After two fantastic opening episodes of The Challenge: Rivals II, and after the strong viewership that tuned to the drama-filled premiere on July 10, as well as the great social media interaction of cast & fans - 83,000+ social interactions related to the show & resulting in my busiest day on twitter since Super Bowl Sunday earlier this year, we are already experiencing a fast start to this exciting season.
For those avid Challenge fans who didn't catch BOTS because, for most, was simply their favorite veteran wasn't on (it's a bit corny if you ask me), or for those only watch The Challenge & don't watch The Real World the same way I do, Rivals II represents your first opportunity to see this new generation in action. These are the same people who I became familiar with in Turkey and on their original RW season (I didn't watch Challenges much before last fall). Of course, these fans will be in the blue of what these rookies have in store for them. And for fans, it'll be easy for them to go for the veterans, but there are some rookies who might hang with the vets in competition in Thailand, enough for them perhaps to win over these fans too.
The basis of this post is to help you, the avid Challenge fan who knows more about the vets than these rookies, get some insight into these new people: background from their RW bios, what happened with them on their RW season, and with the exception of a handful making their debut in this Challenge, provide a recap of how they did last year when they competed for the first time in Turkey. This will help you understand these people the same way you know the big name veterans and the same way that I do having followed them first in that other show that I love even more.
Lets get it started, beginning with the group that finally made their Challenge debut last year, and now on their second go at it:
New Orleans 2
- Jemmye: Jemmye is a southern girl from Mississippi now residing in where she spent her first MTV experience in, and she is one half of Team Subtitles. Per her bio, she supports legalization of pot, LGBT rights, enjoys casual sex & has preference of black men...so much for that conservative southern stereotype. On her RW season in New Orleans, there was that romance with the person listed below, plus after a drinking binge on St. Patrick's Day she opened up to a counselor & to her loving mom about being domestically abused by a former boyfriend. During her first Challenge, she performed better than many expected, even garnering power team during the insane games mission. What brings Jem to Rivals II was her vicious screaming match with Camila, when the Exes champion & her had it out on the bus ride back from a competitors' night out on the town in Turkey when the Brazilian complained of the lack of competitiveness from most of the competitors after the rock mission which the alliance rigged to put her Fresh Meat team in. Jemmye comes to Thailand looking to build upon that experience in Turkey now that she's part of Team Subtitles, which also saw her make up with...
- Knight: He's a Wisconsin native who can make everyone laugh. While Team NOLA might lack the kind of athletic firepower as other seasons represented in Rivals 2, Knight did play his first love, hockey, for some time before a devastating shoulder injury killed both an Arizona State scholarship & his NHL prospects. But in addition, he also became addicted to painkillers during the recovery process, but he has remained clean throughout all this, now teaching hockey clinics on the side of being a car salesman in his hometown of Kenosha, WI (probably more people will look to get his autograph than get a good deal on a Honda). During his season, he developed a good relationship with Jemmye that lasted for a year after the cameras stopped rolling (though that ended badly when he cheated on her & she gave away his clothes, and after also they got arrested during Mardi Gras & made TMZ), plus he got in it with Sahar & Ryan. And he also had fun eating ice cream, dressing up in a "man-cini," & other things to get a chuckle. Last year in Turkey, he, like Jem, also did reasonably well going into the 2nd half - losing only to Zach & Sam in the arena, but he also a fight with Nany too. So, I expect him to do everything: do well on the playing field, get in a fight or two, and make us laugh...can't wait to hear his one-liners.
