The Challenge Australia: Male Winner Interview

0:00 Welcome back to the Nullified Take channel here on YouTube. We've got the TNT takes for you on The Challenge Australia. I'm joined today by the male winner of The Challenge Australia, Troy Cullen. Troy, how you doing? Hey, good. How you going? I'm good. It's I'm so excited to talk to you. you became a definite underdog favorite of mine because you were going up against the powers in the house and it seemed like you were outnumbered heading into the finale. How good did it feel to pull out a win in the very first Challenge Australia? yeah, it felt pretty over the moon for me. I'm a pretty big Challenge fan, so I've watched a lot of the seasons. and yeah, for me it was just big to get on the show, let alone win it, so yeah, I was really happy to take it out. that's for sure, especially after the elimination I went through and then battling, you know, I guess with my body in the end to just get through that final.

0:55 Yeah, it was pretty fun. Well, I'm definitely going to ask you about that, but I want to backtrack it to you just saying yes and going on to the show. Being a fan of the show, you know, it's one thing to be a fan and then it's a completely different thing to be out there actually having to do it. How did the expectations of going out there compare as a fan to actually competing? Yeah, it was it was a lot different. you don't realize like how long you have in the house. Like there's a lot of time in between. Like it's not just, "Hey, we're going straight out to a challenge." and, you know, there's a lot of waiting around. There's a lot of there's a lot more running in a lot of the events. There's just a lot more to it, a lot more social things happening in the house that you don't see. like man, it they try and portray it in the TV, but they can't get it all and especially on our season I felt like a lot of the drama and the things that were shown were very similar to the way they were shown, but a lot more extreme.

1:52 I felt like they dulled it down a bit for the for the TV cuz to include everything it would have been ages. Everyone was taking everything so personally. So, for me, that side of things was a lot different to what I thought it would be coming into the challenge. Yeah, well, you're a legitimate athlete, obviously a Ninja Warrior. You know, you've gone out there and done some pretty interesting things on Australian TV already. so, how difficult it is it, you know, you're prepared for the physical stuff, you're prepared for the athleticism that is going to come with it as best as you can be. But, how difficult is it to balance all these different personalities? Because it looked like you and Marley for a big time there, you were kind of sitting in the middle of this massive rift in the house. What was that like? Yeah, so obviously going into the house, the first thing I got told from multiple people, you're a Ninja Warrior, oh you're going to kill this. Like straight away, I felt like there was a target on my back physically.

2:44 And I was lucky enough that I didn't really know anybody going into that house, and neither did Marley. So, we immediately connected, and we're like, hey, like, let's just be an alliance, and we sort of let things in the house happen, and then we didn't really pick a side cuz we didn't need to. And as the house sort of progressed, it was getting so personal that I knew that if I just didn't pretty much spread even more hate more animosity in the house, I wouldn't be thrown in, even though I was a big physical threat and I was winning a lot of the challenges. I was just trying to be nice when I was putting people in so that hopefully it wouldn't backfire. So, that was sort of my game plan with Marley. And while he was in the house, he helped me so much with just helping make decisions of who to put in and just to vent to, because a lot of stuff happens in the house, and if you vent to the wrong person, like it just spreads like wildfire.

3:38 You would have seen a bit of that with Sarah, you know, hearing rumors, and she just went off her head, and you know, Ryan as well. And yeah, it was just it was pretty full on in there. So, for me to have Marley, yeah, it was just it was a blessing. So, you know, when Marley left cuz you guys had that great friendship in the house, when Marley left, who did you sort of turn to? Did you have anybody in the house or was it truly you just had to sort of focus on the job at hand and sort of move forward on your own? Yeah, when Marley left, that was a big hit for me because he was like my number one. I was hoping if I could get into the next week with him, at least I'd have somebody there to help me, I guess, get through because I knew the bachelor alliance was going to come for me at that stage cuz Marley went home and it was only Well, I thought it was only one elimination left, but then it ended up being two because in the house, you know, I've been watching the challenge. Normally, eight people go into a final.

4:29 This one was six. So, I wasn't prepared for two more weeks of challenges. so, what I actually did that they didn't air is actually did a bit of a deal with Grant and I said, cuz Grant then moved into my room, I said to Grant, "Hey, like I'll be part of your alliance cuz I can get one save and so can Brooke Jowett. So, Brooke is going to save Conor, who I also didn't want to see in elimination. I was getting along really well with Conor. And I was like, I can save you, Grant, but then if I if I look like if I don't win this week's challenge, which is episode eight, it was the ice bath challenge, if I don't win it, can you save me if you win? And he agreed to that, so I was going to save him if I won, which I did, but then he ended up losing anyway. So, I could I didn't even have to uphold my end of the deal, so But yeah, at that stage when I was alone, I yeah, I did turn to Grant.

