The Challenge Ride or Dies Team Preview: Amber Borzotra and Chauncey Palmer
Amber Borzotra made history on Double Agents. She won her Rookie season during the middle of a pandemic, became the first ever Big Brother Challenge Champion, and broke a 20-plus season drought without a Black Champion. So what did MTV do? They made her an alternate for Spies, Lies & Allies as they thought she was a bit boring. So what did Amber do? She came into the game as an alternate and made the best of the opportunity. Amber had a rivalry with Fessy, was competitive in dailies & eliminations, and carried herself with a level of swagger while looking stunning. She was on a mission to secure her spot in the next season’s cast and succeeded. Now, Amber gets to be on this season and do it with her Ride or Die, Chauncey.
Physically these two are going to be massive threats, and aesthetically, they might be the most gorgeous pair out there.
Introducing the Couple
Amber & Chauncey are a real-life couple who have been dating for a year (around 8–9 months at the times of filming).
Introducing Amber:
Amber made her Reality TV debut in the Summer of 2014 on Big Brother Season 16. She had a terrible experience. Amber was immediately on the outside of a majority alliance and got ostracized due to the fact that a dweeb (Caleb Reynolds) from the majority alliance was obsessed with her on a stalker-like level. The alliance viewed his obsession with her as a potential detriment for their game, so Amber got taken out pre-jury. To have your game upended because a guy you don’t even like is in love with you is a brutal fucking break for what is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. After Big Brother, Amber threw herself further into the modeling industry, appearing in various advertisements and publications. Amber was a country girl who perfectly fit into Los Angeles/model life. She was committed to her craft, keeping herself in stellar shape as her body and look was her profession.
Six years later, Amber gets the call for Double Agents; she packs her bags and gets her second shot at Reality TV success. Whereas everything went the wrong way for Amber on her Big Brother season, everything aligned perfectly for her on Double Agents. Going into the game, Amber got to join the pre-existing Big Brother alliance where Kaycee & Fessy controlled a ton of power and won a bunch of daily challenges. She was also one of the many rookie girls on the season, where Amber could play the middle early and be somewhat part of the rookie girl alliance. When it came to partners, she opened the game with 4x Champion Darrell. In terms of getting a Gold Skull, Amber’s eliminations were Hall Brawls against the diminutive Amber Martinez & Big T. And then, in the Final, who did she get as a partner? Motherfucking, CT.
Look, I’m not saying Amber didn’t deserve to win. She fucking crushed that Final in dominant fashion where CT was asking her to slow down so he could keep up. However, in terms of game set-up and luck, you can’t roll the dice better than what Amber got on Double Agents. She deserved that good karma after the shit show that was her Big Brother season. At the same time, we saw her have to deal with adversity on Spies, Lies & Allies, where most of the house and her former Big Brother buddies wouldn’t let her stroll to another victory.
Still, I enjoyed Amber on SLA way more than on Double Agents; she carried herself like a champion in confessionals, brought a different type of energy, got into drama, had a showmance with Jeremiah, and showed dramatic improvement in the daily challenges. The Amber before the Double Agents Final and after are almost two different players. Amber’s growing and coming into her own as a physical competitor. The question is, what will her relationship be like with the Big Brother players she had tension with last season, and whether she’ll be able to elevate her boyfriend Chauncey along with her?
Introducing Chauncey:
I’ve seen multiple accounts online clamoring that Chauncey might be a bit a “clout chaser”. Even if that were true, fuck that noise. This dude is living his dream. Chauncey is 23 years old and dating one of the most gorgeous women on the planet and now he gets to be her partner on The Challenge. He is a former collegiate basketball player turned personal trainer whose social media following is growing like crazy. Whatever he’s chasing, it’s working.
For some additional backstory on Chauncey: He’s originally from Massachusetts and went to a D2 College to play basketball. Sadly, he had to drop out due to cost concerns and not quite transitioning well. The guy was lost after leaving university and missing direction, so he committed himself to fitness and has been grinding ever since. Chauncey has certifications in multiple forms of training and nutrition. He’s not just someone who is Instafit — fitness is his Chauncey’s life. It’s done him well as he’s attracted a lot of eyes on him, most importantly Amber’s; now we get to see how they compete together.
Player Vitals
Amber Borzotra: 34 Years Old, 5'9, 2 Seasons, 1x Champion, 1x Finalist, 3–1 Elimination Record, Winner of Double Agents
Chauncy Palmers: 23 Years Old, 5'11, 200 lbs, Rookie, Collegiate Basketball Player
Skills & Physical Strength:
As we all know, Amber’s biggest strength is her cardio. Not only is Amber capable of running long distances, she does it at a fast pace. Amber looks like a gazelle running with her long legs; her height comes in handy in a partner-based season when body symmetry comes into play. If two players have to carry a large object together or balance off one another, being close to the same height makes the task easier. Amber has proven to be fearless when it comes to heights-based challenges or anything of the extreme variety; if anything, she usually giggles and has fun when doing crazy shit. She proved a solid eater and capable kayaker during the Double Agents Final. Amber has been a solid swimmer but struggles with diving/submersed swimming.
