‘Destination X’: Josh Martinez Talks About His Shocking Elimination & Wanting Redemption

Amanda Bell May 28, 2025, 1:42 pm

DESTINATION X -- Season: 1 -- Pictured: Josh Martinez -- (Photo by: Danny Ventrella/NBC) — Danny Ventrella / NBC

When it comes to reality competition shows, Josh Martinez has been around the block, but Destination X promised to take the Big Brother and The Challenge alum around the globe. Unfortunately, though, his world-trekking tour for this new show was limited to just one country, Italy, where he was eliminated after incorrectly guessing the group’s location was Milan instead of Rome.

The new NBC series, hosted by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, brought together 10 strangers to travel the world on a bus with no outside visibility with the single goal of answering the question, “Where the X am I?”

Josh was the only celebrity contestant of the first 10 — the others’ careers ranged from flight attendant to professional bird watcher and everywhere in between — but he played a bit coy about how deep his credentials go, saying only that he’d gotten far on Big Brother and not even mentioning his many seasons on The Challenge.

“I would say I’m a very polarizing person,” he said in a confessional. “I think that’s a good thing. A lot of people think that’s bad, but I think it’s a good thing.” But did that polarization factor come back to bite him with another contestant, Rick, sabotaging his map room answer? Josh certainly seemed to think so.

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The first challenge started with a game in which the contestants had to pull tags off of 50 suitcases and place them in the correct bins, associating the tags’ clues with related countries. Right away, Mack proved to be a formidable contender by partnering up with Ally — since the reward was a major clue, and the winner could share with one person, it was a surefire win for both of them to partner up, and apparently, no one else thought of it. (Plus, she was willing to swipe Rick’s dropped sausage tag without an ounce of remorse and coasted to victory.) Together, Mac and Ally got to step off the bus and see an ancient theater where gladiators fought 2,000 years ago. The Roman ruins clued them in that they were in Italy, and they shared that intel with Rick as a gesture of goodwill after the sausage incident.

The second part of the challenge saw the contestants randomly teamed up to solve riddles in St. Patrick’s Well so their seeker could roam the town of Orvieto for coins. Though Josh initially offered to do the above-ground bidding, citing his endurance, fellow teammate Biggy insisted he was a better fit. As it turned out, though, that wasn’t true at all, and the team got smoked, earning just one coin to opponent Mack’s four. That left Mack with the choice to send four opposing team members into the map room to guess their exact location, and Josh was among them. Although he was initially convinced it was Rome, Rick’s last-minute suggestion that it was Milan left Josh confused, and his guess ended up being the farthest off the mark as a result.

On his way out, Josh accused Rick of sabotaging him and told the others not to trust the guy. So does he still believe that’s what happened, and what else did Josh Martinez have to say about his all-too-brief time on Destination X? TV Insider caught up with him to find out!

Last time I talked to you, it was for The Challenge, and we discussed the “Vacation Alliance,” which was a big thing in the season. Did you think coming into this that history of world traveling would help you?

Josh Martinez: One hundred and 10 percent. I mean, I traveled all of Europe with The Challenge. So instantly I was like, “Oh, I got this in the bag. I’m gonna do so good!” I’ve traveled with my family to Europe. I’ve done multiple seasons in Europe, so I felt pretty well-versed in my European geography.

You mentioned ahead of the season that this was the hardest thing you’ve done. Can you just describe why Destination X was so difficult?

It wasn’t so much the gameplay — well, yeah, no, I think that did add to it. It was just because if you didn’t want the challenges, you basically were going based off of the relationship that you formed in there, and I very quickly had to trust these people, so that was really hard for me. And then I just kind of had to go off of what they were telling me because we didn’t win any clues. We had one clue, and that’s it. So instantly, the game took off. But it wasn’t so much the game. I think being confined on the bus, for me — I realized I was claustrophobic, and I just don’t do well with being confined. I mean, I just can’t sit still, and we would have to sit for hours on the bus. So I think just adapting to my environment, it took me a little longer than I know that I’m used to. I think I adapt very quickly, and I wasn’t catching the hang of it on the bus. I felt very trapped. I was getting annoyed and agitated very quickly. I was due for some blow-ups, if I would have [stayed] just due to the fact that people were annoying me already. So it, yeah, it was really tough to adapt to, but it’s gonna make for some great TV.