5:20 I'm sure the bachelor alliance wouldn't have been happy with that had he have not lost and then I saved him. But, you know, I already had a target on my back, so it didn't really matter at that point what I did. Yeah, interesting. And maybe they didn't show it cuz he did end up, you know, losing, like you said. But, you ended up doing really well. You were the counter of that because the bedroom alliance, what they were called, they were kind of struggling to get the wins and that's how bachelor sort of, you stayed together. And you could ride that wave. But you won four times. What was your strategy? Like you said, you know, you had to put people in there. What was your strategy to try and not get people to come for you at the end of the day? Because it's very hard to keep your hands clean, you know, when you're when you're winning that often. It is. Well, I'd sort of cuz I was openly public about it and I was pretty honest that, you know, my alliance is Marley and that's my number one and I'm willing to work with people, but it doesn't mean I'm going to be in an alliance with you.

6:14 Like I never fully committed to any alliance. So, it meant that like if I won with a I think I won with Emily at one stage. It meant that like I could I sort of went after Megan and Connor who were sort of part of the bachelor alliance. But it meant that they thought it was more coming from Emily rather than me because they knew my concern as well was for Marley and I guess a lot of the heat luckily got taken off me because the women seemed to keep getting the heat for me winning, which I found really odd in a sense that like I was winning all the time and they still like I still had a say in that decision. And I made that clear to everybody in the house. When I like at one stage I like oh no, Emily told you so. I'm like no, Emily didn't. Like I still had a say in that decision and I don't know, I guess being honest like that and telling them that they just didn't come after me for some reason until the very end until they had no choice pretty much.

7:08 Like all the bedroom alliances gone and they're like yeah, we're coming after you, which I knew. and it was just a shame it was trivia and I sucked the trivia pretty badly. It seemed like you were good at adapting and working with anyone in the house when it came to those duo relationships and having to work with different female partners. You won four times. What strategy did you have working with different partners at different times? And who was the person that you potentially liked working with the most? Was it the obvious person, the one you won the most with, or was there other people out there as well that you really enjoyed working with? Yeah, that was actually a very interesting one because it was like polar opposite of Grant who couldn't work with anybody and Emily then trying to throw me in I think episode five which I didn't hear that conversation that you know Emily wanted to throw me in because of the algorithm was going to give you some other partner to Connor and Connor summed up perfectly like if you're good enough at that the game and at the challenge as well you should be able to work with anybody it shouldn't matter like it's called the challenge it's not called the physical you know just cuz you're physical doesn't mean you're going to be good at everything and I think Grant in particular struggled with that a bit because he was physical but whenever it came to memory or puzzles or working with somebody which you had to do the entire season he just sort of folded like a pack of cards whereas in my strategy was I'd hear the girl out I'd let them have a voice

8:28 Cuz you're going to get the best out of them if they feel like they've got a lot of input and they do they've got good input and you can put both your heads together then you're going to get a better result than just having one big head that's doing the whole thing you know I believe you know a variety of inputs is always better so I guess I always got the a lot of a lot of like I guess I always got the best out of my partner because you know I guess I let them in and let them have a say too. Yeah it's a collaboration right 50/50 partnership you're only working with them for one week as well so you can't just be like oh my alliance is all these people and we're going after you know you sort of had to be careful with what you said to them and all that sort of stuff as well because again you didn't want to put a or I didn't want to put a social target on my back as well as a physical target like I already had a like a threat level for challenges and that everyone thought I was going to win I didn't want to put a social target on my back as well like I'm part of a big alliance and that so yeah.

9:31 And who was the who's the partner you enjoyed working with the most? Oh yeah I mean I'm sure there was some I was wondering what the other part of that question was. I was like That's my fault. I asked you two questions. No, that's right. The partner I enjoyed working with the most, I probably enjoyed working with Yeah, probably Brooke Jowett the most. Like we did win two together and it is the obvious one, but I don't know, I just felt like we clicked. she's a very smart individual and I felt like we really were able to put our two brains together on all of them and just nut everything out, especially like on the Frozen Sentences challenge with that feeling puzzle. She came back to me and she's like, "I feel flowers and a fish." And I'm like, "What on earth?" Cuz I just looked at them like, "There's no flowers or fish." And it was good that she was just able to still remain calm. And I'm like, "Okay, there's crosses, arrows, and triangles. We won't worry about getting any right this one, you know, you go back, sort it out, and then come back to me and see where you go." And that's just the I guess the ability for us to communicate clearly for me that helped us progress and get two wins together.

