Hello everyone. I'm Devin Simone and I'm Anissa Freira and this is MTV's official Challenge podcast, and today we're covering episodes eleven and twelve of The Challenge Free Agents. The final.
I cannot wait to talk about your triumphant scaling of the volcano. Yes, but back to business. Remember, folks, you can watch The Challenge Free Agents along with us right now for free. Go to Paramount Plus dot com and use code Challenge Pod to try one month free.
Absolutely. Okay, let's talk about first the TVT moment of the episode, and then let's leave that in the past and the fashion corner. I'm gonna throw it to you who gives Okay, go ahead.
I'm gonna give a moment of that episode.
There's so many moments.
I'm really proud of you, though, thanks because that shit did look hard. It was as hell it was, and that means that in a final that isn't that hard, second place could have been yours too.
That's fair.
So I want to you know, the moment of the season is you never getting a kill card, and two persevering and getting up the mountain. However, this I'd like to leave in the past.
The capsized capsize.
Situation girl, where I don't know where Zach is well, Ben neither do I. I'd also like to leave in the past all of the mones from Zach because if we could have taken as rifle moans, we could have dubbed them for cinemax.
You know what I'm saying, right, Yes, yes, girl, I know what I'm like.
I had to turn it down while I watched it. I'm like, my neighbor is making some shits going on in here. It's really Zach's full body got full body cramp.
It was a mess. Any any fashion corner moments for you from these two episodes, I mean.
At the end when we find out who wins those beanies those knit aanie don't have mine? I think you should burn it along with you know, hey, and you had.
A new wig. You had a new wig. H it was a deep ways mm hmmm. You brought that one out and I did that.
I did that was probably like your your exit interview wig because your hair is probably so fucked up from the swing.
Girl.
Don't you know it? A dice? Don't you know it?
You're like, Okay, you want me to be ready because I want to get my phone back.
Let me. It was the only wig that had life left. It was the only I brought for It was the only one that had life left. By the end, I'd say my throwback moment of the episode has to be coming. It's actually what didn't make it on air, and we'll talk about it a little bit when we dig deeper into this upisode. But it so I know that kind of breaks the rules, but it was just after reaching the top of that volcano. I will never forget that moment and I'll tell you guys a little bit more
about it. The let's leave it in the past would have to be the way that Zach spoke to Laurel and they did the flashback heard about am, which was just you know, abhorrence and I always spoke to you, yeah, yeah, how But but if you notice he didn't go like swearing at me. He did speak to me crazy, and we are going to talk about that too, because he tried to blame me. But I'm gonna tell y'all what really went down.
Uh.
And in the fashion corner, you know, Oh, the other thing I want to throw back or leave in the past sunblock that's not made for black people. My face looks so ashy and because sun not at the end, it was those glasses.
I will take you and looking like you were in Blade and leave it in the past.
Yes, yes, uh, we can't wear every sunblock. Now there are some that we can wear and you should be wearing it. But that whatever they handed us that day was not it.
So I'm a little They might as well have given you just just white page. They really they should have given you Almer's glue and said figure it out.
They're like, why does she look ashy on the mountaintop because I'm protecting my skin. All right, you guys, we have so much to delve into, getting into episodes eleven and twelve of Free Agents. Excited to share that with you, so stay tuned, don't go anywhere, because Anissa and I will be right back. Welcome back, you guys. All right, we're talking about episode eleven of the Challenge Free Agents. It's been so fun doing this REWALTX with you guys.
We had mentioned you guys sending us notes in questions, so I do want to shout this one out back when we watched the trivia episode and Nini you got the question about the most populous country. Right, wasn't that? Ah?
I feel like I got the same message where the person then said that now it's different, so that question would be nice.
Void's right, so maybe you should go back and actroactively get the point India. Yeah, so it was at the time China, but now India has surpassed China in that Thank you, I read that question. Whoever, I've been a writer. I've been the writer ninety five sent that to us, So thank you. I'm in the writer ninety five. He's in it to DMS. I appreciate that. All right. Now let's get into episode eleven when we showed up Anissa tole.
All Right, guys, it's getting real serious. In fact, it's so serious, I think it's time for us to change venues. So meet me at the airport. We're going to the Andes Mountains.
No, this isn't what happened first. When this is First of all, we left off with episode ten on a continue which which they shout out to shout out to Davon.
I hates them. I hate them too. We hate a cliffhanger. I don't mind it.
So we get into it. Leroy VCT.
Yes, I'm gonna start with the guys.
All right, good lucks do it.
Going up against CC tonight is definitely a big deal.
Hearing myself with both power players in this game. For me to be able to sit him home will definitely change the game a lot. I just want to win, like I need.
