The Zach Nichols Podcast - The Frank Sweeney Interview! | ZNP EP. 104

Episode Date: April 18, 2025

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Frank, I'm on the Zach Nichols podcast, and you didn't think you'd see me here, did you? Welcome back to the Zach Nichols podcast. Very special guest in the house today. Most anticipated episode, probably ever. Yes. The man, the myth, the legend, who graced us with his presence after 12 years of dominating reality television, Frank Sweetie Fox. Frank Swinney, Fox in the building. Now, I actually have to start this off with the kids were just in the studio.

They were terrible. They all cried and acted like brats. so I look like a, you know, less than par father. That's, it might be true. That is 100% untrue. However, Jenna just picked him up to take him to the Easter bunny and Frank helped me bring the kids down there. And before I even got back up, I'm just going to read these text messages. Yeah, go word for word with it.

Go verbatim, please. And my wife, who now let me also, let me, she also just got done yelling at me because she called me 10 times, tell me she was in the parking lot. She said, Frank is very handsome and he has great teeth. And I said, you're right. And she said, tell him I usually look much better and nothing fits me right now. Also tell him I haven't gotten any Botox yet. So my wife is now having me gas her up and tell my roommate, ex-roommate, how hot she usually is because she clearly thought Frank was attractive. Now, 10 years ago, that would have pissed me off.

But I appreciate it now. There's really important context here. and that's that this face, this like a generic Italian face with stubble and like, it's catnip for the, for the northeast, okay, like it's just impossible.

The amount of women specifically who are into this face because they're like, wow, it's like an evolved Jersey Shore member and it just like really does something for them. It's not her fault. I'm just glad you didn't take your hat off and show your, your hair because you definitely have me beat in that as well.

It is luscious. And you know what? You've repeatedly spoke on how you think that Tony Raines is the most attractive, a challenger, most handsome challengers. Okay. I think you're in the running. Yeah. Tony, I'm so sorry.

That absolutely cannot be true. I'm not going to lie. Like I have handled every critique you could ever imagine online, but not one of them has been your argument. Must be nice. No, we actually had a 30 second conversation when you left and we were basically saying like, yo, like we're obviously, you know, but that's your one handsome man. And I was looking. I was like, good thing he's gay because he can pull bitches.

I just did. My name's Jenna. Now I wish I just pulled an hamstring. That shit is so funny. So yeah, now I wish I wasn't wearing this fucking shirt. My wife. Yeah. The guy with four kids is worried about feeling attractive.

Well, stud muffin. I'm going to speak on one thing, though, that you just, y'all just brought up. I haven't had the pleasure of being around Zach and his kids to date, but the kids were crying. They were tired. They were in, they were ornery, and you did an amazing job. So never ever, never ever are we going to set like downward self-talk this? You're a great dad. I know, I just like to, you know, so really early on in the podcast.

I made a comment and I was like, listen, I don't like changing diapers, but I will. And you would have, the amount of hate, like, people, like, made videos about how I'm abusive because I said I don't like to change diapers. In the meantime, like, this guy, he's seen me change diapers on a golf course. He's seen me change diapers in restaurants. Like, I do it. I get in there. But, like, oh, your numbers are, we eat.

But, but, yeah, like, so it's just, I do downplay, but no, it's kids are kids. kids are kids and their job. The sliding scale on the term abusive is wide. I know. And I think what I've learned from this season of the challenge in particular and being back after 12 years, the online sphere and the parasycial experiment that exists after filming and with folks commenting on you is fucked. Oh for sure. It's so wild. And it's like, it's discouraging as someone, for me. I'll just speak for myself. It's discouraging for me because the lens through which someone sees you is just that, a lens, right? You cannot, no matter what it, no matter what you do, no matter what you say, no matter what edit you get on a show, no matter how you show up as a dad, any of those things, you cannot change that point of view.

