The Zach Nichols Podcast - The Leonardo Dionicio Interview! | ZNP EP. 122

Episode Date: August 22, 2025

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My name is Leonardo Dionysio. I'm on this season of the challenge. We're out here with the Zach Nichols podcast. If you haven't tuned in yet, you better tune in now. All right, make sure you get your tickets to the live show. It's going to be September 20th, 2025 in San Diego, featuring Carl, Pauli, Horacio, and Norese, and possibly some more guests. So get on that now. You're not going to want to miss this one.

Good afternoon. Yeah. And welcome back to the Zach Nichols podcast. Very, very great episode this week. and I'm here with my co-host, the big Feticini. But more importantly, Leonardo Dianzino. Dionisio. He wasn't practice.

Sorry, I'm all flustered from the pregame talk. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know. Bro, how old are you? 23. Dear Lord. So how is it just going to go off and pull the Band-Aid off? I got you. What's it like competing on a reality television show

with people who could be your father, twice your age? So this is the part that was trippy. So not even just father, but mother. So Anisa, what I forgot about it. Mind you, Anisa just met my mother at the Challenge Mania event in New York. And they're this, she's actually older than your mom. She's older than my mom. My mom, like, bro, it was wild.

That is, bro. What's up? Bro, I forgot. And I'm looking at my mom and her next to each other. And my mom looks super young. She looks like she's actually 30 years old, right? So I'm not going to show you a photo later because, you know, fuck out of here. I'm married, but don't show you.

No, listen. He will sleep and slide into those DMs. I said, yo, so Leo's mother. I'm some real shit. You said you have a twin sister. I might need an introduction, but we'll talk about that. I got to say that. He said, a lot was a lot, bro.

God. I'm trying to see you on Christmas, Pam. He said, yo, we're going to be unwrapping presents together. Game is game. All right, all right. So she meets my mom. She's next to my mom. I'm like, holy shit.

Like, this lady I was competing with is not much older than my mom, but like two, three years older. That does not matter how much older. This is crazy. Like, my mother and my dad. could be competing with me on this show. Round of applause for a niece of the Cougar. Please. Of the century.

The fact that you're saying this lady I just competed with except for rather than this girl, it's a girl's day, not a lady's day. Yes, yes, yeah. All right, that calls for some Johnny Walker. Yeah, it's on behalf of name. Spill it.

Spill the Johnny Walker. So, um, real quick, we just want to say one more time. Thank you for coming all the way from Connecticut to Detroit. Round of applause for Leo. You know, you know, something called. And let everybody know how to say the last night. You know, I ain't drinking that.

You know, it's right over here. I got you go. I appreciate you. There you go. So wait, how do you pronounce the last name for all the people that want to know and want to be Mrs. Deonicio? Deonicio. They want to know. They need to know.

You know how girls are. Cheers to that. They're right in the notebooks. Don't take this like a shot. It's a classy gentleman's drink. Are you right? You can, though. Well, never.

I'm not going to down this like swing it. It'd be a lot cooler if you did, though. Yeah, yeah. Say, what's that? Yes, sir. Wow, dude. That's crazy. The challenge has evolved to that.

But the good news is, is I am not old enough to be your dad. No. Oh, they're you. Not close. 38. So 15 years. I guess I could be, but. No, but you don't look 38 for real.

I really don't think. I always literally say you're 33 on a solid day. I am. You hadn't lost your card by 15. There's zero chance. What? Your card back 15. Your card.

Your V card. Did you lose your V card by 15? No. I was 34 when I got heavy. Chat, what? We have nine seasons to say otherwise. Anyways, we come back. He said, what fuck are you talking about?

Nine seasons of the challenge says otherwise. Okay. We're getting to a point where, like, people come on the challenge, and if they mention zigzag, people were like, who? Who? Who's that? Well, you know, who cares? But anyways. Whenever I was letting him know your accolades, I said nine seasons.

He was like nine seasons. Yeah, I was at home. I knew he's been on the challenge. I don't know. That might be absolving it. Sorry, my bag. I gave him my double digies. Dude, how'd you get on the challenge?