His money, get it.
I mean, it's just like a challenge.
I don't want to go home now.
I'm to give everything I got my focused.
I just keep replaying over and over and over.
When am I doing that wall climb?
That wall, hit the bell, climb, that wall.
Hit the bell.
Oh so sad to see Lego and CT was just crushing through that wall. He really would And then you know you have Laurel versus Caara.
You were there. I mean, so I'm going against Laurel. Didn't see that coming. But I'm here to compete. This is fun. I'm thankful that I'm even here in the first place. So whatever will be will be. But I promise you I will give a million percent if I have to scale the wall with one hand.
Unfortunately, this is a game, and I'm not thinking about who I'm going against. I'm thinking about beating myself and doing the best that I can. My focus is not on car, it's on this game tonight bringing the.
Ball, which we had been waiting for. I mean, well, that sounds much that we had been waiting for it. But the build up, right, because they came into the house best friends and at that point had sort of become these almost like mortal enemies. So to see them and they both are excellent competitors, so to see them face off head to head like that was really like
the match to what. We got so many epic matches actually the season, because we get this match and then we later get to see Bananas and ct which and then we had Jordan and Banana. There's just a lot of epic matches this season. But seeing the Kara Laurel one was pretty epic in person. But then seeing Kara break down like that, And Lisa, what did you think when you saw Kara really cry and break down when she lost that elimination.
Yeah, like I said last week, there is that that adrenaline.
One, right, oh right?
And two you've been fighting with this friend who you don't even know what kind of friendship it is, and this is potentially the last eliment before the final.
Right and right, you're so poor you're.
Injured, and injuries make you I feel a little bit more emotional than you would be otherwise because you feel like you're already at a disadvantage, which she was going. Yeah, but it still didn't stop her from competing. M hm, which you know says something about her absolutely slightly bon conic.
Slightly bon conic. Yes, slightly bonnic. I did put that poll up on my Instagram last week and a lot of people, Yeah, I think it is. I think it's bone conic is exactly what it is.
Which I think is a lot of the moves that we've made. I think in the few the first you know, two decades of the show.
Yea very.
Iconic and ridiculous at the same time.
And you need that. It's why this show is so great because you get a mix of both. So now Car's gone, LeRoy's gone, We're down to the final four girls, four boys. We're told we're getting a change of scenery.
I know, these guys are so mad. Set's still there.
We go and get a new go to a new location. You know, what was interesting about this group is like it was highly competitive and there was a little toxicity in there, mainly talking about treason. But other than that, it was even though we were competing against each other, it was actually weirdly close knit. And if you like watch the episodes, you see glimpses of that, right, like everybody wants to win. Obviously me I wanted to survive, but but you still see I just girl, I just
wanted to live to see another day. But you still still see people hugging it out and congratulating and even like helping. And we'll get to that, but it was it was just an interesting dynamic. So we got to the house that night, We're hanging out, we're having fun, but we're also like a little scared or uneasy, like you know when you have that feeling in the pit of your stomach. It's it is that. And then we
find out that there is a surprise one more elimination. Girl, when I tell you I saw those kill cards laid out, I was like, oh, this is definitely it. Like this, I love that elimination.
Yeah, I loved it too, because really surprised about CT's performance considering how good he is.
Yes, everybody's money was on CT in that everybody's money was on CT in that moment, Like it.
Was Johnny said, up such a puzzles and I'm like, you nailed that. I mean, yeah, last one not so much. I think that everybody got hung up on that. But you know, and it was hard to watch Teresa get you know, be that emotional during it.
Yeah, and she did a good comeback because she was like so emotional at first, and then she caught up to Laurel, which is proof like if you focus on your own thing, you're still in the game. It was neck and you just.
Put one piece in the right place, you know, it all falls, you know, everything falls in line.
Oh my god, what was I gonna say? Damn it? Oh well, this is what I was gonna say.
I found it okay that I don't know why you and Johnny Riley after the show didn't go play the lottery for a good point between the luck of both of you.
Good pace. Do you think the wild? Yeah, isn't that wild that neither of us pulled? And there were so many variations, like meaning like people can't say it's rigged because there were times that we picked first, there were times that we picked last. So other people just picked it on their own. Like it was so many.
Raird I mean, the time she did, she did, nothing changed.
It was wild that we both I mean, yeah, I'm so grateful, so grateful for that. Although I like a good puzzle, but I'd much rather like to not go into elimination the day before the final. So it was pretty brutal. It was brutal to watch that, But it's us all up and just like put it kind of like put us on notice about this final that was that was coming up.
And.
