Survivor: Africa -- An Interview with Brandon

Brandon Quinton was one of the most memorable contestants on Survivor: Africa. First as a part of the younger Samburu alliance and later as the one who switched sides over to Lex in order to vote out Kelly, his actions changed the course of the game. Now Brandon talks to RealityNewsOnline.

Q: Did you audition for Survivor 1 or 2?

A: No, but I was a big fan and to be honest I didn't think I would be accepted. However, after seeing that they picked someone like Mitchell I knew I was strong enough to do it.

Q: What were your thoughts going into the final audition in L.A.?

A: I thought that if they could get past my extreme personality I was in. I am a very confident person so I thought I would make it.

Q: When did you find out you had been cast for the show?

A: Well, they told me I was final 20 in L.A. and I knew that I wasn't an alternate, so I knew then. Officially I knew the week before we left or so.

Q: You brought Chapstick with you as your luxury item, which everyone on the RNO staff considered the best one brought. Were you surprised at some of the dumber luxury items?

A: We have very little control over what we take. I lobbied pretty hard – I didn't want to look like ass on the show.

Q: Did you or any of the other castaways have a problem going without smoking?

A: Well it wasn't bad for me, I had patches. And Diane was gone so fast that it didn't hurt her. Maybe Frank.

Q: Fill in the Blank: After the first day you wanted to:

A: The first day was fun... the second day I thought I was going to die.

Q: It was pretty obvious you didn't like Frank much while you were out there. How long did it take for you to grow a dislike for him?

A: Hmmm, maybe 30 minutes... 30 minutes later I was hating on Carl.

Q: What initially made you dislike Frank, and then Carl?

A: Frank was just very aggressive and I'm the only one who knows anything type... and to be honest I found Carl to be the most annoying, self-loving blow hard I've ever met.

Q: Of course, viewers were in a fuss over the situation with Carl being voted out and the young/old split. Were you surprised by the backlash?

A: No offense but I don't really care what people who try out repeatedly and still can't get on the show think about me or what I did. Were they ever to make it on they would have a different opinion about what they should do in those situation.

Q: Of course, the obligatory "Twist" question. When you found out that the Twist went down, what was your first reaction?

A: WooHoo! No more Frank!

Q: Did you think Silas would be the next person out?

A: Yes.

Q: Later on, we found out that the new Boran threw the challenge to get Silas out of the game. Were you aware of that when you were in Africa?

A: I love that question. They didn't try very hard but they weren't what I would call the "smart" tribe so they really wouldn't have beaten us anyway. But I still love that Silas feels like he was cheated.

Q: If the Twist hadn't happened, how far would Samburu have made it after the merge?

A: Not far... we would have melted down. Like I've said before, the girls were so emotional that I'm pretty sure Silas and I would have jumped ship.

Q: With Lindsey's overall attitude and mindset, was it impossible to mask her previous votes? Or was Kim Johnson's hidden signals to Lex, Tom, and Kelly what did her in?

A: They didn't really understand the signals. Lindsey going crazy the final day did her in.

Q: Once the merge happened, did you have a game plan before Lex offered you the deal?

A: Lex didn't offer me a deal. I offered him Kelly on a platter because I saw her as my biggest threat. Besides being smarter, she was young and would have pulled Kim away. Unfortunately Kim couldn't get past it, otherwise I would have been runner-up and either her or T-Bird would have won.

Q: Did you know that Lex was in an alliance with Ethan & Tom?

A: Yeah, we all knew were we stood.

Q: When you got paired up with Frank for the movie reward challenge, were you disappointed?

A: No I knew two strong guys were going to beat the other teams.

Q: Lex didn't vote for you, which was pretty cool and showed a sign of loyalty, but did you expect to be voted out when you were?

A: Yes.

Q: Kim Powers was pretty upset with you. How's your relationship with her today?

A: We're good friends.

Q: You once said that while you were in the jury with Kelly, the producers got mad at you for some antics that you pulled. Can you tell us about it?

A: Kelly and I would bring candy and gum to Tribals and eat it in front of them or we would get drunk before we went or we would loudly talk about how great the jury food was.

Q: How did the players react to this?

A: They couldn't talk to us at the time and I can't remember what they said when they got voted off. We enjoyed the torment and that is all that mattered.

Q: Ethan answers your question by saying that he would exclude you from the money. The first thought that enters your mind was:

A: Well you don't get my vote, stupid head.

Q: Did you think Kim Johnson was going to win?

A: Hell no, I would have been happy with that though.

Q: You said that you were disappointed with the way you contributed to the gay stereotype. Do you still feel that way?

A: I've ceased to care. My friends and family thought I did a good job and that's all that matters.

Q: In general, what are your thoughts about the way gay people are portrayed on Reality TV shows such as the Guidos in Amazing Race or Bunky in Big Brother 2?

A: Well I hated that big hairy crying girl on Big Brother and hated the Guidos on TV but they are very sweet in person.

Q: There is talk that CBS will do an all-star Survivor with the most popular castaways. Do you think they would ask you to be on it?

A: Let's see... NO!

Q: Who would you want on your team for this all-star edition of Survivor, using the contestants from Survivor 1, 2, 3, and 4.

A: Jerri (2), Jenna (1), Kelly Goldsmith (3), Zoe (4), Lex (3), Greg (1), Rob (4, chicken chaser), and myself.

Q: Survivor: Marquesas is on the air right now. What do you think of the new cast?

A: I really like Zoe and the whole Maraamu train wreck.

Q: If you could have been in any Survivor with the casts that they had, which one would you have like to have done?

A: The first.

Q: What's a typical Brandon day like?

A: You don't wanna know. I'm busy all the time; my calendar and website launch in May (brandonquinton.com), and I'm filming a movie this summer. I'm also on the cover of an upcoming Advocate so I 'm slammed all the time.

Q: What movie are you going to be in... and tell me it's not The Animal 2.

A: It's called "Many Faces" and it's a psychological drama independent film.

Q: I heard that you and Kelly frequent the spoiler boards around the internet. Without naming your user name, can you tell us what message boards you frequent?

A: Honestly I used to "lurk" a lot on all the boards. EZ (SurvivorSucks – ed.) especially but I don't have any need to now. They have new people to rip. I 'm pretty sure they've forgotten about me... and I never had any user names.

Q: What Survivor moment will haunt you, or follow you, until the day you die? A: I doubt if any of it will haunt me for the rest of my life... maybe the archery thing for a while.

Let's play Word Association:

Lex

Fun Drunk

Kelly Goldsmith

My Girl

Frank

Millitant

Lindsey

Crazy... in a good way.

Teresa

Sweetest Women on the Planet

Kim Powers

HOT Body

Big Tom

Funny

Kim Johnson

Smart

Ethan

Quiet

Jeff Probst

Sadist

Richard Hatch

Bloated

Rudy Boesch

OLD

Tina Weason

Tiny

Mark Burnett

HOT HOT HOT!

And finally, Brandon Quinton

Dirty Bitch

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