Survivor: The Amazon - An Interview with Ryan

Ryan Aiken had a plan that was ruined when he realized the tribes were split by gender. Still, after becoming Roger's first target he tried to form a counter-alliance but still ended up as the first person voted off of Survivor: The Amazon. RealityNewsOnline had the opportunity to ask him some questions about what happened.

RealityNewsOnline: Why did you and Daniel not seem to be working when everybody else was, to the point that Roger, and apparently others, were annoyed by it?

Ryan: See, what you see on TV is like 5-7 minutes of a day that consists of 12 hours of solid working. Everyone took breaks and did different tasks. Myself, Matt, Rob and Dave pretty much chopped down all the trees and did the base of the shelter. Roger tended to the fire like he was pregnant lady and told people what to do. lol It's all about who tells the story. Dan wasn't a WORKHORSE but he did what he could. The only person who was a beast and never breaked much was MATEO. All and all everyone worked hard Roger just wanted to paint the picture of someone not working because I was a definite threat to him. He knew he was boss and people couldn't stand his attitude. My downfall was in the challenge aligning with Dan.

RNO: Were you upset that Daniel took the blame for the loss but you took the fall?

Ryan: Yes and no. I knew the vote was going to be between myself and Roger after Day 2. Dan was just someone who fuc#$% up. It happens. He had a bad day at my expense and he was hooked to me and we blew a 20-min lead to the women. I wasn't a happy camper during the whole balance beam incident. I was screaming, "What's the problem?" which in turn didn't help the situation.

RNO: Why do you think they went after you instead of Daniel?

Ryan: I think I was a threat if indeed the tribes merged and we were with the women. I'm not saying I'm a pimp but I work well with women. Plus someone had to go. There weren't many weak links on the team, just personality differences. All and all it made good TV and it was shocking.

I was a threat because I can talk and people generally listen to me. Dave and I clicked the first two minutes of meeting each other and he wanted Dan off. I needed Dan to X Roger. I should have leaned on Dave more but I thought I was good with Rob... I was wrong. In Survivor you only get ONE SHOT.

RNO: At first everybody seemed to get along, but then people started breaking off into smaller groups. What changed?

Ryan: We broke off into smaller groups - the old guys and the young guys. Alex was 33 so he fit in the middle and played both sides and so did Mateo (Matt) plus once the shelter was done you have a lot of down time to get to know each other. Roger is really judgmental and says whatever he wants.

RNO: Was it difficult for you to fit in with the others, as the youngest on your tribe?

Ryan: No I fit in fine its just really tough when it's 8 guys. Like I said it was a meat market.

RNO: Was there really as much trash-talking and discussion of the women as there seemed?

Ryan: Yeah, more than it showed if that was possible. The conditions were really rough and you saw how hard the women took it. They beat us on the challenge because we blew a 20 minute lead. All and all we still had a shelter. I would have loved to have migrated over to the women's tribe to help them boil their underwear and buffs. lol. I would have loved to have been the only guy on an all girl team.

RNO: What was up with Dave getting so upset over the joking around about catching fish at the immunity challenge - does he have a sense of humor?

Ryan: Dave is a stand up guy with a lot of integrity and ethics. He can't tolerate lying. What he didn't realize and what later I helped him realize was we were just trying to psych our opponents out. He has a great sense of humor and he's a lot of fun... lol. Plus we had just gotten our asses kicked by the women so everyone was a little on edge.

RNO: Who would you like to see win, and why? Who do you think WILL win?

Ryan: I don't really care who wins. I'll go for a woman because the guys booted me off. Christy, Jenna, or Joanna

RNO: Which four women would you have liked to have in your tribe if it wasn't split by gender?

Ryan: Joanna, Christy, Janet, and Shawna... Jenna would be too much of a distraction.

RNO: You said on the show that as soon as you saw it was divided by gender, your strategy went out the window - what was your original strategy and why did you know it had to be changed?

Ryan: My strategy was simple just love the women. lol No, I just have a better rapport with women than I do men. Plus you need four women to throw some estrogen into the testosterone-filled jungle. Having all guys was my worst nightmare. Hence I got the boot...

RNO: Thanks, Ryan!

David Bloomberg is the Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached at rno@pobox.com.

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