Yeah, that it was about to be a life change, you know. TJ said in his little note, the hardest thing you've ever done, and he was not kidding, and it was a life changing moment that was just around the corner, which is which was wild wild. I don't I don't love it.
I don't love it.
Yeah.
I also want to point out the shit talking that was happening about because I've seen comments about this online on YouTube. Actually there's like a clip someone put together that's actually kind of funny, but and they put like, oh, the other players sort of picking on me or like the shit talking about me, And honestly, look, I I talked, I joke about other people. But I can definitely take a joke and joke about myself, and I think most of it was in good fun, like honestly, like I didn't.
I actually, like I said, felt that group was weird and it yeah, like yeah, they were very supportive of each other. Like I feel like we all really were supportive of the space that we were in, and I loved that. That made that season so special, and I think that was true about the season as a whole. I actually took a screenshot of a freeze frame Nini of you and me laughing at the bachelorette party. Oh my god.
It was great because they were like laughs and there was laughter and tears.
And we were like yeah, yeah, exactly, and it was so great.
I loved like we probably laughed like these people are gonna hate when they had to watch us back.
That's true. That's true. I don't even think I was thinking that far at the moment, but I would have worn different things if I was. But it was it was you know. I feel like episode eleven really did lay the ground for work for what episode was to come. Yeah was going to be. And so we've just laid the groundwork by going through episode eleven with you, and we're gonna take a quick break, but right after that, we are going to dive into the absolute epic final
that happened on the Challenge pree Age. Stay right here, all.
Right, Devin, It's the time we've all been waiting for, especially you. It's episode twelve and the final is finally here.
How are you?
How are you feeling?
Do you know that, even after all these years, I still get emotional? Like so if I start crying by the end of this podcast episode, nobody listening, judge me, do not ardge me. It really still makes me very emotional. It was and is a defining moment of my life for so many reasons. Things that you guys saw on camera, things that you didn't. I'll try to share some kind of behind the scenes tidbits with you guys about it.
But yeah, starting with one thing that I learned I didn't realize and he so, do you have like a when you're nervous? Do you have a tell you know, like a thing that you find that you just kind of do when you're a little I play with my hair, Okay, yeah, I like twirl my curls, I mean, or I play with my hands.
I don't really know, but normally my hair if it's down. But yeah, I realize I yawn.
And I didn't realize that until MTV put a photo up of us lined up at the beginning of the final and TJ telling us about the final and everyone else looking they're so serious, and me with my arms crossed yawning and I'm not yawning because I am bored at the final. It is literally and there's a name for it. I forgot the name is, but it is like my and I find I still do that if I'm actually, like quite nervous about something. Did I for your whole wedding? Were you yawning your whole wedding? I
wasn't nervous for a wedding. I knew I was making the right choice marrying the amazing like the most amazing man, and that all the that it was just gonna be fun. So yeah, I wasn't. I wasn't nervous for the wedding at all. But I was nervous as hell for TJ's final, And so I sure heck did do a yawn while everybody else is there looking serious. Now let's get into that kayak.
All right, guys, Stage one kayak, you got the race out for the middle of the river, grab your paddle, come back, push your boat into the river. Go to the finish line as fast as you can. I'm a pretty good roller, but I've never done a tandem roll with a female. Playing sports with girls is kind of my nightmare. So I'm a little bit nervous about how Devin will perform.
So Zach over here is talking about how he's been kayaking, and he was like row team or whatever else. So I'm like, okay, I'm gonna take your lead, because here's what this is.
Like, this is like what theo's theo's dolphin pa, Yes.
Yes, yes, in his bags where he can swim. Right, Zach probably kayak when he was two, Right, So Zach's like, I got this full my lead boment. So I'm like, okay, And if there's one thing I can do, it's talk. But the other thing I can do is follow instructions. I'm really good at I can listen and follow instructions. So everything Zach's telling me to do that you see him telling me to do, I am in fact doing. However, Zach's behind puts us in the canoe backwards to start
it is turned around, so that that's why it kept turning. Now, mister, I know the kayak I said exactly where Zach told me to sit. I paddled exactly when Zach told me to paddle. It was backwards and he never knew it.
Yet he wants to blame me. Also, I listened to instructions so well that I listened to the safety instructions, which is, when you get knocked out of the raft, you're supposed to immediately grab a rock and then make an X signal above your head to say whether or not you are safe or you need to get his behind listen to nothing. Yet he wanted to blame me.
So take from it what you will, all right, you can take the person who was making sex noises and moaning and complaining the whole way up the hill, or you can listen in to me, the rational one. But I was not the reason why the kayak ticked over. Zach one hundred percent was the reason why I tipped over. But no, but I feel like, yeah, there were these karma moments. Mm hmm, peo, Bill got I mean, even in eliminations, even all the way up to this, it was kind of like, I mean, except for my loss.
My loss was purely because I lost. I don't think it was karma. You didn't do anything. I played a pretty pretty decent game. I agree. I agree you didn't do anything like shape like, I completely agree.
So uh, I mean, maybe I could have died on this fanel like maybe something bad would have happened, So maybe I needed to be home for something else whatever. But it was funny to hear somebody talk all that shit.
And we can't eat right, and I was worried for him.
I mean, of course I was worried because I had never watched it till like an hour ago, and I have only watched the end because of the series we well that, yeah, the series we all did in la oh yeah, this moment where you did cry when we talked about it when we went over it on the podcast, and it is an emotional moment.
I get that.
Uh yeah.
So I've only watched you like in your glasses and some block going up the mountain. I have a volcano. I've never I haven't seen the other parts.
Mm hmmm, So what did you think now seeing the other parts for the first time? Like, as I view your thought.
I get where other We're all stars one got their final from.
Mm hmm mm hmmm, mm hmmm, the.
Whole We had to kayak first or canoe whatever for Yeah, we did it for life two hours. It was the fucking longest well it felt like two hours. And then after that we had to put together I don't remember how long thing and then after and then solve a puzzle, and then we had to run together and we switched partners at each station.
Can I just say because it was the only it was pretty much the only leg that I didn't come in close to last place was with the Bananas, who was actually a very lovely partner.
Stage two this is a ten k run. You're gonna run up this trail as fast as you can. So you come to a puzzle, are they gonna solve that puzzle and your time will be stopped. For this stage, the teams are going to be Johnny and Laurel, Zach and Nannie as Banana is a DEVI.
Yes, he did carry me on his back part of the way. U. He really did. But when we did with the ambulance truck following very closely behind. So if you guys don't know, in the final there is an ambulance truck that is just outside of shot. But that is literally inching along with us in case of, you know, an emergency. And because these final span such a wide like area, right, so like we're just in one little area where it can say stationary. Literally was like driving
behind us. And so since we were last on the run, then usually the ambulance is behind the last team, So it was just like inching along behind us as we go. But our smarts helped make up for my lack of running abilities. Also, I didn't struggle as much as I did in Battle of the Seasons because my shoes fit this time and they did not in Battle of the Seasons. So the hack that Johnny and I came up with with figuring out putting the tree in the order of
the shape and not just the cities. See, that's why it pays to think outside of the box. And also sometimes that's what you can do with neurodiversity. You think differently than other people, but it means sometimes you've come to solutions in ways that people wouldn't have, so it definitely helps. Then we get to the rock climb part.
All right, guys, Stage three, You guys are gonna race up this trail. This trail is gonna lead you to some stuff that you're probably not gonna be happy with.
I actually really enjoyed that. You'll notice you don't see any clips of me whining like Zach, because it was quite beautiful. Scaling the side of that mountain and then coming down was actually very scary. It was so scary that the camera crew was like, nah, y'all on your own, so they followed us up the mountain, and then they did not repel down because it was pretty straight down and quite dangerous for them, so they just relied on
our GoPros for that. Zach cried like a baby the whole time, as you guys all saw.
I think I fast forward at that part. Can you tell me about it? Oh my god, I'm gonna have to go back.
He cried, cried, like cried, then starts yelling at Laurel, right because Laurel's like Zach. First she tries to be nice to him. Then he starts like whining. And the thing is, Zach actually even started crying I think before, or like whining before we got to the rock part, because he said his legs were cramping up because we had to get in cars to drive us between locations. So it's like, once we finished doing the kayak, we got in a car to drive us too. They're running.
They don't know that. Why don't you know that effects? Yeah, exactly, like I'm sharing that with the listeners. You guys can get some like inside scoop. But that's kind of how that goes, right. So in the car, they're like giving us snacks like it's like an apple and like, you know, a cheese sandwich or something, and that's like, my legs
are cramping up. And he's already on the baby miss, and so Laurel tries being nice at first, and then Laurel's frustrated and then he starts like cursing out Laurel, and Laurel's like, yes, use that anger, use that anger. Channel it because he's about to cost her. She's in the lead and he's about to cost her the final because he's whining like a big baby. Yet he wanted to talk such smack about being worried about being paired with me. I should have been worried about being paired
with you. I bet if I was with any other boy, I probably wouldn't have come last in the kayaking challenge. I'm just gonna say it. But anyway, so after we do the mountain side climb, we get to that damn bike and that's where we see Nannie breakdown.
Welcome to Stage four. The volcano bike. Twenty five miles stands between you a good meal and some rest.
