Throwbacks with Matt Leinart & Jerry Ferrara - Stephen Colletti on Traitors Finale, Laguna Beach Runion, Love Triangles and More

Episode Date: February 26, 2026

Fresh off Banishment, Stephen Colletti joins ahead of the Traitors season finale to talk his strategy for the season, the golden rocks debacle and why he chose to be labeled as One Tree Hill actor rather than Laguna Beach cast member. Plus, Stephen gives his thoughts on the finale and upcoming reunion episode. Later Stephen looks back at his time on Laguna Beach, the supposed Love Triangle between himself, Matt and Kristin Cavallari and the upcoming Laguna Beach reunion.   Matt and Jerry also take a look back at the USA gold in hockey in the Winter Olympics and much more.  New episodes of Throwbacks drop every Thursday. Make sure you’re subscribed on YouTube and following on all podcast platforms. Also, make sure you’re locked in on social @ThrowbacksShow on all platforms for highlight moments, bonus content, and to engage with the guys & the Throwbacks community. (http://throwbacksshow.com/)      A big thank you to our sponsors:    Wendy’s Get yourself a $4 Biggie® Bites, $6 Biggie Bag®, or a $8 Biggie® Bundle. Now at Wendy’s.  https://m-wendys.app.link/468biggiedeals  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You know, usually people ask me questions about how was my experience on the show? I want to know how was your experience being on Laguna Beach. Dude. Because what a legendary appearance there. Another episode of throwbacks coming at you right now. Everybody do us the solid. Go follow the socials at Throwback Show. On YouTube, throwback show, hit that subscribe button.

I'm fired up. First of all, you got the team. Look at that. Look at that. USA shirt. Yeah, last week I got sick as a dog. man. So appreciate you holding down the fort. You and Shams.

Yes. One of these days, I'm going to get on here with Shams, but appreciate him coming on. Yeah, dude, I mean, it was all I got to say, I don't give too shit. What anyone says, I am proud to be an American, Jerry. I am proud. There's something about the Olympics. And then even more specific, there's something about hockey.

And it was the women's team, which I watched start to finish. It was the men's team, which I watched. I mean, it just, it just makes me feel good. Makes me proud. As I've gotten to know you now for two years, just about, yeah, two years. I like when you push all your chips in on something, right? I've seen you do it. You don't do what I think.

You don't throw that out there on just anything. You don't, liner is not a guy who like gets caught up in a wave of everything. It's pretty chill. It needs to really captivate you. And that's why this show is so good today because we're obviously going to talk a little hockey but also the other thing you've pushed all in on is the show The Traders.

I have binged. I have binged the Traders and I've heard about it. And I'm like, oh, yeah. Because you know, you and I, we don't watch a ton of TV. It's hard. We got a lot of kids and find time and all that stuff. And I binge watch the Traders because of our guests today, which is awesome.

This show is awesome, dude. It is, it is, it is. It is deceitful. It's everything you could imagine and you have a bunch of characters and you have big personalities from all different, you know, kind of these industries coming together in this castle and just all just conniving to be the last man standing. And I've literally watched 10 episodes, 9 or 10 episodes in the last four days. Yeah.

For those of you who have seen traders, this is probably not going to be any spoilers for you. And you're kind of going to be saying to us, well, wake up as season four. happy for you to catch on. But for those of you who haven't watched, like me, because I am someone who's a little afraid of hype. When something's overhyped, I just go to this place of, it cannot be as good as you're to everyone's saying.

It's just not possible. Nothing ever is. And I heard all the traders hype. I got it from all angles, people in the business, out of the business, all that. And I finally dove in with like season two a few weeks back. And I will say, it is worth all the hype.

It's so good. point where I kind of want to get on the show. This might be a call to action. I'm pretty sure we can make that happen. So when all the traders, producers, and people affiliated with the show, listen to this pod because of our guest, I mean, I think we could be a package deal. Because if you watch this season, Tara Lipinski and Johnny, we are essentially a package deal, even though they hit it the whole freaking time. So this is something I want to talk to Colletti about. And for those of you don't know the show, a few spoilers here or there.

But, you know, there's people from the show The Challenge. There's people from Big Brother. There's people from Real Housewives. There's all these big reality shows. And then they kind of go in rooting for each other. Some are really good friends in real life. Some don't know each other, but they were on the same brand of show. So they feel this loyalty.

Matt, if you and I, they're like, hey, we want two podcasters and a Heisman winner and an actor on. Did you just describe us as podcasters? If they call you and I up and say, you guys. are in. Yeah. Oh, we're going. I would be so disappointed in you if you would not be willing to lie to my face. And if you would get upset that I looked you dead in the eyes with tears and just lied to your

face. If that upset you, I would be brokenhearted at your competitiveness. And I don't think you would be that kind of guy. Some of these people on the show, they get mad like, oh, you lied to me. That's what the show is. Well, when you watch the show, it's like people are always like, I mean, and then it's like, you know, all of this happens every, it's like every day. So it's pretty fast, right? The game has played like consecutive days, I believe, right? So it's like, I think it may last 10 days if you make it all the way to the end or maybe less, maybe more. So like every day you're still like, and you're not really, I mean, I guess you're developing alliances. You know, the friendships, I don't know what happened that quickly. But yeah, there's so many people when you watch a show when they do their confessionals, they're like, you have to. remember this is a game. We are not like we are trying to win a game. So you're going to do whatever it takes to win a game. I would say this though, like you're giving away your hand because if we do

do this show, which you never know. We could manifest this and we could be in the show. Now I know and you would be a great traitor, dude. I think I would be. Yeah. Because you're like, you're, you're, you're cool. You're a good guy. But you got a big personality and you're an actor. So you know. You're a professional liar. People would love you because they're like, oh, that's turtle, man. That's Proctor. Like, yeah, he's like everyone's best friend. I would be a terrible trader.

I think I would be, well, I would be a lot like our guest today. And we're having Stephen Colletti on who. Have we not even said who we're having on? Oh, my God. You said Colletti. Listen, we have Stephen Colletti on. Stephen Cletty. You will know him from the show Laguna Beach back in the day about 20 years ago.

It is the 20th anniversary of the final season of Laguna Beach. So they did a reunion. We're going to talk to them about that. Let's talk about a throwback. My goodness. Like Kristen Cavalry, Lauren Conrad, that whole crew. What a great show. It was on One Tree Hill for years.

