‘The Challenge: All Stars’: Kefla Hare Reveals How Mark Long Recruited Him & Who He Wants to Return Next

It was a double elimination night on The Challenge: All Stars Season 4’s latest episode, “Karma Maria,” and unfortunately for the season’s most veteran contestant, Kefla Hare, he was one of the two contestants who didn’t make it out of the arena unscathed.

Kefla, a Road Rules: Down Under alum who was last on a Challenge 25 years ago with the Real World/Road Rules Challenge (which he won), had a good showing this season — until a hamstring injury threw him off of the game during the latest episode’s challenge, “Take a Seat,” a stadium-sized version of “Musical Chairs.”

Since Kefla had a star, earned during his elimination bout with Syrus Yarbrough, he was targeted for the elimination alongside fellow star-holder Steve Meinke. The two faced off in the “Rope Rumble” elimination, but thanks to Kefla’s leg and Steve’s experience with wrestling, Kefla was not victorious.

To hear him talk, though, the opportunity to return after so many years of watching from the sidelines with FOMO was a victory in and of itself — so much so that he even left his day job to travel to Cape Town, South Africa, for the experience.

Following his exit from All Stars 4, TV Insider caught up with Kefla Hare to chat about how he got back into The Challenge universe, who he wants to compete with next, and how he managed to stay above the fray when it came to the house fights.

Something you said at the beginning of this season is that you came back not just for yourself, but to show people who might have been hesitant about their abilities. What was the experience like for you coming back into this world after so many years away?

Kefla Hare: Of course, I was wondering if I would be able to keep up with the newbies — I guess I should say that I’m more like the new person on the block — but I was nervous about that. I was also nervous about how — because I know the world of editing is so much better than what it was back when I first did it, I was just making sure that I was going to be portrayed in a truthful light, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the way they have portrayed me. Even though I’m not seen as often, which is good because it’s the drama trumps it all, it’s still impactful. And a lot of times that’s even more important: When in the small moments that people do see, they’ve seen something great from you and remember that, that means you’ve definitely made a difference. And that’s the whole thing. I just wanted to show people that I was capable and also give them something to let them understand that, oh, there is more to reality TV than just drama. There’s some people that can hold their own by being their true selves.

So obviously, the political and social games are so much different now. I know you were talking about it a little bit with Syrus, but can you expand on that?

Well, the political game is — we didn’t have to deal with all that with our time. There was no voting and voting off. It was all about developing with that character for the entire season, and you really got a chance to learn everything about them. Now, you may come with something to say, and before you even get your sentence out, you’ve been eliminated

So Syrus and I, we’ve kept in contact over the years. And so we both have pretty much the same idea when it comes to politics. But as for myself, I know for a fact that I wasn’t one big on politicking for you not to vote me in. Once they, in the first episode, told me, “I don’t have a relationship with this person, I’m gonna vote them,” I was like, “Whoa, wait a minute. Based off your relationships… Where does that leave me?” And Ryan said, “Of course, that’s all we have right now.”

And so I knew right that moment, I said, anytime they get an opportunity to vote me in, they’re going to because of the fact that I don’t have a relationship with anyone. So I said, in order for me not to deal with that, I have to make sure I do everything I can to not get in that position. And if I am in that position, to do everything within the elimination to come back into the home. Then I said, if I don’t, that’s all on me. It’s not on them. They’re playing the game the way it’s supposed to be played.

Andy Reeves/Paramount+

And so whenever we — for example in this elimination here, I knew my injury would play a big part. And I told them, I was like, “I’m not going to politic. Don’t even tell me what you’re thinking,” ’cause they’d say, “This is what I’m thinking, I want to vote you, but I don’t because you’re my friend.” I said, “Look, put all that to the side. Let’s just don’t talk about it. Cast your vote. And let’s continue to smile at each other. And when we see each other in the house, let’s continue to joke with each other. Let’s continue to eat with each other. Let’s continue to just be.” Because I don’t want the relationship to ruin even if I come back into the house, and now I gotta ask some type of way. “Are you tiptoeing around me because you’re thinking I have a vendetta against you just because you voted me in?” I’m not because that’s just how it’s supposed to be. It’s my fault for putting myself in there. So that’s one of the main things when it comes to politics… I just didn’t because it wasn’t me. It wasn’t me at all.

Since you had kept a relationship with Syrus outside of the game, were you disappointed that you had to go against him in your first elimination?

Yeah. For one, I have confidence in myself. And I’m like, I didn’t want to say without saying it, “I’m gonna beat him.” But you have to kind of say that. That’s the athlete in me, that’s the competitor that I am. And even coming in with Steve, I’m like, “I’m gonna beat him.” Even if he sounds smart — I’ll say, Steve is freaking smart; that gentleman thinks of things nobody ever thinks of — and I was like, “I’m gonna beat them.” And it just so happened that — not wanting to take away… I don’t want to put my injury on it because I also discovered I had a situation with my breathing that I didn’t know about that I discovered once we were battling in there, too. But you know Steve is a freaking animal. He has the mental capacity — not just smarts — to put himself in positions, to withstand stuff that other people would not be able to withstand. And he and I grew closer because we were also roommates during that time. It’s just, I was saying I was gonna beat him but, of course, that day, he was the better person. He whooped my behind on that day, but that’s just how it is. I definitely hated to see Syrus go in. I hated Steve and myself going in. Because I knew my goal was to come back to the house.

