Paulie Calafiore Talks the Journey of Self-Discovery That Brought Him to 'The Challenge: USA' Season 2
The Challenge: USA season 2 is here! Every week, Parade.com will speak with the CBS reality alumni who were eliminated from the all-star competition.
Last time Paulie Calafiore was on The Challenge, he had his most dominant season ever, dominating physically and strategically on his team. But it all collapsed for him (quite literally) when he fell apart during the final, and his last moments on the show had him dancing in a taunt at the reunion. Nearly four years later, Paulie returned to be a part of The Challenge: USA season 2. And while his outfits were certainly more colorful, his personality was much calmer, a result of years of self-introspection and therapy. In fact, the only meltdown Paulie was associated with this season was the one below his feet that caused his elimination.
Paulie got a challenge to his new self early on, when he was put on a team alongside Johnny "Bananas" Devanazio and Josh Martinez, both of whom he fought with on his last MTV season. But he saw it as an opportunity rather than an obstacle, a sign from the universe to resolve his past conflicts. Soon into the season, Bananas was sent into elimination, as part of the continued crusade against the MTV-only vets from the CBS alumni. And, true to the fate Paulie was talking about, he was drawn out of the Hopper, in a move by the majority to get rid of Bananas. The two former enemies faced off in an elimination similar to their very first showdown in The Challenge: Final Reckoning. And while Paulie prevailed there, it was not his day this time. But while not a physical win, it was clearly a spiritual win for Paulie this time. In his confessional, he said through choked-back emotions, "I finally feel like I have nothing to prove to anybody about myself."
Now out of the game, Parade.com speaks with Paulie about returning to The Challenge after some social media controversy, rebuilding relationships with Bananas and Josh, and where he would have stood if the red team had gone into a deliberation vote.
Related: Everything to Know About The Challenge: USA Season 2
Hey, Paulie! I see you rocking red there in honor of Team Red Flag.
Oh man, Team Red Flag. I'm a little upset that you guys couldn't see my shoes, because I only wear red shoes. However, I couldn't bring certain red shoes in for brand purposes and whatnot. So had to stick to something else. But yeah, red is my favorite color. All-red suitcase. I'm at the airport now. Got the red backpack. [Holds up backpack.] Got it all.
Well even if you couldn't bring your red shoes into the game, let's talk about what you were able to bring into the game mentally. Because years ago there had been some rumors that you were not allowed to go back on The Challenge following some comments that happened after War of the Worlds 2. So what led you to finally come back for The Challenge: USA?
The issue was never me on the show. The issue was always my social media presence off the show, and a lot of my antics off the show. So I had to kind of come to grips with the fact, talking to a lot of the producers and the network and everything. [They're] like, "Hey, man, you need to you need to wake up. Because you're almost throwing away this opportunity that I don't even think you realize is an opportunity. We're trying to kind of guide you without telling you point blank, 'Hey, wake up.' We're just gonna have to sit here for a little bit."
And I think that when it became a reality, it was a gut check. And it was very humbling experience. Because being on the show, and being able to compete, is something I'm very passionate about, and I love so much. And whether the reactions online are good or bad, I like being able to entertain everyone. And then I just needed to kind of switch off from that Conor McGregor/Joker-esque persona of always trying to kind of stir when I didn't need to be stirring anything. It took a lot. But that journey was such an amazing experience. And it helped me unpack and unload a lot of things in my life and in my past that I think were causing a lot of that need to always feel like I had to be either striking up some drama. I feel much more peaceful being in this skin now.
So that zen was almost immediately challenged when you're on the boat with Josh. You even tell him to his face that you don't know if you'll be nice to him this season or not. Talk to me about rebuilding relationships with him and Bananas. Was it something that happened because you were on the same team? Or did you come in with those intentions?
I would say a little bit of both. I think us being on the same team definitely kept [us] from targeting one another. I think the mentality was still going to be the same, where I was going to change it and just kind of be like, "Hey, listen, no hard feelings. But this is just a game." I wasn't going to really explode. I wasn't going to come in and be in their faces. I didn't really feel like I needed to be after four years. Yeah, we still had a lot of animosity towards each other. We still had a lot of unresolved business. But when we were put on a team, you almost kind of need to hash that out immediately and be like, "Hey, listen, whatever happened in the past, we have to leave it there. Let's work through this. If we want to pick it back up, let's pick it back up afterwards. We've already got a lot to deal with."
But yeah, I mean, it was a lot. I had to practice and train myself going into [it] being like, "Alright, I may be in these circumstances. How do I keep myself level-headed? How do I keep myself cool at it?" Because, ultimately, my end goal here is to win championships. And you can't do that if you're focused, thinking, and fixating on things that don't really matter in the long run in the game. You could hash all that stuff out outside of the game; we all have at this point. But you can't talk what I've always talked of, "I'm great. I'm a Challenge legend. I want to be the best that gotta beat the best." And then you don't go in there with the mindset that the best don't really care about the drama. They do have drama and stuff like that. But they're only focusing on getting to the end and winning. The Johnny's, the CT's, the Wes's, the Darrell's, the Cara's, the Laurel's, all those people. I have to take that kind of approach now.