- Preston: Okay, so you might be thinking, "how did Preston get on here in the first place?" We're still wondering about that too, but this Rajon Rondo lookalike with Sisqo's platinum hair hasn't always been that carefree, outlandish person with a good style sense & being able to tell it like it is, having survived a rough childhood w/ his mom not being around much when she was dealing drugs. In New Orleans, he & Knight became rivals thanks to them clashing over sexual preferences & lifestyle and that animosity only became bigger in Turkey. In addition, he also had an even bigger rivalry with hair stylist Ryan, which culminated in the cops coming to their door over a toothbrush & catching the eye of Perez Hilton. And on BOTS, he got through Austin & Fresh Meat before losing an arena w/ McKenzie to Brooklyn (the same EP where Big EZ quit). His relationship with production company Bunim-Murray Productions isn't limited to RW NOLA & Challenges, Preston was also an executive producer of a 2011 BMP-produced MTV documentary chronicling the lives of two LGBT people struggling to come out to their families.
Back to Las Vegas
- Nany: This is Nany's 2nd Challenge, and she is probably one of my favorites, and definitely also the best looking girl on this season. She grew up in Jamestown, NY (outside of Buffalo, also hometown to Lucy, Backstreet Boy Nick Carter & NFL commissioner Roger Goddell) as a popular athlete & member of a sports team's dance squad, but that was overshadowed by her biological dad not being around, being jailed before she was born on drug charges. We first discovered this beauty on RW Back to Las Vegas, where she endured an emotional roller coaster in Sin City: coming in with a 6-year boyfriend, then cheating on him with fellow castmate Adam much to many viewers' displeasure (she would later cut off all communication w/ both of them afterwards), and then going on a valiant but unsuccessful attempt to look for her dad, which ended with her in tears after finding out from a P.I. that he had passed away many years earlier. On a lighter note, there was her becoming lifelong friends with the two girls who shared the princess pad w/ her: Heather & Naomi. On Battle of the Seasons as part of Team Vegas, she excelled for most of the season on the field, though she did get involved in a couple fights: first w/ Knight and then w/ Derek during that massive house brawl. But in that same episode 9, she & Alton surprisingly lost in the next to last elimination in Turkey to Marie & Robb from STT; this after she volunteered to go in herself instead of Trishelle, causing a team riff. Now, there's a lot more for her to prove & lots to build on in Thailand, but now being paired with Jonna, whose friendship was diminished by her cuddling with Zach in Turkey. And also, she follows me in social media - first on twitter and then on Instagram (of course, I didn't expect it but it's most appreciated).
- Cooke*: Completing the remarkable feat of having the entire Real World Back to Las Vegas cast appear on this show in only two years, Cooke is the last person from her season to do a Challenge, but it's safe to say she is most likely the most athletic of her castmates. Growing up in California, MD with a Navy dad & Filipino mom and president of her school's Asian Cultural Alliance, she, per her RW bio, is described as "an aggressive player both on the field & in the bedroom" and "known to be a man eater with frequent bi-curious tendencies." She, like Nia last season in Portland, came in later in the season after Adam got the red card from Vegas, but she quickly found herself on the outside looking in with most of the cast. On her first night, she eventually got in a fight with Naomi (the basis for them being paired on Rivals II) plus had it out with the other Heather, then made out with Dustin after his infamous past was revealed. Cooke's athletic prowess? She is a soccer player who played at Loyola University Maryland (http://youtu.be/Bb79Xp0SC2I) and later got to represent her mom's homeland playing on the Philippines Women's National Soccer Team. She was drafted by the Washington Spirit in the supplemental draft of the National Women's Soccer League, but was left off the current roster, opening up the spot of participating in this Challenge, not bad for someone who was part of a Malditas squad that won a friendly tournament in LA last year & even scored a goal during an Asian Cup tournament earlier this year. (Here's the penalty shootout that claimed that win in LA: http://youtu.be/31MgeQ6GwyA.)
