The Zach Nichols Podcast - The Rogan O'Connor Interview! | ZNP EP. 119

Episode Date: August 1, 2025

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Hey, it's Rogan and you are watching the Zach Nichols podcast, where we laugh at me getting eliminated on the first episode. 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, Pauly, Horacio, and Norese, and possibly some more guests. So get on that now. You're not going to want to miss this one. Did you realize how close that was? The end? The end was really close.

Do you know why it was so close? Why was it so close? Are we filming? Yeah, let's go right into it. And then we'll do the intros. Okay, because when we did the puzzle, then we couldn't do it, we got into the kayaks, right? Firstly, Dee got into the kayak on the beach,

just sat there, like not in the water, which was remarkable. But C.T, luckily for her just threw her into the water. I threw my kayak into the water, swam after it, and tried to get in. They had, all Jordan, D and C.T. had fucked off. I could see you guys getting into your kayaks. I couldn't get in the kayak. I was flipping and flipping and flipping and I was like capsizing it.

I couldn't, for the life of me, work out how to get this fucking kayak. I nearly cost us the million dollars so close. I thought you were helping D because you were, you still beat her to the end. I beat everyone to the end. As soon as I was in it, I was like,

boom, just went past everyone. Obviously, Jordan was kind of veering off because of the one hand thing. Yeah. But I just went, but for a good 10 minutes before I got in there, I nearly cost us the whole thing.

and I could see you guys like coming past me and I was just like, but once. Because I finished before D and, um, before D. Yeah. Yeah. Me and Polly finished before D. Yeah. But Ninja and Carr were so far back.

Speaking of, welcome back to the Zach Nichols podcast. I'm here with a hobo. Have no idea who this guy is. What's up, guys? He's about how many pounds later without that hair? At least fits 15, 20. That's a lot.

More importantly, we're here with Challenge Champion and recent star of this last episode. Give it up for Rogan. Rogan O'Connor, baby. In the building, the Irishman. I like the first bit of that. He's got more clothes on right now than he did when he walked in. When he walked in, he was naked.

There's the day he was born. I'll probably be naked when I walk out as well. Yeah. Let's be honest. How you been, man? How you been? I've been so good. Yeah.

I've been a really good thing. Yeah. All the way from the UK by way of Birmingham. Yes. Well, Stratford up on Avon. It's like Birmingham, but about the horrible accent. All right. You're from Birmingham.

Give me two of all these. It's not that noise. Is that a posh area? It's trapped for an evening is. Yes. It's where Shakespeare is from. Well, there you go. That's how things are spoken properly.

Well, well, where we're from is where Eminem is from. Yeah, baby. Both poets. It's basically the same as the same thing. Same situation. So, we got so much to talk about. You are the star of episode one. I love how you're watering me out.

You're zero and 41. I'll tell you why I think you are, but. Your imaginary. girlfriend is the star. Okay, we're going to get straight into that. I mean, apparently... No, let's make them wait. Yeah, we'll wait. Wait for that.

So normally before we... You're getting the exclusive. Do you know how many people who have asked me about that for the last two, three months? And I haven't answered them because I like the tongues wagging. I like to leave them on the edge of their seats. And I'm giving you guys the exclusive. Appreciate that, buddy. Well, we normally like to go through the accolades.

Like we said... Let's go through them. You did win a championship. You did beat the... this guy right next to me for a million fucking dollars. I was 10 feet away from you guys watching you crawl into that yacht. And I just look back and Ninja was miles away. So then I proceeded to almost die on that boat while they celebrated it and dumped champagne on me.

One million. What's it? No, but speak on it. How miserable was that final? Yeah, it was horrible. It was fucking horrible. Like I had blisters all up my legs They didn't sleep the whole time

What about the night before the final? When we were in that tent And they zipped the windows Yeah, that was fucking hot Yes I just, I think I managed to sleep most of that I remember that being a horrible bit I was peeing like every 15 minutes that night

Yeah, you talk several times about how You know, you guys almost took a stand as a group Like, you leave that shit In the morning we did Yeah They were trying to like it with the sun's out blazing on this like rubber tent. Just cooking.

And we're in there cooking and like we're about to start the final. Like you guys all the way in the tent and I was like no. Absolutely not. So then I went on to lose. Four challenge seasons. Two finals. 50% rate is pretty damn good. Yeah, you're like the guy that either hits a home runner fucking strikes out.

It's literally you got, I like to keep people guessing. What's it going to be? Is it going to be here for the whole show or are we going to get just 10 minutes? Yeah, I mean, I had shit to do man. At least you were in this whole episode. Vendetta's you were going the first 20 minutes. Yeah, so I did episode zero and episode once.

Technically two episodes in this one. You killed it. Absolutely. I mean, I don't know how many, some people go fucking seasons without a hookup. You're just five minutes into the first one. You're fucking snogging.

I think every, every season I've done, I've done that. Yeah, I've done that. I did it if Vendetta is just off camera. Oh, every single season I've done it.

All right. Well, we'll definitely get to that when we get to Vendetta. So we're going to start with episode zero and then one, guys, and then we'll get into the career. So in the very first scene, they show this crazy mountain with huge snakes.

