Undoubtedly, Marley racks up as many hours flying around the world as he does on the television screen. At a pace that has almost no breaks, the pilot will deal with Telefe’s new reality show, The Argentine challenge from Monday 13 February, from Monday to Thursday, at 21:15

The new cycle only fifteen transmissions AND which was recorded last year, will air in the segment of early evening, before Big Brother, which is in its final stretch. The next day, The challenge will arrive on the Paramount+ platform. The format, which has releases around the world, will run for season 38 on MTV in the US, where it’s all the rage.

After the taping of the new reality show in Argentina, Marley made a lightning trip to South Africa to complete the World Cup The challenge and a few days later, he took another plane to go to the World Cup in Qatar, having passed through Spain and Switzerland for his cycle Around the world.

Upon returning, with Argentina as world champions, there was time for a short holiday on the beaches of Pinamar with Mirko, his 5-year-old son. And now, before the debut of the new program, Marley takes the plane again to spend a few days in the snow with the child, and return to coincide with the start of classes.

a necessary break

“Sometimes I try to stay at home for a while, I need it to compensate for so many planes and make a more peaceful life than a normal human being“, he says, with his usual sense of humor and used to an almost nomadic style. But above all, now that the child is about to start kindergarten, something will change.

“Mirko is proud of this new stage and tells everyone about it. He already wants to read, write and do arithmetic, he feels older“, he describes. “It’s important to me that he doesn’t miss his school days and that he spends time with other kids his age, because he’s super stimulated. He’s very sociable and plays with everyone.”

In September last year, shortly after completion The Argentinian voiceMarley has set aside the songs and life stories of the participants in singing reality to immerse himself in a completely different format, that of The challenge.

In a large property, in the Pilar district, in a mega-structure of an abandoned former military complex, the reality show was filmed which sees the participation of 18 celebrities who compete in extreme sports.

“The international production took advantage of the space, because a mega infrastructure was needed and they recorded two seasons of the program there in the US version, one in Australia and one in England. We were the last,” he says. “It was shocking and it all fell apart after that.”

Actually, the big challenge is overcome tests that require enormous dexterity and physical endurance. Additionally, the competition has one segment, the Elimination Segment, which takes place at night. And that requires a lot of people from the production team to work.

As the driver explains, the advantage of this cycle is that, in addition, the participants, while the recordings lasted they had to live in a giant house with cameraslasted three weeks.

18 participants and cohabitants

The 18 famous participants of this edition are a very eclectic group who share a passion for extreme sports and range from the lawyer Fernando Burlandothe nutritionist Adrián Cormillot, the boxer Carolina Duer to the former Uruguayan footballer Rodrigo Mora.

Also participating are chef Rodrigo Cascón; models María Fernanda Callejón, Claudia Albertario, Virginia Elizalde, Florencia Tesouro, Sol Pérez, Eva Bargiela and Sofia “Jujuy” Jimenez; influencers Lizardo Ponce, Lionel Ferro, Oky and Julieta Puente, and actors “Yeyo” De Gregorio and Benjamín Alfonso.

“Clearly you can see the social effect caused by the confinementaway from family, social networks and no phone,” says Marley, who has observed him from the outside as he came and went from recordings. Big Brother but with the requirement of physical proof,” he explains.

According to the driver, however, “having to socialize, in just 24 hours, a very interesting union and communication is generated, capable of uniting different generations and which we are losing with virtuality and screens. What happened was very beautiful” .

The dynamics of the new program proposes the game in pairs (which are defined by the lottery) and then, competitions that determine winners and losers. “Everything is very intense and with a lot of pace. They are leaving the game two to one, at an unusual speed for Argentina, where the cycles are usually stretched depending on how they work,” explains Marley. “It’s not possible here.”

All participants had to undergo physical exams before entering the competition. “I didn’t know the format and it was a lot of fun, especially for the speed-she says-Sometimes I thought that such a couple would win and then it didn’t happen. I was surprised all the time.”

