Rizo Velovic Postseason Interview

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[00:02:21] Und weiter geht's. Einfach lauschen und genießen. Aldi. Gutes für alle. All right, I'm thrilled here to be with the man, the myth, the legend, R-I-Z-G-O-D, Riz God, baby is here. What's going on, Rob? What's going on, everybody?

[00:02:50] Here we have a Medium Dive with the man, the myth, the legend, and of course the head of the Survivor World. And Rob, Rob, I'm super excited to be here and talk to you about Survivor 50, man. Yeah, I'm super excited to talk to you also. I thought you did such a great job in Season 50, and I was thrilled that you were up for coming on and talking a bit about this whole journey here in Season 50. How are you doing after the season? Rob, I've been great. I've been doing a lot of things.

[00:03:19] I've been keeping myself very, very busy. And before we even got on, I kind of told you, like, I haven't really thought about Survivor since the finale, which is so crazy to say because the last time we spoke, I was crying to you talking about how, I don't know how I'll go back to regular life because the last two years of my life has been all consumed from Survivor. So I'm super, super happy. Everything's going great. And honestly, like, I wasn't, not to say I wasn't excited, but now my juices is flowing. I'm talking about Survivor again. I'm like, holy shit, I'm ready to dive right in.

[00:03:48] All right, let's, let's dive in. And do you want to talk anything about your feelings going into Survivor 50? Because you had this nine-day layoff. I think it's the shortest amount of time for you and Savannah to come back and play again after your experience in Survivor 49. And you're coming in and you're being thrown into this, you know, massive season with all these legends. What was going through your head?

[00:04:18] Yeah, no, Rob, it's so interesting because I remember going into 49 and the whole casting process of 49. They never, they as in production, never was like, all right, we're bringing you back for 50. I obviously had no idea. So 49 to me was, I'm just going to play this and live out my dream. And as 49 was going on and Jeff was kind of like, all right, like you're kind of playing for 50. I never had that in the back of my head. But I was thinking to myself, like, holy shit, like I might really win 49 and maybe get asked back for 50.

[00:04:46] And then when Jeff asked me back, it was a surreal amount of emotions because it's like, oh my God, I deserve to be here over so many people that probably aren't going to get cast. I was super, super excited. But also I felt like I had something to uphold because the reality is Survivor, you can play a great game once, but you really make your mark on Survivor the more you play. So I really wanted to go into 50, especially a season like 50, thinking like I'm here to cement my legacy. And you see me talk about it all the time on season 50.

[00:05:16] So in the nine days of preparation, I was doing, to be honest, what, you know, everybody I'm sure was doing was I was trying to figure out who I was playing against, brushing up on the tape in terms of like what people did, whose people's relationships with. I was trying to eat a whole bunch because I lost 22 pounds on Survivor 49. And then just spend time with my family because obviously I'm going to be shipped back to Fiji for another six weeks and not see them. And I probably should have, you know, practice puzzles a little bit or maybe some fire.

[00:05:41] But, you know, ultimately coming into season 50 as the fan that I was, I didn't really think fire was going to be there. But I also didn't know if I was going to even make it that far. So I put all my resources to that. So and honestly, with all due respect to Jeff's thoughts on the matter, you could have been practicing fire for 10 years. You weren't going to be Jonathan. That's exactly what I say. Right. Every day of your life. I can have I can have a lighter and I don't think I was beating. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You said you brushed up on the tape. Did anything you saw on tape help you in the game or that a hindrance?

[00:06:12] No, honestly, I think the only thing that really did help me was just kind of figuring out who had interpersonal relationships not on the show. Right. So like knowing that Ozzy and Mike White were connected and knowing all these other things that aren't from people playing in other seasons, kind of just mostly going through like, you know, online and seeing who's gone to charities and meet and greets and stuff like that. That truly did really help. Okay.

[00:06:35] Tell me about your early game at the Vatu tribe where this was a group where somehow you escape the car wreck, but that so many other people who look like they were set up so well, just all sorts of bad luck ends up taking them out of the game between Colby and Genevieve and Q and Kyle.

[00:06:56] Kyle, you really end up being you and Aubrey actually are two people who walk away from this thing, but doesn't look that way in the beginning.

[00:07:35] Yeah. And then they're asking Q about, does he really like all these people from 46 or like, do they hate each other? And they're all, well, I guess Q wasn't there, but you know, so forth and so forth. And everybody was just super, super annoyed with me because I wasn't really helping around camp, building a shelter, which mind you, I was building a shelter a week ago on another season. So I don't want to do that again. And I mean, they all, you know, kind of on the wrong foot with me. So I started off really bad.

[00:08:01] I think had Vatu lost, like gone to tribal council first, I probably was the first boot. And, you know, I think my game was a little bit sloppy because I think the first three people I go to was Genevieve, Kyle and Colby. And I kind of hit them with the, you know, guys like you're my ride or die, you're my ride or die. And I don't really know if they connected the dots, but they were kind of like, damn, Rizzo doesn't really know me. And he's saying that right off the rip. And I think what really changed everything was a, the Kyle medevac.

[00:08:31] But before the Kyle medevac even happened, I was kind of in pockets of alliances. What happened in Vatu was very early on. There was a lot of duos. We had Colby and Stephanie based on their prior history. We had Kyle and Genevieve, which could have been their seasons being very close or the fact that they were lawyers. And then Angelina and Aubrey were very close for whatever the reason was. So it was kind of just me by myself in a group of three duos. And then Q was obviously on exile. So I was trying to figure out where I can best find myself.

[00:09:00] And I feel like I really was able to bond with Kyle and Genevieve just because we were kind of like the strategists of the group. And I think we don't see that, but I was kind of in that trio. Then Q comes along into exile or from exile. And we kind of were in a new era pact. I don't know where Q heard this or maybe this was one of Q's theories, but Q felt like he was going to be a new school versus old school kind of thing. So us four new era people and Q, Genevieve, Kyle, and I were together.

[00:09:28] And then obviously Stephanie, Kyle, Genevieve, and Colby were together. And once Kyle got medevaced, they needed someone to replace Kyle. And I kind of just fit into the fold. And I think Colby was very endeared to me very early on. And obviously I got to know Colby on a personal level. And whether we were talking around the campfire or sleeping together literally on the beach, me and my boat and him on the side of the boat.

[00:09:53] Me and Colby, obviously, as we've seen over, you know, the whole season, kind of have that father-son relationship. And I was kind of teaching Colby how to play the new era while Colby was kind of teaching me his old school connections. So it was very well for me. It really worked out. And like you said, I think I had a lot of string of luck. But at the same time, I had a lot of good social awareness to know where I fit.

[00:10:16] And if we lost after Kyle got medevaced, I think Aubrey, if not Aubrey, it would have been Angelina, one of those two being the first boot. But I think Aubrey was the one in most trouble. Tell me a little bit about your relationship with Aubrey. