It is a pleasure to welcome back to the Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar brand and for the first time on The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Reality TV star and fitness entrepreneur Paulie Calafiore.

The last time I spoke with the former Big Brother and Ex on the Beach USA alum was in March 2019 during the first edition of The Challenge: War of the Worlds. He, along with his partner, American Ninja Warrior’s Natalie “Ninja” Duran, successfully joined forces with Wes Bergmann in sending home Johnny Bananas and his current girlfriend, Morgan Willett. Sadly, he and Ninja were separated after eliminating Kam Williams and Ashley Cain in the Killing Floor. Worse, Paulie Calafiore was sent home in War of the Worlds 1 purge.

However, Paulie Calafiore returned with a vengeance for War of the Worlds 2. He was an essential voice on Team US and created his alliance (Ninja, Cara Maria Sorbello, Zach Nichols, Ashley Mitchell, Kam Williams, and Leroy Garrett). They sent home Challenge regulars Johnny Bananas, Josh Martinez, Laurel Stucky, and Nany Gonzalez. Eventually, his alliance made it to the finals, but sadly, they lost to Team UK.

While Paulie was absent from The Challenge: Total Madness, he builds his career as a personal trainer. His personal training package includes personalized daily workout programs and meal planning, daily motivation, and fitness education. He also started building his community called Paulie’s Pride, where he guides his members through over 50 home workouts, mentality training, and nutrition education.

In this edition of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Paulie Calafiore spoke about his gameplay in The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2 and his endeavors in the fitness industry. I also asked Paulie to share his thoughts on my dream cast for The Challenge’s twenty-fifth anniversary.