“If You Really Try to Win Then You Have to Be Willing to Lose”: An Interview with Survivor’s Jonathan

Jonathan was one of two people on Survivor: Palau to be eliminated without so much as even joining a tribe. How does he feel about his experience? What would he have done differently? Jonathan shares all of this and more!

RealityNewsOnline: Hello, Jonathan, and thanks for taking the time to answer these questions from RealityNewsOnline. I know you really didn’t have much chance for strategy, but what was your plan going to be if you had stayed around longer?

Jonathan: My plan if I would have stayed longer would have probably been to feel everybody out and try to stay under the radar so that I don't end up playing both sides against the middle.

RNO: Why did you jump out of the boat so early?

Jonathan: I jumped off of the boat so early because I thought I could make it. At that point I really didn't care whether that made people dislike me or not because I have the mindset, if you really try to win then you have to be willing to lose in the process.

RNO: Why do you think you didn't get picked for one of the tribes?

Jonathan: I think that I intimidated a lot of people and they thought that I was a threat. I don't think that I did anything directly to intimidate people but I think that I have a presence about me that can sometimes overwhelm others.

RNO: Do you know why Coby was campaigning against you?

Jonathan: I really couldn't say why Coby didn't apparently like me, because I thought that I had a few good conversations with him. That, I guess, is the name of the game.

RNO: So you didn’t have any idea of any of this before you saw the episode?

Jonathan: I really had no idea that he didn't like me. It caught me completely off guard when I saw him saying those things on the show.

RNO: Did you feel you had made any allies while you were there, or were you mostly focused on building and doing work?

Jonathan: I made some good friends while I was there, I thought. But the game is not about making friends its about survival.

RNO: What are your thoughts about being eliminated before you even had a chance to be on a tribe?

Jonathan: At the time I was just kind of blown away by the whole experience of being in such a beautiful place, but looking back now especially it is hard to swallow.

RNO: If you could go back to the beginning, what would you do differently?

Jonathan: I think that I would have made more of an effort to talk to everyone more and would not have jumped out of the boat quite so early.

RNO: What have you taken away from your experience?

Jonathan: I feel very privileged to be able to participate in the game even if only for a short time. Palau is probably the most beautiful place that I will ever get to see and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

RNO: Thanks again, Jonathan!

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other Survivor: Palau Episode 1 articles:

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

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