And then, you know, he was doing a lot of other stuff, but then goes on this season of Traders. And he makes it really far. Spoiler alert. But he kind of played the role that I think I would play as far as like just be a good dude. like be cool to everybody, kind of fly under the radar, not a huge personality, but kind of works in your favor. Like, I think I would just go in and be like, I'm the athlete, but like I'll be good on missions. I'll help. I'll try to form alliances and see how far that gets you until you have to turn because at some point you have to turn. So for those of you who haven't watched and still want to

listen to the interview, you know, there's 20 some odd of these reality show mash up people and they pick four traders, unbeknownst to the faithful, right? And then it's the trader's job. To kill off faithful. It's the faithful's job to vote off traitors, even though they don't know their identity. But mixed in all this, and this is where I think you would be an awesome contestant, but you might get into a little bit of trouble.

They have these challenges where you win money, which is ultimately the goal. And then also you could get some protections from being voted off the show or killed off the show. You would be so competitive in those challenges. And you're a physical dude. You're a big guy. You're an athlete.

You're a damn Heisman winner. You would be that I want. wonder if some people be like, man, we need liner for these challenges, but fuck, like, he's so, I think you'd be real intense with the challenges. What I've, for sure. And what I've learned about this show is, the more you talk, the more you risk getting yourself in trouble. And the more you talk and point the finger at, I think it's this person. And I, I, because you, you just, because if it's not, then you start, and then that person's voted off and they're not a traitor. Now you're looked at as like, well,

what was their, why, what was, you know, why did they do that, you know, so like, that's why a couple people in this show have played it really well because, like, honestly, I think Stephen played it great. Like, he just, who, he is what he was. He was really good in the missions. He was a good leader. He was likable. Everybody liked them. He didn't really talk about anybody. He kind of just, kind of just go with the flow. You have an opinion here and there to kind of, you know, but. But at some point, if you don't speak enough in this show, then that becomes a strike against you. Yes. So there's, there's a balance. And if you play. play it. If you don't speak at all, you're going to be targeted just like Mama Kelsey.

You know, it'll be awesome, Matt. You know it will be awesome before we bring Stephen Coletti on. And then we'll talk a little hockey first too. If me and you went on and we were both traders, bro, that would be elect. I mean, for me, for us personally, maybe not for the audience, but for you. I had. I had anxiety for these traders every episode. I love. See, I love it. Yeah, you would love it. Yeah, you would be in my wife, Josie would thrive in that. They're like, oh, I can, I just have to pretend like I'm friends. Like, yeah, dude. I want to be in that turret plotting. Also, I'll reveal strategy because I never think I'm getting on the show. I might go right at a fellow trader on day one if I was a trader and throw it and earn myself like immunity almost. Like, look how good I am.

I got this. And it's a hell of a play. But I might do that early and often. That's cut through. I wonder if anyone has done that in the seasons. It happened in like season two. but it backfired. It was almost like out of desperation.

Someone was like, you got to be mirror you. I would do it like early, early on. Yeah. I mean, listen to, we,

let's talk some hockey, bro. Okay. We're going to talk to Stephen Lennie coming up next. Yeah. So, first of all,

have you been following now like the celebratory stuff for Team USA and, you know, Jack Hughes telling his brother, he had a dream about scoring the goal. Like, I don't think you could,

Miracle was then, a movie after the fact. And I think my prediction is one day, this might be a movie. I literally think they might make a movie based off of this gold medal. This has been the, I tweeted this out. I believe this has been the greatest, they are on the greatest bender of all time. Like the greatest three or four day bender because they won Sunday morning here, which was evening there.

They went out in Italy Sunday night, right? and videos surfacing, boom. They fly to Miami the next day. What was that flight like? All sleep? Oh, they all started because they just rocked. They went to 11 nightclub in Miami on Monday night. They, which...

Drinks on McAfee, right? Drinks on McAfee. Shout out to Pat McAfee. That was awesome. The videos of that night, which I don't know if you've seen, I don't know if you've been to 11, but it is a crazy club. They are on a stage singing the national anthem with everybody. But like they, and it just no fucks given.

They are on the greatest bender and the greatest ride that I've ever seen in sport for multiple days. Much deserve these, these kids and men, they, they, I mean, Jack Hughes is a kid to me. I mean, gosh, I'm old enough to be his dad. Like, they represented our country so well. They're on this absolute just terror, much deserve. And again, like people, like, I'm shouting out the women too. I watched the, I mean, the goal and like the women were freaking awesome, dude. Like, and I'm sure they've had their fun as well.

But there's nothing like, like this happened with the four nations last year. And we talked about it. It's like, I like hockey. I'm a casual fan. I used to have Kings season tickets for years when they won the Stanley Cup. Like I was 1994 Kings. I could literally name everyone on that roster still to this day. But there's something about USA hockey and the pride that it.

gives to just someone who just wants to turn it on and like see what this this this this sport can bring a country together and it did in my opinion and man i'll tell you what dude it was i'm still on cloud you tell you i'm all in man i like the videos i've watched them a hundred times i mean my wife is like what are you doing but i do think the four nations that's a great point because obviously we all would have cared i think that sparked a lot of this but that was kind of the appetizer to if it did line up that it was u.s. versus Canada. That was kind of the appetizer for what this main course was. And, you know, we talk all the time about like, how does the NBA fix this? And how does baseball fix that? And I just think

quietly, like, obviously hockey is Canada's sport. But I tried to think what the equivalent is of this upset. Because I tell you who's not on an impeccable run, partying with a $150,000 bar tab at 11 is the Canadians. And sore losers. To Dave Portnoy, whatever. Like, he's there for all of it. And I want to talk about sore losing a little later in the show.

I have an issue I'm dealing with in my own personal life with sore losing. But Portnoy is there for all of it. He's there for all the Canadian tears. He's all up on that smoke. Like, they've, they've, and rightfully so. Like, that team is ridiculous. They have owned us since. I mean, we haven't won gold since 1980, right?

That was like the miracle and all that stuff. But Canada hockey is, I mean, they had the best players in the world. Like, and they've owned the U.S. for however many decades. And it's close. Look, I mean, you look at these teams and we have some of the best players of the NHL on USA. Sure. I mean, they have Connor McDowell. I mean, they have the best players in the world on their team.

