Challenge Dirty 30 Player Preview: Hunter Barfield
Each time a Challenge trailer comes out, Hunter Barfield seems to appear in many of the scenes. Then the show airs, and he’s almost not there besides those few scenes. I am torn whether or not I like Hunter as a person. He’s really damn good at these Challenges. Hunter is a natural athlete, in monster shape, and has all the physical tools to be a great Challenge competitor.
The problem is that Hunter himself was a bit annoying last season. His freak outs with Shane and Ashley were not the best, and he got memed hard last season. Him holding up the water gun, pointing it at Amanda, and of course the “who could beat me” statement, where CT poked his head rounder the corner and pointed at himself. Hunter, be a Bad Ass, don’t turn yourself into a meme.
Over the last few years since his appearance on Are You The One? season 3, Hunter’s body changes have been dramatic. Before MTV, he was a skinny dude who had worked to bulk up. Even then, he was nowhere near the size that he is now. Hunter’s veins were almost pulsing last season, his head looked bigger, his arms were massive, his chest was huge, and still had legs that would pump out a ton of speed.
On his second ever daily mission, Hunter blew the entire cast out of the water, literally. In the Shell Shocked challenge, he told Ashley not to steer at all, and with only his arms paddled his tiny boat to the shore and shot every coconut into his net before anyone hit the shore.
In the first challenge with the Champions, in the rugby game, he held down Bananas for like 20 seconds. Pinned him down to the floor for fun. In the Roll with the Punches mission where all the competitors were trying to make spins in the giant windmill apparatus, he was the only Underdog to beat a Champ, knocking out Darrell and succeeding despite his small stature, in a mission where being taller matters. He won safety on the curry eating mission, killed the inner tube jumping competition, and knocked out Darrell during the rope holding mission.
He may have had an emaciated ego from his performance, but Hunter proved himself time after time. Math is hard sometimes though.
Now here is a review of Hunter as a competitor, as well as his social media handles:
Skills & Physical Strength: He was listed at 5'8 on his high school and college sports stats. However, most of those sites usually go an inch or two over, and based on the eye test, it wouldn’t be surprising to find out that Hunter is 5'6. Weight wise, Hunter has gotten really bulk. During Wes’s prime, he never got over 195 lbs, Hunter might be bigger. The gains are real with this guy.
As an athlete, Hunter is the total package. He played College Baseball at Florida Atlantic University. Hunter looks like a meathead, so being a baseball players with hand-eye coordination and timing skill helps. His body is similar to a football player, he played soccer growing up, and has a great sprinting kick. He’s also been a total workout junkie.
This was a video from a year ago. I think Hunter is bigger now. He was the total package athletically last season. If you had to pick one Underdog who could have legitimately competed with the Champs, Hunter was the one. Had he been in Nelson’s slot in the final all throughout, maybe he wins the final. I think he is better than Nelson at every portion of that final, except he might have blown up at Camila, and then he would have not been able to solve the puzzle as quickly as Nelson did during Day 2 with Nicole. Hunter could have been a Champion if it was not for the bloodbath. It was sad to watch Hunter and Shane lose in a game where they were the two best Underdogs.
Social & Mental Game: His social game seems rough currently. At the end of last season, it was unclear whether he was still on good terms with Amanda, Ashley, and Nelson. There was a clear divide between the AYTO guys (Dario, Hunter, Nelson, Anthony) and the RW guys on Invasion. If he gets angry and blows up at points like he did last season, he could lose allies.
Hunter needs to keep calm and be the fun guy he was on AYTO 3. He showed his penis way less on Challenge Invasion, than on Are You The One.
We saw Hunter get demolished by the Sudoku puzzle last season, and it was sad to watch. He had been the best Underdog physically, and was knocked out of the game in one swoop. I hope he’s been practicing Sudoku.
Eliminations: He’s currently 0–0 in eliminations. The puzzle bloodbath was not counted as an elimination. I really want to see Hunter compete in an elimination, especially a headbanger. With his massive arms and grip strength, watching Hunter go toe to toe with someone like Darrell or CT in Pole Wrestle would be incredible. Hunter isn’t bigger than them, but he has the pure arm strength to be competitive with them in a game like that. Watching Hunter play Hall Brawl with Bananas or Jordan would bring me so much joy.
Final Potential & Endurance: My biggest scare for Hunter, is that we have seen super muscular guy gas out during finals. Hunter never saw a super endurance competition on Invasion. His swimming, strength, and speed are unquestioned, it’s a matter of having enough in the tank for a marathon. Can he eat? Can he do a puzzle? Will he be able to work with a screaming or crying partner?
Final Score: 86/100
