The Zach Nichols Podcast - Rivals 1 Episode 3 & 4 Review with Brandon Nelson! | ZNP EP. 110

Episode Date: May 30, 2025

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Hey, everybody. Welcome to the Zach Nichols podcast. We're talking about the first season of rivals. There's been some more seasons, but I am on the original version of rivals. We're talking about it. Tune in, subscribe to the Patreon. Welcome back to the Zach Nichols podcast. We're doing a little retro retrieval from back in the day. He's back!

I'm here with the patron saint of Fettuccini, Pierre. You know what it is. Give me a round of applause. No. More importantly, Brandon Nelson is on the couch for the second time. Yes, sir. Bringing them in as a historian. Because I wasn't on this one, and this was when I was just filming the real world.

And you were in your third season, if I'm not mistaken. And your prime, dog, the first prime, second prime on the way. Yeah, man, I was pleasantly surprised. You know, this is like my third in a row at this point, you know, fresh meat. Oh, yeah, you're on a heater. Yeah, you don't leave the table or not heater. And I dropped the ball. I dropped the ball on that, man.

But I was happy because, like, after. Fresh Meet 2, the day of the premiere, I got a text from Naz asking about the next season, which was cutthroat. And so I'm on a high. So I do do go-do cutthroat. And actually, you know, ball out a little bit. And then they caught me right back for rivals. And I was like, well, who's going to be my rival?

Because they told me, like, sometimes they don't tell you what it's going to be prior. Yeah. And like, well, we're going to do, rivals, going to put you with a partner that you might not like. And then I don't take anything home when I do the shows. So I'm like Who do I not get along with? Yeah, I don't care enough about you motherfuckers to not like you

outside of the show. No, no, but I'm just like Who did I get into it with? And it's gonna be, oh yeah, I don't like him. So that works. So you legitimately like, you didn't think like in your head I don't have a real rival but then you're like, oh no, but actually don't really fuck with that.

Yeah, yeah. I was like y'all picked up on that. Because we didn't really have, we had like one big, you know, but we were drunk. But he does that to every. What he did to you? He does that every. except for the one season

I did with him he was like the most docile like like he literally talked to nobody but Leroy and then at the bar he'd get drunk by himself in the corner and like dance on a chair or something we were like all right yeah no beef at that point but talk about where you were in life at that point you had just you just said on a heater bro on a heater

your third challenge like I'm sure you're doing the MTV spring breaks and all that at this point talk about life at that time yeah man so prior to rivals um on the the back end of cutthroat. I'm like, I'm getting out of Arkansas. I'm going to Vegas. Because I'd been there a couple of times before, you know, one of my former best friends, I'm not going to say no

the hands, but there was a person that was out there that was like, you know, I got you, just coming through, figure it out. So got out there and then I get the call for rivals while I'm there. So I'm like, oh, but here's a little side quest. When I first moved to Vegas, was the first time I met a niece in person. Because we had been talking since I did first meet too. She hopped in your DMs, huh? She slid through. When Twitter was still Twitter. Oh, Twitter. The bird was out. Back in the day. Yeah, the bird was out. She sunk her teeth into you from afar. Oh, yeah, man. Look, that range is. So, she... I love Anisa. Love you, Anisa. So do I. I love Anna. We need her here. No, man. So, like, well, she reached out. She was just like,

you know, I see you cooking or whatever, and, you know, you seem pretty cool. What's up? Welcome to the family. My guy, because we had a nice little NB exchange numbers. We had. We had, we had a nice little and then we exchanged numbers. We were talking on the phone. So then my first season I was doing with it was rivals. Crazy thing about that. If we're going to get into it. Bro, dive in.

So nothing crazy. But I met Anisa prior to doing rivals. She showed up for spring break in Vegas. We were at the Pons. My first time ever meeting there, I was in the room. Derek was there. Derek Chavez. So fuck it.

We grown. We called Derek Chavez, Gay Derek. and then Derek K is Derek K. Okay, that makes, I mean, it checks out. And then Derek doesn't care. Neither of them cares. It's whatever. We, we bro.

So anyway, Anisa comes into the room because I told her where I was and Derek's in there, my girl, Pizzie's in there. And there's a whole bunch of people in there. And she's walked in. She's like, there he is. I'm like, hey, what's up? We'll talk off.

