Four Friends & the Buddy Games 

Edmond dad and insurance salesman, Yue Pun Szeto, just went to camp with his three best friends. But unlike any childhood experiences at camp, they were in it for more than roasting marshmallows and making memories. They had bragging rights, trophies, and $200,000 at stake. 

Yue and his friends, Brian Hudson, Craig Smith, and Justin Palmer were contestants on CBS’ reality competition series, Buddy Games. The show is the TV version of actor and host Josh Duhamel’s longtime tradition of competition with friends. Over the past 20 years, he’s reunited with his childhood friends for a weekend of games and good-hearted fun. Yue and his crew were among the first to recreate the experience for Buddy Games’ premier season, which aired on September 14. 

“My friend Hudson saw a tweet about the Buddy Games looking for applicants,” Yue said. “He forwarded it to our group and told us – not asked us – that we were doing it. In true dude fashion, we were like, ‘Yeah, okay, let’s do it.’” 

Hudson had already applied on behalf of his friends, and soon the group was contacted for interviews as part of the casting process. “It felt surreal, but we knew if we didn’t do it, we would regret it for the rest of our lives.” 

So, Yue and his crew boarded a flight to Bogota, Columbia to compete in the Buddy Games. Though the experience was entirely new, the relationships they depended on throughout it were true and time-tested. 

“Justin and I have been friends since middle school, and we met the others in college,” Yue said. “Now we have kids the same age that we were when we first met, so we’re going on two generations of friendship.” 

The competition unites six teams of four friends to compete in an assortment of physical and mental challenges the show calls “absolutely absurd.” Yue says the tasks challenged but could not break his buddies. 

“This experience solidified the value of our friendship,” Yue said. “Finding that core group of people is incredibly rare. We never bickered or argued, even throughout the challenges. It just showed us that we are going through life with the right people.” 

Catch the details of each challenge on Thursdays on CBS, or streamed on Paramount+ where Yue and his team can be all-too-easily identified by their western wear. 

“We initially set out not to dress too stereotypically, and of course, we ended up in pearl snaps and cowboy hats,” Yue said. “We hope we made Oklahomans proud.”