Is a lot of prior training required to pass the tests??

-The truth is that it is very demanding, a superhuman effort. But they are all people who exercise regularly. I, with my usual clumsiness, would not have been able to overcome even one of the challenges.

The final prize for an individual winner or winner are 15 million pesos. In the case of this first edition, for the best four of this season, there was an extra: participation in the world reality show which took place in South Africa, with the best of the editions from the other three countries. And Marley was also there to accompany and play him.

An experience in another language

-How was that experience? Did you have to drive in English?

-Yes, it was a completely new challenge for me, having to drive in English for the special that Paramount distributes in each of the participating countries. I speak English, but I don’t like driving. Also, it was all in three days, very intense and exhausting.​

Why was it so short?

-That’s how it happened, it had to be resolved quickly. So, as there were no direct flights, I took one to Amsterdam and from there to South Africa. It was 26 hours of travel. When I arrived, they gave me a short text to learn, because registration was the next day. I packed it, went to sleep. At six in the morning the next day I got up to practice, obsessive.

-You were the only one who didn’t speak English as a mother tongue. Did you feel pressure?

-Very, but I learned it well and it turned out very well. They were all surprised. Clearly they didn’t have much faith in me!

When all chapters air, Paramount+ will launch this competition to be held in South Africa worldwide and audiences in other countries will see Marley driving in English and himself dubbed into Spanish, for Spanish speaking countries.

The suitcases again

After the fleeting trip to South Africa, the pilot has packed his bags again, this time to travel to Spain and Switzerland for the previous programs of Around the worldwhich were recorded before the World Cup in Qatar.

The experience in Qatar was another risky bet. “We took a risk, because we bought tickets for all the matches up to the final and we took a risk. We also rented a house for the whole month and ended up living with the producers, the coaches, with famous guests like Cathy Fulop and Lali. Everything was complicated but a lot of fun, something incredible,” he counts.

At 52, Marley is already one of the pilots who has left his mark on television, with a more than thirty-year career from his beginnings as a reporter on Faxof El Trece to become one of the most representative faces of Telefe, ahead of cycles such as The Voice, Minute to win, Odyssey, Operación Triunfo, Just in time, your face sounds familiar to me, all over the worldamong others.

But, outside of work, it was the arrival of Mirko, for surrogacy in 2017, that undoubtedly marked a before and after in her life. Now that the child is older and it’s not as easy to take him on the road as it was when he was little, the chauffeur’s plans are adjusting to the new reality.

-What will happen to the trips now that Mirko goes to school?

-Adapting is difficult, because we are very close. But he understands perfectly and also has his school routine and friends. In principle, we will definitely make a season of Around the world, through Argentina so that they are shorter journeys. But we will also have a dynamic where she will stay at home, with my family and come and accompany me for a few days.

-Everything changes a lot with the school stage, right?

-Yes, but it’s nice to mature together, each with their own responsibilities. It is the healthiest for everyone. When I go away for several days, I leave him small packages with things to open every day and thus better record the notion of time. We also have our codes, like a bracelet each, the same, that when he misses a lot, he touches it and feels closer.

-With so much work ferment, how will the year go on?

-It will arrive in two or three months survived, another reality show which, in this case, will be taped in Colombia for a couple of weeks. It’s one of my favorites and I really wanted to make it, so I’m glad it finally came to fruition.

At that point, Marley says, “After that, I have no idea what I’m going to do next, because this is all going to be very intense. I’m coming off a rush of work with so much stuff that makes me want to have quieter personal moments. For starters.” “At the end of the year we will be moving into a house that we are building and this is a big change. With Mirko we are very excited about the new house project.”

– Is the idea of ​​having another child (also through surrogacy) one of those moments? Is still present?

-The plan continues, yes. It hasn’t happened yet because God and Nature have to give the ok. But it can happen at any time, hopefully that’s the case and it sure will be very cool.