What all right, uh, twenty five miles. I live in Manhattan. The whole island of Manhattan is not even twenty five miles. This is going to be a long night. I very much remember that. I mean, Nanny had been so chilled the whole time. And then I don't know if Nanny felt inspired by Zach's breakdown, to be honest or what. Yeah, yeah, but I think he thought when she broke down that they were going to give her a break or you know, like let her rest and come back. And Brad think the moment when.
You stick, you're like, oh shit, everything hurts, like powering through it. I don't feel as much pain as when when we stop them, we're like, okay, full body scan what's going on? Because they they love having a stationary bike in finals for some reason. I mean we started one, we did a what a sixty k? Well, yeah, we had to do a sixty k between that, wait, what do we do know one hundred where on rider eyes we had to start with oh.
Yeah yeah, which was oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah I read that, yeah yeah yeah. That's it's no fun.
But they love to see They love to see that because it took us about two hours we were assuming each to finish our portion of it, because as a team you had to get to one hundred.
But they love to see that.
And then even us like kind of fresh as the daisy walking into it doing that and then waking up the next day, I'm like, oh shit, my hip, oh my thigh, because you just want it to be over so we could and this wasn't even for us to go to bed yet. Yea, yours was, so you can guess in damn sleep, but.
Ours was also, oh yeah, it's a Brooklyn, Brooklyn, the real world dog. He's still here, alive and kicking ours. You know, your body's already sore because you've had a full day of all these things, and then you think you're going to get sleep, and now it's cold because now again, remember we've taken cars to each space. So yes, when we were running it was hot. When we were kayaking, it wasn't hot, but it was. It was like moderate temperature. But now at the base of this snow covered volcano,
it's cold. It's literally freezing. It's cold as hell, and but you're still caked in sweat, like sweat that hasn't dried, so you're in damp, gross clothes, sitting outside with the bike up you're behind.
It was, Yeah, the ass, that's a that's tough. If you don't you don't go to soul cycle or pellet peloton or whatever, you're gonna definitely feel the effects of a small bike seat. Yes, I want to know how much sleep did you actually get.
I may have gotten an hour or so, certainly the hours. It's better than no hours. But it was cold and so well by the time I got back in the tent, And it was interesting watching that playback by the way and seeing myself because I don't remember in the moment me singing I know I can, I know I can to myself. I love that, but obviously you know that's what happens in fight or flight is I was telling myself, I know I can, and it really did help. When
I got in, all these fools had already eaten. They were all huddled together because it was so cold, even with sleeping bags. Basically we slept in a pile. So I'm like the runt basically coming in while they're sleeping, trying to like nuzzle up to their warmth. Also just so I can get an hour of sleep. And then we wait. It feels like it was two minutes, and then TJ comes in and it's like time to get up, and it's the worst when he comes in. God, it's the worst teaching.
But you can't wait for AI to be there. It's like it's like, I don't know, I feel indifferent. It's like you want him to get there so you could be done already, right, But then you also would love to get a couple more hours of sleep and be a functional hero being in the morning, right.
Right, It's sort of yeah, it's a bit of both, I mean, but then you want.
Oh no, I was about to get to your snowcover mountain and I think I can.
I think I can. Uh. Oh yeah, I was thinking I can, and then I went to sleep and I was like, nah, bitch, you can't. And then I woke up. We woke up and TJ came in. Bothe TJ and one of the producers basically said, TJ was like, basically they thought when we got to the ind of visual legs that I would quit or that I would not
be able to finish. So they were all shocked that I had completed the bike, which I didn't know until that next morning, and so TJ kind of said that to me, like, oh, you know, you did it or something like that, and that's when I realized just how much well maybe not even fully how much, but still that, Oh they're really are they root for you too? They do, they do, but they also like no one, no one expected me question to yes.
Ask okay, So so you get up, you're like fuck mountain.
All right, guys, welcome to the final Challenge. WHOA what is it? It's been a long road, but it all comes down to this. This is the hardest final challenge I've ever seen. You guys have to summit this volcano. Tie the flag of the top, and I'll stop your time. Bring that time back down here to me. We're gonna have all of your times from all five stages. The guy and girl with the fastest overall time will be crown champion. A free agency and received one and twenty five thousand dollars.
Everybody takes off, You're like, I'm going at my own pace? Yes, are you with a snowmobile and a cameraman?
I am with the camera crew, which I found out later was because they had assigned me my own own personal camera crew to catch the moment that I quit because they just knew. But were they on a snowmobile? No, they were walking the girl. They didn't need to be that beast on a snowmobile. The pace I was going.
The thing is like I would take a you know when you.
