"Wasn't outsmarting people": The Challenge 40 finalist Johnny Bananas talks about his past victories

The Challenge 40 star Kyland Young recently appeared on the Death, Taxes, and Bananas podcast with Johnny Bananas on January 4, 2025. He appeared in the podcast's Final Part 1 episode with Johnny on Ringer Reality TV.

Both finalists chimed in on various topics while Johnny shared about his participation in competitive shows over the years. He shared:

"I've been doing this sh*t for eighteen years. Okay. I've done this for twenty-five seasons. You're in...you're third season where you're at just from a game perspective now, like, the game IQ that you've already accumulated, you're so much further than I was on my third season. Okay, again, I won; back in the day, I won through straight f*cking grit and determination, dude. All right. I wasn't outsmarting people, I wasn't you know out manipulating or out conniving people."

He added:

"I was putting myself in unwinnable positions and somehow figuring a way out of it maybe that's what maybe that is what turned me into the competitor that I was because I felt the fire at a very ,very early stage, and I had to, you know face that adversity and I had to figure out a way out of it."

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The Challenge 40: Johnny Bananas and Kyland discuss various aspects of the game, challenges, and more

Further in the podcast, Johnny Bananas shared the reason behind his complaints. He mentioned not wanting to "play" the victim or not trying to have a "pity party" for himself:

"What I try and do is...I just try and point out glaring differences. Okay. When I do something or when I act a certain way, it is viewed in one capacity."

He also revealed what might happen if someone other than him stated something similar. Bananas said that if anyone other than himself had done it, then it would have been "different."

"So that's why I just like to point out the fact that some people complain early on in the season, "My God the whole house is against me." When literally two people voted for them. Then it's me, and literally when the entire house is against me, and I point that out, it's like, "Stop complaining." Right?"

Further on the podcast, The Challenge 40 star, Johnny Bananas shared his initial days and learning experience.

Johnny Bananas shared a story about how he felt as if he was a "hammer" and that everything he saw was a "nail." He mentioned that it took him a "while" to become "more political" and go into things with a "little more finesse."

He mentioned his favorite quote from Darwin:

"It's not the strongest nor the smartest that survive in nature. It's those with the ability to adapt."

The Challenge 40 star added that he had an "uncanny" ability to adapt to his surroundings and to figure the "f*ck out."

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To learn more about Johnny Bananas and Kyland Young's views on the competition, fans can stream The Challenge 40 episodes on MTV.