“The Godfather Is Just Getting Started”

As reality TV became a bigger part of the cultural zeitgeist, The Challenge was must-see TV for Gen X and elder millennial. With the backdrop of competition infusing the social dynamics of the game, the stars of The Challenge competed while living together and partying together, which stacked another layer onto the competitive aspect of the series. Throughout the series, how The Challenge cast members integrated their social game into the cut-and-dry style competition became more complicated, making the show even more fascinating. Having been there from the inception, Mark has been part of the blueprint of The Challenge.

The Challenge season 40’s Mark Long may have been one of the first Challengers out of the game, but his long history with the show and his love of competition is going to keep him playing. Mark, who originally appeared in the inaugural season of Road Rules, has been with The Challenge since the very beginning. Originally a spin-off of Road Rules, The Challenge morphed in its early years. First branded as The Real World vs. Road Rules Challenge, the series pit stars from the two reality TV competition franchises against each other in an array of physical competitions.

Highlights

• Mark Long’s long history with The Challenge and love of competition keep him playing despite being eliminated early in season 40.
• The Challenge’s evolution from The Real World vs. Road Rules Challenge to a cultural phenomenon has captivated Gen X and millennial audiences.
• Mark’s power through the Karma Vote after elimination adds a new twist to his involvement in the series, hinting at future seasons and opportunities.

As the show has changed, adopting different styles of competition from season to season and branching off into spin-offs like The Challenge: All-Stars and The Challenge USA, the audience has grown up with the series as well. Those who used to watch The Challenge in middle school can now find their kids obsessed with the series. The cultural impact of the show has been fascinating to watch grow, and Mark has been there through it all. While his time on The Challenge season 40 ended in the first elimination of the season, his experience on the series is just beginning.

Screen Rant: Thanks so much for taking the time to chat, Mark! As one of the Challengers with the longest tenure on the show, how did it feel going into elimination first on The Challenge season 40?

Ah, well. First of all, that first competition – it’s always uncomfortable and anxiety-inducing when you’re stlil working on your puzzle and people are finishing the challenge. That’s always a bad start.
[laughs]
I’m very visual, so when TJ [Lavin] was like, ‘you’re going to run down there and you’re going to build this puzzle, it’s a 40’, I always like to see what I’m building. I had no clue what I was building – I should’ve thrown my box in the water at that point.

Going into an elimination first, which I’ve never done – I’m usually the guy that does okay, it’s a little nervewracking. Plus you’re in the house with forty people, and that’s a challenge in itself. It’s never fun going in first – the only thing that I think made it bearable for all of us going in was that it was 16 people going in. So, it wasn’t that great, but I had company so I was [okay]. Nurys [Mateo] was like, “can you believe we’re going in” and Paulie [Calafiore] was like, “this sucks,” but I was like, yeah, but we have each other. So let’s unite in our failure
[laughs].

Screen Rant: Great to have that kind of camaraderie.

Yes!

Screen Rant: So, Derrick [Kosinski] volunteered to go up against you in this elimination. As a player, do you have more respect for someone who steps up like that, or someone who tries to fade into the background?

Derrick is considered a brother outside of this for me, and what they didn’t show is that we had conversations going up to the deliberation room. Myself, Derrick, and Darrell have a really tight alliance, we call ourselves the Triangle, and Derrick’s the tip of that triangle.

I wasn’t surprised and kind of…gave him my blessing [to volunteer]. I went into it like this, a win for me or a win for Derrick was a win for both of us. When I left the sand that night, I was hoping that his win gave him confidence and some wind beneath his sails to keep him going through this. I’ll be his number one fan going forward. That’s just how Derrick is built – Darrell and I have always said, if you need to pick a guy to go in with and the last two that come out are going to win, you pick Derrick. He has no quit, his heart is bigger than all of us, and he’s just so great at that game. He said,
“when I die, I think pole wrestle should be on my tombstone because I think I’ve mastered it.”
Giving him that competition is like giving a dog a bone. I tried to lay on him, do different stuff, but my lanky body just didn’t do as well as I thought it would.

Screen Rant: You mentioned that you and Derrfick are quite close – you know Derrick, you know pole wrestle, what’s your headspace like going into this elimination? How are you mentally preparing there?