You know, both you guys know some little something about mountains. So what would you think when you saw this mountain? Tell us how the channel started. Did you guys, did you know that it was about to go down? No, no. And every, because the vets were all like old and tired. Like, we were all just saying, ah, it's going to be, he's just going to chat a little bit of shit. And then we're just going to go into the villa and just have a good time.

And I was thinking, all right, Johnny's done 25 season. CT's done 20, Anis is done it. They know what they're talking about. Yeah, did they fuck? We went straight in and there was a fucking marathon. to get up a mountain. I was like, you fuckers, man. And it was like a thing. It wasn't. It was just, I mean, I didn't do as bad as Vendetta's. I did okay this time, but

how's the back? Good. Good. I'm a little bit lighter at these things. I know what's going on. I was speaking about that. Like, when you showed up for Vendettas, I was like, is this a dinosaur? You were so big. I was like, I'm like, I literally, I forgot, I was talking to probably Tony and I was like, what are we going to do with this guy? I'm not going to do an elimination round against him. Because you were massive.

And I was already on my like skinny challenge era. Like I already did the big muscle and died. And then I got skinny. So I'm like looking at you like, I stay at no chance if I got a head bang with this guy. Yeah. I was like right now, I'm about 93, 94 kilo. Then I was 110 kilo. Yeah.

I was a bodybuilder. And I had no idea what the challenge was. I'd never heard of it. Yeah. I thought it was going on Love Island. It was not Love Island. And fucking. No.

Yeah. So. I mean, we are talking about it. You lasted one episode, but you said you still made something happen. What happened there? We're having a vendettism. Well, the girl that I got eliminated with, Nanny's cousin, Nicole. Oh.

There was a hotel. There was some fun. I wasn't going home empty-handed. Of course not. Of course not. Mark has to be made. So you got off the plane, and where was this one filmed? This one?

Yeah. Chile. Oh, I love that place. I call it chili, but all the Americans go to Chile. So I was, okay. Chile. Chele. Chele.

That was off right out of the airport? No. No, no. Hotel for like two, three days. Oh. Isolation. So you guys could have been well-rested. Yeah, yeah.

Well-rested, yeah. I have no excuses. I thought you guys. Vandettos was right off the plane. Literally. We got off the plane. We met T.J. And that was my first season back in a while.

So I was the same as you. Like, cannot wait to get the house, chill, you know. And then we were standing up all night holding those lunch boxes. Oh, gosh. Yeah. So that you guys at least got a couple days. into that but yeah still that's the worst that's like the worst way to enter a challenge is like an intense challenge so i thought i was all good because we did the mountain i came somewhere midway

ahead of pretty much most of the bets never good to win those just just learned that the hard way true true yeah um yeah this time i think johnny and turbo did well but apart from that all the vets did badly i did pretty good i was pretty we saw c t struggling a little bit yeah he was struggling yeah i don't think he even finished that we got back to the house though I think you go back in the car. To be honest, I think you go back in the car. He got the dune buggy. That's CT, like, though he does that.

He comes into the seasons out of shape and then, like, uses the time there to, like, get into shape. He's just like a boot camp. Yeah. It does it every time. He does it well. Yeah, I mean, we definitely saw that reflected in the draft a little later. But the next scene, at least what we saw, they show this interrogation room where T.J.'s in the middle of, like, this metal table. It's looking like he was trying to force a murder confession.

And you guys were all in the shadows. It was like what what happened here? Were you guys, did you do this before the mountain after the mountain? That was happening. That was the first thing we did. And we had no idea what was going on. And we were all just cracking up like the whole time. And they were like, you've got to go up and say, what are you here?

And then everyone was just making jokes the whole time. And then Johnny's joke was so good. They actually kept it in. Do you have a boyfriend? Yeah. Would you like one? He's been aggressive. What do you feel about Johnny's, he's very touchy.

He's very aggressive in these early two episodes. Johnny loves rookie girls. Yeah. New crop. New crop for them. High school seniors. See the freshman come in. That's what he likes about rookies is he keeps getting older and they stay the same age.

I love it. And honestly, of course, you have 40, whatever year old shooting his shot at girls that may, I mean, I think the average age of cast member has gone up. Sure.

Like I think a long time ago, the average age was probably like early to mid-20s. I would say the average age is probably probably, 30 mid to low 30s. Yeah, the average age. I did my research on D. She's 28, 20, 29. Very age appropriate.

Very age appropriate. Yeah, I was 34 and I was bang in the middle. Yeah. Which usually would be, I thought I'd be one of the oldest, but all the vets were older. I think even a couple of the, no, maybe not a new threat,

but like there were, there was a couple of 30-year-old new threats. Yeah. So you're watching these new threats and they're all answering these questions. Did anybody say something so fucking stupid? We were like, I am not paired with, I do not want to be paired with.

that person or like with pretty normal shit. I think it's a pretty like aggressive crop of rookies like this is like I mean each person was like lawyer military background like D1 athlete marathoner like as I'm listening to this in my head I'm like that concludes the free preview of the Zach Nichols podcast

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