Let's talk about that. It was weird because I could say, I could say, oh, yeah, go ahead. Throw her under the bus. Let's call her Ben's best friend. Anyways. So the he sends me an email. And she's like, hey, like, we got this show called the challenge.

You want to go on with? I'm like, cool. Like, I grew up hearing about the challenge. Yeah. You didn't watch it because you weren't interested because you were too young. Well, like, the thing was, like, I've heard a CT because he's a big name in the Northeast. Right. I've heard of that name.

Oh, yeah. Like massive. And Metro Boston. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm hearing all this good stuff about the challenge. I'm like, you know, I come from Love Island.

Like, that's very up my alleyway to be a light. skin, play, or have fun with it, whatever. But the challenge is like, you have to actually compete, do all this. But it was cool

because people don't know that I've been in competitor my whole life. Like, me and all my siblings all played division in sports. We've all been locked in

together from the get-go. So to me to be able to go on TV and compete at the same time, I'm like, bro. There's no better situation. There's no better situation. Yeah.

Hell yeah. So you just got the call. I mean, I just got a call out of note like out of no. How do you get my fucking number? Like, I'm like,

who is this, bro? How do you have my email delete it? Like right now. Yeah. And then they're like, and by the way, we're going to send you a plane ticket but we're not telling you where you're going.

That's the trippiest part. You're probably just like, I'm getting kidnapped. But fucking, let's do it. Imagine being 23, like, I like freshly 23 at that time. Yeah. And I still live with my parents.

Like, hey mom. Hey mom. Like, look, I'm going to go vanish for maybe two couple months. Who knows? And I have no idea where I'm vanishing to. Good luck with that information. Yeah.

My mom's like absolutely fucking not. So she's like, give me her number. I'm going to call her. And my mom doesn't cut for shit. She's like, no, tell me every detail. She's like, sweet heart, I'm sorry. My mom's like, no, he's not going there.

She's like, all right, like, hear me out. It's a nice place. Like, he's going to be in good hands. Like, you could watch all the former seasons. Ask the competitors. You'll be good. Don't do that. But no, no, but that's the thing.

Makes reviews. I'm like, I'm definitely not going to ask them because I don't want to be in like a alliance or have loyalty to someone I don't even know simply because I asked a question. You know what I'm saying? So I'm like, no, fuck that. Right. Yeah. That's awesome, dude.

so they sought you out. I don't know. Could people reach out themselves to go on the challenge? Apparently, yes. I don't know that. I know someone who has now. I know love of someone.

Who? Ben. Oh, well, yeah. Ben, like on my season, Ben? Hell yeah. I don't know he reached out. Yeah, dude. So apparently, and one day...

By the way, he was an MMA fighter of some sort. A misfits. Yeah, so I said he just calls fights in Las Vegas. Yeah. Took some offense to that. Almost as much offense as I took to his sleeveless turtleneck this week. sleeveless turtleneck. Yo.

It looked like a palmeranian in that thing. That shit was so funny because when we're doing the interrogation, we're all in like, you know, some godfather fit, something calm. But he pulls up in this turtleneck. I'm like, yo, I see the vision of the fit. But we're in the break room waiting.

And we all take off our shirts because it's just you don't want to get a pit stand, nothing like that. Bro takes off his blazer. This maroon break, like it was like maroon or some shit. It looked nice, though. Takes it off. I see two white-ass arms.

I'm like, yo, what the fuck? I've never seen a sleeveless turtleneck in my life. I swear to God. Do you know how jealous Fessie probably was? He's like, give me that shit. I get to cover my neck and show off my arms. Yeah, dude, Fessie was like, where'd you get that? He's like, Amazon love for how much?

Same day delivery? Same day delivery. Fesce was working out on it the neck today. Swear. Swear. Yeah. Oh, man. That's hilarious.

Well, listen, we're going to get into everything that your career has shown up so far. and just to get to know you. I got you. But let's start with this Naya disqualification. So that's where we pick up from last episode. Number one, how was your short experience with Auntie Naya? And did she check the temperature? Did she see what you were talking about?