Did you pick up on the flirty energy that Ally was talking about having for you?

Yeah, I did… I can’t give any spoilers. There’s a whole showmance that develops with her. But we were flirting really hard, really hard, and not even on a physical level. I think Ally is such a likable, sociable girl, and she’s just somebody that’s so she’s so easy to talk to. So she was somebody on the bus that I just wanted to be around. She was somebody that I felt comfortable with, that I was just vibing with. So it just felt very natural for both of us and, yeah, I definitely picked up on it. But no, I mean, I was out so quick. Nothing happened. But I’m excited to see where that goes for her. Yeah, I think she’s definitely somebody to keep an eye on.

Was there any talk of you aligning with her and Mack, since you guys did have that?

Yes… Ally was somebody that I felt, like I said, very comfortable with. So I was confiding and very open with her, and she was open with me… They kind of brought me in and told me a little bit about the clues that they got, but not too much. And I felt like Mack was holding back a lot. So I instantly told Ally, “I don’t trust Mack,” and Mack was just somebody that I thought was gaming. She was very reserved when it came to me and wasn’t open, and I felt connected to people like Biggy or Shane or Tai, so she was very distant for me. So I didn’t trust her right off the bat, but I knew that Ally was close with her, so it was kind of hard…

Did anybody else think about teaming up for that first challenge with suitcases?

Nobody, nobody. And instantly, those girls. I was like, “Wow, they’re here to play!” And when she snatched Rick’s tag, I was like, “Oh my God, they’re not messing around.” So, no, and I kind of admired [the move]. I was like, “All right, it’s game on.” I think in that moment I realized — I mean, it was our first challenge — I was like, “All right… they’re here to play. So it’s time to play hard.” But yeah, it was really cool. I knew the producers loved that, too, because I don’t think anybody was expecting that, but it was genius of them. It worked out.

Matteo Graia / NBC

What we saw of you talking about your reality TV background with the others, you mentioned that you were on Big Brother, but you didn’t say you won, and then you really didn’t talk about The Challenge at all. What was the calculus there?

I wanted to be open with what I do. Just for me, it’s easier, because it is a big part of my life, to just kind of just share it. But I didn’t want to say I won just because people, if you say you won one of these shows, then instantly, you’re a backstabber, you’re a snake, you’re a manipulator. … So I didn’t want that rap, but I wanted them to know, like, yeah, I have experience in this. And at some point I was going to talk about Big Brother. It’s a big part of me, so I couldn’t have held that for too long. So, yeah, I don’t think it hindered me in any way or anything. Some people were like, “All right, he knows the ropes how to do TV, so somebody to lean on.”

Do you think that maybe having mentioned The Challenge credentials, that might have convinced them to put you as the seeker instead of Biggy?

Probably, probably… I don’t regret anything, but there’s a lot of things that I take from this, and one of the biggest lessons is that right there: me not stepping up. I’m an aggressive player, and when I want something done, I do it myself, and for me to not step up and say, “No, Biggy, take a seat. This is my doing. I’m gonna do it. I got it.” Even if we didn’t win, I would have seen where we were at, and I would have known for certain that I was in Rome, and that’s one of my biggest mistakes. But yeah, I think it would have gave them more leverage. But I also didn’t want to put [a target on my back]. I felt from certain people very distant: Rachel, Mack, Rick, so if I would have added like, “Oh, I’ve done eight seasons of The Challenge also,” they would have been like, “Oh!” I didn’t want to draw that much attention or become that big of a target. But yeah, so that’s why I kept that kind of in the dark. But I think, yeah, my team probably would have trusted me more… No, not even my team. I think that was a moment that even if I pissed off my team in that instance, I probably would have still been in the game, and that’s what I’m there for. So I should have taken control, and when I am more aggressive on whatever show I do in the future, just know it stems from that little mistake I made.