Well, I think I remember Derrick turned to me and was like,
“don’t hurt me.”
I was like, don’t hurt you? Don’t hurt
me.
You’re better at this than me! It’s funny, because anyone else – there was no animosity there. I guess that was my first mistake. If it was anyone else from a different Era, I would’ve maybe gotten a little meaner or angrier before, but because there was no animosity and we’re so close, I don’t know if that played against me. You want to do a good job, but I knew I was in bad shape because my forearms locked up about halfway through. I was like, maybe I’ll do a front flip – maybe that’ll look cool on TV.

Screen Rant: The front flip was wild.

I think it looks cool on the show! But, yeah…he’s the master of that, and I’ve just said at this point, if you want a rematch, I’m going to fly to your house, we’re going to do it in your front yard with no cameras, and you’re going to teach me some better strategies.

Screen Rant: Oh, there needs to be cameras for that. Looking back, you’ve been with The Challenge front the very beginning, what’s your biggest point of pride having been on the show?

Earlier on, I think it was just the fact that I was in an era that was so new and fans really gripped tight to the pop culture nostalgic feel of what the show was. Kids that have grown up with us now, I’ve always said they’re the best fans that I’ve ever met, and a lot of the time you’ll meet people who are like, hey, I watched you when I was 21 and now I watch you with my kids. That’s cool for me, just the longevity of how long I’ve been able to play. Also, I think lately, I’ve been able to give a lot of praise and a lot of attention to my mom’s cancer condition. She’s had stage 4 [breast cancer] since
All-Stars
season 1, she’s now in her fifth year of battling cancer. I’m super proud that I’ve gotten to shine a light on breast cancer and getting checked, getting screened, getting mammograms and all that stuff. It kind of makes my mom smile when fans reach out [to ask about her] and tell me to tell her they’re praying for her. Anything I can do at this point to shine a positive light on my mom’s condition even though it’s a terrible condition is a really great thing.

It’s funny, I feel like I’m more relevant now than I was back in the ‘90’s. I think with the advent of
All-Stars
and how popular that was, and the fans backed that…I feel like it’s just getting so much attention. I was in New York doing press and people stopped me on the street wanting pictures, it’s cool. I’ve never been the a**hole, so a lot of people approach me like they know me – it’s nice to have that reputation of being a pioneer of the game, but to be one of the ones that the fans have taken a liking to over the years and feel very committed to me. It’s nice.

Screen Rant: That’s incredible. After the elimination, TJ revealed that you’d have some power even out of the game with the Karma Vote. Having power after you’ve been eliminated is not typical – what did you think of the Karma Vote and how’d you make your decisions with it?

You know, it was crazy – there was all this talk of a redemption house pre-show, and when TJ was like,
“hey guys, stick around,”
for a moment we were all like, thinking he was going to announce there was a redemption house…then when he flipped the script and gave us that power, it was cool. It’s cool because, although we were out of the game, it still let you feel like at some point your vote and your input would affect the game in a big way. I won’t give anything away, but it definitely at some point is going to really change the game…it’s going to be interesting to see how that plays out. I went pretty heavy on my stars for Era I and II, because I’m old school, and then it kind of tapered off as I went to Eras III and IV, which I think was kind of expected for me. Again, it’s definitely different to have a little power when you leave – it was nice.

Screen Rant: I’m very excited to see how it plays out! Last question, to the extent that you’re able to share after this monumental fortieth season, what’s your future with The Challenge look like?

I’ve always said this – now with
All-Stars
and a rebirth of [
Challenge
] popularity, I feel like I’m just getting warmed up. I feel like there’s many more seasons for me to have – whether that’s with the regular franchise or
All-Stars…
or I could possibly branch out to other shows in the reality competition space, so I’m super excited. I’ve never felt physically better, which is great. I still think at the end of the day, when you’re looking around and wondering who’s relevant in this space, I still feel like I’m out there as one of the names that gets talked about and rooted for, so that’s all I can ask for. The headline of this interview should be,
“the Godfather is just getting started,”
that should be it – because age has never been anything but a number for me, I’ve always gone by how I feel, and I feel fantastic. Like I said, the next time you find me in the sand, I’m getting a W. You heard it here first.

The Challenge airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EDT on MTV.