San Diego II
- Zach: When we first saw him on RW Back to San Diego two years ago, everyone knew that Zach would eventually become Challenge material with his pro football physique, and it took for his very first challenge to prove that. After all, this beast from just outside Ann Arbor, MI is 6'3" & 220 lbs., was a top wide receiver for Northern Michigan University in NCAA D-I FCS and then played in the arena league (here's his YouTube highlights reel: http://youtu.be/D2h3RTe61Iw), carrying on a family tradition of his dad playing briefly for the hometown Lions. Outside of this, per his bio, he loves steaks, country music and guns, and even appeared in Kurt Russell's movie "Touchback" just after he graduated NMU & before he auditioned for RW. In Surf City, he got some slack for some remarks he made to Sam, but he also developed a relationship with blonde bombshell Ashley that lasted for a few months after the show. It didn't take long until last year for him to make his Challenge debut in Turkey, he performed really well in most of the missions, but he really shone the most when it mattered most in the arena facing elimination. After Team SD was sent in following the log mission, he & Sam outlasted Jemmye & Knight in Water Torture after Sam herself got tortured by the boys for their behavior towards her. And then the next week in my favorite moment of BOTS, he outlasted CJ in the season's closest & most-intense elimination that lasted not only one round (which CJ won the men's round), but because of San Diego and Cancun being tied after Sam def. Jasmine in the girls' round, a second round as well, and Zach won the tiebreaker 2-1 to send Team Cancun's leader & Jazzy home. And of course, he & the team would go on to win, earning himself a trip to London to watch Usain Bolt take 100m gold & spotting Paul McCartney in the Olympic Stadium, and then meeting the Fierce Five at the VMA's. After that win with Trey in that first Challenge, everything is going up for Zach, now that he has fellow RW alum Ashlee from NOLA beside him too.
- Frank: Last year, he was, according to some of the podcasts I listen to on these Challenges, the one who masterminded the Rookie Revolution in Turkey. He might get ridiculed by many for his behavior, but Frank was a star athlete & the smartest kid in high school in the Syracuse area & early in college at Middlebury College, before suddenly changing course to activism and social issues, and then hooking up with a guy. In San Diego, he was quite literally all over the place: dealing with alcohol abuse, getting into it with Zach & Ashley over isolating themselves from the roommates, hooking up with guys much to the roommates' dismay, and helping advance LGBT rights & teen suicide prevention. Then in Turkey, he performed pretty well in most of the missions, but the things that got everyone buzzing was how he played the game: manipulating certain people, getting in a couple fights (first with Wes and then with Dustin), and getting into it with his own teammates several times, including infamously pushing Sam from behind just steps away from the final prize in Namibia. While they won the challenge, the thing that I took away from him was continuing a recent trend of competitors who won the last elimination before the final and eventually winning: that's what happened when he & Ashley beat Jonna & Derek, they were the only pairs up to that point who didn't go to the arena. How will he & Johnny fare on this challenge--being those who've not been on one of these together & whose rivalry stems from just a simple twitter beef, sharing the same kind of Challenge playbook, having a fan base who both love/hate them? We'll have to see...
St. Thomas
The true winners of Episode 1? I've been fortunate enough to have become very close with the RW St. Thomas cast ever since I joined twitter same day as their premiere - June 27, 2012. Though their season might not stand out to me as much as few other RW's do, Team STT holds special place to me & some in my RW fan clique as the first cast I & many of us ever got to socially interact with. I've been really great twitter followers of them through their RW season, BOTS, and now with Trey & Robb on Rivals 2 a year after their MTV debut. And on premiere night, their castmate Marie made it the ideal time & place to rejoin twitter. Though they've been very dysfunctional since the reunion, them, Latoya, Laura, Swift & Brandon have all been very friendly with me over the last year, knowing that I've been part of the ride all the way. And when I watch the boys this season, I'll always have good memories of all of them.
