Ousted Amazing Race star George Mladenov reveals why Survivor’s so much harder

Survivor’s King George has exited The Amazing Race with a cocky claim about why he was asked to participate in the first place.

Two-time Survivor player George Mladenov fell short of the finish line during Thursday’s episode of The Amazing Race: Celebrity Edition, with he and sister Pam becoming the fifth team eliminated from the race.

And, despite the pair having more than a few sibling squabbles on-air over the past few weeks, Mladenov told news.com.au that their time spent in the high-intensity race had actually strengthened their bond.

“Pam and I are closer than we have ever been in life,” he revealed, several months on from filming the show.

George and Pam say goodbye in Thursday’s episode.

“With our nine-year age gap and different personalities, we were always tied by that protective older brother-younger sister style relationship,” he said, explaining that they’d returned from filming “stronger than before.”

Mladenov had previously lasted a collective 94 days across his two seasons of Australian Survivor. He told news.com.au The Amazing Race, which saw he and Pam sprint around India and Malaysia in a matter of days, was a very different beast.

“Survivor is a long burn with no reprieve. The Amazing Race is about 12 hours of an explosion of stress – but the valve turns right off in between legs [of the game]. The difference between the two is that on Survivor the torment never ends, until your game does. “There’s no hotel buffets, no shower or lounging by a pool like we had at pit stops. The tougher it got, the better we did – I wish it was harder.”

94 days on Survivor? Really tough. Picture: Nigel Wright

The Amazing Race? “I wish it was harder.”

That trademark cockiness continued when we asked Mladenov what drew him to participate in The Amazing Race, which has traditionally pulled a small audience for Ten than Survivor.

He said that getting the call to participate in a celeb season of the show, he “felt the pressure of having to need to save one of the best shows in the reality TV format. I knew why I was there – to make the more than one million Australians who watched Survivor every week also watch The Amazing Race Australia. The fact that the ratings have gone up year on year means it was a job well done.”

With two big reality shows under his belt, Mladenov now has his eyes set on conquering another medium: He’s just announced his first book, the part-memoir, part motivational tome How To Win Friends and Manipulate People*, out in December via Harper Collins.

He describes the book as “a window into my mind.”

While the book will be filled with fun, fascinating stories from throughout his life, “equally important for me was to give people some practical tools and advice to be able to make the most out of ordinary situations in their lives by skewing the odds in their favour.

“You can win friends and manipulate people at the same time – the book will show you how and when you should.”

Note: The writer provided assistance with How To Win Friends and Manipulate People.

Originally published as Ousted Amazing Race star George Mladenov reveals why Survivor’s so much harder