So, like, I don't think the gap is that big. It's just they have owned us for whatever reason. And I think that's what also made this so incredible was the fact that we just, you know, we beat them at their own sport, you know. And in the greatest, in the grandest stage of world hockey in the in the Olympics, we beat them at their own sport. The most watched sporting event in the morning, I think was in the history of sports. And I'm sorry you don't get to do the thing where you're like, well, we are still the best. team. And by the way, our fourth or fifth most popular sport in the U.S. Well, three on three is not real hockey and anything could happen.

It makes, listen, multiple opportunities to win that game. And also, similarly, Team USA Basketball, our American team, goes into Fiba Olympic rules, which is a very different game than what's played in the game. They play every day in the NBA, and they go up against these teams. They've been playing together for years waiting for the, waiting for the, Olympics to happen under those rules. And we haven't won the gold medal every single year. And it's embarrassing and it hurts.

But like, you got to just tip your cap. I'm sorry, Canada. You got to tip your cap. And sets us up for, I mean, I think that hockey is now becoming similar to what to the Olympics, what basketball is to the summer Olympics. Yeah. I bet. Well, yeah.

Like must watch. Yeah, summer basketball now because Europe has caught up to us. like I know we want, but they're like, and multiple teams. Canada, Canada, Canada, France. I mean, obviously, like, yeah. France is going to be a problem. France is going to be a problem. Wendy is going to be a problem. But it was, it was great, man. It capped, it really, I was, we taught, I was, I was super invested.

I found myself at night, like, watching, like, men and women's half pipe skiing, like, all this stuff. I just found myself really watching a lot of Olympics, which is more than I thought. And it was awesome. Well, we are going to talk later after Colletti about a sore losing thing I need a little help with from you, Matt, and maybe even the audience. But without further ado, let's bring on the one million questions we have for Stephen Colletti coming off the traitors. At Medcan, we know that life's greatest moments are built on a foundation of good health, from the big milestones to the quiet winds. That's why our annual health assessment offers a physician-led, full-body checkup that provides a clear picture of your health today.

and may uncover early signs of conditions like heart disease and cancer. The healthier you means more moments to cherish. Take control of your well-being and book an assessment today. Medcan. Live well for life. Visit medcan.com slash moments to get started. Okay, our guest, he's here. We're fired up, and you may know him from Laguna Beach, but I think he wisely chose One Tree Hill for his credit on the traders.

I know he's probably answered that about 40 times since he's been back. Stephen Coletti, Stephen, thank you for joining us. And I'm glad you went One Tree Hill. I think that was the smart move. You know what? We were trying to cast a little bit of a wider net. We weren't given too many options here. You know, if they'd just let me do actor,

something simple, I think Rappaport just got actor. That was fine. I originally put down, everyone is doing great. And I'm sure you guys both in like, wait, what's that? That's the show I worked on recently. And they came back to me. They're like, how about you pick one between Laguna Beach and One Tree Hill? And I was like,

Okay. I was like, well, let's just go with the most recent. Did more episodes. Didn't even think anything of it. Man, we got a little bit of blowback on that one. There's been, I just told Jerry this this week, there's been three shows off the top of my head that I have binged. One of them was Game of Thrones. One of them was one tree hill. Shocker. It was like one of my favorite shows. And the last one was the traitors, dude, that you're on. Knowing that we would have you on, I was like, what is all the hoopla around this show? I like game nights. I like murder mystery kind of stuff. But you absolutely got me hooked. And it's a fascinating show. I want to ask you just off the bat, did you hope going in that you were going to be a traitor because you were a faithful?

And we've already, spoiler alerts, all this stuff, but you were a faithful. Did you hope that you would be a traitor? Does that kind of change the way you play the game, obviously? Or what? Yeah. You know, sitting here now, really wish that I gunned to be a traitor. They just seemed to have so much fun. And I knew that

watching the show beforehand, but especially in this season, you got Candace up there, you got Lisa. Rob's obviously killing it. They're having a blast. So once I saw the show, I was like, oh man, that was like, that was one of my big mistakes. Like, I should have been a traitor. But I was going into it trying to play it a little bit safe. This was just something that I was stepping outside of my comfort zone. And I was like, man, I haven't done reality since Laguna. You know, and that kind of left a mark on me where I was like, ah, it just like, it just couldn't consider anything. All these years and get different offers. I'm like, no, no, no, no.

But traders, traders are just too good to pass up. I was a fan of the show. It's just so well done. And it's that challenge of like, all right, how can I stack up in this game? You take all that in consideration. I was like, I feel like being a faithful is the easiest way in as far as just if I were to jump in the deep end with this reality show and be a traitor, put a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. And I'm like, man, what if you blow it? What if they just like suss you out right away?

And it's like, come on, dude. Like if you blow it that hard, that would be pretty devastating. So I was like, I feel like I can kind of come in as a faithful, let the game come to me a little bit, sit back. And yeah, we'll hopefully someone will recruit us along the way. And that was kind of the big thing that I put out there was like, I really hope somebody recruits me later in the game. Because I figured I'd have the game down by then, have a good idea who the people are. And then I can kind of make my moves in that sense. in hindsight, sitting back and being a little more quiet and relaxed does work well as a traitor.

I mean, Rob, you're seeing all the moves Rob is making behind the scenes, but there in the castle, he was just like me. We were quiet, hanging back, like just having casual conversations. Like, we'd chip in when we would need to, but we weren't going to be the ones that were, you know, the loudest voice in the room that were just gunning for people right away and trying to rally the troops. So I thought, yeah, I thought you played it perfectly. I was like, I think I would be like a steep. or Rob, just like, because you were, like, you're a good dude. You were great on the missions. You didn't speak up. You weren't like Rappaport. And even like Colton, Colton was going after everybody. I'm like, ooh, dude, this is going to get this guy in trouble. Yeah.

If it just, if it weren't for like the golden rocks, bro, you would have, you would have, you might have won, dude. I was like, that's, that's what they tried to pin on you. And I'm just like, oh, that sucks, dude. I learned some lessons there. Like, I was just starting to get comfortable with the fact that I was going to make at least the semifinal. And I can kind of see a path. And as soon as that happened, that last roundtable where, yeah, all of a sudden, I was blindsided. Nobody had my back in that moment.

