A few months back, Greenville resident Adam Larson went to see a physical therapist about his aching leg. He’d pulled his quadricep, the muscle located in the front of the thigh, and the injury had only gotten worse because Larson had continued to put heavy strain on the leg for weeks after the initial injury.
“I was operating injured the entire season,” Larson said.
This kind of explanation — an athlete continuing to play out the season despite an injury, stubbornly refusing to sit on the bench — is familiar to any physical therapist.
But despite being in great shape for his age, Larson is not a formal athlete, and the 45-year-old had not injured himself at the start of a sports season. Rather, he’d hurt his leg in Episode 1 of the latest season of “The Challenge,” the hit MTV reality show that originally premiered back in 1998.
Larson, a veteran of the show’s early seasons, had not appeared on the reality TV show since 2005. Now a middle-aged father of two working in information technology in Greenville, he was brought back for the show’s upcoming all-stars season, which premiers on the Paramount+ streaming service April 10.
For those unfamiliar, think of “The Challenge” as all the petty drama and infighting of “The Real World” crossed with the beat-’em-up extreme physical contests of “American Gladiator.” Participants are split into teams and are forced to cohabitate with one another while surviving elimination challenges.
While the participants might be older on this new all-stars season, the show doesn’t let up on extreme challenges.
“I don’t want to say we’re all a bunch of geriatrics out there, because they still beat you up for sure,” Larson said. “They definitely still put us through the wringer.”
“The Challenge” is known for its unique cast of characters, each of whom could easily be slotted into a certain archetype: nerd, jock, beauty queen, artsy, basket case and so on.
As for Larson, he is self-aware enough to know what role he played on the show, although he is careful with his choice of words.
“Are you asking just between us, or something you might be able to print in the paper?” he said, laughing.
By his own admission, Larson played the handsome jerk, the spoiled rich brat, the competitive alpha male, who became equal parts hated and loved by the fans.
It’s an odd description for the affable, easygoing Greenville father, who seems so far removed from those days, given his down-to-earth personality.
But that’s just part of the TV magic.
“The producers understand story arcs, redeeming moments — they’re really good storytellers in the way they edit and produce the show,” he said. “Although I will say, nowadays, because it’s such a part of our culture, it seems like people on reality shows sort of know what role they’re playing and ham it up. Whereas, when I first started — and maybe I’m not proud of it — but it was more who I was exposed to be rather than who I decided to be.”
These days, even the notion of taking a month off work and away from his kids to go participate on a reality show seemed ridiculous, but luckily, he had extended family in Greenville who helped hold down the fort while he was gone. They convinced him to give it shot.
What he found in the process was a renewed commonality, not only his fellow participants, but also with fans of the show. These men and women in their 40s and 50s, many of whom are parents with jobs and mortgages, loved the show as kids. Now, seeing Larson out there pulling his quad and hobbling through the obstacles, they get to see a different version of the show — one in which half the fun is shining a light on how much older they’ve all gotten.
“It’s this great kind of nostalgia,” Larson said. “Minus the leg injuries, of course, it definitely feels like the good ole days.”
What is ‘The Challenge?’
A spinoff of MTV’s reality shows “The Real World” and “Road Rules,” “The Challenge” premiered in 1998. The reality competition show aired for a staggering 39 seasons, with 545 episodes. The format has participants divided into separate teams who then compete in physical contests to avoid elimination and win prize money. The new season featuring Greenville’s Adam Larson premiers April 10 on Paramount+.
The rise of reality TV
American television has become saturated with reality TV shows, owing to their relatively cheap production costs and popularity with viewers. The first program to be considered a reality show, “Candid Camera,” aired in 1948. Since then, hit shows like “The Gong Show,” “The Dating Game” and “The Newlywed Game” all pit real people against one another in challenges, while more recent shows, including “The Real World,” “Survivor,” “The Amazing Race” and “The Challenge” extended the format to feature teams isolated in certain environments with the chance to win large sums of money.