Couldn't take snowmobiles up there by the way, that mountain was so steep you could there were no snowmobiles up there.
But there was an interesting edit there. If you don't catch yeah, ninety million people on top of that volcano when they draw out for like the bird's eye view of everything. Because what they don't understand is when you're done, well, everyone who's been trailing everyone, So the three people per your sound person, you're you know, you're a camera person, and some like there are three people per per person
at this point. So someone's getting you the go the your gopro's getting you know, your point of view and then there's a drone of sorts catching everything else. So it's like by the time you get up there, these people have also done the final as well, and they are now.
On the mountain.
So then you got to take a helicopter back down nope, or something else because they probably couldn't land up there. No.
So here's the thing. We got a delayed start anyway because there was a snowstorm coming and it was or not snowstorp, sorry, a windstorm. And it was too windy to be up there because if you notice, it's in the Andes Mountain range, it's literally above the clouds. Is how far up that mountain is? Yeah, and so we
had a delayed start. Then finally they're like, okay, we have clearance to go, so we go, but we have a hard timeline of when we need to get down because that windstorm is coming back, and now the like city officials, the park ranger are declaring that, like everyone is going to need to evacuate that mountain. And so as we're getting up there, right, I'm about halfway up. I'm halfway up. Everybody else probably at the top of that point, I don't know, I'm halfway up. They're rechange,
they're changing my battery. And the snow, by the way, just makes it so much worse because it was so many feet of snow. You I mean, and you kind of see it happened to Zach, happened to pretty much everyone. You slide back down in the snow like it's feet of snow. So you take a step, even if you get a good grip, you may then sink about two and a half feet and you have to lift yourself
out of that to take another step forward. So I overhear on the radios when we're halfway up, them start to make that evacuation call, Like I overhear them being like the ranger saying we have to get down, like every we need to get down. We need to start bringing everyone down. And so I'm looking at one of the producers and I'm like, I'm never gonna make I'm never gonna make it to the top at this speed.
And he's like, look, if you don't like, don't quit until I tell you to, Like basically, if you keep going, we're gonna keep filming you. So I'm like, Okay, I'm gonna keep going. And then we keep going. So how'd you guys get down. So we get down, sliding on our butts. We took basically sledding. It was a giant sled, but you would sled in increments and you'd have to be careful, like because it's so steep. That's the only
way to get down. So here's the tea, you guys want to know, the tea of like what part of what happened that day and why technically I could have I should have never finished. So I continue going up the mountain. And at this point, you're right, Andisa, it's a couple producer, sound guy, you know, camera guy. But there's also locals there that were there to guide to make sure we didn't like walk off the side of
the mountain. So the locals aren't really talking or interacting with us too much, but they're kind of walking alongside us, and they're not allowed to help, like interfere with the game. But that we don't, yeah, that we don't like take a hard left because it was so much No, you really kind of couldn't see where you should be stepping, to be honest, until you got like toward closer to
the top. So we're doing that and I'm just like kind of I'm taking it set by step, and the local kind of starts saying to me when I was like, you got this, I know you got this, like you could feel I could feel from the producers. I could feel like these people that I've never even met, some of them, I could feel their energy cheering for me, and that means everything to this day, it still means everything.
Like they'll I don't even know some of their names, and they'll never know the impact they had on me in that moment. So I continue to keep walking and I'm just thinking, like, I don't know if I can do this, and the producer at this point is actually walking ahead of me a little bit and they're kind of shooting me from that angle. And then at a certain point he's no longer ahead of me. He's he
like stops moving forward. I keep walking and he's behind me, and I find out later it's because I've I've now gotten so close to the top right that like he's moving like you said, and he's said out of the shot, like he's stopping and falling back so that I can walk up to the top by myself. If you look at the group shot where everyone's hugging. You'll see that I'm not in that shot. And the reason why is
because they had gotten there earlier. They did wait for me, but then the evacuation call was made so they had to get down, so they started making all of the other casts go down, and they were on like kind of a different side than I was, so I never saw them going down and they didn't see me as I was continuing to go up. I also found out later that all the producers were being forced off the mountain, all camera crew was being forced off the mountain and audio. However,
two guys, Vinnie and Ludwig. Ludwig the sound guy, Vinnie the cameraman, they said, we're not leaving. We know she's going to make it, and they stayed at the top of the mountain to wait for me to catch that shot shot out. It was because they waited and they believed in me, And I found that out later. And if you look at the shot, you see me standing at the edge of the volcano. So for the weird conspiracy theorists you think podcasting, oh thanks, poo good, Yeah,
give them some of your notes. If you'll see me at the edge of the volcano, because I did actually make it to the top, but there's no one else around me because they'd all been evacuated otherwise. And then you see it zoom out and there's a shot of a thumbs up shot, and if you look closely, you can see it's like a white wrist and not mine.
