‘I wanted to be myself:’ Anika Mysha represents Saskatoon on Big Brother Canada

Anika Mysha was proud to represent Saskatoon on the latest season of the reality show Big Brother Canada.

She’s the second competitor from the city to appear on the show, and the first female from Saskatoon to be in the house.

Mysha flew to Toronto earlier this year to compete on Season 11 of the show, and made it to the final four.

The cast member said her experience had a lot of ups and downs, and she didn’t have a particular strategy going into the competition.

“I wanted to be myself, create genuine connections and alliances (and) have a good social game,” she said.

In a world that heavily relies on technology at times, Mysha said she had to give up access to the outside world through her phone and social media for almost three months. That’s one of the show’s conditions.

She said it allowed her to be present in the house and she quickly got used to her life without it.

“I did not miss my phone for a single day when I was in the house, because I think my head was so much (into) the game,” she said.

Mysha said many of her competitors were from the east coast, and she had to educate the cast about Saskatoon and Saskatchewan.

“I don’t know if they (didn’t) have Google Maps there or what, but they had no idea where Saskatchewan (or) Manitoba (was),” she said with a laugh.

It wasn’t smooth sailing for Mysha, who was up for elimination three times — including the first week.

“It’s never a nice feeling,” she said, noting that one of the contestants, Terrell (Ty) McDonald, the season’s winner, saved her from elimination twice.

Every week, the houseguests participate in competitions that can save them from the chopping block that week.

Mysha said every competition was a surprise, and some of them were intense.

“They’ll give us our costumes literally minutes before the competitions,” she explained.

One called “Get a Grip” had contestants hold on to a slanted buoy for as long as they could. If they fell off the pole, they would be eliminated.

“I only hung in there for an hour and a half and my arms were dead,” she said, noting McDonald held on for over five hours to win the competition.

Mysha said many of the alliances she formed throughout the show turned into friendships outside the house, and she plans on going back to Toronto to visit some of her fellow competitors.

“(It was) definitely one of the best experiences of my life, and I’m so glad I did it,” she said.