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Utah native Tyson Apostol, who won a million dollars on “Survivor,” didn’t immediately jump at the chance to compete on CBS’ “The Challenge: USA.” When he eventually said yes, it was, at least in part, out of spite.
“The people who don’t get invited are, like, half of it,” he said with a smile. “The people that were on ‘Survivor’ that didn’t get invited are going to be so mad that I’m here right now.”
Apostol was kidding, sort of, about sticking it to all the other “Survivor” contestants (there have been more than 600) who didn’t get invited. It’s his sense of humor. And anyone who has followed him on TV knows there’s no actual malice behind it.
It’s one of the reasons CBS keeps inviting him back. It’s one of the reasons he keeps accepting the network’s invitations. It’s one of the reasons that, in the opening moments of “The Challenge,” we hear Tyson say, “You know what’d make this game better? Me.”
He finished eighth on “Survivor” in 2009; 15th in 2010; won the million dollars in 2013; and finished 11th in 2019. He also appeared on “Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars” with his then-girlfriend/now-wife Rachel, and on “Poker Night Live.”
“I’ve never felt closer to God than getting handed a million-dollar check from a large corporation for lying and cheating on national television,” Apostol says with a straight face on “The Challenge.”
He’s kidding! Really.
And it’s really true that he very nearly said no to “The Challenge.”
“I kept waffling back and forth because I have a really good thing going with Spotify and The Ringer. That’s growing and getting better and bigger,” said Apostol. (He co-hosts three podcasts — “The Pod Has Spoken,” “PicklePod” and the “News AF” segment on “Rob Has a Podcast.”) “I kind of really like that space for me. I’m pretty good at talking, and staying at home to do it is really optimal. I get to be around the girls all the time and don’t have to travel. Don’t have to disappear for months on end.”
He almost turned down the fourth invitation to “Survivor” three years ago because he’s a stay-at-home dad who spends a great deal of time with his daughters:...