Because, you know, Naya, she likes her chocolate. Yeah. Oh, shit. I didn't know she was trying to shoot game like that. I don't know, but I just know she always shooting game. I remember when we went to the club and I overheard this. Mind you, I was properly faded, right? Obviously, as you can see with me and Derek.

But she was also dumb funny. But I hear her saying, like, she's like, man, like these new rookies, are just so young to the point where they look good, but not good enough for me to be like, you know what, like, I'm trying to hit that. Then she pulls out her vibrator

was the funniest shit. And then she's like, this is why I got to go to sleep with every night. It's for her fucking pillow princess. I'm like, all right, bro, go crazy. But, uh, no, at first, we never really talked at the start.

But when we did talk, it was super cool because I'm a very outspoken person. But on TV, you just see me being like, like doing some light skin shit or looking at the camera, like breaking the forewind? Like, you guys see the same shit? I'm seeing it?

Like, what the fuck? But when I was speaking real shit, she was like, you know what? I like you because you're not a fucking meat choker. As in like, I'm not going to be choking on meat just to get further into the show. Right. Fuck that. Like, I'm a ball out and get myself there. So she saw that I stood on business every single time I spoke.

And people start laughing. They're like, oh, my God. Why are you going to call him something like that? Bro, check the shit out. Right. There's rookies like Ben who are going to sit at the feet of CT and wonder whatever he says. He's going to do what he says. But then there's also people like you.

They're like, you're going to do you. And obviously, sometimes vet's going to have. have a problem with that like we saw with Michaela in this episode but most of the time they respect that but that's how it is like everybody goes left I'm the type to go right 100% I'm like one if I'm going to make a name for myself it's not going to be from meat riding to get to a final to be what someone's fake relationship or or fake friendship for this fuck no uh in the last episode you spoke up in the deliberation and essentially said hey like what are we going to do we're going to keep you know letting the vet slide and we're going to vote rookies I started stuttering like a

motherfucker I watched that shit back I was like turn off the TV bro turn this shit off I was like, just hear me out. I'm like, yeah. Yeah, but then he went in there vote over a rookie. All right, hear me out. Talk about it. This is the part I even was laughing when I watched it back, but I remember why I did this. At that point, the group consensus was already towards America.

And I was like, you know, I'm going to let them know that I'm not doing this because I'm a meat rider. Even if I voted a vet's name, guess what? That vet wasn't going to go in. That vet would have a personal vendetta towards me. My goal was to just speak to everyone in one room. so they knew where my views aligned, especially the rookies so they can say like, hey, look, I'm going to do what we need to do right now

by throwing you a rookie's name because I'm going to say what? Michaela, Anisa, Olivia, whoever, at the end of the voting, for what? Oh, so you don't fuck with me. Like, that's a personal, like, if someone came at me randomly at the end, I'm like, yo, my shit wasn't even in the loop. Like, what the fuck? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But it was just funny because that's why I was laughing because I was like America. And then TJ was like, hold on, motherfucker. You did all this extra shit. I was like, you got to see the short game for the long game. And that makes sense because at the end of the day, you were guys who were deciding between two rookies. So what are you going to do? Go with the one that's going to get her name said.

That's what I'm saying. Yeah, there you go. No, I made sense. It was just funny. It was definitely funny. In this episode, episode four, Johnny told us and we just talked to them that there was no way it wasn't going to be gay, voted in no matter what. And then he pissed off more people in the house than just Naya. Is that true?

Say it again? Basically, Johnny said that Gabe upset more people in the house than just Naya. We know about the Nia beef because it was on camera. Oh, yeah. But was Gabe Ruffling Feathers everywhere? I thought they aired that, no? They only aired his beef with Niaeth. They didn't have anything else.

You dead ass? Yo, this motherfucker was in heat. Yeah, with everybody? Everyone, bro, when Ben goes, yeah, this is why I was laughing in the car. When Ben's talking to deliberation, he goes, yeah, Gabe not only just shot himself in the foot, but, you know, dumped the whole clip on his whole leg. It's not just because of Naya. He literally...

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.