'Big Brother' legend Tyler Crispen reveals why he finally said yes to 'The Challenge'
"Big Brother" super fans may consider Tyler Crispen one of the greatest houseguests ever. If he's not in that category, Crispen is certainly one of the best players never to win the game.
But you wouldn't know that by talking to him.
"I don't like talking about myself like that too much, but I don't know," Crispen, an Ohio native, said to The Enquirer when asked where he thinks he ranks all-time. "I try not to go in too deep on that kind of stuff. I really am just proud of myself for playing a game that I wanted to play and giving it all. I literally gave 'Big Brother 20' 110% of my effort."
"As far as an all-time losers list, then I don't know; maybe I'm up there. Maybe I'm one of the better ones. I'll give myself some credit."
After finishing second on the 20th season of "Big Brother" and sixth on "Big Brother: All-Stars" in 2020, Crispen recently ventured on to a new competitive reality show: "The Challenge: USA," a spinoff of the long-running MTV classic, "The Challenge." The new season premieres Aug. 10 on CBS and can be streamed on Paramount+.
"The more I looked at it, I'm like, 'Nothing could be better than jumping on "The Challenge" right now and really testing out myself and trying something new,'" he said. "It just felt right."
Crispen sat down with The Enquirer to discuss his new adventure, his time on Big Brother and more, including his love for the Cincinnati Reds.
"I got my (Elly) De La Cruz jersey, should be here any day," he said.
Read our conversation below, and check out how he fared at Cincinnati Trivia at our TikTok. The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Tyler Crispen talks 'Big Brother'
Crispen entered the "Big Brother 20" house with a bang. He used his charismatic personality to make friends (and final twos) with almost everyone in the house. His strategic decisions and dominant alliance, Level Six, helped him run the show and reach the last two chairs on finale night, where he ultimately lost to his ride or die, Kaycee Clark.
In "Big Brother 22" Crispen went up against an all-star cast, which included legends like Cody Calafiore, Janelle Pierzina, Nicole Franzel and others. He couldn't quite get in the same rhythm as he did in his first season, though, and finished in sixth place.
Q: It's been five years since 'Big Brother 20.' I'm a little biased. I think it's one of the best recent seasons. How do you reflect on that season now?
Tyler: I'm a little biased, too. But I also think it's one of the best seasons, I'm just going to say it. It's crazy it's been five years. I feel like I've gone through the motions, I've gone through so many different wavelengths of how I feel about "Big Brother 20." And now, reflecting back, I'm just so insanely grateful to have been a part of it and just to have left my mark on "Big Brother" and to play the way that I always wanted to play. In that aspect, I made myself super proud.
I'm just proud of my young 23-year-old crazy self that I was able to even get through that game. It's just such a blessing, and I look back on it with nothing but happy memories.
Q: What is your biggest strategic regret from your two seasons on "Big Brother"?
Tyler: If I did have a regret on "Big Brother," it would probably be on "All-Stars," just not going in with the right mindset. I feel like I wasn't in a good place personally at the time, with COVID going in and I was dealing with some mental health issues. So if there is anything I would change it would be to take care of that before I got in the house and not have to deal with it in the most high intense, pressure cooker environment that there possibly is.
But at the same time, I try to not live too much on regrets. If I look back at season 20, even though I didn't get the win, there's not a single thing I would do different.
Finally saying yes to 'The Challenge'
Crispen spent years watching "Big Brother," sitting on the couch thinking how he would play the game. He hasn't watched "The Challenge" nearly as much, so he went into the show with a different strategy: He focused on his physical training, since it is a much more physically demanding competition.
Q: You had previously said you would never do "The Challenge," so what made you change your mind?
Tyler: I feel like I just wasn't ready. This was maybe, like, the fourth or fifth time it came across to me, the opportunity was presented. It just didn't feel right any other time. I had a lot of personal things go on in my life, and I was at a point where I'm open for a new opportunity and for a new experience. Honestly, the more I looked at it, I'm like, "Nothing could be better than jumping on 'The Challenge' right now and really testing out myself and trying something new." It just felt right.
Q: What was your preparation like?
Tyler: I think I first got the call somewhere in December, and I had already been trying to bulk up and really stick to a routine. And when I got that call and I started going down that rabbit hole of, "You know what, I might do this thing," I focused and I really dialed in my diet. I was training every day. I was swimming; I was running. I would run like a random triathlon in the middle of the day in the heat for no reason at all, just because it's like "The Challenge." You never know what you're going to expect.
I put on about 20 pounds. From the last time I was on "Big Brother," at this point I put on like 25 pounds. So I definitely showed up physically in a better place, or in a place I was comfortable with.
Q: You played with "Big Brother" legends on "All-Stars." But "Challenge" legends are different. People make a career out of it. So what was it like playing with people like Johnny Bananas, Wes Bergmann and others?
Tyler: It's crazy. I just remember being a teenager and watching "Jersey Shore" on MTV, and there's commercials of Wes and Bananas popping up every two seconds. Just to see them and just to realize that I'm about to play their game with them and against them was surreal. And it's so much different than "Big Brother." Bananas has done the show like 20 times or something crazy like that. I'm like, "Dude, there's been like 20 seasons of 'Big Brother,' how is that even possible?"
When you get in there, you realize there's no way you can possibly understand or have the experience that those type of players have. So you have to navigate it in your own way, and see if you can rock with them. If not, then see if you can rock a different way. But it's definitely intimidating. I was definitely intimidated when I first met them, for sure.
His Ohio roots
Crispen currently lives in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, but he is from Rossford, Ohio, a city in the Toledo area. And his Ohio roots run deep. Following his first season of "Big Brother," Crispen threw out the first pitch at a Reds game. While playing Cincinnati Trivia with us, he also talked about his love for Skyline Chili during his pre-vegan days.
"I've got 25 years of non-vegan life under my belt. I loved the (five-way)," he said. "Hit me with a five-way. I think about how to vegan-ize that dish at least once month. It's just not the same, though."
Q: How often do you visit Ohio?
Tyler: I'm there at least once a year. I'll be there in a couple weeks, actually. I'll be whipping through. Going to Cedar Point for sure, have to. I grew up, like, 45 minutes away from Cedar Point, so I think it's in my blood. There's something about my circadian rhythm that I have to go ride roller coasters at least once a year or I'll lose it.
Probably because of where I live, I'm partial to Kings Island, but I love Cedar Point, too. So I get it.
Tyler: That's fair. King Island's second-best. Ohio knows how to do it with these roller coasters. I don't think anybody else can compare. Nobody else understands what we got.
Q: Are you a big Reds fan?
Tyler: I'm a big Reds fan. I got my De La Cruz jersey, should be here any day. The day he stole second, third and home in a span of 30 seconds, I ordered his jersey immediately. I'm like, "Man, this guy is different. This guy is different. Electric."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: ‘Big Brother’ legend Tyler Crispen talks 'The Challenge: USA'
