing his own show, when the cast found out exactly what show they were cast for, making the transition from Floribama to The Challenge, almost getting his teeth knocked out, aligning ...
Apr 01, 2019•2 hr 8 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by The Nolan Twins, Liz & Julia. Liz (@_LizNolan) and Julia (@JuliaNolan_) Nolan competed on Big Brother Season 17 pretending to be one person for several weeks, tricking their fellow housemates and switching places in the diary room, where they would download each other on the particulars and specifics necessary to keep up the charade. They were eventually allowed to play the game separately and revealed the "Twin Twist" to the house after they ...
Mar 25, 2019•1 hr 54 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Big Brother 20's Brett Robinson. Now that The Challenge is bringing over cast-members from Big Brother, why not get ahead of the game and start interviewing standouts from that series before they're even legally allowed to jump ship. Scott (@SHOTOFYAGER) thinks Brett (@BB20Brett) was tailor-made for The Challenge and that he should be at the top of MTV's wishlist later this year. Brett joins Derrick (@DerrickMTV) and Scott to discuss how he got ca...
Mar 19, 2019•1 hr 58 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Weston Bergmann. There is no sugar-coating it, Wes (@WestonBergmann) has been crushing War of the Worlds so far. He returns to Challenge Mania to tell Derrick (@DerrickMTV) and Scott (@SHOTOFYAGER) why his plan has been going so well, what alliances and vendettas he's developed along the way, whether he thinks this season marks a changing of the guard, why he'd never align with Bananas on a future season and a whole lot more! For MORE Challenge Ma...
Mar 18, 2019•2 hr 40 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Cara Maria Sorbello. Cara Maria (@CaraMariaMTV) is always one of our favorite guests, but it has been quite some time since she's been on the podcast. She returns to the show to talk to Derrick (@DerrickMTV) and Scott (@SHOTOFYAGER) about her recent "Block Party", how she and Paulie got through the rough patch a few months back, how they're doing today, where she stands with her Final Reckoning partner, Marie, how it feels to have so many people r...
Mar 14, 2019•2 hr 22 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Johnny Bananas. War of the Worlds has been the highest rated season of The Challenge in quite some time. It is also the first time a season has begun with four Challenge champions eliminated in the first four episodes. After Ashley Mitchell went home in the first elimination of the season, Johnny Bananas (@JohnnyBananas) followed, having been thrown in by his lifelong rival Wes and defeated by his presumed ally, Zach. Johnny returns to Challenge M...
Mar 11, 2019•1 hr 54 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Josh Martinez. The Challenge has widened it's landscape and brought in new faces from a variety of Reality TV platforms. Over the past few seasons, we have had quite a few representatives from the long-running CBS series, Big Brother. Josh Martinez (@JoshMBB19) is the first Big Brother WINNER to cross over to The Challenge, making his debut on the current season of War of the Worlds. Josh joins Derrick (@DerrickMTV) and Scott (@SHOTOFYAGER) to dis...
Mar 04, 2019•2 hr 29 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by "Ninja" Natalie Duran. For the past few seasons, The Challenge has opened the floodgates and welcomed newcomers from shows like Big Brother, Ex on the Beach, Geordie Shore, Vanderpump Rules & Bad Girls Club. War of the Worlds has gone a step further, inviting rookies from an even wider and more international pool of applicants. Among them is Ninja Natalie (@Ninja_Natalie), the lone representative from the popular series domestically, American ...
Feb 25, 2019•1 hr 40 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Survivor standout Davie Rickenbacker. In this special BONUS EPISODE of Challenge Mania, Derrick (@DerrickMTV) and Scott (@SHOTOFYAGER) switch it up a bit and bring on someone who has never been on The Challenge. Davie Rickenbacker (@ITweetDavie) IS however a lifelong Challenge fan, and is one of the most well-liked contestants in Survivor history. With Survivor: Edge of Extinction premiering this Wednesday, February 20th, an hour before War of the...
Feb 19, 2019•1 hr 41 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Chase McNary. Chase (@CBMcNary) might have had a short-lived run on The Challenge: War of the Worlds, going home in the first head-to-head elimination, but he managed to make his mark along the way, getting briefly involved with Nany and making it a tough battle for Hunter and Georgia. He drops by the show to talk about his road from The Bachelorette, where he came in 3rd, to almost being selected as The Bachelor to the following season, to Ex on ...
Feb 19, 2019•1 hr 38 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Katie Cooley. One of our favorites, Katie Cooley (@KatieCooley26) returns to the podcast just a few days before joining us in Austin for Challenge Mania Live. Katie stops by to tell Derrick (@DerrickMTV) & Scott (@SHOTOFYAGER) what she thinks he War of the Worlds, what reality shows she watches, who she sees herself in today, how Challenge standards have changed, what her favorite off-camera moments were, how she almost got Derrick an agent, w...
Feb 13, 2019•1 hr 55 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Johanna Botta. Johanna Botta (@JohannaBotta) began her MTV career on the beloved Austin season of The Real World, and went on to appear on 4 seasons of The Challenge, taking home a group championship on The Gauntlet III. She has since put Reality TV in the rearview (for now) to pursue an acting and hosting career both stateside and in the UK, where she's lived with her family for the last few years. Johanna joins Challenge Mania to tell Derrick (@...