It doesn't matter. Right. So the way that someone perceives you is just that. That's the way they perceive you. It doesn't matter what's being shown to them. Right. Yeah. You cannot divide.

You can't like, you cannot divide their perception from what is reality. Yeah. Which kind of makes me segue into my next point, which I want to get off my chest early on. It's like you don't watch the challenge outside of the ones you're on. Am I correct? No, but I am scrutinizing the episodes I'm on. Right. Fucking magnifying glass right now.

But so for the last five-ish years, we've been getting all these complaints about how they're casting the same people. It's called the Vacation Alliance. they would all work together to get to the end so that their checks, you know, and then who won, won, right? And then people were complaining about that. So then they bring back someone who not only, I mean, you taught me a huge lesson. And the lesson is when you're playing a game, it's just that. It's a game.

You're there to win. And you came in and gave zero fucks because it's about winning. And I think if there's anyone that I've met, I didn't realize this about you when we film the real world because you don't really do a lot of competitions. But I learned it on battle the seasons and I especially learned it on rivals too.

If it's a competition, Frank, Sweeney Fox is in it to win it. He wants to win. You have this desire to win that I think exceeds even Jordan. I think Jordan has a lot of natural ability that makes winning easy, but I don't think I've ever met someone or competed with someone who's as hungry to win as you are. And what that taught me was that when we were like when we were doing rivals to

and even some of the times we butted heads on battle the seasons, I was taking it personal and I think you were taking it personal that I wasn't understanding that it's a game. And it was a lot of immaturity and a lot of self-consciousness on my end, not being able to understand that this person loves me as a friend and as a person. But if it comes between, you know, between me winning the money and you winning the money, you're going to try to win the money. The same thing as if we were playing any other game, you are going to try to win.

And it took me a lot of self-reflection to get to a point where I was like, oh no, like when I got mad at you on rivals two, or even on Battle of the Seasons when I went into that first elimination round in the water tank, that was you playing a game. That wasn't you giving me shit or hating on me or attacking my person. And so that translated into some of my later seasons where I had to make some shady moves.

And in my head, I was like, you can make shady moves in a game. And you're still a good person. You can't make shady moves in real life and still be a good person. And you were very good at understanding that. And I wasn't. And that was probably why we did butt heads for four or five episodes in the middle of Battle of the Seasons. But that right there was one of the big. things that made me a great challenger later on was that I was able to be like, no, it's a game

and I'm playing a game. And just because it has to do with real life things doesn't make me a bad person. And you taught me that and you came in and you did exactly that on this season. And now you're getting hate for basically coming in and playing a game that we haven't seen in 20 years. And I appreciate it Every bit of it. Yeah. No, I think, well, there's a lot to unpack there. I think we were finding our footing on Battle of the Seasons. For sure.

Big time. Like, we were kids, please. 100%. We were kids who had more money on the line than we had ever had access to at that age. I guess I can't speak for you, but I know for me that was the case. 100%. I had 500 bucks on my bank. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And so I think, like, there was a large learning curve there. I appreciate the sentiment, but I think there's a large learning curve. curve there. I think where things have evolved for me, even in just like being a fan of other shows, right? And being a fan of traders, of survivor, of even the housewives, right? You can divorce what is your job, because remember, we're signing a contract. This is a job. Right. From what's happening in real life. It's just, it became, I became more conscious of that, especially this season. And I think it's evident in the fact that like I don't have any beef with anybody outside of the show. Right.

Like, like in real time, I don't have any beef with anybody. Obviously, I am a friend. I have developed relationships that are real. I have friendly, I have like friendly back and forth with almost everyone in the cast at this point. Whoever wants to participate in, I should say, because there are some folks who go to just collect a check and then sign off. And it's fine. I can respect that hustle.

But I just like, a game is a game and we are very much. professionals who are working at a job and my job is win yeah my job is win right right and I also like this season especially I came back like I have floated the idea of coming back it's been such a what if for me for all of those years and production has been 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