In between the time you were on the first time and this time, did you keep up with The Challenge world in between and watch it, and if so, what were your expectations coming into this?

I would only watch the premiere show sometimes. Or I would just read up on who is the selected cast. Because I would feel some type of way when I would watch it because I knew I was still capable of competing — and especially when I was like, “Why are you not calling me when I was right in great shape?” But I know God’s timing was right, and it just wasn’t the timing for me at the time. And so you know, I watched it a little bit, I’d be like, “Ah, I can’t watch because I know I’m supposed to be there. I know I can play against those guys.”

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So my expectations were the same. I knew it was drama-based. I knew it was gonna be a physical competition. It got to one point where everybody was really getting into a lot of physical confrontations. And I knew I wasn’t going to do that. I was like, “I can’t lose my job.” As a teacher, they’d say, “Oh, this guy is violent, why’s he teaching my kid?” I said I can’t get around that situation then. But then when it got back to this new format, All Stars, Mark Long DMed me and said, “Hey, I have an idea about doing something. I’m thinking about pitching it later. What would you think about it?” I was like, “Dude, if you do, I’m the first one on your list. You know me.” And when he did that, I was getting that new excitement about being back, and when I saw All Stars 1 come out, I was so excited. I was disappointed that I wasn’t on it because I should have been there. But then I had an injury, and then I couldn’t do [Season] 2. And then I didn’t know what happened with [Season] 3, and then all of a sudden [for Season] 4, they called me, and I was like, “Yes, I will do it.” And I left my job in the middle of the year. I’m a teacher. I resigned. I resigned in the middle of the year just so I can get this opportunity because I didn’t ever think it will come up again. And I was like, “God, you know, I’m praying for you to protect me with this. I know I can always get a teaching job. But just I pray that financially my family is not in any kind of pain or distraught while I’m away doing the filming.” And everything happened how it happened. I’m blessed.

So if you didn’t keep up with it, maybe you don’t know, but Susie Meister, who you were in Road Rules: Down Under with, is one of the GOATs of this competition. I’m wondering if you may talk her into coming back so that you can have some allies in Season 5.

Yeah, I speak to Susie on social media all the time. And the good thing about social media is, we talk as if we’re sitting across the table from each other. Our relationship has grown tremendously since being on the show. We have the strongest growth for a relationship than any of our other cast mates. And I mean, when I tell you, I love her to death, if she called right now and said she needs something, we’re gonna do everything we can to do it. And my wife loves her to death. We just speak so highly of her. But I will tell you I’ve been politicking for that. If they’re like, “Who would you do a Challenge with from your season?” I instantly say, “Susie.” Susie and Shayne [McBride] because those two are hilarious, and we probably wouldn’t get anything done, but we would definitely have a lot of fun. It will definitely be comic relief for that season of The Challenge if they got them.

You brought up that you and your wife are doing some nonprofit work for mental health awareness. I wanted to see if you could expand a little bit about what you’re up to with that.

Well, because I’m in education — and I have my doctorate in psychology, with an emphasis in sports and performance — what I do is I try to work with our athletes and our students with mental performance in sports… how to help them to think better under pressure [and] how that training can carry over into your regular life. We look at life, this is pretty much like the game. You have to be on the fly. You’re called upon to win situations in life, just like you do in a game, and we try to teach kids how to do that.

A lot of kids now are not being held accountable when it comes to some of the decisions that they make. They blame it on, “Well, you know, COVID was a tough two years.” Or they’ll say, “Well, things are not how they used to be. You’ve got to give them a second chance.” And so I want these kids to understand that problems with mental health are rising, especially in teenagers and young adults. My wife, she’s a former school counselor, and now she works for our school district as a wellness instructor where she’s teaching restorative practices. And she’s gone to all these different schools, teaching relationship-building in the mental and the medical sector, and so it’s just so important for us, especially in the Black community because for so long, mental health was taboo. We didn’t talk about it. It was one of those things we just say, “Oh, leave it to God, just pray about it.”

What happened was we raised a generation of kids and adults who now when we need help for it, we don’t know how to get it. We want to open the door to show people that it is okay to show that there may be some weakness in your mental health, but also where to get that help from. And so we’re just trying to do everything we can. We’re in the process of starting a podcast, in the process of trying to speak with different colleges and universities on behalf of leadership development. Because some of these college coaches are used to coaching kids who haven’t had to deal with all these mental issues that they’re dealing with now, and they don’t know how to develop that relationship with them. And so that’s what we’re trying to do is trying to show them how can you be a coach with the new-age athletes with the new-age mental health problems, and how can we come together and bridge that gap? So that’s what we’re trying to do. And it’s all a work in progress, but I know it’s going to come to fruition because we’re just two die-hards, a husband and wife duo team, and we’re gonna make it work.

The Challenge: All Stars Season 4, Wednesdays, Paramount+