The Challenge 40 Battle of the Eras Player Preview: Horacio Gutierrez
On modern Reality TV, it is interesting to watch a genuine, hard-working, good guy with no interest in drama or politics come on these shows, only wanting to compete. Horacio Gutierrez is precisely that. Yet, funnily enough, his lack of desire for conflict or drama has made him a lightning rod for storylines on this show. In only two seasons, Horacio tied the single-season elimination record, became part of America’s favorite team with Olivia on Ride or Dies, then was part of the biggest betrayal as she stabbed him and Nurys in the back, AND is now one-half of The Challenge’s hottest couple alongside Nurys.
For a quiet guy, Horacio’s presence on this show has made a lot of noise…and oh yeah, he’s a fantastic competitor who is a real threat to win. If he became a champion by winning season 40, there would be a whole lot of noise.
Horacio’s Cheat Sheet
Introducing Horacio:
The rumor is that on departure day for Ride or Dies, Olivia Kaiser had brought her younger brother to be her partner. Right before she got to the airport, she saw a shirtless Horacio running on the side road. After seeing him zoom by multiple moving vehicles, Olivia kicked her brother out of the car, picked Horacio up, and said, “Get in, winner, we’re going to Argentina for eight weeks.”
Just kidding. Before he was on The Challenge, Horacio was a collegiate soccer player, and then he competed on a Mexican reality show called Exatlon. Exatlon is a season-long competition similar to The Challenge, except it’s purely about competition, where it consists of a bunch of spartan-race-type obstacle courses against a bunch of super fit humans. Horacio then appeared on Ride or Dies with Olivia as his partner. Olivia’s original story is that they met at a club, where she hit on him because he was hot, and then they formed a friendship. So when Olivia began the casting process, she thought he’d be the perfect partner. As we’ve come to learn, it seems that Olivia and Horacio had the same PR/modeling agencies, and they suggested pairing them to MTV. In all honesty, when you had Ride or Dies pairs that consisted of people who had cheated on each other and actively hated one another in the past…Horacio & Olivia probably had a better friendship than some. And hell, they supported each other a ton and worked super well together on Ride or Dies.
Throughout Ride or Dies, Horacio and Olivia were competitive in a majority of the daily challenges. While they never won one as a pair, they were obviously a strong team, and Horacio had some real standout moments. By the second daily challenge, TJ and Laurel were creaming their pants watching Horacio compete. Where Horacio & Olivia thrived was the elimination arena. They went into three eliminations during the opening pair portion…Now, their wins against Turbo/Tamara & Jay/Michele came with a HEAVY amount of help from the crowd. It’s not Horacio & Olivia’s fault that they received help, but it does dampen the wins a smidge — at the same time, I don’t think it’s fair to say they would’ve lost without help, as Horacio & Olivia were clearly a capable duo. As a pair, they defeated the physically strong duo of Johnny & Ravyn in a Hall Brawl.
We saw Horacio win two more eliminations when the game hit the individual potion. He easily defeated Kenny in an obstacle-course-like elimination, and then impressively, Horacio took down Jordan in Balls In. Jordan is one of the fastest men in Challenge history and in their elimination, Horacio was juking Jordan and breaking his ankles. I never expected to see Jordan get beat in such a fashion. With the victory over Jordan, Horacio tied Sarah Greyson and Wes & Casey’s long-time record for elimination wins in a single season. After reuniting in the second pair portion with Olivia, the two made it to the Final and seemed like a dark-horse threat to win. They were in 3rd Place and trying to catch up ground when a golf ball shattered Olivia’s face and their hopes of winning.
Had the incident not occurred, Olivia & Horacio would’ve likely faced Bananas & Nany in Balls In — to which I’d put money on them as Olivia could bowl over Nany, and Horacio’s speed would allow him to score each time on Bananas. I don’t think they would’ve beat Devin & Tori in the final portion, but I wouldn’t 100% rule it out. Regardless, Horacio & Olivia won America’s hearts on Ride or Dies. The patience and compassion he showed Oliva after injury put everyone on the Horacio if his performances, abs, and early accolades hadn’t already. Other notable parts of Horacio’s rookie season included Laurel fawning over him, and apparently, Tori was trying hard to get at him (it just wasn’t shown in the edit).
After Ride or Dies, Horacio went on Battle For A New Champion, which was a problem for all those who spent weeks pre-gaming as he didn’t inform any of them he was coming on, not even Olivia. This lack of politicking and the fact Horacio was the biggest physical threat in a Final put him on the opposite end of the house once the easy votes were out of the game. Horacio’s showmance with Nurys helped him avoid some early eliminations but also put a target on her later on. However, the two of them had an adorable bond, and they would definitely welcome a target as long as it meant they were together.
