One of the more interesting aspects of the Challenge for me is to look back at where the Talent for the show has come from. We all know the people from the show come from three different places. Real World still makes up the vast majority of people appearing on the show, but Fresh Meat and Road Rules still have more than their fair share. As the blog goes on - we will break down the most prolific seasons and decide the best season in history, but it would be unfair to not first look at Fresh Meat.
After Road Rules went belly up, MTV needed new contestants in order to keep feeding the beast that is The Challenge. They had the where with all to bring in 12 new contestants and pair them up with existing Real World stars.
Just like in any season there were some duds on the list. After their brief dalliance with Fresh Meat fame these 5 were never really heard from again.
Chanda Tomlinson, Linette Gallo, Johnnie McBride and Jesse Stark.
If you recall there was a young lady teamed with Darrell named Aviv. Aviv was an insanely strong competitor and was able to contribute to the win. Her big angle was that she was in the Israeli Air Force and was an animal. Unfortunately, she will be remembered as the Terrell Davis of the Challenge, never appearing again and retiring on top.
The other 6 were able to sustain long tenures on the Challenge and have created the crux of what has to be known as the biggest talent infusion in Challenge history.
Any discussion of this talent infusion has to begin with Evan and Kenny. Fresh Meat aired in 2006 and outside of CT these two have been the most influential cast members going. Between the two of them they have 5 championships.
On the female side - the most dominant cast member is again a Fresh Meat veteran. Evelyn has been virtually unbeatable. Logging in with 3 career victories - her dominance becomes very hard to argue with.
Eric - aka Big Easy - hasnt had the most illustrious Challenge career, but he has been involved in a ton of momentous events. First and most importantly he wore a speedo and made reference to the fact that he is "All Taters". Then he nearly died on a Final Competition, where his teammates actually wished he had and then of course Laurel eviscerated him while she was in the hot tub. Thats 3 pretty memorable moments for the 300 lb ginger.
Ryan Kehoe you might remember as the token gay guy on Fresh Meat. While he didnt have the strongest showing in his first two challenges - he actually excelled in his next three. In the argument of best gay male performer (which we'll discuss soon) - him and Tyler have to be near the top of the list. No championships, but a nice solid supporting cast guy.
Diem we will all remember as the darling of Fresh Meat 1. Fresh off cancer treatments and gritty and gutty. While she has no championships to her name she has become the muse for the most gifted Challenge competitors of them all, CT.
Lastly is Casey Cooper. Earning the bronze on Fresh Meat, she appeared a few more times as the heir apparent to Katie Doyle's ineptitude. Certainly a relevant title.
Any other thoughts on Fresh Meat? Pretty impressive talent pool. Obviously, its not fair to compare this group straight up to any one Real World season - but will any season be close? We'll take a look in the days ahead.
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