“Never Get Comfortable in the Game”: An Interview with ‘Survivor: Guatemala’ Winner Danni Boatwright

Some questions have still lingered about Danni’s win in Survivor: Guatemala, with the main one being whether she would have taken Rafe to the final two if he had not “released” her from their supposed deal. What does Danni have to say about this? What advice does she have for future players, especially in light of how she beat the ruling alliance in her season? Danni talks about this and more in this RealityNewsOnline interview.

RealityNewsOnline: Coming into the game, what was your original strategy and how did it change along the way?

Danni: My original strategy was to make strong alliances, and – at the same time – be of good use to my tribe. It’s in my nature to display a strong work ethic, and compete. By being useful and competing hard in the challenges, I just hoped by tribe would keep me around! It changed once we merged, because being in the minority I had to adjust my game in order to play up to the greater alliance.

RNO: When you merged in the minority, did you play day-to-day, or did you have bigger long-term plans?

Danni: I think, in the game of Survivor, you have to play day-to-day. Because things are thrown into the game to switch things up, you have to be able to adjust and take advantage of them.

RNO: What kind of game do you feel you played?

Danni: I’m very proud of the game I played. While I admit to being “cagey” at times, I don’t feel I was running around stabbing people in the back. I think the way I played was reflected in the jury’s voting for me, and I’m honored by that.

RNO: We’ve heard conflicting stories – who do you feel was the decision-maker on the alliance you ended up beating, Rafe or Stephenie?

Danni: Both were big players, but Stephenie more-so. Everyone in that alliance always ran to Stephenie to tell her things or ask her things. I think that’s because, big fans of Survivor that we are, we all looked up to her since she played the game before.

RNO: If Rafe had not “released” you from your promise to take him to the final two, would you have kept that promise or broken it for a better shot at winning?

Danni: I don’t know how anybody can see that there was a promise for the final two. There was a promise between Rafe and I that we’d take each other to the final three. Rafe never committed to me that he’s take me to the final two, so there was no commitment there. I’m happy we helped each other get to the final three.

RNO: In retrospect, it's not like you needed to, but in the jury question-and-answer, why didn't you bring up the fact that Stephenie had already played the game before?

Danni: Everybody on that jury already knew that Stephenie had played the game before. We talked about it all the time. So, why would I bring it up again, when there were other things that needed to be addressed?

RNO: What are your plans for your winnings?

Danni: It’s all invested – except for the $2,000 I’m spending for my little dog, Hondo, to get a hip replaced.

RNO: What would you recommend for future Survivor players?

Danni: I recommend that you never get comfortable in the game. You have to stay on your toes, because there are so many things that get thrown into the game in order to switch it up. It happened to me, and that alliance thought they were so set. You can’t get comfortable.

RNO: What have you been up to since winning?

Danni: I’ve been very busy making appearances and speaking all over the country. I even went to the Super Bowl, which was incredible. I also handle sideline reporting duties for the Arena Football League’s Kansas City Brigade.

RNO: Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about your time on Survivor?

Danni: It was definitely the toughest thing I’ve ever done. But it was so much fun, and ended too quickly. I’m just now getting ready to go back and look at the videotapes so I can relive it!

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

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