- Trey: With a stacked field of eight strong men's teams, Trey stunned himself & most everyone when he & Zach, not one of the big Challenge veterans, won the first Challenge & overcame the tensions early on that they developed in Turkey. Not bad for someone from Baltimore who's very athletic and was an all-star football player in high school and then later in college, though his NFL aspirations didn't materialize, but still plays flag football on the side. Off the gridiron, Trey became very close with his mom & grandma with his dad going in & out of jail, while this aggressively tempered fella took an opportunity to change his habits. On his Real World season, this deep-down-inside good guy got, in the minds of many, a bad rap, particularly when it came to balancing a relationship with "girl back home" Chelsea and a relationship in the house that he developed with housemate Laura. Literally a few weeks after filming in the V.I. ended, he, Laura & Team St. Thomas went straight into The Challenge house in Turkey, and they performed pretty well for those first five missions, making it past both Austin and Fresh Meat before succumbing in the arena to Dustin & Nany of Team Vegas after the Insane Games mission (for which he & Laura lost in the losers' round of slapping a fish to Chet & Sarah and got some grilling from Marie). Trey comes into Thailand with much more to prove & looking to set aside differences with Zach after Thor got in some bad words w/ him over Trey's game plan of playing on his own instead of for the team, but so far after winning these first two missions and starting to get on good terms with Zach, everything is starting to click for him, hoping to continue some good fortune after seeing his Ravens barely beat my Niners in Super Bowl XLVII (http://youtu.be/NBPQo2jeT3I for his family's reaction when the final tackle was made). And of course, me and Trey share a common trait of tweeting 11:11 every night, part of the legacy of the first social RW cast, along with a music video he starred for a local band just before he was casted: http://youtu.be/SxAcYchY-Kk.
- Robb: In the same premiere where Trey & Zach won the first men's mission, it was fellow St. Thomas castmate Robb, who along with Derek, won the first elimination jungle. It was a surprise to many considering they didn't have the experience of Tyrie & Dunbar and having good communication & ability to work together that the vets didn't have in that Last Chance. Because of his 6'6", 200 lbs. frame, it's no surprise that Robb's favorite sport is basketball, playing it in high school and then in college in the Philadelphia area - even being able to dunk, though he's also played a few other sports beside him & I's favorite sport. Besides that, Mr. Gentle Giant Ginger is just your typical good-looking guy who has a good sense of humor (take him dressing up as Captain Red Bush & him facing Trey as Big Shirley during RWSTT), a good family, and pursuing being a police officer after studying criminal justice. Besides that famous duel, on Hassel Island, he got to become very close with roommate Marie, and although there was some bumps in the road, they (temporarily) became boyfriend & girlfriend at the end. And then, like Trey & Laura, that relationship transferred right into BOTSeasons, where he would also perform reasonably well, making it all the way to the last elimination in Turkey, just missing the trip to Africa when they lost to Dustin & Trishelle. In that same episode, he forged his so-called "rivalry" with Derek when they got into it & Robb took off his shirt; they would eventually make amends and, most likely, this is the duo of good guys that everybody will like (it's hard not to like them, right?). Since then, after breaking up w/ Marie & now has a new girlfriend - now a fiancé, he's bulked up 40 pounds for this 2nd challenge and it's going very good so far being relative dark horses to do very well. And oh, despite having a few A Day to Remember tattoos, he has some kind of fascination with One Direction, check out he & his friends' hilarious cover of "One Thing": http://youtu.be/0_DgQBfI9Aw.
Portland
Finally, there's the new kids - Real World Portland. From the show's most-vicious fight ever perpetrated by the house dog to them having lots of fun in the place where staying weird is just the norm, I recently got to enjoy a great season with these people, & it became a standout one to me (only a few can lay claim to that in my book). And just like St. Thomas was before BOTS, and a team of rookies just off of their season full of drama & making their Challenge debut almost off the plane from Oregon (though they ended taping their season several months before, compared to a few weeks for STT), Team PDX comes to Thailand with their season not airing on TV yet (it premiered just after they departed), the other alumni in a mysterious spot of wondering who they are coming into this challenge, and me having developed a strong social media relationship with them, following the cast on twitter literally after taping ended last November well before its March debut.