They're all just like self-preservation better him than me. Yeah, yeah. Of course. We'll vote for somebody else. And I'm like, all of a sudden, I'm out. Yeah, it's funny. Looking back, like, there was a lot made of, it was so random that Lisa, you know, brought the goal to me.

And I actually went to her, like, Colton had something with Dorinda where there was an alliance made there of getting the gold. And everyone knew that Lisa was vulnerable in that moment. So I was just like trying to secure my spot at the dagger table, went to Lisa and figured, you know, she would, she would probably hook it up. And then, yeah, that one came back to bite me and he asked. That's for sure. You know, something else the show does so well, well, first off, I get a little scared of things that are like hyped up, right? Because I don't want to be disappointed.

And you hype something up to me and I'm going to watch it. And I'm going to say, it's good, but my gosh, you guys talked about this. Like it was so Traders was hyped up. And I'm like, I resisted it for a while. And I went fully in. And you want to know, here's my metric of why I would encourage people to watch. I was like, you know what? I'm just not paying for Peacock.

I stop with Paramount Plus. That's it. The kids watch some cartoons. I have every other app. I'm not doing it. So I did it for the traders. And then I said, but you know what? I'll watch the ads.

I'm not paying the extra $18 because I'm just not. But the show was so good. I'm like, you know what, man? I got to go ad free on this. It's just had, it just pulled me in. So it's an ad free buy on P. There you go. The next thing, I got a hot take for you.

Okay. So I haven't watched season three. I watch seasons one, two, and you're a season. Everybody makes the big deal about the gamers, right? These are the guys from the challenge or from Big Brother. And I get it. Those games are crazy. but I'm going to go on the record and say

I haven't been overly impressed with all the gamers I feel like the housewives have been way more threatening. That's because they got out the first couple weeks, dude. I don't know. I feel like they've made some big errors. If you look at all the seasons and even, I feel like there's some big errors that have been made by the gamers. Yeah, I will say this.

I think that there's there's a bit of hype on the gamers because they were on maybe a season of Survivor, you know, one season, right? And I don't know how much. much gaming they're doing outside of that. But that's just one show, one occurrence. And yeah, they get targeted for that. So it's easy for people early on to say, you know what, these guys are strategists. Let's get them out of here. So you feel bad for them in that sense. It's like, hey, we're all grasping at straws. You're trying to find something to, you know, pin on somebody.

And the traders are like, you know what? We're going to take out the game. It's just because they could be, you know, better than everyone else are trying to figure it out. But ultimately to me, yeah, I felt like they all just kind of stacked up the same. They were missing just as much as we were on a lot of like, you know, there's traitor suspects. You did have, I think, Rob Sesterino early on who called out the conga line. That was tremendous. That happened. That was wild.

He should have kept that quiet. Right. And he, to me, was the true gamer. I mean, he hosts a show about Survivor. He's been in games for a while. So I get the respect on that man's name. And even Ian, poor Ian, who was knocked out early on. He's actually.

you can get to see him. He's like, he's like highly ranked in backgammon across the world. Now, I don't know how much the crossover between backgammon and traders really plays in, but he, he's a super smart dude. So,

but yeah, I think from there, you know, Jam Jam and Natalie, they were both making a lot of calls that were very off. And I was, you know, of course,

the victim of one of Natalie's very bad calls. Yeah. Looking back, um, because it was Lisa, Candice and Rob. And then obviously Donna, Donna was the secret trader who got voted off really early on poor thing.

But as you look at the show and you look back, was there a moment where you're like, oh, I should have picked that up? Or did they just, I mean, because as you said, Rob has played this like a chess match. Like he has been unbelievable. Was there a moment looking back that you're like, oh, how did I miss that? Yeah, you know, there is, first of all, there's a frustration of like, even the Congol line that we just spoke on. Like the fact that Rob was on my shoulders and then he quickly bowed out to go grab something from a picture frame.

But I was like, oh, that's Rob. Of course, he wasn't going to last in the Congo line very long. And then you see, man, he just, he left my shoulders after being there for a second, step to another room and grab something. And, you know, that's just happening right around the corner. So that's frustrating to see. You feel like an idiot watching that back. But I think as it relates to me and, you know, there were certain moments where the breadcrumb from Candace about Rob, leaving that vote out. First, she votes for him and then she comes back again and votes for him.

And we really did not figure that out for a couple rounds. It was actually after I was out of the game, then Tara starts to bring it up. And she's like, maybe there was something to Candace's vote there. But she really, now she's getting the pressure of course. She can't just out a fellow trader. So she's got to be very underhanded in it. And I think that the way that she delivered that was almost too underhanded where we were like, man, she's getting desperate. She's getting some heat on her. and she even said it. They didn't use in the show, but she said,

I just looked across the table and I saw you, Rob. And that was the first time she voted for him. So we're like, oh, yeah, that was so random. She's definitely a traitor. So there's all that heat on her.

And we have no idea that there's this tension going on about the turret. So now when you guys watch it, you see everything going on, it seems very obvious. But back then it was like, it was like, man,

she's just desperate and she's just trying to point the finger at somebody else. And she's not going to point the finger at a fellow traitor because they're trying to stay in the game. So that's a frustrating one, especially because I was also attached to having a conversation with Candace about Rob and then Rob comes in. Now, I had a little heat on me at that point because of the banquet. And so I was just paranoid sitting there going like, I got to get out of this room. Like Candice is trying to have a 101. People are talking about me. They're going to go like, dude, this guy, he's in there talking to Candice. He has to be a traitor. So I got out there as soon as I could. And Rob coming in, I figured he wanted to talk to her, like, hey, don't just. throw away votes on my way, please. Like, you know, pick somebody else. You know, I don't want to go

voting for you. So we'd even follow up on it. But in hindsight, we should have looked at that a little earlier. And I think if Johnny and I had spoken together, uh, instead of just like pointing the finger at one another and being comfortable with that. And that's one big thing I'll say in a second about I learned from this game. Um, but just to close that loop, Johnny and I'd come together and said, hey, tell me why it's not you and we would believe each other. And then we started talking about what Candice did. We would gotten there sooner, one extra vote. Even with the dagger from Rob, I felt like we could have, we could have had an edge there and we would have figured it out. But at this point, you know, I think, yeah, I was getting a little comfortable. I thought that I was, I was in a good position

and I knew it was Johnny. And so I wasn't going to be swayed any other way. And I just let that run. And I think for that is also a big reason of why I got out. So I was telling Matt before we had you on when we were talking about the show preview that you come on. I'm like, I also were joking around. Like, what would happen if like me and you, meaning me and Matt were on the show together? And I find it entertaining and almost comical sometimes that people who are either friends beforehand

or know each other from different shows get so offended when they're lied to. I told Matt straight up, if we went on traders together, I would a thousand percent look you dead in your fucking eyes and lie right to your face. And I would be insulted if you didn't do the same. Right.

