‘The Challenge’: Johnny ‘Bananas’ Devenanzio Named the Next Reality Show He Wants to Compete On
Anyone who’s seen MTV’s The Challenge is familiar with Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio. The seven-time champion of the show is infamous for his strategic gameplay and physical prowess. And while many might think he’s getting close to the retiring age for reality TV stars, it seems he’s just getting started, as he’s also now appeared as the host of a travel series and on the Food Network.
So, what’s next for Devenanzio? He just tweeted what he’s hoping to accomplish in the future. Here’s what he said.
Johnny ‘Bananas’ Devenanzio recently won his seventh season of MTV’s ‘The Challenge’
The Challenge: Total Madness was a seriously grueling season. Contestants lived in an underground bunker and only left the bunker to compete in the chilly, miserable weather for challenges. While Devenanzio noted the circumstances of Total Madness made him seriously depressed, he went in with a new strategy — and that was to team up with nemesis Wes Bergmann.
Eventually, Bergmann and Devenanzio went head-to-head in an elimination round, and this made Devenanzio eligible to compete in the final. In the end, he was the first-place winner for the men, which marked his seventh Challenge win total.
Devenanzio gave some advice regarding how he managed to win so much over the years, too. “Adapting ever season is so difficult,” he said on Instagram. “I’ve said this in the past, and I maintain to this day: It’s not the strongest that wins. And it’s not the smartest that wins. It’s those who have the ability to adapt. And I think above all, above all the things that I’ve managed to do and I’ve been good at over the years, my ability to adapt, I think, has been spot-on.”
He’s also appeared on ‘Worst Cooks in America’ and hosted another show
Devenanzio is such a well-known name in the Challenge world that he’s managed to branch out to other shows. He started hosting 1st Look, a travel and lifestyle show, back in 2008. And he was the runner-up on the celebrity edition of Worst Cooks in America in 2020.
As for how he managed to do so well on Worst Cooks, it seems Devenanzio thinks he had an edge because of his natural competitive spirit. “I don’t care if I’m playing beer pong, cornhole. It doesn’t matter. I’m going to give it my all,” he told InsideHook. “I’m going to do the best that I can. I’m going to try and win it. I’m going to do everything I can to win. So going into Worst Cooks, I think a lot of these other people weren’t really expecting the intensity of the challenges that we did.”
Devenanzio noted he also knows how to “get under people’s skin,” which can be advantageous in certain reality TV situations. “And if I can get under their skin and if I can of rattle them a little bit, it’s going to affect their performance,” he added. “So I did that as well.”
Devenanzio is prepared for yet another reality series
So, where is Devenanzio headed next? We’re not quite sure anything’s set in stone, but it seems he may have his sights set on a certain dancing competition show airing on ABC.
When a fan tweeted at Devenanzio that they’re “waiting for the day” he ends up on Dancing with the Stars, Devenanzio tweeted back, “It’s on the list,” along with a winking smiley face.
So, what does this mean for Devenanzio’s future on The Challenge? After his seventh win, it was unclear as to whether he’d be back on the show, as he alluded that his Total Madness accomplishment may by the best note to go out on. But he also didn’t say he was quitting, either. And those who follow Devenanzio know he loves to compete.
“I’m not gonna sit here and say, like, you know, I’m 100% hanging it up, ’cause I’m not the type of person to do that,” he told the Chicks in the Office podcast. “But if there ever was a time for me to kind of like, walk away from The Challenge, there wouldn’t be a better and brighter note to do it on. If this was the last one, what a hell of a run it was.”
We’ll have to wait and see if Dancing with the Stars really is in Devenanzio’s future!
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