When “Beast Games” returned for Season 2 in January, the reality TV hit threw a curveball, bringing back some of its most memorable contestants from last year to compete again.
Among them was Baltimore native Mia Speight, aka contestant No. 952, who memorably won the 60-acre private island in Panama that she competed on during Season 1.
The Amazon Prime Video competition pits everyday Americans against each other in physical competitions and simple games of chance, often testing contestants’ greed and integrity along the way with huge offers of cash, cars and other lavish prizes.
Speight won the island in a side challenge. The Park Heights native outlasted eight other contestants, playing hide and seek from Navy SEALs and eventually choosing the correct briefcase to win the deed to the island.
After such success, a comeback was a no-brainer.
“I love to compete,” Speight said last week. “I’d love to see if I can help someone else and then at the same time better my situation as well. So I was like, win-win, why not?”
Created and hosted by YouTube star Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson, “Beast Games” Season 2 continues on Wednesday with episode 6, as contestants compete for a $5 million grand prize and other winnings.
Will Speight, the outspoken, 45-year-old actor-turned-TV competitor, earn another life-changing victory? We’ll hold off on spoilers, but Speight spoke to The Banner about life after “Beast Games,” recently returning to the island and more. This interview has been edited for clarity and concision.
Before we get into Season 2, what have you been up to lately?
Oh man, I’ve been up to everything — everything that I’ve dreamed about doing and have been waiting on God to make the opportunities more available for me. I’ve definitely been doing some traveling and getting into some real estate adventures, domestic and foreign, just understanding how the world works as it relates to real estate investing in the United States and as well as other countries.
Are you still in the Baltimore region?
I’m still in Baltimore. It’s kind of my home base. My family is still here. I did have another death in my family. During the show, my sister died. So my mom passed during the first season and my sister passed during the filming of the second season.
I’m so sorry to hear that. That must have been difficult.
I appreciate that. It was a lot of highs and lows, and then a lot of people on the show are kind of young, so they don’t understand losing a family member. So I just kept to myself.
I’ve noticed online that viewers tend to feel strongly about you, whether they support you or want to see you eliminated. You call people out if you feel that something isn’t right. Why do you think you elicit such a strong response from fans?
I’m unforgettable in every way. I’m a very quiet and kind of to-myself person, but I’m also an actor too. So it’s a gift. You will never forget me no matter what room you put me in. You can put me in a room with a million people and I’ll find some way to stand out.
Now, whether people think that’s in a good way or a bad way, that’s up to them and that’s none of my business. I just think that I have a strong personality and I understand that there’s no right way to be in this world. There’s no right way to be someone because there’s going to be someone that has an opinion of you in a negative way or positive way no matter what.
How has your life changed since the show? Do people recognize you?
Sometimes they do, but they don’t know from where. That’s the beauty that I love about it — I can be myself. I can go anywhere and maybe randomly one or two people will recognize me.
You won the $1.8 million private island in Panama but because it was impractical, you took the cash value instead. How have the winnings changed your life?
It’s changed my life in the fact that I prayed for more financial stability. It’s changed my life because it gave me better options in places to live and it’s also given me ease of travel. I do like to travel.
Let’s be honest, America is an expensive place to live. Most people would love to be able to do things, but they aren’t able to afford it. And I was in that group of people, and I still have a heart and empathy for a lot of people who want to experience things in life and cannot due to financial reasons. So it’s changed because I’m financially free.
You took a trip back to the island in Panama recently. Why did you go back?
Everybody kept asking me, have I went back? I wanted to go back, and I actually had a content creator from England that wanted to collab with me — to go and shoot a video about going back and seeing if parts of the game were still there. I was like, man, it’s crazy to win an island and never go back to it. So that was the motivation, just to go back and say, “Hey, God was good. Look at this place. It gave me one of the biggest blessings in my life.”
You’re vocal on social media about your love for Baltimore. Why is that message so important to you?
[long pause] It’s important because Baltimore is just like me. It’s misunderstood. It’s talked down on, it’s forgotten. But people don’t see the beauty in Baltimore — the good food, the good people, people willing to help you.
I hear the emotion in your voice. Where does that come from?
It’s because I’m talking about me. I’m Baltimore. I’m the person who lives here. Baltimore isn’t a place — it’s people.