So my question for you is, do you think it could have helped if you had someone you previously knew? I won't even say best friend, but just well enough? Or do you think that could make it kind of hard? Like, guy, you want to trust your friend, but it could make it for a complicated situation, which is what I think makes the game so trippy and unique when people do actually know each other. Yeah. I actually think that that's an easy question. I think having someone there that you know is a massive.

advantage, especially if you know that they're going to be in the game and you guys have a conversation beforehand. We're not allowed to know anybody. They're very, you know, tight-lipped about it. My wife had, you know, all sorts of research going on for me on online, the rumors of Oh, really? So she was in before you committed. Oh, she went just as far as like, all right, the housewives, who's rumored to be on it, let's study all of them who could maybe be a traitor. She was actually right. That's awesome. She called Lisa being on the show one and being a traitor. And so she nailed, and Candace, she even had some, she's like, Candace, I could see it either way. Just, just, you know, keep her, keep an eye on her in that sense.

So when I started to get that suspicion of those two as traitors, and I was thinking about my wife. And I was like, you know what? That's crazy. And we got enough there. But, you know, my first instincts when I left the game was like, man, fucking Johnny and Tara? Like, that's such a massive advantage for them to have each other in the game. Did you not know? Did you not know that going in?

I knew. I knew. And the fact that there are folks that did not know that these two were friends was shocking to me. Which is crazy. But I knew from the jump. I got out of the car. There were some of the first people that I spoke to and I walked right up to him and I said, did you guys both know that you're going to be here? Because I would have loved to know somebody that was going to be there and have a conversation with them. They're like, yeah, we figured, you know, maybe, you know, Olympic year. They were very underhanded about it. But as I've learned later, they did know. And, you know, they had a pact going in that they were going to be faithful. So I think if. If you look your friend in the eye before going in the game and say, hey, let's be faithfuls. Let's stick together. If you have that, just having one person that you can trust 100% or as close to it as possible, that's massive. And you could see where it paid dividends there at the end, which is when Johnny was up for it, and Tara came and made that case. And there was nobody who's going to make that case for me because they were like,

I just met this dude. Screw him. Get him out of here. You got screwed, dude. I mean, you got basically just kind of killed by default. You know, you played, I thought you played the game great. What was it, I mean, what was it like just having Donna Kelsey there? And I felt so bad for her.

She, poor thing, she couldn't play the traitor too well. She was too quiet stuff. But what was it like being around her and what was like the overall feeling towards her? Yeah, she was super sweet. I think people were, they were impressed by her in the first conversations. Like, you know, Donna's super cool. And, you know, people were chatting her up and she was comfortable with that. But you could tell once she was selected.

as a trader, there was a little bit of a shift. And people were thinking that it was probably, you know, with the cards in the beginning there. You could feel that little weight, the weight that I talked about early on that I would have felt too. Like, they really, you know, for her to, to take that role on, having not a lot of, you know, reality experience. And even though she's around different celebrities and athletes and all that because of

her sons, like still, it's, it's her, you know, she's not the one that's been performing on the field for all these years. She's in the spotlight. Yeah. She, she, you know, and she's a, you know, and she's a, sweet mother. And so I think, you know, I had a conversation with her beforehand, just getting to know her when we were hanging out at the beginning when we got out of the cars. And then there was a time when we were sitting in the kitchen. They never showed this conversation. But I was trying

to be like, all right, let me talk to her a little bit and see what I'm getting. And her eyes were kind of darting around and she's a little nervous. And I'm like, oh, no, this isn't helping the case. So, yeah, it was while she was, you know, gone too soon, she was a, you know, a sweet presence in the castle there for a little while. Yeah, and I think she did have an impact on the game because, you know, the game has changed so much from season one to season four. And her being this, you know, secret trader, she, she was kind of making the short list. And her short lists were impressive.

Like, she had a very clear definitive picture of, you know, she's pretty much the way, like, putting Rob on that list that kind of got the whole thing going. I mean, that was, you would say she's an unsung hero. If should the traders go on to win this thing, she could be an unsung hero. She got some very important people out early on. You could tell we fucking love this show, right? I love it. I love the passion for it.

I have like so many questions. I just want to say, you guys would both be great on the show. And let me be the first to say, please do it at some point. If you do get the opportunity, do not pass it up. I think that you guys get it too. I think that one of the strongest strategy is being a, You know, you're both like men of the people. Like you can, you know, pop into a crowd and get to know people pretty easily.

And you don't put off any sort of a shady vibe. And I think when you have that, you go in and you just kind of be a man of the people and get to know folks, you can make it. You know, you can at least get halfway. And then it's like, all right, just don't, you know, serve anybody roaster or take any gold rocks from anybody and you'll make it to the end. Did you have the greatest line in the show is I do have my California boater. Boater selection. Yeah, yeah, yeah. that was great.

Because I have mine too. I started dying when you said that. That might be a T-shirt or a hat. Oh, yeah. You know what? I was so pleased when they use that. I was like, because you were going into it because I played it pretty quiet.

I was like, oh, man, I hope I'm just not like so boring in this show and it's just painful. And then that, I guess that was the first episode. It's like, I got my California voters card. I was like,

all right, that's a wrap on the season. We're good. They got that line. Yeah, dude. You crushed it, man. Yeah,

it's a, it's a fantastic show. And the finale's coming up. So will you be watching? Yeah, oh yeah, I'll be watching. I actually do know what happens. Oh, you do? Oh, okay.

Jaw dropping. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it's, we'll pressure too much on that. We did the reunion just over a week ago. And so they're still very tight-lipped over there at Peacock and Studio Lambert. They had us in our hotel rooms with our tablets watching the last couple episodes before we did the reunion. So, yeah, it's so good. Because we're going to talk about your Laguna Beach reunion you guys shot, but like the reunion for this show has got to be like, it's got to be some fireworks, right?