- Marlon: Adding to a tradition of athletes on The Real World, former football player Marlon can definitely be able to buck a trend of rookies getting cut early in a Challenge. Doing what many young Texans do, Marlon played in the "Friday Night Lights" of Texas high school football in the same Pflugerville High School stadium in the Austin area that hosted the film's TV series adaptation. Then, he became a nationally ranked linebacker for Texas Tech, garnering two All-Big XII team honors and becoming a celebrity in Lubbock, even playing in the same 2005 recruiting class with Michael Crabtree before the wide receiver was drafted by the Niners. Off the gridiron, this preacher's son raised with a strong religious outlook, a well-rounded passport being a military brat & who never got to see his mom when they divorced while he was a baby, it is, however, a much different story. And in a low point during his depression after being cut by a CFL team, he actually engaged in casual sex with a guy. That stunning admission to his roommates, in the 2nd episode of all things, was a key moment during RWPDX, which also saw him become flirty with new roommate Nia, reluctantly hooked up with local girls and then having a touching moment when he went to church to confess his sins afterwards. Also documented on camera was his music - under the alias of Jay Dillinger, he got to meet a local producer and they cut several tracks while he was there, including a few involving his fellow castmates, culminating in a live performance in the finale. Here's a YouTube highlights reel of him in action: http://youtu.be/q5V5H9aoNtA, and be sure to check out his music on iTunes. Btw, thanks for the follow Marlon.
- Jordan: After watching him on his Real World season, you might be safe to say that Jordan was all over the place, but it's also refreshing to see someone totally unique get cast on a RW who's not the usual good-looking, single & ready-to-mingle stereotype. Despite the fact that he was born with no fingers on his left hand, this handicap didn't slow him down in being a captain of his high school football, baseball & wrestling teams, being a member of four national title cheerleading teams (on a friend's dare), and today being a semi-professional wakeboarder on the side in Oklahoma City. Off the playing field, he's an overachiever who credits his dad with tough love and a guy who's never wrong & prefers to do everything his way so much he fights with others who don't live up to his high standards. In Portland, we saw his brash behavior, insecurity & self-doubt play out when he got into a bizarre chair-jumping argument with Jessica over family issues, getting into it with some roommates over his know-it-all personality & bringing girls home, and of course, his many dealings with Hurricane Nia. And the moment when he & Marlon became rivals & partners on this Challenge was when they got into a big, heated argument after Jordan's racially-charged, late-night fight with Nia (the Cheerios & lamp fight to be exact) and Marlon being offended & despised by Jordan's actions & personality. And shortly after that, he revealed to Ana that, during a deep depression, he once considered committing suicide. Considering everything, it will be interesting to see how his abrasive nature will play out with the other people in Thailand. In the meantime, here's his wakeboarding film as seen during the RWPDX premiere & filmed by his friend Brian Shipman: http://youtu.be/bOnijazQMLg.
- Jessica: Jessica, along with Marlon, is one of the good handful of Real World castmates who follow me on twitter, and she has certainly been the most fan-friendly of all the roommates during RWPDX, tweeting at every opportunity to her fans throughout this ride that started just after I followed her after filming ended. She's just your typical southern belle from Fayetteville, NC: southern twang, smile of a pageant princess that lights up every screen, putting full makeup on for most every trip to the store, and living the good life with a loving family. For her athletic experience, she has that inner tomboy in her of fishing & hunting in the Carolina wilderness, did some skydiving (as seen in her casting tape), has become increasingly engaged in being fit (fueled by some degrading remarks housemate Johnny made on her), and riding dirt bikes & having a garage just for those machines, even showing off what she does best in the bike with her Portland roommates. Also in Oregon, she became romantic with a tall, local fella named Tyler--aka Paul Bunyan, plus buying that purity ring, and became very close with Nia, not to mention a few tears on the computer after some devastating emails. Had Rivals II been a boy/girl challenge like Exes, most likely she & Jordan would've been paired up thanks to a couple other blowups besides the one listed above. And just before she boarded for Thailand (and missing the first few episodes too), Jess got a call from an independent artist to cameo in his video, here's that for you: http://youtu.be/wG9ikFNWzyU.
