‘The Challenge: USA’: Tyson Apostol Admitted He Tried to Work With ‘Anybody I Can Manipulate’
Survivor fan-favorite Tyson Apostol has returned to reality competition television with his appearance on the new CBS series, spinoff The Challenge: USA. In a recent interview, he admitted he preferred not to work with other Survivor players, instead opting for “anybody I can manipulate.”
Tyson Apostol admitted he didn’t want to work with ‘Survivor’ players during ‘The Challenge: USA’
Following a short-lived appearance on Survivor: Winners at War, Tyson Apostol returned to reality competition television for new series, spinoff The Challenge: USA.
Competing alongside fan favorites from several CBS shows, it seemed likely that those from the same franchises would team-up.
However, in a June 2022 interview with Us Weekly, Tyson admitted he “was hesitant” to align with other Survivor champs Sarah Lacina and Ben Driebergen, even though all three recently competed on Survivor season 40 together, as he claimed they have “anger management issues” and know how “dangerous” of a player the pickleball influencer is.
Tyson preferred working with ‘anybody I can manipulate’
He pointed out that the other players, such as the “younger Big Brother kids,” hadn’t watched his previous seasons, which “played in my favor a little bit” as they don’t know his potential.
Tyson continued, “and Love Island people, I think they only watch their own Instagram Stories as entertainment.” Therefore, the Blood vs. Water champ entered the competition trying to work with them, or “anybody I can manipulate.”
According to the 43-year-old, his gameplay included portraying himself as “calm” as possible and didn’t want others to see him “scrambling too much.”
Besides Sarah and Ben, season 41’s Danny McCray and Shan Smith, Ghost Island’s Domenick Abbate, Cagayan’s Tasha Fox, and Heroes vs. Hustlers vs. Healers Desi Williams are the other Survivor players Tyson will compete against.
Tyson has competed on ‘Survivor’ four times, winning once
In 2008, the reality competition star debuted on Survivor: Tocantins and became close allies with Benjamin “Coach” Wade. However, after winning the first two individual Immunity challenges, the others considered him a physical threat and blindsided him, resulting in an eighth-place finish.
He returned for Heroes vs. Villains as a notorious villain but didn’t last long when he inadvertently caused his elimination at the second Tribal Council. Tyson returned a third time for Blood vs. Water, where he played his best game after girlfriend Rachel Foulger was eliminated early in the competition.
After discovering two Hidden Immunity Idols, he developed a strong alliance with Monica Culpepper and Gervase Peterson that lasted throughout the game. Despite a tough group working against them and a rock draw, the three made it to the Final Tribal Council, where Tyson won in a 7-1-0 vote. The Arizona native returned a fourth time for the first all-champ season, Winners at War.
Following an early elimination when he tried to blindside Sandra Diaz-Twine, Tyson returned to the competition after winning a return challenge. Even though he successfully joined an alliance, it soon imploded, leading to his second elimination. The four-time competitor didn’t win another return challenge, resulting in his 11th-place finish. The Challenge: USA premieres July 6, 2022, on CBS.