Oh, 100%. Yeah, I think that there's, I can't, I can't wait to see it. There's some people that have, you know, they've men fences over text message. You know, you reach out, you know, once you get your phone back, and once you're out of the game and, you know, everyone's out. And you kind of like, you know, you're retracing your steps a little bit. You're apologizing to people. but yeah I think that those traitors especially what Rob was doing there you know with Lisa he was just stabbing backs too oh yeah oh yeah ruthless you got you got to

love the ruthless gameplay and I know and I can confirm it for you guys you know those housewives are coming for them they need to they want to have a conversation with him and that's just that's just the traitors I mean you throw in Colton was playing an aggressive game Michael Rappaport obviously was just trying to stir the pot whenever he could got to get that camera time and you got to respect it because he's He was very entertaining. Yeah, there's some fireworks there. We even had, you know, Andy was just like, guys, can we, can we please move on?

So I'm sitting back like, this is hilarious. There is something to, well, I guess we could call it the Rappaport philosophy now, which I agree, like camera time, all that. And that's kind of who he is. He wasn't being someone he's not. However, being great cover for a trader, if you're a faithful and you kind of play the crazy and everyone just either wants you gone or thinks you're guilty, you could last a long time because the traders will probably keep you around.

So we almost might have to call it like, oh, this player's playing the Rappaport strategy where he's just being out there saying things because you could skip by for a while under that philosophy, but then eventually that will probably wear thin. Yeah, I think the only way that strategy works is if in that kind of loudest voice in the room, very accusatory, you actually nail a traitor and early on, because then they would always have that

in your back pocket. Like, guys, like, why would I out one of my traders from the jump? Like, I may be a loud mouth, so on, so on, so forth. But I'm here. There you go. There you go. You're gunning for the traitors. So I think Michael Rapport, he wasn't, you know, he wasn't hidden. So I think that's what ultimately did him in. And there, yeah, frankly, there were some people that were just really tired of having him in the castle felt like he was just, he was mudding the waters, making those round tables much longer than they needed to be sometimes. But I, yeah, I thought he was, you know, very entertaining at times. And I mean, I think sometimes I would thank him.

I'm like, dude, you're earning the Emmy for them. You know, you're working hard over there. I appreciate you drawing all the attention over there, but better him than me. See, let's talk about Laguna Beach, dude, because it was a great show. And I just want to say this first, because you and I have never talked about this. and I don't know if you're no where I'm going with this. But I'm glad you came on because I felt like maybe there was a beef between us 20 years ago. And, dude, go ahead, dude.

The floor is yours. I just want to say, I had no idea what was going on, dude. I don't think Stephen did either. You know, usually people asking me questions about how was my experience on the show on being on the Goody Beach? I want to know how was your experience being on Laguna Beach? because what a legendary appearance there? And can we swap roles here? I would much rather take the career as an athlete,

Heism and Trophy winner national champion than little old Stephen from Laguna Beach going to San Francisco State University trying to email the athletic director about a golf team. Well, listen, dude, I, it's funny you say that. I had no idea. Like when my name got brought up on the show, I was like, I was like, what the?

what the fuck happened? Like what's going on? Like, because I, because you guys filmed before, like the timing, right? Like, I didn't know the timing. Right. Um, and I remember I got all sorts of shit from that from like my teammates and all this kind of stuff. And then it just ended, right? And then like, I think we met at some point over the years. I don't remember where it was, but I feel like we crossed past somewhere. And we have a couple times. Yeah. I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I've, I've, I've maintained friends with Kristen and stuff and all that. And I actually hit her up this week because I was like, hey, I got Stephen coming on the pod like i want to bring this up because this has never been talked about and she goes oh my god you

have to he will die laughing so i just want to say i apologize dude if i if i did anything wrong man to man right here face to face no worries you did not you did not do anything wrong those we were uh it's two ships kind of passing in the night there thankfully there was not uh any overlap there wasn't a hidden love triangle that involved you and i and her at that time we um yeah we we We were moving on, but I do remember this. I remember, you know, because obviously, you know, you're like, yeah, she's dating Matt. You know, he's quarterback USC. And I remember talking and I was like, how is Miss Matt guy?

You know, and I was waiting for her to say something when I was like, yeah, screw that guy, right? You're just like, there's something to be like, you get competitive, right? You're like, yeah. What's, you know, what's so great about this guy? And she was like, you know what? We went on a date and he was a gentleman. He opened the door for me. And I was like, okay, all right.

It's a good man. And you are a good guy. In a way, we met years later. I was like, Matt's an awesome dude. Yeah, I appreciate it, man. Well, I just wanted to get, I want to get, get that out the way. I appreciate that.

20th anniversary of the final season. What was it like? Was that the first time you guys all got back together as a cast when you shot the reunion? Yeah, it was the first time we'd all been in the same room. There was a few of us that did a mini reunion over COVID, where we got the Zoom together. All right. Yeah.

We weren't all in the same place. But that was kind of the thing where it was like, this was a positive experience. We never really talked about it. You know, back then, the version of our lives that was kind of created for the show and what it ultimately became, you know, we were all kind of like, all right, you know, onto the next thing and didn't really want to sit in it. I think some of us were, you know, you're embarrassed by certain things and you're like, ah, it wasn't like totally the truth. And it was just kind of like, it was an odd thing to experience because we never thought we would get the attention from it as we did. You know, you did not think the show would be successful ultimately.

So to have everyone come back together that felt like that Zoom went well. And then Chris and I doing the podcast together, that was a lot of fun, just talk and shop on the show and actually watching it for the first time. Because I watched it, you know, when they gave us those VHS tapes the night before back in 2004. It was like, all right, I'm never seeing that ever again. But now, you know, 20 years later, you've matured a little bit. You feel like you can, you know, go down that road. And it was a positive experience to do something. So we felt like the one thing remaining was to get everyone together in the same room and talk some shop and have that fun dynamic playback.

