“What a Helpless Feeling!”: An Interview with Survivor’s J.P.

J.P. was the second strong young guy voted out of Lopevi tribe for being too much of a threat. RealityNewsOnline was able to ask him some questions about his time on Survivor. Among his answers, we found a surprising fact that helps explain just why the young guys are being booted!

RealityNewsOnline: What did you do – in terms of strategy, fitness, etc. – to prepare for Survivor?

J.P.: Instead of gaining weight for Survivor, I actually lost weight due to my intense training regiment. I designed my own Survivor training program, which entailed ballistics, cardiovascular, ply metrics, agility, coordination, and strength training. I even went so far to learn how to start a fire by studying seven different primitive fire starting methods. I practiced starting a fire by rubbing two pieces of bamboo together and was quite successful in doing so, since I almost burnt my deck down in the apartment complex. I definitely had the confidence as well as the physical and mental strength going into the game.

RNO: What was your original plan coming into the game, and how did it change once you got there?

J.P.: My original plan was to be in a tribe with a diversified group of guys and girls. Evidently, that was not the case. We were segregated at the beginning of the game and it was guys vs. girls. This definitely changed my strategy and the dynamics of the game.

RNO: Did you realize that the older men had gotten together into a tight alliance so quickly?

J.P.: Yes, actually Sgt. Masters approached the young guys on day 1, stating he wanted to form alliance. All the young guys looked at him as if he were crazy. I think we made Sgt. feel uncomfortable and unwanted and he immediately formed an alliance with the elder group. On the other hand, if we had given him the sense of belonging, warmth, and welcome that he wanted he would have made an alliance with us to the end. Kind of like a chucky doll – a friend to the end… hey Sgt.!

RNO: Was Rory really as bad as we saw in terms of going off on his own, not doing work, etc. – or did we just see the bad parts?

J.P.: Rory was an orange thief. He was eating fruit behind our backs. He was definitely opinionated and basically isolated himself from the rest of the tribe. I really never saw nor interacted with him. Actually, his strategy has proven to be more effective than mine since he is still in the game. Go figure!

RNO: Did you try to get into an immediate alliance, or did you wait to see how the winds were blowing?

J.P.: The young guys in the tribe immediately assumed their alliance without even verbalizing it. We automatically assumed the young guys would ally together and that was based upon our physical observations. We figured that it would be quite easy to bring a fifth guy over for the numbers. But, that never happened!

RNO: Did you try to fish in an attempt to give the men a reason to keep you – if so, were you at all successful?

J.P.: I knew I was going home so there was really no point for me to prove my worthiness to the old and the ugly. I really didn’t have to leverage my fishing skills since Sgt. informed me that I was going home. What a helpless feeling!

RNO: Which person should the younger men have recruited early on to battle the elders?

J.P.: We should have recruited Bubba early on to battle the bulge. I believe he was the only one that connected with the younger guys. I saw a commonality that would have definitely fit in with the younger crowd. Unfortunately, Bubba turned to the dark side.

RNO: Why do you think you represented such a threat to the older men?

J.P.: Well, according to Bubba, I was way too good looking, way too strong, and way too dangerous (said to me in a Tennessee accent). So, that was definitely an eye opener. It’s not my fault that I am good looking. J

RNO: In your final words, you said you weren't really outplayed, outwitted, or outlasted. Could you explain what you meant by that?

J.P.: Ya, I was OUTNUMBERED!!!

RNO: What, if anything, would you do differently?

J.P.: I would probably re-think my strategy and focus in on the pawns that were made available to me such as Rory and Chris. These were the weakest guys on the tribe that I should have made to feel special and utilized them to my advantage to excel in the game. I should’ve diversified my alliance. I am hoping there will be an ALL-STARS II, losers vs. winners!

RNO: Thanks, J.P.!

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other Survivor: Vanuatu Episode 4 articles:

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

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