What was your strategy? I'm about to say, Mike, I'm interested in what your strategy was.

Well, so first of all, I practiced this game before going.

I knew that the ice melting was the most iconic thing in 99 to Beat, and they would probably do it again.

So I melted my own block of ice at home and really wanted to, and not so much I felt like I needed to practice, but I wanted to know what it was like to be able to hold a block of ice.

How quickly do your hands go cold? Do my hands in particular lock up when they get cold? I don't even know this.

I've never held a block of ice.

So that was one thing I was really intentional about was trying that.

This seems like one of the tougher ones so far.

Great

... "Cool," and I fought through the pain.

It did, it hurt throughout the entire, uh, time I was there.

But, uh, I powered through, got home and got my own x-ray, and it was indeed broken.

Um, it was a small break, but a break nonetheless, and, uh, you know, it was an interesting obstacle for me.

I will say, though, I think, uh, and I, I was open with a lot of people before the show even came out with the fact that I did break my arm in Ireland.

Like, it wasn't a secret to my friends and family, and the reason it wasn't a secret was because I knew it wasn't gonna be on the show.

That's insane

And so I'm like, all right now, Michael, tell us about this experience, how you get on the air.

Well, I mean, it's no surprise.

I don't think to you guys that I've had an obsession with reality television and always like, and I get to the point where I was like applying to like so many shows a year, like maybe like five or six.

And this was one of them.

This was like, I had my friend, uh, may who I also know through like the online reality community.

I don't know if you guys know her.

She played season one.

So I guess you were the secret weapon for Paul not to struggle in a challenge for once.

Was there any transferable skills there for you doing those that you brought into a real arena?

Uh, dude, yeah, man.

I mean, I felt like...

And that's the other thing, like, feeling like this is, like, maybe my calling in a weird way, because I've done, like, y- a decade plus of, like, playing, like, online weird games.

And, like, you get out there, I'm like, "Wait, this is, like, kinda similar to something I've done before." You know?

Um, Michael, tell everybody where they can follow you as you go on your journey through 99 to Beat.

Sure.

I think the main place is @themichaelorear on Instagram.