Survivor: Thailand – Interview with Clay Jordan

Clay Jordan, second place winner on Survivor: Thailand was something of a controversial character – many of his cohorts disliked him and said he was lazy. Yet he came within a vote of beating out Brian Heidik for the win. RealityNewsOnline was able to interview him and find out his thoughts on many aspects of the game.

RealityNewsOnline: Clay, did you have a plan upon arriving or did you play it by ear as you went?

Clay Jordan: I planned on getting a feel for the different personalities and strategizing accordingly.

RNO: Did you study the previous series? What, if anything, did you learn from them?

Clay: I did not study the previous series, but have watched each and every episode. I learned from watching the previous shows that having one strategy and sticking to it does not always work. I think that each day brings new changes and you have to be willing to change plans and adapt to those changes that are brought into play each day. Take offense at nothing and adapt to all changes.

RNO: How did you feel when you were picked by Jan?

Clay: It really did not matter to me if Jake or Jan picked me. I have always been picked last for games because of my body frame. People usually underestimate me because of size. Half the fun of being picked last is the look on their faces when I do much better than they ever thought I would by their first impression.

RNO: When Brian brought you into the final two, did you think he did it out of loyalty or because he felt you would be easier to beat than Jan?

Clay: I believe it was out of loyalty and also because we both knew that either of us could lose to Jan. Jan really did not talk game at all. She was not capable. If you did try to talk to her about a strategy she did not understand and would always reply with an answer that did not have anything to do with the question. No one on our tribe talked strategy with her other than to tell her who to vote for as a block vote. Although she got on our nerves with some of the things she did, she did not make any enemies. She went along with whatever any of the tribe members told her to do, therefore if in the final two more people would have voted for her. Brian and I did work together early on in the game on how the two of us could work our way up to the final two. Although not shown, on the last challenge after Jan dropped the coins, and before I dropped my coins I asked Brian "Will it be me or you" and he responded with, "I would really like to win three challenges in a row" and then I dropped my coins. I trusted him enough to still bring me into the final two if I let go because of loyalty. I had pulled a leg muscle earlier on in the game and that challenge was really hurting. I was not sure how much longer I could have gone. I would have tried to continue if I did not feel he would have brought me into the final two with his challenge win.

RNO: At that point, did you think you could beat him?

Clay: Yes, Jake and I had talked about our flare up and I felt that was worked out. Jake also made a statement to me that he wanted the oldest person in the final two to win, leading me to believe that he would vote the older of the two. I never counted on Helen's vote. Brian had her so duped that no one could have convinced her of anything otherwise. Brian never tried to get to know or have any kind of relationship with Penny, Erin, or Ken so I felt they would possibly vote for me. I knew that Helen and Ted would feel very angry and betrayed by Brian and that I might possibly get Ted's vote. (At that time I knew nothing about the race card tactic started by one of the tribe members.)

RNO: You were portrayed on the show as not being the hardest worker in camp – how do you feel about that portrayal and about the similar accusations leveled at you throughout the series and at final Tribal Council?

Clay: I went after my share of wood for the fire, water runs, (only once with Helen because after that one I knew we had huge personality conflicts and would not go on any with her again) and I gathered crabs. I did pull a muscle in my leg. We as a tribe discussed how it would be better for me to try to heal my leg so I could do the challenges. I was told to rest my leg as much as possible and that is exactly what I did. Each person in the tribe knew of the injury and wanted me to protect my leg. Ted and Helen then used that against me, but they accused me of a lot of things that did not happen.