We didn't see a lot of your strategy this season. But you were in this interesting position where the MTV vets were being targeted by the CBS alumni. And, from a resume perspective, you were in the middle, someone who started on CBS but appeared on MTV more recently. Where did you stand in the crusade against the vets?
Honestly, I was in a really good spot this season. That Hopper just really threw a crazy twist where all it takes is one vote. And in my case, all it took was three votes. But I really was in the process of setting up the chess pieces at that point. And as much as I, you know, like to backup everything from a competitive standpoint, and that's always great to have like that leverage of, "I can win dailies. If you throw me into an elimination, I got a good chance of coming back." But I love the strategic side of playing chess. In my head, I'm like, "Alright, I could set up the board as best as I can." But at any point in time, it could almost get smacked off the table. And that was the Hopper. And it's a little frustrating, because I love to show the strategy. I mean, you go back to War of the Worlds 2, I loved the game of chess. I loved going in there without the numbers, gathering the numbers, manipulating the the matchups that I needed to in order to get the numbers, keep the numbers, and then roll on.
As far as the vets who always want to talk about being targeted and whatever, I've had so many conversations with them, where I'm like, "Hey, guys, it is what it is. You can't say you're great, and you can't say you're the best, and then expect to come in and walk to the end." I have zero championships, and I'm not crying about being targeted early on. I almost take it as a badge of honor. I'm a threat. If you don't get me out early, I'm gonna run far, and I've got a good chance of making it to the end. And if I make it to the end, it's only a matter of time before I actually win that championship. So I tried to say that to them.
But they get all butthurt when rookies catch onto the game early and do exactly what they've done for years. And I credit new players for being able to do that. I mean, I did that as a new player. So I love that the competition side of it is going up. These legends of the game have to kind of change up the style a little bit, and they almost have to accept the fact that the greatness comes with this. You look at the greats across any sport, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant, Messi. People aren't going into playing against these people and saying, "Hey, Tom Brady. I'm just gonna let you throw seven touchdowns this game." No, they're trying to sack him, trying to intercept his passes. They're not going, "Hey, Michael Jordan, drop 40 or 50 this game." They gotta go in there and get it done. Like Messi had to score three goals in the World Cup Final against France, because Mbappé is like a younger generation of GOAT, and he scored three goals. He scored three goals and Messi was like, "Oh, no, no. I need this World Cup to solidify my legacy. I'm scoring three goals." I wanted the OGs to take that kind of approach to getting targeted.
You talk about being in a really good spot strategically. Let's say the red team wins a daily and goes into that vote. It's clear there were a couple of different sides, with Bananas, Dusty, and Josh on one side and Chanelle, Michelle, and Tiffany on the other. Where do you think you would have voted?
That was always the interesting question. What was going to happen if Team Red Flags won? Because we all really didn't know where each other was. Jonna voted red team first! And we didn't have any idea it was her until she was gone and somebody was like, "Yeah, Jonna did that." I didn't expect that to be her. Honestly, at that point, I really don't know which side I would have fallen on, just because I didn't have relationships on both sides. But I liked to play the game almost where it's like we're kind of flowing together. I don't ever like to play a game where it feels like a side that I'm working with is putting a gun to my head, being like, "Do this or else." I almost, at that point, start to look at who I need to target on that side. And that's kind of how it felt on both sides for me. So that's why I was trying to ride the middle as much as possible.
And, if I had to make a decision, I was going after floater-style people, other people like me, who were kind of riding the middle. That way, it's a more clear line as to where people lie. And those people still target each other. I don't want those middle people who are a little bit dangerous because they can take one side that they're working with and flip it. That's the style that I was going for. I like to target other people that could play that same game.
Finally, in honor of the infamous "[expletive] They Should Have Shown" episode of the old-school days of The Challenge, what's one moment from your time on the show that you wish had made the edit?
Well, we can't really touch on too many things off the editing floor. But I will say, just because this is fun and light-hearted, but it doesn't go with how things flow with the episodes. When I got eliminated, everybody ran down and hugged me. And I almost started crying right there and then. Because I've never played a game where people wanted to see me stay. I had a lot of conversations in the house. And I think everyone kind of came to me as a Zen person because I stay calm, cool, and collected no matter what. And that house was very paranoid driven, but I stayed calm, cool, and collected the whole time.
But, when I got eliminated, and everybody ran down and hugged me, even Johnny hugs me again, before I hug TJ and ran out. So that was a really beautiful, emotional moment for me. I didn't know how to process it all. But I'm very thankful for having that impact on people, and they truly had an impact on me. I really cherish those friendships now. I hoped that didn't get them in trouble moving forward, like if people were kind of being like, "Oh, yeah, we saw everybody that ran down and hugged Paulie." But it was beautiful.