Oh, the rest is off camera. Okay. Yeah, it was the first-up meeting. So we got cool there. So then when we get to Costa Rica when we're doing rivals, me and Robin got cool. So there's a whole. thing prior to us even starting filming.

So when we get to Costa Rica, there's this whole snowstorm going on to East Coast. So Kenny, Paula, all of them, they're canceled and all this stuff. They're delayed. They're travel delay. Yeah, production is like, all right, we're going to put you guys in these groups of six and all these random hotels, downtown Costa Rica, dangerous.

Like, people in front of the doors have AKs. Like, for real. Yeah, Costa Rica's tight. And they told us. Go, go, Costa Rica. Go get your teeth done down there. A lot of braces down there. So anyway,

hell yeah. So my group is me, Wes, Leroy, Robin. Shit, I'm missing a couple people. Must not have been that important.

No, clearly not. They didn't really register. So we're in this hotel and they're like, don't leave the hotel. We'll bring you food. We'll bring you water.

Whatever. Just don't leave the hotel. So the production, they are saying right across the street from us. As soon as it gets dark, Wes comes and he's like, friend to get the fuck out. this hotel. And I was like, all right. So he

speaks Spanish. He goes down. He's talking in broken Spanglish to one of the cab drivers outside. And he's like, so we all go. Leroy's only person that didn't go. It's my first time meeting him actually. And now we're like brothers, but he I ain't going with you. I'm not going to fuck this up. I was like, all right. Oh, Caitlin was

with us too. Got it. The best competitor ever. I like Caitlin. Now I love Kate. She's very smart. Yeah. Just not athletic. Not an athletic bone. Not all that athletic hair on her head. No, not even a, no. Skin off her lip.

Yep, zero percent. So she's coming with us. And we hop in this cab. West says we're going to go to a bar. It turns out to be a brothel. Uh-huh. Of course, he is the beacon because he's this pasty, red, freckled, just, he's a Greek guy to these girls.

They just swarm on them, like moths to a flame. So he's having a great time. I'll take a couple shots. We smoked. I don't know what it was. Keep this. No, it's going nowhere. This is years and years ago.

We survived clearly. But so anyway, we get back home. Me and Robin were kind of viving. So here's the point to the story. And I heard she's doing a lot better now. He is. We talked sometime after that. And, you know, and then things went in, you know,

but I'm so really excited about, you know, how she's, you know, come out of that. At the time, though, I was like, what's up? We get into the house. Finally, Kenny and them all get there. So they're like, okay, you do the whole grand reveal,

we run into the house and all that thing. This is my first time doing a show with Anisa, and we've already met. So she says, and she's going to probably kill me, but this is old. I don't care. So me and Robin are talking when we're getting the house because we've already built this little,

we just met each other. We're cool. We're all free and whatnot. You know how the show goes from time and time. So we're just vibing and whatnot. We didn't do anything. And then when we get into the house, me and her surviving. We just stayed in this hotel together for like three days.

And now we, Anisa come. She goes, so that's what you like? Love that. She had to, she had to confirm it. Oh, that's what you're into? That's, that's what you're like, man, I'm just trying to be cool. This is my, I'm, I'm, I'm hot right now. I'm not trying to miss nothing.

Right. And I have tie as a partner. So I'm like, I'm just trying to be cool with everybody. Come on, man. Let's not be that. Yeah. Yeah. Her rival.

You're just going right, right. for the rival. I didn't know that. This is my first time meeting me. Robin, and it's the first time I've done a show with Anisa. I mean, I've met her before, but we, this. And they just so happen to be. Yeah, things change when you're on the show, though.

You know, you can talk a certain way outside of it. Text, read different. Voice messages read different. Phone calls sound different. But when you own that show and that camera turns on and you know you miced up, people turn into, you know, they become the Avengers. And they mind. Yeah.

They capable of anything. Speaking of that, what? Did you guys have any clue that it was going to be T.J. hosting that one because this is when he came out of the injury. That concludes the free preview of the Zach Nichols podcast. So go to Patreon and subscribe to see the rest of the shit that we talk. Go do it now.