Ayanna Mackins And Ryan Kehoe Call 'The Challenge: All Stars': 'Hands Down, The Best Challenge'

(ViacomCBS) - The Challenge: All Stars returns for its second season on Paramount+ this Thursday, November 11th. As its name suggests, this version of The Challenge will pit the best of the best against each other in a brutal competition for $500,000.

CBS' Matt Weiss spoke to two of The Challenge's greatest competitors, Ayanna Mackins and Ryan Kehoe, ahead of Thursday's premiere.

MW- Hello! The Challenge: All Stars season two kicks off today on Paramount+, how did it feel for you both to get back out there?

AM- It felt it felt very, very good, you know, to think that someone would you know, dig under a rock and find me amongst all of the nutrients in the soil and things that haven't seen the light of day for a long time. You know, I'm very honored for that. And

RK- Just felt good to get one more shot and to be back.

MW- What's the preparation like when you're getting ready for The Challenge, there's really nothing like this?

RK- You TRY to work out. [laughs] You try to work out, you try to run a little bit more than you would normally. You really can't prepare for these specific challenges though like no one can teach you how to jump off a cliff or collect flags, whatever it is. You just kind of do it in the moment.

AM- I've had struggles with my weight since being on television 20 years ago. I'm a mom of four and my most recent kid was born four days before Washington DC went into quarantine. I tried my best to just stay running and a little bit of bike work and just little things to get in shape.

Mentally I really had to unpack some boxes of stuff. Some people went on to really embrace the whole reality genre but the last time I was on television it was a different world. Facebook didn't exist it was just completely different. So to just re-acclimate myself to this idea of not being anonymous anymore that also went into the preparation a little bit, I think.

MW- Well congratulations on becoming a mother again, very exciting. So if you were to win and come out on top fortunately you don't have to choose one or the other but which do you think is more satisfying, the money or the title?

RK- Oh, the $500,000 Are you kidding me? [Laughs] I'm going to go around the world and see some different places with that $500,000. I'm going to take my mom around the world and give her experiences that I've been blessed to have that she never has.

AM- At this stage in my life $500,000 means a very, very robust college savings plans for my kids. That's my plans with winning a big money bag in any context.

But on the other hand to say that I can make it all the way to the end and to go down in history as a winner of The Challenge. You know, I can't say that that's not sexy, and that's not appealing.

MW- Last question before I let you both go, what can we expect from this season of The Challenge: All Stars?

RK- I'm going to tell you, this was my favorite challenge to film as a cast member. I had so much fun. I had so much camaraderie with the cast. It was like summer camp for weirdos, like weird adults that need to grow up. We did some ridiculous stuff but we're still competing in the same way.

We were competing when we were 25-years-old but now we have 40-year-old bodies. So now we have to outsmart a little more but you've got a freaking camera in your face and and you're like I've got to just do this. Jump off this stuff, drown yourself, bury yourself alive, just get it in, do it. It's kind of crazy what you'll do for $500,000. But in all seriousness this was hands down the best challenge.

AM- Oh, absolutely. I think it also extends to the fans and all of you that are going to be spending your time on Paramount+ watching our season. Sometimes we all just need to connect with somebody just to push ourselves.

Someone might connect with Ryan and say that's my guy, I'm going to go out there and start that cupcake business. I'm going to go out there and take that trip or take that chance. I think you're going to get that from this season. You're going to find somebody that you connect with and say hey, I can do it too.

MW- Fantastic, well thank you both so much for the time today and all the best!

AM- Thank you so much.

RK- All right, take care!

The Challenge: All Stars Season 2 comes to Paramount+ on Thursday, November 11th.