Politically, Horacio naturally went towards the people in the house he enjoyed the most in Kyland and Zaza; in the process, as three of the strongest physical competitors, they put targets on themselves and were later pitted in elimination. Not only that, they got pitted in elimination together via Horacio’s girlfriend Nurys getting forced to pick between him and her best friend/his Ride or Die Olivia. Throughout the season, Olivia talked about getting rid of Horacio before the Final and how she couldn’t trust them, only for Horacio to tell Nurys to save her instead of him. Which made her betrayal of him and Nurys harder to swallow the following week.
Horacio’s game on BFANC ultimately ended when his girlfriend Nurys took down him and their bestie Kyland in one of the most shocking emotional elimination upsets we’ve seen. Before people say, Horacio threw it…I want to say…I think competing against his girlfriend threw him off his A-game. However, Horacio still gave his 100% all because that’s who he is…and oh yeah, if he won that elimination, his chances of winning the overall season would have been fantastic. Horacio loves Nurys — he also loves his family and would have loved to bring them home over 300k dollars. Horacio’s show of support to Nurys after his loss was a class-act move and made fans love him even more. Now, he’s back for Season 40, and let’s see if he can go from class act to Champion.
Skills and Physical Strength:
Physically, Horacio is pretty fucking sick. The guy is crazy fast, has cardio for days, great muscular endurance, excellent footwork, a good sense of balance, is a strong swimmer, an adept climber, and he flosses his teeth.
One of Horacio’s yellow flags is his lack of raw power. Johnny Middlebrooks took a round from him in their Hall Brawl, and Jordan was able to bully him a bit in their Balls In elimination. This is nit-picking because Horacio won both those eliminations. Still, if Horacio gets tossed into a Hall Brawl or Balls In with Cory, who is fast and strong, he can potentially lose. Horacio’s arms have looked bigger recently, which is a good indicator of whether he sees a Pole Wrestle or anything that requires upper body or grip strength.
The red flag for Horacio skill-wise is eating comps. He’s not good at them and needs to find a way to improve.
SSMP (Social, Strategic, Mental, and Political) Game:
Horacio needs to play a more active social and political game, plain and simple. I know he doesn’t want to — except that’s part of the game unless you want to take the hardest path every time, which is admirable in some ways and naive in others. CT, Bananas, and Wes all have played the social game hard — it doesn’t make them any less legendary; if anything, it makes them more.
Going into this season, Horacio has Nurys and Kyland as his BFFs. That could be an issue, though, as it’s easy to target the group, especially knowing they’re threats in the game. From Ride or Dies, Laurel & Jordan might have Horacio’s back; even then, those two have loads of history with other players before them. Of course, Olivia is an “enemy” for Horacio. I don’t think she’ll take a shot at him because he’s so nice — I do think Olivia would take a shot at Nurys, though.
It will be a tough season for Horacio socially and politically because he’s the youngest guy in the house and looks like a shiny new toy. He is one giant target the vets want out of this game or to see him get knocked down a peg.
In terms of the mental game, Horacio is competent with puzzles. He’s not amazing. He’s not incapable either. Hopefully, Nurys has had him practicing puzzles in the offseason. If so, he becomes mega dangerous.
Eliminations & Winning Potential:
Horacio is 6–1 in eliminations; he’s competed in headbangers, mini-final exiles, games of memory, etc. Based on his history on the show Exatlon, I think he’s ready for any wacky carnival game that can get thrown at him. That show is all about high-pressure situations and competitions where you have to work on the fly, which is why he’s had so much success in the elimination arena. Horacio is beatable, especially if it comes down to a puzzle, and if it’s a size-based game, he’s not the heaviest. CT, Mark, or Yumbo could easily carry Horacio in the backpack elimination.
Still, Horacio has the potential to beat anyone on this cast in elimination.
Can Horacio win? He’s an obvious contender. Even with a target on his back, we’ve seen Horacio win elimination after elimination. Still, he’s never gotten to run and complete a Final fully. In his one experience, puzzles and eating set him and Olivia back from being at the top. Physically, we know Horacio has the engine to crush a Final; it’s just whether or not he has those other intangibles. I think Horacio has less of a chance to win than most expect, yet if he won, I wouldn’t be shocked because the guy is an absolute beast.
Horacio’s Overall Rating: 92/100
Previous Ratings I’ve Given Horacio:
Battle For A New Champion: 94/100