- Anastasia: This leaves us with Anastasia, or as we like to call her, "Bird" as that Sesame Street character. Per her bio, Ana is someone who's goofy and likes going on adventures to coming up with ideas & "flitting up up & away with it." Besides some modeling on the side, Ana still likes to read those Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter novels carried over from her high school days as she majors in journalism. But it hasn't always been that way; she endured some alcohol-related traumas with her alcoholic dad going in & out of jail, and a friend of hers being a victim of a drunk driving accident. But even with the occasional blowup when she gets offended or feels someone isn't treating her well, Ana's someone who's caring and being everyone's good friend. We don't really know about Ana's athletic ability despite her being 5'11", but in Portland she did deal with her boyfriend Mark who came from Detroit for a visit & then after a rough few days which included considering leaving, he would eventually get dumped (the EP was so tough for her to watch, I also granted her request to not tweet her quotes in my live tweets). And in the same episode as the Nia vs. Averey & Johnny fight, what brought Ana & Jess to Rivals II was when Ana coldly told Jess in the yogurt truck they worked in that she simply does not like her & didn't want to be her friend, but they made up in the bird's nest amidst the chaos. And at the reunion, Ana walked off stage after she got mad at Jordan & threw her gum at him just after a hidden crush was revealed between the two. She, like Marlon, also pursued music while she was in Portland, and picked the right day--Rivals II premiere day--to release her newest EP, check it out on iTunes.
Unfortunately, the last two people in this post were the latest ones to suffer that shortcoming of first-time Challengers losing in the very first elimination as Ana & Jess lost to Cooke & (Naomi's replacement) Cara Maria in the last episode. But fortunately, I've been lucky enough to have been on this ride with them & the PDX cast, and now it'll be up to Jordan & Marlon to hold the fort, and extend Team PDX's run on MTV right into the fall, just as we saw last year from the St. Thomas cast.
Well, there you go...I hope I did my best to help introduce these thirteen newbies to you, the avid Challenge fan. When you watch the rest of the season, hope this gives you a better understanding of where they've come from, what they've been through, and who they are. Hopefully you've given them a warm welcome in the same manner you give Johnny, C.T., Paula and the veterans. And eventually, these people & many others, along with maybe a lucky few from those you'll see on the next Real World, will represent the next generation of The Challenge.
Remember, DC Blog & Twitter @dc408dxtr will be all over Rivals II as we continue to enjoy the drama & competition from Thailand: from taking part in SpreeCast's to tweeting with the cast and posting my blogs. Because of my upcoming Vegas preparations, my Rivals II: As DC Sees It recaps of the first two episodes have been delayed, but rest assured they will be posted very soon as I will do recaps of every episode & taking the social pulse highlighting tweets from cast members during the episodes (I'm sober & don't drink even a sip of the good stuff, so I will remember lol). As mentioned, starting this Saturday July 20th, I'll be in Sin City bringing you updates, photos, videos and more on all of my social platforms. Check out my visuals at www.youtube.com/user/dc408dxtr, Instagram.com/dc408dxtr, & www.flickr.com/photos/dccueva.
As we end, here's previous DC BLOG articles relating to some of the competitors in this post, be sure to check them out:
- 11:11, Inspired by Trey: http://dc408dxtr.blogspot.com/2013/07/dc-blog-1111.html
- PDX Reunion Revealed: http://dc408dxtr.blogspot.com/2013/07/real-world-portland-as-they-saw-it.html
And ICYMI, a SocialPulse of the first Rivals II episode (contains adult language):
For now, thanks for reading, have fun, enjoy Rivals 2, and see you in Vegas.
- DC
@DC408dxtr
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