Feb 05, 2019•2 hr 5 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by CJ Koegel. CJ Koegel (@CJKoegel) had strong showings on both of his seasons of The Challenge, Fresh Meat II and Battle of the Seasons. He joins Derrick (@DerrickMTV) and Scott (@SHOTOFYAGER) to discuss why we haven't seen him since, how he became a punter who almost made the NFL, what Real Wold Cancun was like, what he thought of the War of the Worlds Basic Training episode and whether we might see him back on the show in the future! We also spend...
Jan 31, 2019•2 hr 5 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager break down the new cast of The Challenge 33: War of the Worlds. Some returning favorites, some fresh meat. Either way, we go over the entire new season, set to premiere on Wednesday, February 6th and everyone who is vying for that Challenge Championship in the War of the Worlds! Come watch the premiere with Scott, Kailah and Marie at the East End Bar and Grill in New York City. Just RSVP to ChallengeManiaPodcast@gmail.com Follow along and listen to all of our e...
Jan 29, 2019•1 hr 54 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Marlon Williams. Marlon Williams (@BlackZeusFit) made his debut on Real World Portland and only competed on one season of The Challenge on Rivals II, where he and Jordan made the final. He had an illustrious college football career at Texas Tech and recently began body building and personal training under the name Black Zeus. More than that, he wants back on The Challenge. He is the total package. He's got looks, size, athletic ability, personalit...
Jan 23, 2019•1 hr 51 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by CT Tamburello. For our 100th episode, there is really only one guest that could live up to the hype and was deserving of this momentous occasion. 2 Time Champion (plus 2 time Champs Vs Stars Winner) Chris Tamburello aka CT (@TheOfficial_CT) is on most people's Challenge Mount Rushmore. His name is synonymous with the franchise. Simply put, if you are not excited for this episode...you are not Challenge Maniac. CT joins Derrick (@DerrickMTV) and Sc...
Jan 17, 2019•1 hr 59 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are once again joined by Final Reckoning Champion HUNTER BARFIELD. Hunter Barfield (@HBarfield13) is a Challenge Champion. It's hard to remember that because even though he won The Final Reckoning season of The Challenge, he went home empty handed, thanks to a decision by his partner, Ashley Mitchell. Hunter joins Derrick (@DerrickMTV) and Scott (@SHOTOFYAGER) to discuss this entire process, coping with the loss of all that money, whether he has regrets, how he...
Jan 15, 2019•1 hr 43 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are once again joined by Marie Roda. Marie Roda (@Marie_TBD) had an amazing year in 2018. So much so that she was voted Funniest Commentary & Most Improved by both the patrons & the experts in the Challenge Mania Awards. Marie joins Derrick (@DerrickMTV) and Scott (@SHOTOFYAGER) to learn about her big awards wins, break down The Final Reckoning Final, discuss the big moment at the end of the show, let us in on her dating life, explain what went down wit...
Jan 11, 2019•1 hr 47 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Natalie Negrotti. The first time Natalia (@NataliaNegrotti) or Natalie, depending who who is asking, came on #ChallengeMania, it was early into her Challenge career and a few episodes into Vendettas. Now she has 2 seasons, a Redemption House, a 3rd place finish on The Final Reckoning, 2 Elimination of the Year nominations and a Rookie of the Year nod in the Challenge Mania Awards under her belt. This is a new Natalie Negrotti. This is Natalia Negr...
Jan 09, 2019•1 hr 59 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Jemmye Carroll for Part II. On Part II of this massive semester of Jem Class, Jemmye casts her (unofficial) votes for the Challenge Mania Awards, theorizes what could have been if Camila was still a force on The Challenge and how that would have affected the trajectory of other female competitors and she breaks down the multi-layered internet beef between her Group Text known as "Forever Petty", Kailah and Marie and Angela, Amanda and Nelson that ...
Jan 04, 2019•1 hr 22 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Jemmye Carroll. One of our favorites, Jemmye Carroll (@JustJem24) to walk us through everything going on in the Challenge world. This interview went so long that we decided to break it into two parts. Here in Part 1, Jemmye explains some of her recent twitter altercations and comments and takes YOUR questions! Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of our chat with Jem! This Sunday, January 6th you can win tickets to the Challenge Mania Live event of your...
Jan 03, 2019•1 hr 37 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Challenge Host TJ LAVIN! Who better to ring in the New Year with us at Challenge Mania than the host of The Challenge, TJ LAVIN!? TJ (@TJLavin) returns to the podcast for the first time in almost a year with a ton of new material to unpack. He tells Derrick (@DerrickMTV) and Scott (@SHOTOFYAGER) what fans can expect from the upcoming season, without giving too much away of course! He shares his thoughts on Ashley's million dollar decision, whether...
Jan 02, 2019•1 hr 42 min
Derrick Kosinski & Scott Yager are joined by Susie Meister to reveal the Challenge Mania Awards nominees. Our good friend Dr. Susie Meister (@Susie_Meister) of the Brain Candy Podcast (@BrainCandyPod) joins us to go through all of the nominees for the first ever Challenge Mania Awards. We use the nominations as a blueprint for discussing the entire year of The Challenge with Susie, who watches every episode with Sarah Rice on their live Q&A's at www.Patreon.com/Brain Candy. We go over th...
Dec 26, 2018•2 hr 47 min
