“These People Are Crazy and Don't Have High Survivor IQs”: An Interview with Survivor: Exile Island’s Bobby

A lot more was going on with Bobby than most viewers ever realized. In this interview, Bobby discusses everything from his strategy to what he really thought of his tribemates – and he has plenty to share.

RealityNewsOnline: Hello, Bobby, and thanks for taking the time to answer these questions for RealityNewsOnline readers. In your final words, you said you felt like you never really got your game off the ground - what was your game plan and why didn't it get off the ground?

Bobby: My game plan was to take advantage of the fact that I was a strong athlete and use that to kinda give me time to plan an attack by watching and getting to know people to see what their strengths were. I figured that being athletic would make me an attractive alliance-mate. And I knew that it would give me at least 6-9 days before I even had to worry about being voted off. My plan was to keep the fact that I am an attorney a secret since I couldn't avoid the fact that I look like a physical threat. I didn't want them to know I was a dual threat and get intimidated. So I planned to play just a happy-go-lucky jock while I schemed and plotted and looked for an opening. It never got off the ground because Aras abandoned me as soon as we got to Casaya, and I wasn't invited into the alliance. And from the beginning I had to play a defensive game.

RNO: Even though your game didn't get off the ground, what strategic moves did you make?

Bobby: Actually I threw the first immunity challenge before we voted off Melinda. I knew that because of the dumb way our team picked the squads, we were completely gunned in terms of athleticism. I knew that whatever team lost was going to get Bruce, thereby replacing their weakest player with a male who was athletic for his age. And I thought that if they could swap out Ruth-Marie and just replace her with Bruce, we would be so far outgunned, that they might run the table on us with the challenges. I approached Aras since I had a good relationship with him, and he was the most reasonable person in the majority alliance, but he disagreed. I approached Shane but it was completely over his head. He had no idea what I was talking about. So I decided to throw it myself because I felt it was a crucial point in the game. And I didn't think we could afford to not make the right decision here and get Bruce. As it turns out, Terry completely kicked out butts anyway and once I realized how far ahead he had taken them, I realized I didn't need to intentionally throw it anymore, thereby saving face, and still content with the fact that we were getting Bruce and we would increase our firepower. That's the main contribution.

I approached Aras several times about him joining me, Bruce, and Cirie. He kept suggesting that he wasn't comfortable in his alliance but everything I offered him apparently wasn't attractive enough and he stayed locked in with those lunatics. I don't get credit for my strategic moves because they were mostly decisions to not do something or not say something, for instance I intentionally stayed away from Shane knowing that we would butt heads if I hung close to him. I knew I could never have Danielle or Courtney's vote but I figured I could talk some sense into Shane as long as I hadn't slapped him around during the first 9 or 10 days.

RNO: In hindsight, do you think you could have ignored your distaste for your fellow tribe members and played the game more, or was your dislike for them just too much to overcome?

Bobby: I read "What Guatemala Survivors Should Have Known" 15 or 20 times. I know to tuck your emotions away. And my dislike had nothing to do with my strategy. I told them several times that this is not about friendship, it's a game and the best strategic move is for me to be a part of this alliance. But it was their dislike for me which made it impossible for me to be a part of it, and it was their fear and insecurity that kept them together. Since I was on the outside, I didn't have any moves that I could make, except approaching Aras. Danielle and Courtney were openly hostile (not just to me but to everybody not in their alliance) and I knew Shane had problems with me. So I waited, knowing that I had time since we had Melinda, Bruce, and Cirie since they all had to go before I did if Danielle, Courtney, Aras, and Shane knew how to play the game. If they knew how to play the game, I should have been able to count on being around for at least 9, maybe 12 days. It turns out their dislike for me overrode that simple strategic understanding.

RNO: After you had been voted out, you seemed to think Shane had voted against you – were you surprised to find out that it was actually Cirie, and what did you think about her vote as you watched this episode?

Bobby: Cirie and I had talked in the early part of the Casaya days and we kinda had an implicit agreement not to be the reason either of us went home. That meant I wouldn't vote for her unless I absolutely had to. And she wouldn't vote for me unless she absolutely had to. My guess is that she thought that everyone had decided to vote me out and she was going with the crowd which I understand and respect. Cirie is probably the best strategist still in the game in Casaya. She's a real gamer. I know Cirie had my back and if she thought she could have done something for me, I think she would have. You have to remember these people are crazy and they really don't have high Survivor IQs. Cirie did what she had to do to save herself and didn't do anything intentionally to get rid of me. I think she thought Shane would vote for me and she didn't think her vote would be the swing vote. Cirie is one of my favorite people from Casaya and I wish her all the best.