Were you surprised by how Mack was talking about you on the bus?

No, because I felt that vibe from Mack. Me and Mack really didn’t hit it off. We didn’t have much conversation. And Mack was somebody that I saw as a threat. Mack was somebody that, moving forward, I was gonna end up calling out… My style is to just call people out and just blow up their game, and I had all intentions of doing that to her. I just didn’t think I was gonna be out first.

What made you think that Rick was sabotaging you with the Milan comment, and do you still think he was?

Yes and no. Listen, I can’t blame Rick for my mistake. I doubted myself. I wouldn’t even blame it and put it on Rick. I let things get in my head, and I doubted myself, and I didn’t trust my gut, which was that we were in Rome. So I’m not putting that on Rick. My intent with calling out Rick was to draw attention. I saw the way that he was moving, and I didn’t trust it. Great guy, but his gameplay was messy. He was doing one-on-ones and trying to play every single angle and try to connect with everybody. And so I knew … the only way that I’m going to give the people that I’m that I built a stronger friendship with, like Biggy and Shane and Tai and Ally a chance at moving forward in this game is by putting a target on somebody else. So I wanted all eyes on Rick. So that was kind of my intent. I wasn’t really mad at him because he told me Milan… It was like, “All right, it’s time to draw attention to somebody and blow up his game.” So that was my one way to [do so]. I mean, I wanted to leave with a bang, and I think that Rick was the target. Sorry, Rick!

When you left, did you at least get to spend some quality time in Rome?

I did. So listen, there’s no way in hell that I was [going to go home]. I did my exit interview, and I think they handed me my boarding pass. And I was like, “No, there’s no way in hell I’m getting on a plane.” So I spent some time in Florence. I kind of disconnected a little bit. It was a hard hit, like oh, I was so attached — instant regret. I was like, “Why didn’t you just say Rome when you knew you weren’t wrong?” And that really sucked. But I know I disconnected our a little bit, and I got my mind right, and now I’m just like, “What’s happening now? I’m just so hungry to play. I’m so hungry to game. I want to just get in there and get my hands dirty.” … Whatever show I end up on, I feel bad for whoever have to play against because I’m eager to play a game because I really didn’t get the chance on Destination X.

Are there any that you have in mind? I know there are a few that have popped up, like Traitors and House of Villains — not that you’re a villain — and Deal or No Deal Island? Are there any you have your eye on?

There’s two out of three that you just said that I would love to do. I think Traitors is such a big one. So I would love to do Traitors. Even as a Latino, seeing Sandra [Diaz-Twine], somebody that I admired and I was such a big fan of, just seeing the Latino on there doing her thing, and she’s such a great gamer, I would just love to. I think it would be such a huge thing for me and my family. So I would love to do Traitors. Traitors is definitely something that I’m manifesting for myself. And Deal or No Deal Island, what’s funny is, I actually got originally called for Deal or No Deal, and they ended up putting me on Destination X, and I’m glad they did … There’s nothing like Destination X. So I’m happy that I did it. But yeah, those two I would love to do, and we’ll see what NBC has in store. Hopefully, they let me redeem myself because there’s no way in hell [I’m going out like that]. I want to keep working with NBC. So hopefully there’s something aligned in the books for me.

Was there anything that didn’t we didn’t get to see that you wish we had?

Not so much. They did an amazing job at editing. They did a really good job at editing. And props to them because you have an hour and they fit — that was like three, four days of content, and they squeezed as much as they could, and they told the story really well, which I love that. I think just, of course, you’re not going to see all the relationships, but I bonded with a lot of people in there very quickly. And even Rick! A lot of these people are just really good. They smashed it. The casting team, shout out to them. They absolutely killed it. It’s such a unique, beautiful group of people. And I think that there were just deep conversations, even with Kim, I told her I was a momma’s boy. We just had very nice conversations. So just the connection, I don’t think people are going to understand how fast [you bond]. Because you’re trapped and confined in this bus, all you have is each other to talk. So I think that the connections are going to be really strong, and I don’t know that’s going to translate.

Destination X, Tuesdays, 10/9c, NBC