So yeah, it was, you know, great to get everyone together. We had a lot of fun with it. But also, you were like, this is fun. It's funny, but it's also very weird. You know, you're like, man, it's one social experiment to document these kids back in 2004 who are just plucked from obscurity, right? But now let's bring them back after they all haven't been together. and let's watch the show that's kind of about their lives, even though they've all moved on and they've got kids and spouses and so on and so forth.

But yeah, you kind of slip right back into that ease of the friendships from back in the day. Well, that's why I was excited to talk to you to. Obviously, the traders was something Matt and I are fired up about. But, you know, I moved to L.A. when I was 20 years old from New York, and then I get entourage in 03, 0.34. Maddie over here is winning Heismans in the same time. And then, you know, you guys come out. And because I remember that MTV generation very well.

I was a kid myself, even though I'm a few, I'm older than you guys. And I know what it was like for me running around in L.A. during those times. But, you know, I could only imagine what it must have been like, because you guys blew up so fast. That show blew up so fast. You talk about like overnight. It must have been like you walked out of your house one day. And it's like, whoa, everything's kind of different now.

Yeah. I would imagine. It really was. I was kind of a denial about it for a while. Really, it was like this isn't actually something that people are really watching. Maybe they watched an episode next week. Everything's going to return to normal. I went to San Francisco State trying to have like a fresh start, not knowing really anybody.

Now, I knew, you know, I actually thought I was going to go into sports broadcasting. I knew I wanted to work in entertainment. You know, I grew up, of course, watching Sports Center, the likes of like Dan Patrick and Keith Wolverman being like, that's what I want to do. I want to write for highlights and they just look like they had so much fun. Like, you guys lived, lived it as well. So I would, that's what I was doing. And, you know, it was, it was right when I got to campus, the show came out. And it totally changed the dynamic there. And I was like, all right, I got to find a group of friends to help protect me because there's this no, no cat, or no cow, or no, you're probably like the Beatles on campus. Yeah.

There, there was a, yeah. So, thankfully, I had a good. group of friends, actually, they're from Southern California who would save me from a lot of the NorCal guys that would want to kick my ass. But it was a trip, man. And it really took me a long time to truly understand it. And I wish, even though, you know, I could use the show to my advantage to, you know, get in some doors. And that was really what I was thinking about early on was like, all right, no one's going to watch the show. But I'm going to meet people that are in the industry. You know, Carson Daly was also somebody I was, you know, a fan of growing up. And that hosting route, I thought I was going to go down.

So, you know, I wanted to work in the business. And I was like, I did, I just thought it was going to be a little bit of a longer process, but it felt like, all right, there's a lot happening from the show right now. It's moved to L.A. Let's like kind of, you know, try to figure out what kind of work we want to get into and take it from there. And, you know, being in L.A. at 19 years old, I mean, you guys know a little bit about this. It's a trip. The fact that all of a sudden you can go to some party on a Monday and a Tuesday night,

you don't have to wait for the weekend anymore. People are inviting you to this, that, and the other, and you're drinking for free. It's a dangerous, dangerous little path there, a slippery slope. But thankfully, I still, you know, wow, I definitely partaked at that time because I felt like I had to and I'm still just a kid. You know, I was trying to buckle down and, you know, find something on the work front that we can focus on,

that we could be proud of because I was not going to be known as, you know, it's just the kid from Laguna Beach for the rest of my life. I did not want to do that. No, you always seem like a guy who has a good head on his shoulders. And I think that's why you're still going strong. So last thing, and we're letting you go, because we do this little game with Wendy's where we have our fresh take of the week.

So I'm going to kind of mix a bunch of genres for you to get your fresh take of the week here, okay? So if you could pick a cast member from Laguna Beach or I'll even let you loop in one tree hill here. You did like 55 episodes of that. show, which is awesome. If you could pick a cast member from either of those two shows that you'd think would be an exceptional trader. Who would you think? An exceptional trader. Now, I do think James Lafferty, who's one of the leads of one show, would make a great trader because he is various unassuming.

He's very, he's very smart. And he could have a little bit more of a laid back. People will trust him easily. So I think there's not somebody that you would suspect right away. And to, me that's what makes a great trader. That's my one real answer. I'm also, for the Laguna fans out there, let's also provide one from Laguna. I do think that Trey would make a very, very good traitor because he's also somebody who could be a man of the people. People will trust him. Feel like, you know what? He just doesn't seem like he's the kind of guy that be a traitor. And he would kill it in that position. So yeah, those are the picks. All right. That was our fresh take of the week presented by Wendy's. Get yourself a $4.

Biggie Bites, $6 Biggie Baggie Bagel now at Wendy's. You've given me some really great insight if for some reason either Matt or I get tapped on the shoulder for some traders. I guess I'll say if it does happen, will you be my buddy to come golf in Scotland with me so that's why I don't have to do it as a single, which from your Instagram, I feel like you might have been golfing a lot in Scotland. Yeah. Well, here's the thing.

There's a benefit. The benefit of being a single out there, it was easy for me to get on. with no, you know, no tea time at St. Andrews, Carnusty, Royal Dornick, like, which is more like the third oldest course in the world. I had a buddy who bailed last minute and I'm actually thanking him to this day because I wouldn't have had that opportunity. So you want to go as a single. Do not invite me.

But would you guys do it if somebody calls you right now and says, will you be on traitors? Would you do it? Absolutely. I think I've become too obsessed with it to ever think, no. and I just think the game is incredible. So it's a quick yes for me. I did just have a third baby, but hopefully I'd be like, I'll go do this for the family.

Before we let you go, you guys, you and your wife are expecting, right? Your first? Yes, we are. Congratulations, dude. I wanted to get that in there. I have four kids. Jerry just had a baby his third three weeks ago. It's the best thing in the world, man.

Congratulations, dude. I'm sure you guys are both. Yeah, it's my first and we're super excited. It's been a long time coming here. I'm ready for it. Hell, yeah. You guys got any last minute advice there? Quick hits.

I got a quick hit. I was about to say you are about to be just a punching bag for the first four or five months. Dude, just anything your wife wants. You just let her have it. Let her have it. Yeah. Fair enough. I always say this.

Like it's the, it does change, especially your first. It does, your life changes and it changes for the better. It's different. But there is no, there's no love, like a love that you have for your kid when you do it like with your wife in that moment and all that, man, and just cherish that moment. Like when your baby is born and those first couple months are a lot, they're tiring. But it is truly like the best gift in the world is being a dad and all that, man. So I'm pumped up for you. Here's my quick hit.