And so that's why I think some of the conspiracy theorists are like, she didn't actually finish, morons, I did finish, but what happened is they wanted a shot of me at a different angle on the volcano, but they couldn't get it because they didn't have time get it right. Because by the time I made it up, we immediately had to get off. It was like a life or death hazard, and everyone else had already kind of come down the mountain, so we immediately had to get off.
And it took a while to get off the mountain, Like even sliding down probably took thirty forty five minutes, because you had to do it in increments. You couldn't just go straight down you'd kill yourself. You had to come How long did it take you to stop? Took my ass hours I don't know, but like four hours, four hours and three something like that. Three four hours. I think it took the Johnnies about two something hours. It took what Zach and Laurel and Nannie around three
and a half hours, close to four. It took me four and something.
Well, you finished, congrat finished.
And when I came down, I got a cheer from everyone, and that was so meaningful. I also found out that they all thought that I would never make it, and that's why they were cheering, because they all thought that I never would have made it to the top.
Well, what's crazy is these finishes, these finishing times of.
Like, yeah, they were closed. It was getting up the mountain.
Yeah, I mean Laurel and Nannie were what four seconds and then it ended up being nine minutes.
Mm hmmmm.
It's so crazy that Nannie was nine minutes, nine.
Minutes from winning that epic one and then she still hasn't won. Like it's wild and that was her definitely has it in her. There's zero zero quit. But Donny Riley killed that. By the way. The fact that Johnny Riley got up there so fast.
Like geez, I wanted to know the difference in their times didn't show that.
Yeah, it was like, uh, what twenty six minutes or something like that. I can't do the math fully twenty two minutes. It's wild, but it was an epic, epic time. We have become vital. Are we covering the reunion?
No?
Yeah, yeah, you guys can watch that on your own for all of the drama and to see what happens after the camera stop rolling. There's always some drama and some you know, find out what happens with Klara and Laurel, and find out about Teresa and Laurel, and you know, see how the people are feeling after this.
And I give a couple points not to be school teacher dev but about that epic final in the moment. A couple things for all of all of our listeners are the challenge fam and Anissa. I know, I'm sure you have felt this and know this too for all of the challenges you've done, the finals that you've been in. But like being in that space and being with a bunch of strangers, especially since it was an individual one. Like at that point, right, we're like on our own
and not with teams or what have you. One, you never know the impact you being kind or rooting for someone else can have on their life. I still don't know all those people's names, and to this day, it's almost ten years later, it is a kindness I will never forget and it meant everything, and certainly I think
was fuel that helped me get to the top. These the locals and these people, even some of the producers, because the producers, some of the producers, you guys know their names, You've heard us reference them, But there are some that don't really interact with us because they're not supposed to, so we don't necessarily know them right off the bat or know much about them. So that one and two. Anytime you're doing anything in your life and you feel like I just can't go further, literally, just
tell yourself, I'm gonna just take one more step. You'll be so surprised how far you'll go, and you'll look back and realize that that one more step turned into twenty more steps, which turned into the next level of wherever you want to be.
Yeah, yeah, Well, I think there's something about being alone and finishing a final that is very different than being on a team or being in a pair or whatever. Being alone is like the eeriest because of my first final was like that, and there's like one crew on you. That's like, come on, you can catch her like that root for you, even though like maybe they're not supposed to, but they can't help it because they've lived with you silently or not so silent, right for months of a time,
and they there's an attachment. If you're a nice person, yeah, there's an attachment. And people do root for you, and that is a wonderful feeling because they're not there. It's like they're kind of not supposed to, but they do anyway.
They don't have to, but they do.
Right and showing that they're human too. Like it's just such a nice it's just such a nice thing. And for the people like, oh, well you were last or oh it is like being alone and moving for that much time by yourself, you're the only person that can really like motivate you. And it's one of the hardest things you can do. There's no other way to explain it. I don't know how I just to explain it. It's just like it's kind of eerie how alone it is.
It is because you're in your head, you're in your thoughts, you're in and it's literally especially when you're doing something that is the toughest thing you have done to date in that particular instance, I mean it was that was the hardest thing I've ever physically done and hopefully we'll do and yet it was so profound and life changing
in so many ways. And I still get messages from people to this day years later being like, I watched that and because because you were able to finish, which is why I think it's important to have underdogs, by the way, and why I think they like play such a big role, because it's the relatable thing, Like, yeah, no, I knew I wasn't coming out first place. If I wanted that, I should have started going to the gym
seventeen years ago that was gonna happen. But trying to even just finish, you know, if I can do it, you can do it. Anyone can do it, and so I think that's really powerful. What are your final thoughts on this season as a whole, now that you've watched it in its entirety MESA. I mean I hated the season, wait watching it or competing in it, or both competing in it.