10:33 And even in the leg of the final, we got that win as well together. and there was a puzzle in there, too. So, yeah, I really did enjoy working with Brooke Jowett a lot. Okay, so you were part of, in my opinion, I'm a big Challenge fan as well. I've watched pretty much from season 15 to the latest seasons, all of them. Some of the older seasons I didn't really get into right from the start. I think you were in one of the most memorable eliminations ever, which is the one that you went up against Conrad. It's going to go down, I think, in Challenge history as one of the best eliminations. What did it feel like to actually physically be out there, you know, against this big guy? You're going up against him. It's David versus Goliath. And how long did this whole thing take you guys to actually complete out there because the show, I don't know if it fully did it justice. We could see the pain on your face afterwards, but it looked like a gigantic battle. Yeah, it was a gigantic battle. When I first got out there cuz you sort out back, you can sort of see in and I was like, "Oh, there's only a ring." And obviously I'm as well being a fan of the Challenge, I saw there was only one, I went, "Oh, I reckon it's a pole wrestle." And surely enough I got in and it was a pole wrestle and I knew Conrad was going in at that stage.

11:39 And I was sort of glad in a way that Brittany was going against Brooke B because I knew that she would win. So then I felt like it was all in my hands, which was nice to have. But looking across at him, you know, he's 6'3", he's nearly 100 kilos, I'm only 5'7" and 60 to 65 kilos. So he's nearly got 40 kilos weight on me just from the get-go. I was like, "Oh, it's like Yeah, I just felt like I'm going to be, you know, pushing uphill here." Like I just knew immediately. And then going into it I knew my grip strength would last, cuz obviously, you know, being off Ninja and all that was one of my strengths. So I just wanted to weather the storm, I guess. But the storm lasted a long time. That first round went for like 30 to 35 minutes, which you didn't see. but he played a lot more aggressive in the first round. He was attacking me, he was flinging me, he was trying to do a lot more moves, which meant I could do a lot more moves back.

12:33 And just it was just so tiring. I remember, yeah, him just flinging me around. I'm just holding on and just waiting and waiting and just seeing if his grip would let out. And it just he kept holding on and Yeah, man, he was a beast. And then the second round came in and he was vomiting and vomiting straight after the first round. I'm thinking, "Oh, beauty, you know, he's tired. He's going to struggle this round. I still felt like I had a bit more in me." And then the second round came and he immediately changed his tactic. He wasn't as rushed with his aggression. He was a lot more conservative with his strength. He was spending it a lot more wisely. He wasn't letting me I guess attack his forearms as much like I was in the first one, really trying to wear them down. he was sort of just laying on top of me when he wanted to rest. And there wasn't much I could do. And then that round ended up going for nearly an hour.

13:25 So that was about I think it was like 55 minutes or something the second round. And he was just he was literally just picking me up and slamming me. And it was so hard to do anything cuz I'd go to move and do something and he'd just move around and sit on me again and then So, what my strategy was in the end cuz he had his arms like round my body. Can't quite see that. But, he had his arms round my body is I was actually getting my leg in and pushing on his forearms the whole time. But, the problem with that cuz I was trying to wear down his grip. But, the problem with that is all my weight would be above the ball. So, that's when he was able to really pick me up and slam me like really well. So, yeah, it was just a it was a long battle. I just remember like my head was in the sand. He had his knee at one stage on my face and was just wrenching at the ball. And yeah, it was it was pretty full on. But, Have you ever been in scraps like this before? Was this the first time that you've experienced something to this degree being out Something like that.

14:18 Yeah, absolutely. Like, you don't you don't go doing that sort of stuff for fun in your spare time. Like, I've done a lot of wrestling in my spare time for fun, but not like not like that. Not that long. Not in the sand. Not where like he's got his knee in my face. He's got his elbow. Like, he's doing everything within the rules, you know, to his degree. So, I've got no complaints there. He didn't kick. He didn't punch. And he didn't bite. So, Yeah. But, jeez, yeah, he was definitely physical and he was There's a hundred thousand dollars, right? So, I think people will do a lot to get that. I could relate to you having the shakes of the adrenaline afterwards because I've got a karate background myself and I've competed and I know that when you're in a fight and you're in a ring, you do afterwards you feel that adrenaline when you've been in that scenario and it's very hard. Most people lose their head cuz they can't stay calm, but you seem to stay calm throughout all of that happening. Yeah, I just I just didn't want to gas myself for no reason.