I'll keep it quick. You're going to have to lay a lot of boundaries and you're going to find yourself. saying no a lot or here's what try to really say yes where you can like i make a conscious effort like is this really going to hurt anybody if i let this kid can throw paint all like try to say yes where you can because they're going to hear no a lot as you teach them the boundaries of life and right from wrong try to say yes every chance you get as long as you're not hurting anybody or themselves try to say yes whenever you can i like it like i had a fairly strict father and and it was i always i enjoy of course the years when I was, you know, an actual man and an adult where he would hang out

with me a bit more. And then the years where he was like just the enforcer and he was intimidating, you know, so I always think I think. And that's not important too. You got to be able to like, they don't need to you to be their friend, even though it is cool later. You know, you're just going to say no a lot. You're going to say, hey, you're going to be teaching and holding that line, which is very hard to do. So the moments where it's like, hey, this is a 50-50. I really don't want to clean this shit up with you after you do it. But you know what? Just do it. Go. I like it. Go ahead. So that's the quick hit. Steve, we're all going to be watching the finale.

Oh, I can't wait. Maybe the three of us find. Maybe they tap you again. Maybe the three of us find themselves. I think we, the three of us should find. Just none of you. We should find ourselves on a golf course soon. I think that's a lot. Yeah, let's do that. Let's do that. I appreciate you guys having me on. It's great, great chat with you. Thanks, man. Appreciate you, buddy. All right, Maddie. We're wrapping up here. I do think we should get on the horn with our agents and maybe just put the feeler out there for you and I on Traders season five

or six, so put the feelers out. Yeah, let's do it, dude. Well, before we wrap, though, I didn't want to air something out. It's a little bit of a personal story, but it's nothing crazy. I would love some feedback on how I handled it. I'm also on pins and needles about the outcome right now. So, last night,

it was Nick's Cavs, okay? And we are big Knicks fans, and I've spoken about my oldest, Jacob is like, he is crazy about the Knicks. He wakes up in the morning. It's box scores. He asks about like Yabaselli and Landry Shamit and Jose Alvarado. He's on another level. I am not pushing this though on it. Like we watch the games. He sees I'm a fan, but I'm not like trying to be Todd Marinovich's dad with basketball. It's just forcing it. So last night I got tickets to the game from the Cavs. They gave us some tickets.

They know we're Knicks fans. But it didn't matter. I tried talking to the kid like, hey, let's just go neutral college. It's like, no, I'm wearing a Nix jersey. He went to school in the Nix jersey, came home, we went right to the game, okay? We were right by the Nix tunnel, so the Nix players came out. He was cheering for the Nix, screaming, going nuts.

So, Cavs blow the Nicks out, right? Games over. We left, like, early fourth quarter. I was with my four-year-old, too. He was, like, falling asleep. We're in the car and we're talking about the game, and he's hoping they could come back. We'd get home.

Right when we're pulling in the garage, the kid just starts saying, I'm so nervous, Dad. And I'm like, what are you nervous about? And he just starts hysterical crying. I'm like, what is gone? Do you owe someone money already? You're seven years old.

And he's hysterical telling me, Dad, I'm scared to go to school because when we live in Cleveland, he's like, I think that they're all going to make fun of me because the calves beat the Knicks. So what I think happened is, I think he went to school that more, that afternoon.

and he talks a lot of shit. Yeah. And I think he was kind of saying, we're going to crush you. And now he's dealing with that fear of showing up and taking the music. But when I tell you that, it was not to hear. He was having a full on meltdown.

This one's going to tell Theodore. And then Theodore's going to tell this one. And they're going to make fun of me. And I don't want to go. Dad, he just hugs me. And I didn't know how to handle it at first. and I was trying to like talk with it. So the outcome was, all right,

you're going to school and then here's what you do. The minute you start getting heat, you just turn into the nice guy. You go like, yeah, hey, you know, good game. Those calves are, we're harding are really playing tremendous basketball, peaking at the right time. And it kind of settled him down.

But I'm not going to lie, when I dropped him off this morning and he walked in and I saw him like locked eyes and he took a breath. I'm like, I feel like I'm sending this kid in to face humiliation. Because you don't know how, you don't know if three or four kids come out of,

you know how he's going to respond. I don't know. And he's like the youngest. And like, honestly, we don't really do a whole lot of shit talking. Like, it's out of his nature.

Like, you know, we're trying to, like, we don't really, I don't know if he's built for that. And he's only six years old still. Well,

I can't wait. I can't wait to see what he says when he comes home. Because you know it's going to be the first thing he talks about. I'm so nervous. Well, first of all, I think the biggest thing, dude,

listen, kids learn hard lessons early. You learn hard lessons early. If you shit talk, you got to be able to back it up. And when you shit talk and you don't back it up, then you got to face the consequences. And you got to be like, hey, listen, man, like you guys are right. Great job. I think you handled it perfectly. And I know you well enough to know now that in those situations, you might be a little

frantic and little panic because it's also your six-year-old going into school and you're trying to equip him with the right things to say. And you know, I mean, they're going to say whatever. they want to say. So I think it's a great learning experience. I am curious to see when he comes home because that's going to tell. If he comes home crying, you're fucked.

If he comes home and he's fine and he's smart dude. So like I think he's going to handle himself well because he's articulate. He's smart and he's like a thinker. He's not like... Well, he wanted to double down, Matt. He wanted to go, well, you know what? The playoffs, let's see what happens

in the playoffs and we didn't have Deuce McBride. Like he wanted to double down on his take I'm like, hey, Stephen A, take it easy. Calm down, buddy. Well, you got to let me know what he does, man. I will. I'm scared. I'm going to pick him up literally right as we hang up now.

And I'm just hoping that it's a smile I see walking out the door and not like a pouty lip. Because that's my biggest flaws that dad is trying to protect them from any form of pain or lessons. And I know, but man, that was tough. He must have talked a lot of trash and class that day. For sure, dude. Any Towns jersey on. Which, by the way, it just makes me even more proud of them.

I fucking love it. Well, I'll let you know, dude. Hey, let's later on, me and you are going to call our agents and shout out to get into Colletti. And then, yeah, Traitors finale coming up. And if you haven't watched it,

get on board. It's the wave. So peace. Peace.