This was not my favorite season. The party aspect of it was. Yes, there were some people on the show that I absolutely adored and had a great time with game Wise, and say like it was stressful. It was, and I felt like, you know, if I were there longer, I would have been voted in more often than not.
They would have come after you because they saw you as a threat for sure. Yeah.
And and I think after being on Rivals too, and that being I gave everything and us losing right before the final, coming off of that and then going in like you know, they all kind of like it all has an effect on you. But overall, if I if I could take myself out of it, the concept of the show I thought was awesome. The feuds were great, the romance or whatever you want to call it was great. The amount of how catastrophic things could be and then
the next day next day are meaningless. The amount of parties, funerals and whatever else, like, it just takes me back to a time and I'm just hopeful that we can get a sprinkle of that on the show soon. But I don't, I don't, I don't know. It's now, it's now the Olympics of Challenge. Yeah, so it's a little different now, but I think at its core it tries to be the same thing.
Yeah, just elevate. I think it can be that, you know what I think, with the right mix and like when you're back in that like, I think it can be that. And I love that we have All Stars because all Stars seems to be that, you know what I mean, like lean way more into.
Right because now we're old enough, like honey, that ship has sailed. We didn't like each other back then. I don't like you now there, but I'll live with you because it's just it is what it is. But don't come for me like it right. It's like I'm a grown ass woman. I'm not I'm not gonna go on Twitter. Okay, your your beef is safe with me right here, weekend, but it it is that thing. And yes, let's keep the All Stars coming. And it's crazy that now we're
you know, we just got done. We're like fifty thirteen seasons ahead of this one right now.
Yeah, I know that is why I say, go, I don't know.
It's so there was a point where I thought we were gonna get canceled, like when we thought they would like buy some and we were all like sitting on the edge of our seats like, oh my god, are we going to get renewed so we can actually be on the challenge again.
Yeah yeah, and look at where we are now, coming up on SEC. It's going to be so great. My final thought is just that this was such a gift, a gift. I feel so special and privileged to be able to have had to have met people like you and and all the people in the house and of so many you know, it was small, Okay, it was small. Go again, it's okay. I pay for those slates. It was they were expensive, I can't. But yeah, it was a small gathering. It was so special to see though,
and uh, and it was again. It's a part of the challenge will forever live within me because it has contributed to the woman I am today. So I am it was the thing I never knew that I needed but will forever be grateful for. And I'd like to dedicate this episode, this final episode, of course, too, to Marror the Wig for all the service that she's done. She's gone but not forgotten.
Shout out to all the girls who are still rocking synthetic wigs.
It's okay, yeah, just don't get it next to a flame heat source, yeah, or an open flame. Okay, guys, let's take a quick break. Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back after this. Anissa, now that free Agents is over, where can the people follow you on social media? Oh?
You can find me at Anissa MTV on Instagram.
And I'm on threads. Find me there.
They're kind of attached my bio because I can't log into Twitter and I never wanted to see it anyway, So I'm on threads.
Find me. Oh, get it on and popping.
I bet you have threads too, now I do, but I don't maintain so many socials.
I'm overwhelmed.
But it's too I kind of like the pettiness of it.
That's fair, And you can like be different personalities on different platforms, which is like like what highlight different?
Only you would think that, but like I am just I'm just petty, like, well, I'm just gonna side with this person for now in their platform.
Oh that's fair. No, my loyalty is to threads for reasons if people can figure out. But I still look and listen and sort of utilize both. But you can and find me. You can go to my website devinsimone dot com Devin with y Smoth and I Instagram, I'm most popular there. Still a lot of wedding content right now. It'll fade out eventually, I promise, but it's still bear with us.
It's there, not on the most popular there.
I mean most active there, and then I'm on thread Devin's as well Twitter Reddit. I do be lurking. Appreciate the love, the wedding love that was in the reddit threads. Thank you guys so much. Appreciate that and appreciate you guys listening. And if you liked this episode, rate and reviewers. Please on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, tell a friend, several friends, leave it in the comments, post it on threads. All the things, all of them.
And even though the season is over, you can still watch The Challenge free agents for free. Go to Paramount plus dot com and use code Challenge Pod to try one month free terms apply.
And we'll see you next time. It'll be in our hearts, but we'll see you real soon on MTV. Please. Official Challenge Podcast the official home of Tamarka Wake, so you'll see in