If you had to pinpoint Amber’s physical weakness, it’s her lack of power and raw strength. She’s thin and built for a Final, not built as much for a Pole Wrestle or Balls In (against people her size or bigger). Luckily, Chauncey fills in some of those gaps for her. Chauncey is an absolute unit of a man who devotes himself to training. While we haven’t seen Chauncey on the show, I have zero doubts that he can lift, carry, and push a ton of weight and has the cardiovascular ability to do well in endurance comps. Chauncey’s basketball background and highlights make me think he is extremely explosive in terms of speed and leaping ability — he is not someone you want to face in a headbanger.
My doubts about Chauncey are my general question marks about most rookie players. As fit as he is, we don’t know how he handles heights, if he’s a good swimmer, or has the natural ability to problem-solve during the more carnival-game type challenges. Even though Amber is a strong player, she’s not a problem-solver, so one of them must step up for them to be a good team. Just a side note: basketball players have not translated to The Challenge as well as players from other sports have. Then again, CT played college hoops, and he’s one of the greatest ever to set foot on The Challenge.
SSMP (Social, Strategic, Mental, and Political Game):
In theory, Amber should have an excellent social game because she is a kind, likable girl who seems fun to hang out and party with. Except because of the way Amber was able “coast” to her win on Double Agents, people resent her and don’t trust her kindness anymore, even if it is genuine. It puts Amber in a difficult position because she’s a non-confrontational person, yet if they force her hand, she won’t back down after a certain point. Politically, I don’t think Fessy, Kaycee, and Nany will actively be going after her from the jump; however, I believe conflict will arise once the easy votes are out.
It will be rough sledding for Amber because there’s already a pre-existing clique of players that she is not part of. Amber has to actively go out and form connections with those players who haven’t been on the main seasons in a minute (Laurel, Kailah, Jordan) and those rookie players as well. Another hurdle for Amber & Chauncey is that the Polidicking element is not there for them because they are already a couple. On a typical season, Amber or Chauncey could use their looks and charms to attach themselves to power players. That’s off the table, so they got to work socially/politically, or else it will be them versus the world.
Let’s talk about the mental game now. Besides the memorization portion during the Double Agents Final, Amber has never done well regarding anything puzzle/mental-related. Her major weakness is that Amber has severe dyscalculia (dyslexia for numbers). Math is close to impossible for her. Is Chauncey secretly a puzzle expert or mathematician? I don’t think so. Then again, he’s a nutritionist, so he probably knows how to count the exact grams of protein a person needs to hit their daily goal.
Eliminations & Winning Potential:
Amber’s elimination history is a bit funky. Her Hall Brawl wins over Big T/Amber were basically lay-ups considering the size and athleticism difference. I’d love to see how Amber stacks up in a Hall Brawl against someone like Nany. Her third elimination over Michele & Corey with Hughie as her partner was a genuinely fun elimination where she proved to be flexible and went straight into game mode. Amber’s elimination loss between her & Jeremiah and Cory & Bettina was an intense battle of endurance, balance, and coordination where they had the lead for a decent amount of time. When a fire gets lit under Amber’s ass, we see the best in her as a competitor. As mentioned above, Chauncey has the physicality to do well in headbangers, and he can carry extra weight for Amber.
Then again, co-ed eliminations can get funky and often involve mental elements, and that’s where this team might struggle. This leads us to their shot of winning…
Can Chauncey do puzzles? If he’s not a puzzle guy, I don’t think this team has a shot of winning this season. Amber & Chauncey should be a powerful physical duo and have the cardio crush a Final. Sadly, if you can’t be at least average in the mental part of the game, you can’t win. Nobody wants to be Cory & Nicole Z sitting in front of a puzzle for 30 minutes waiting for production to time them out. Their chance of making the Final isn’t fantastic because Amber has a big target and enemies. Nonetheless, I would love to see this team make some noise and go as far as possible.
AMBER’s OVERALL RATING: 87/100
CHAUNCEY’s OVERALL RATING: 77/100
AMBER & CHAUNCEY’s PAIR RATING: 82/100
Previous Ratings:
Amber (Double Agents): 74/100
Amber (Spies, Lies & Allies): 85/100
Also, for anyone interested, here is a bit of a personal blog I posted this week:
