Mitchell Eason is probably the only person who can say The Circle is in his blood. The Pennsylvania native is the brother and son of Tammy and Ed, respectively, who played together in the first U.S. season. In coming into the Circle, he aimed to do what his family couldn’t: Arrive as a latecomer and take the $100,000 grand prize back to Conshohocken. Unfortunately, Mitchell’s ride was one of frustration and flirtation, ending in the exact same position his brother and mother did, right before the season finale. Mitchell pursued a simple strategy in The Circle. He prided himself on his honesty and integrity, not wanting any “back-scratching” quid pro quo. That didn’t prevent him from making close bonds, specifically with fellow newbie Khat Bell and his bromance partner “Trevor” (aka Deleesa Carrasquillo). He also had eyes for the opposite sex, flirting with both Chloe Veitch and “Emily” (aka Jack Atkins). By the time the final blocking came, Mitchell had eyed his allies, Trevor and Chloe, and his enemies, Courtney Revolution and “River’ (aka Lee Swift). Unfortunately for Mitchell, a new twist made River the “Super Influencer,” with the power to single-handedly eliminate. He chose to block the bro, knowing the wildcard was gunning for him going into the final round. Read on to hear Mitchell’s thoughts on his time in the game. And check out Parade.com throughout The Circle season 2 with the various players and catfishes alike. You obviously had a history with The Circle previously, with your mom and brother competing on it. What made you decide to go on the show yourself? It’s a funny story, actually. I saw the marketing for season one and talked to some of the casting people about being on that season. I remember them telling me the idea for the show, and I’m like, “This show is not gonna go anywhere. I think it’s a terrible idea.” So then my brother and mom call me saying, “Hey, you’ll never guess what happened. We got on this reality show! It’s called The Circle.” I’m like, “Oh my gosh, get off the hashtag! It’s not gonna go anywhere.” So they film it, and we watch it back. And I’m like, “Wow, that was an incredible ferking show that was way ahead of its time and super entertaining.” So I missed the cut-off there on season one in underestimating the show and what it was actually going to become. So then when they had season two auditions, I’m like, “My mom and brother didn’t win. I’m a good people person. My whole life, I’ve studied how the mind works to be okay with myself. I work in sales. I’ve read How to Win Friends and Influence People. I can close a deal. I’ve actually been training for this show my entire life without even realizing it! This show is exactly what I was made for.” Did Ed and/or Tammy give you advice before you went onto the show? Before we get into that, I want to just acknowledge something. In my profile shoot, I definitely threw some friendly competition shade at my mom and brother. I hope it goes without saying I love them to death and was rooting for them since they went on the show. Some people took that the wrong way. But that’s just friendly competition with my family and me. We all still love each other; they’re still rooting for me on the show. Everybody thinks I have insider information because my mom and brother were on the show. And I keep telling everybody it’s not the case. At the time, I was living in Miami, while my mom and brother were living in our town Conshohocken. We had a couple of phone calls. I called my mom asking for advice, and she did the whole excited mom thing. “You’re gonna do great! Just be yourself. They’re gonna love you. You are amazing. You are so unique.” And I’m like, “Mom, thank you so much for seeing all those beautiful traits in me that you raised. But how do I win this thing?!” So I absolutely did not get that much advice other than the typical motherly love you would expect. But after I called my brother, I realized I wanted to go in this just like anybody else. I didn’t want to go in there and get the rundown from them. The fun comes from the surprise. I’d rather not know what happens in my life; I’d rather not know the day I die or how much success I experienced. Because then why’s life worth living? So I went in with the mindset of being surprised rather than bored knowing everything about the show. So let’s talk about that mindset! You seemed really against the “you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours” mentality when playing. Why were you so hesitant to do that wheeling and dealing? Everybody knows coming into The Circle, it’s a matter of popularity. So coming in, my game plan was so simple. I was just going to be me. In my job, I close deals as myself. As I said on my profile shoot, I’ve never really had trouble with the ladies. In every area of my life, being me has done very well for me so far. So I’m like, “If I can just build genuine relationships in here, through naturally engaging in conversation, stuff’s gonna come up, as it always does. Then we’ll build a real relationship.” What I got turned off to right away is the fact that within the first day, it’s already like, “Oh, I got your back if you got mine.” Now to this day, the words “got your back” haunt me. It just sounds like we don’t know each other. I never talked to you a day in my life, and you expect me to just know that you’re there to ride and die for me. It’s so disingenuine. So I wanted to go in and be real, talk about real things and see who I actually vibe with. I know those people have my back unless they’re being completely bogus and backstab me. Let’s talk about one of those genuine relationships in Khat. What made you two connect so early on? Khat’s my day one! We came into The Circle together to ferking bombshells because I didn’t even know I was going in with somebody else. So we both already have that bond of having no freaking clue what’s going on. We both don’t know what alliances are what. So we felt, “Let’s at least talk to each other because we’re confused by all this.” And the Joker card came into the picture and just blindsided us with all this information and drama. We were like, “Bro, it’s day one. What the ferk is happening in The Circle?!” So we naturally were like, “Let’s figure this out together. Let’s see what information we can find out.” I even mentioned that to her at one point, “Look, you seem real. Everybody in here, for the most part, seems real and genuine. But I know some people are just saying the right words I want to hear. And I feel like you seem legit.” Khat keeps it 100 and shoots it straight. And that’s something I respect and vibe with. So Khat and I had a brother/sister relationship from the beginning. You mentioned before not having problems with the ladies. Let’s talk about your flirting with Emily. What made you decide to pursue her, and how did you react to finding out she was actually Jack? I definitely got catfished! It’s classic catfishing, when you’re talking to a girl who isn’t who she says she is. I came in thinking, “There’s a lot of pretty girls. Emily, Chloe, Khat, Terilisha. Everyone’s good looking on this show!” But when I saw Emily, I thought, “Ferk it. If I saw this person on Instagram, I’d probably chirp them.” So Emily and I have that first conversation. And even just going off the pictures, I thought, “She’s cute. Seems not overly showcased; she’s not putting it all out there. But she still knows she’s got it.” I felt with that. That shows me there’s some realness. So I start flirting with her and chirping her. And then throughout, I started realizing, “Alright, maybe this isn’t the chick I’m actually talking to.” Some of the vocabulary she used sounded like something my boys would say. And then obviously the makeup challenge. When that happened, I was like, “There is no way that is a 20-something-year-old girl. That is a dude. And that’s fine. But I’ve definitely not been flirting with whoever’s on my screen!” Let’s talk about your “Trifecta” plan, which was your final bit of strategy on the show. You and Trevor planned to reveal the Joker information to Chloe to get her on your side and put a wedge between her and River/Courtney. Talk to me about the tactics you employed. Looking back, I wouldn’t have changed a single thing about my experience on The Circle. I went in there and fair and gave it my best shot. No matter how many times we run that scenario back, the outcome would have still been the same. So looking at the Trifecta, I think it was a little bit late to have a strategy. By that time, relationships were so solidified. It was a last-ditch effort. And it was really the first time I did actually get strategic. Like I said, I was just having fun. Flirting with a couple of girls and shooting the [expletive] with some of the boys. Then it started getting closer. And I realized, “We got a shot. Let’s turn this off a little bit and take home the gold here.” So the Trifecta was formed. It was just too late in the game. Trevor and I had solidified relationships. And with Chloe, I did not expect to have as genuine a conversation with her as I did. In the last couple of episodes, I knew I wanted to share something with her and open up. That’s typically how rapport is built; you share something, and you find common ground. We had such a heart-to-heart. And I’m like, “Wow, this is honestly surprising that we’re able to do this without seeing each other, without hearing each other’s voices, without looking into each other’s eyes. I feel like I relate to this person; I can trust this person.” It just really clicked for me. I realized Chloe and I would not only have a great relationship in The Circle, but real life. And that’s what I came here to do. I felt really good about our Trifecta going into the finale, honestly. But unfortunately, it just didn’t play into my favor. I noticed when Lee visited you to block you, you said you were surprised. Why were you so confident you’d be safe? I was genuinely not worried about any blocking. There are always two sides to the handle in any situation. One is fear, stress, and anxiety. “Oh my gosh, I’m gonna get blocked. Am I going home? What can happen? Who’s the influencer?” Your mind just creates an endless amount of fake realities that have not even happened yet. And I said, “Why choose to live in that state when I can just be in the moment? If I’m going home tonight. Let me enjoy the last hour, the last 30 minutes, this last meal. And if I’m not going home, what am I worried about in the first place?” That’s how I try to approach life. Control to the best of your ability; whatever is outside of your hands, leave it up to God and his plan. I just went about my whole time in the Circle like, “Hey, everything’s going as it should. I’m making the right steps”. The last one that I ended up getting blocked on, I actually felt the most certain about. I was meditating, thinking, “We’re good. The Trifecta is strong. I know Trevor and Chloe have got my back if they get it.” So if one of the three of us got it, it was a 50% chance I would be safe. It’s like flipping a coin; it was either gonna happen, or it’s not me. It was the most on top I’d felt all game. I was just in such a purely positive state of mind. And then Lee walks in. I didn’t even hear a knock. I just remember hearing a voice. I look up, and I’m very confused. And time just caught up until I realized, “Oh ferkAnd then they said that Lee Did not I didn’t hear a knock whatsoever. I was so in the moment there. And I remember just hearing a voice. And it’s like Mitch, Mitch, I look up, and I’m very confused. I’m like, first of all, who is this guy? Second of all, what’s he doing here? And then time just caught up. I like looked around like, “Oh, ferk.” I definitely thought he was John at first! I apologized for that later. He had so many questions, but I was just bewildered. I’m like, “Why are you here? Who are you?” And then, at a point, reality hits. And that’s when he went on to tell me it was all game plan. And as, as terrible as it is to see the day where you get blocked, and you go home, and to get told you didn’t win. It sucks. But I’m like, “You know what? He’s playing the game. And he can’t not go for it at the end of the day.” You didn’t leave The Circle empty-handed, though, going home with the Performance Award and Kiss-Ass Award from your competitors. How did it feel to get those? Those awards caught me by surprise as well. It attacks my character and goes against everything about who I am. I’ve been nothing but wearing my heart on my sleeve, calling it as I see it, shooting it straight to everybody, and just having a good time. I’ve been going with my gut and who I think I should trust, saying whatever I think is fitting at that moment, not really having much of a strategy or game plan. That is completely the opposite of those awards! I mean, I definitely took them as compliments. I started chirping everyone and said, “If everybody thinks this of me, so be it. I’d rather be hated for who I am than love for who I’m not. If people think that I’m this performer, I know who I am. I know what I stand for. I know how big my heart is for everybody. And at the end of the day, if people don’t see that, whatever. I’m not going to try and change their opinion of me.” Unfortunately, they didn’t perceive me as the real version of me. But what can I can do? I can’t control people’s perceptions of me. Next, read our chat with Terilisha, who was eliminated third on The Circle season 2.
