“An Under the Radar Leader” – An Interview with Survivor: Fiji’s Winner, Earl

The day after winning a million dollars, Earl is rather busy. But in the brief time I had to talk to him, he was upbeat and happy, as you might expect. Read on to find out what he had to say.

RealityNewsOnline: First of all, congratulations!

Earl: Thank you!

RNO: Have you gotten any sleep yet?

Earl: I have not been asleep at all in two days.

RNO: You mentioned on the reunion that you were found out you were going on Survivor rather late. How were you recruited?

Earl: I was recruited for The Amazing Race. The girl I was dating at the time didn’t want to do it. Then they called me and said somebody dropped out of Survivor and they would love to have somebody like me on the show. I asked where they were going, they said Fiji and I said, “I’m there.” That was on a Thursday, and I was gone Sunday. I had to convince my job I had to leave for two months. That went over well.

RNO: Given that you only had a few days to prepare, what was your strategy going into the game?

Earl: You can’t have a strategy when you don’t have time to prepare. I was just like, I would take this on with an open mind. I would learn about the game and the people and then start formulating strategies. I think it’s more important to understand the people more than anything, because it’s the people that make the moves.

RNO: So once you were there, it seemed like you made a pretty quick alliance.

Earl: Yeah, after observing different people – it was instrumental when we all had to build the shelter. That started separating who does what, who is bossy, who’s lazy, who is who and how to approach them. Me and Yau-Man had strong work ethics, we talked about life and he was a good guy. That’s how we formed our alliance. I was his only alliance, while I had about six alliances, including Michelle and Anthony. I still got the old Ravu love – we went through a lot together. We starved together, we lost together – and we lost a lot.

RNO: How did you manage to only have a single, meaningless, vote cast against you?

Earl: It was positioning. I was able to figure out was what the right move. I’m not saying it can be done with every group of people, but I put myself in a position where I wouldn’t have to backstab, wouldn’t piss anybody off, kind of an under the radar leader. I was somebody you could trust and we’d all go far.

RNO: Did you feel you were pretty much in control of the game at all times?

Earl: I never felt like I was in control, because there are so many twists and turns. Bam! You lose a key member of your alliance or get a shakeup. Anything can happen, so you should never feel like you’re in control. No one is in control.

RNO: When we were watching the final Tribal Council, it seemed clear to me that you would win – perhaps unanimously. Was it as clear to you, sitting there?

Earl: No. It wasn’t clear. I had a hunch that I was going to win, but I didn’t know it would be a landslide. I knew Deramz had pretty much pissed off a lot of people. I guess Cassandra made some people mad, which I don’t get. Maybe people felt she coasted. It was looking good.

RNO: You said at the reunion that you had begun thinking of jury arguments to make if you were sitting next to Yau-Man. What would you have said?

Earl: I had so much to say with that, because he would have been a tough competitor. I would have brought up the fact that I was his only alliance. I did all the networking and all the work and strategy. I was really doing a lot of stuff. Yau-Man was great, we were partners, but I was definitely going to take that approach. I would have even asked him who kept who in the game. That would have been my argument – how did Yau-Man stay in the game? I’m not saying it would have worked…

RNO: Do you really feel you didn’t lie in the game?

Earl: Everybody lies in the game. You bend the truth. Sometimes a little, sometimes you tie it in a knot.

RNO: Do you believe Dreamz’ claim that he was playing Yau-Man all along, or do you think he intended to keep his word and then changed his mind?

Earl: With Dreamz, you can never tell what’s going on in his head. We all have our own way of interpreting Dreamz. You just never know, that guy is Mr. Unpredictable. I think at first he was going to keep his word and then he thought about it more. He thought this is a game and he worked hard to get where he’s at and so why should he give it up? I can’t be mad at him for making that decision because it helped me out a lot.

RNO: You gave half of your winnings to your mother last night. What will you do with the other half?

Earl: Keep that half – she can’t have that half. Hey, happy Mother’s Day. I just want to invest it and be smart with it. Of course pay taxes. Look for opportunities – you use money to make more money.

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

Earl: My time on Survivor was an amazing experience and one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in my life. It was hard but you learn so much about yourself. And you meet great people. You spend so much time and go through so many things. You get friends for life. Take me and Yau-Man. We’re the oddest couple and now people are like, “You’d be great as a team on The Amazing Race.” They show that two different people like me and Yau-Man can come together and have a true friendship. I’m glad America got to see that.

RNO: Thanks, Earl, and congratulations again.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent Survivor: Fiji articles here on RealityNewsOnline:

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