Josh Martinez is no stranger to the chaos and pressure of reality TV. The “Big Brother” Season 19 winner and “Challenge” mainstay is now taking on “Destination X,” NBC’s latest high-stakes adventure series.
With a prize of $250,000 on the line and a format unlike anything he’s done before, Martinez admits this show tested him in new ways—physically, mentally, and emotionally.
A Different Kind of Challenge
According to IMDb, “Destination X,” follows twelve contestants who travel across Europe on a bus with blacked-out windows, completely unaware of where they’re going. To survive, they must win challenges and gather clues to determine their location. At the end of each episode, each player pins an “X” on a map. The one furthest off? Eliminated.
For Martinez, the mystery was the draw. “The unknown excited me,” he told Reality Tea. “I think that not knowing what the hell I was getting myself into… not knowing where the hell I was going… and just something completely different from any other reality experience that I’ve had, or I’ve seen, or I’ve heard of, was the first thing that caught my attention. And I was like, ‘Yup. Sign me up. I’m in.’”
Martinez added that the show’s adventurous concept aligned with his personality. “I’m just an adrenaline junkie and I love adventure, so it seemed like the perfect show for me.”
But even with a solid résumé of reality appearances—including “The Challenge: Total Madness”, which he called “top two hardest shows I’ve ever done”—Martinez said the isolation of “Destination X” proved uniquely difficult.
“Even though being on the bus, confined in there [for] numerous amount of hours, your mind will play so many games on you, because you really had no idea where the hell you were going, what was going on, what part of the world you’re in, so that is such a mind… you know. It really does screw with you.”
High Stakes, Higher Praise
Despite the mental toll, Martinez said the experience was one of his favorites. “I did love the experience—I had the best time. I met some amazing people,” he further shared with Reality Tea. “They’re all gamers, which is crazy. You normally have like a flop, or like wallpaper in there. Like, no. Every single one of them brought something.”
Martinez also praised NBC’s production team. “I think truly, like, one of the best production companies I’ve ever worked with, and they took such great care of us. It felt very nice, and I just felt very special. And it was a really good experience.”
As he told NBC Insider, “My personality, either you love me or you hate me, but I’m gonna be genuine and I’m gonna be real and I’m gonna be Josh.”
Another highlight for the Miami-born reality star? Meeting host Jeffrey Dean Morgan. “I was kind of like star-struck, and I don’t get star-struck,” Martinez said. “I’ve met a lot of celebrities. And instantly, I was like, ‘I was just watching you three days ago. This is unreal.’”
What’s Next?
While dating shows are off the table, Martinez did hint at his next move. “I would love to do ‘The Traitors’,” he said. “I think that show would be really fun, and I think I would either thrive or spiral.”
Still, “Big Brother” remains close to his heart. “That changed my life,” he told NBC Insider. “Big Brother is like my baby. That’s like your first child, you know? That changed my life,” Josh explained.
“Destination X” premieres Tuesday, May 27 at 10/9c on NBC and streams the following day on Peacock.
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Josh Martinez Says ‘Destination X’ Pushed Him to His Limits: “I Went Stir-Crazy”