TVLINE | Did you vote in the fan vote? Anything in particular you’re hoping wins out?
I did not vote for the fan vote, but I certainly encouraged Ben Katzman. He’s getting all in this interview. I certainly encouraged Ben Katzman to vote. He was like, “Coach, do you want rice?” And I said, “Well, if I weren’t playing, I’d say no, but I’m playing, so let’s vote for rice.” Less twists and turns. I’m really hoping that it’s gonna be an old school feel, but a lot of new school twists. The new era doesn’t scare me. I think it’s cool. I think it’s great that they keep evolving, so we’ll see which ones that the fans voted for. I think it’s a great way to start a season to incorporate the fans that have been loyal to this franchise for all these years or maybe just started watching during COVID like a lot of people did. If anything could be won out of that, “Survivor” won a lot of fans coming out of COVID.
TVLINE | How do you feel about the fire-making challenge at Final 4?
I liked it when it was first introduced, but I think it’s run its course. I hope it’s not here. I think that the person that wins that individual immunity challenge, really, they deserve to be in the driver’s seat. Who do they want to sit next to? I mean, that Final 4 challenge is usually a doozy, so you’ve got to give even more credibility and power to the person that won it.
TVLINE | Have you been keeping up with the show since you’ve been on?
I have not watched much of the new era of “Survivor.” I stopped watching at “40,” and then when I watched all those old schoolers just play a terrible game and get picked off one by one, I thought, “Man, the game has passed you guys by. I’m over this.” So I didn’t watch it. When I met Ben Katzman, I watched his season, and then I started watching the current season. Everybody else is Cliff Notes. I had to watch the best of. Best of Emily Flippen. Best of Genevieve. But I think it gave me enough flair. Maybe less is more in this case. Less knowledge is going to be better for me. You can overwatch, overthink, overplan things, and I don’t think that I’m doing that going in this time around.
TVLINE | Any new era hot takes you’d like to share?
I do think it’s unfortunate that they don’t play 39 days. I think that the character growth and the crippling psychological and physical duress that your body goes through from Day 26 to Day 39 is pretty crazy. And so I wish that people could play the 39, not because, “Hey, I played 39, so you have to as well,” but just that it becomes a whole new game from about Day 24, 25 onward. There were some times where I thought, these people are really emotional. There were times where I thought these people are soft. There were times when I thought, didn’t you do the psych evaluation testing so that you would know if you had a freaking panic attack Day 1? Maybe they’re on so many medications that they just had to be like, “Oh, I can’t survive out here without that.” I don’t know. That’s cool. To each his own, but I was surprised at how soft some of the people were. But on the other hand, I was really surprised at how joyous everybody seems running into Tribal, running into challenges. You know, making songs and coming in with big smiles on their faces. If they come in and they can’t even handle their anxiety the first day and then they come out on the other side and they’ve conquered it, I think that it seems to be more joyous. It seems to be less judgmental because when I played, super judgy.
TVLINE | Do the new era players have an advantage?
I think the new era players have a huge advantage. They’re all hanging out with each other. They’re all going to events together. I’m going to none of that crap. Every season I’ve been on, I’m like, “Don’t go to those events. They’ll suck you in, you’ll get a false sense of self-identity,” and everybody’s like, “[makes camera-snapping noises] I’m at all the events, look at me!” But hey, there’s no judgment. It’s just for me, I’m looking at this cast and they’re all hanging out with each other, they’re all social media crazy, you know. Crazy networked. And I’m up here in the middle of nowhere in Northern California without even a CBS affiliate. So, I think they’re at a big advantage because they all know each other. They’ve all played together, and it’s very easy on “Survivor” to say, “We’ve got a group of people here. Who’s the minority?” Old school… there’s only six people here from Season 1-32, for crying out loud! What the frick is up with that? Could be disastrous, could be heroic. Whatever it is, it’ll be an adventure either way.
TVLINE | What was your first reaction to the cast overall?
I was a little bit disappointed when I saw the cast reveal, only because, in my opinion, which doesn’t amount to anything… eight people from Seasons 1-18, eight people from Season 19-30-whatever, and eight people from Seasons 33-49. That’s the only way to do it. Let’s make a fair representation because fans have come and gone [in] each era. I’m sure that there were people that were really into “Survivor” in the 20s and they’re sitting here saying, “We have nobody here.” I know there were a lot of returning seasons and all that kind of stuff, but I think that it would have been really cool to have old school, middle school, new school, and run it with that. But other than that, other than being surprised that there were 12 players from season 41 to 49, I just was happy to be in that mix. That was my first thought.
My second thought was: Who’s going to take camera time away from me? I mean, I’m always thinking about that. Come on, we’re making a TV show out here! So I’m thinking, “OK, who are my competitors?” And I thought, “Well, who are the storytellers?” Do I want to run through this season with one storyteller, me, or would it be good to run through with a couple of narrators, Rick Devens, myself, maybe somebody like Q. There are always storytellers. But on this season, they seem to be few and far between, which is all right in my book. Then I started thinking, who’s been on the same season together and who’s this and who’s that. By that time, it was too late. I couldn’t look at my phone and see who’s friends with who and who’s taking pictures with whom. It was kind of too late for that.
TVLINE | You’re remembered for your proverbs, your zen lifestyle, Tai Chi…
Well, it’s actually Coach Chi because it’s a blend of what Bruce Lee used to do with muscle retention, flexing every single muscle in your body, and a little bit of qigong, which is like Tai Chi, but a different version of it, and then a little bit of moment of critical execution meditation. That’s too much information for you. Anyway, it’s like I blended it in, and just made it up in Tocantins because it was like, “I’ve got to do something to stop from slapping the s–t out of somebody.” Prayer was not enough. I said I better get my ass down on that beach and start and I was like, “OK, Bruce Lee, I remember I’ve done this before.” So you’ve gotta think about it because if your quad is flexed, your hamstring is not. So to flex both of them at the same time, I just did it. It takes work. That’s what he used to do.
Then I was like, “Well, I’m definitely gonna be praying,” because the meaning of life is having a relationship with the creator of the universe, so I better slide that in while I’m doing it. Hey, I used to teach my soccer players to visualize the moment of critical execution. That’s the moment in a soccer game where they’re gonna shoot or they’re gonna save, or they’re going to pass, or they’re gonna tackle. That was a huge answer to your question, but it’s actually like a blend of a bunch of different disciplines and it f–king works, let me tell you. Even those naysayer a—holes like Parvati and Courtney and Boston Rob that were just getting me to do it so I could look like an ass. Even afterwards, of course they didn’t show it in the final cut, they were like, “Damn man, I feel different. I feel like something woke up.” It really just centers your body in a magnificent way.
TVLINE | How will all of that help you become the winner of Season 50?
Life is beautiful. Drink it up, and that’s exactly what I’m gonna do with these players. I’m gonna just show them that a regular guy with extraordinary tendencies, a normal [person] with eclectic behavior, can come out here and really show them the path of spiritual enlightenment, physical connection to the universe, and you can be a noble warrior and take home the W on this show.
