The Loved Ones visit.
If that’s not enough to get you reading, I don’t know what is.
But remember… you’ve been warned.
Monty Brinton/CBS via Getty Images
What is your proudest moment ever from playingSurvivor?
One: I was the first person inSurvivorhistory to find an idol without a clue.
To Hantz' credit, he played his idol the night I got voted out.
Two: My Tribal Council speech.
Many thought it was a mistake, most still do.
I remember just sort of vulnerably opening up my heart and words were just coming out.
Three: An odd proud moment.
When I was blindsided post-merge, my team (Galu) had an 8-4 advantage.
Galu thought they could bounce me from the island and still control the game.
However, after sacrificing meone by oneevery Galu member fell.
What is your biggest regret from yourSurvivorexperience?
No, my biggest regret is NOT not playing my idol the night I was blindsided.
Little did I know there was 100 percent chance of me going home if I didn’t play it.
I really don’t have a regret.
I stood up for good people.
I caught a chicken.
And I played my heart out.
I told the casting assistant “I’m getting on that plane.
And I’m getting on that show.”
Everyone knows there’s an alternate, but no one knows who it is.
I worked my ass off in every element of the pre-game to prove I belonged on the show.
Well, that’s not gonna happen."
(Insert heart drop.
Cold-blooded, Probst!)
Welcome toSurvivor: Samoa."
And if you watch that season, sure enough, no loved ones in the budget that season.
This was going to cause severe issues to their internal organs if it didn’t get corrected.
Unfortunately, medical staff has to be “hands off” and so they could not help.
This person, knowing the situation had a choice: Do nothing and maybe die.
Get airlifted and evacuated from the game.
Or C… put a stick up their ass and have a go at remove the blockage/impacted colon themselves.
And… this person…. heroically succeeded and stayed in the game.
So for anyone I meet and asks me “Is it really ‘real’ out there?”
How do you feel about the edit you got on the show?
The edit was fine.
There’s some good stuff.
They also have to take something totally unscripted and weave a storyline for the audience to follow.
So, it’s not a perfect science.
You also kind of lose your mind out there.
Everyone’s lying to you.
You’re lying to everyone.
You’re completely sleep-deprived.
No one is going to be picture-perfect and on their best behavior and manners with that recipe.
That’s bulls—.
We don’t live like that.
And it’s not.
It’s what you sign up for, for sure.
But who you are on the island is just that: who you are on the island.
Shout out to the king of gnarly editsRussell Hantz.
He’s probably a stand-up dude off the island (lol).
What was it like coming back to regular society after being out there?
Was there culture shock or an adjustment coming back?
The minute you land, everything is…. off.
The biggest transition was having to use toilets again.
I remember being out in L.A. a couple days after I returned with some friends.
I had to pee.
And I was walking up and down the concrete sidewalk of La Cienaga Blvd.
So, re-domesticating yourselfa.k.a.
potty trainingwas a funny culture shock to adjust back to.
I really don’t regret anything.
I met a lot of great people.
Had great conversations with those people.
Learned a lot about others and myself.
Whom do you still talk, text, or email with the most from your season?
From Galu, Laura Morett, which is pretty cool considering she organized my exile.
Morett’s a really good person.
And she’s this way with everyone for the most part.
I also palled around with Mick from Foa Foa after the show a lot.
He even invited me to his wedding.
Class act and a good man.
Survivor’s visceral man.
The hairs raise up on my arms and I start checking the clouds above for rain.
So I take it in with doses.
Thanks to streaming, I will go on longSurvivordroughtsand then totally binge through episodes.
Robin Perrin of Pepperdine Universityto properly break down all the psychos on the island!
Which leads me to my favorite season, obviously,Winners at War.
Who’s one player from anotherSurvivorseason you wish you could have played with or against and why?
I thought it would be a good test, and I, of course, would pass.
Nice to meet you," with a smile.
And…I melted.
So glad I didn’t play on her team.
She would have absolutely railroaded me."
John’s an awesome dude and you gotta just love love love their family.
Hantz and I would’ve been great to go one-on-on.
And he’s right.
Too bad we only had a day on the same beach.
If we had a month together, there’d have been some fireworks.
If you could make one change to any aspect ofSurvivor, what would it be and why?
But I imagine the pushback is “Why would viewers care about the crew getting in the game?”
Well, I guarantee they’d watch if Probst was in the game.
How has this not been done yet?
How has he not been featured in a celebrity season?
He’s truly a genius.
I’m here to tell you all, that is false.
Every question he poses comes straight from the man himself.
He’s taken it all in, and he’s not that “Seacrest-gameshow guy.”
He’s salt of the earth, man.
That person is Probst.
He’s done everything but get in the game.
So if you’re listening, get in the game.
Finally, would you play again if asked?
It’s still in the same spot, ready to go if I get the call.