15:10 And like, I was getting slammed a lot and it was hurting. Don't get me wrong, but it wasn't it wasn't the end of the world for me. So, I was happy for him to slam because I knew he was tiring out his forearms. and yeah, it was just it was just hard. but yeah, the adrenaline at the end like they're like, "Oh, you're shaking cuz you're hurt." I'm like, "No, it's not. It's just cuz like I've had so much adrenaline, I've been going so long that yeah, I just couldn't stop like shaking my arms. I was like the whole time. Yeah. Yeah, pretty sure. Yeah. How much time did you get to like recover between that challenge or being the in the arena to actually doing the finale? Because, you know, it looked like it was instantly afterwards. Did you get any nutrition before running a finale? Like what happened like in between? no, we didn't get fed that night. So, I didn't eat much as well because I don't like eating much before I compete. So, before that elimination I would have had like I don't know, this tiny like little bit of pasta that Connor had made up and that was it.

16:05 So, then we went straight into the final. It was literally Brooke announced it and then we walked to we went out back for maybe 15 minutes while they got changed, I got cleaned up. I just wiped off my face. I and then got a little bit of medical assistance but not a lot cuz I didn't want them to medically DQ me cuz my hand was a bit swollen, my face was swollen. I didn't want them to go, "Oh, he's had concussion or he's had this, he's had that. He can't he can't compete." So, I was like, "Oh, just give me like the bare minimum." And I just iced it for that 15 minutes and wiped up. And then pretty much after 15 minutes we jogged about a kilometer out to that to that puzzle and we're getting stuck into the into that puzzle which was pretty hard. Were you surprised not to see an eating challenge in the finale? Cuz you know, in the challenges they normally have at some point you eat while you're there. Even if it's going to be gross, at least you're going to get nutrition.

16:58 Yeah, but I was so happy. I hate eating challenges. I don't know how I'd go in eating challenge. Yeah, I was really happy not seeing eating challenge, that's for sure. Cuz I don't want to see I don't like as much as I sort of want to do an eating challenge, I really don't because they're just always bad. They taste bad. People vomit. And I just don't know how I would deal with that. I don't know if I'll do well at it or poorly. So, I was like, "Yeah, I'm really happy not seeing eating one, that's for sure." Well, impressive circumstances for you to go on straight after that and actually compete and win the whole show. So, congratulations on that. You're now going to be competing in the Challenge Global Championship, which means that you're going to be going up against the best that the Challenge USA, Argentina, and the UK have. and also some of the MTV challenges. Who would you love to see out there and who would you hate to see out there as a competitor to go against cuz you're a fan that potentially could be playing with some of the legends now?

17:52 Yeah, look, I'm pretty excited. yeah, to play with some of the legends. I would hate to see CT out there. Like, he's a boss, but you know, if I did, he's definitely somebody I would want to get rid of cuz I know he does really well in the finals. Wes, I'm not sure whether I'm keen to see him there or not because but what I've seen on the show, like, you just don't know where he stands and whether you can trust him. And he's a good competitor, too. so, I'm not so sure about Wes. I'd love to see few of the few of the legend girls out there as well, the MTV girls. Like, I wouldn't mind meeting Amber and Casey and Tori, a few of few of them. So, I'm pretty keen to Yeah, get stuck into it all, that's for sure. Yeah, well, I can't wait to see it happen on our screens. Now, for people that want to follow your journey and what you're doing outside of the Challenge from now until then, where can people find you?

18:44 What are you getting up to next? mainly on Instagram. So, troy.cullen is my Instagram. you'll find Yeah, all the news updates there. And what I'm on to next, you know, to be honest, I don't know. I want to go compete on Ninja again, and I wouldn't mind making to the flagship. Like, I'd love to go compete against all the MTV people. I think they're a lot more cutthroat. They're brutal. And yeah, I it'll be a good challenge, you know, to go up against them and it'll be interesting to see yeah, what they think of me and whether, you know, they'll chuck me straight away in cuz I'm a rookie and cuz I know how they treat rookies. That's not good. So, it'll be interesting. I'll be I'll keep an eye on it. I hope I hope you make it onto the main show as well, especially after the performance you had. You had a really complete performance and well done on winning this season.

19:34 It's been so fun talking to you, Troy. Sweet. No, worries. Thank you. Thanks.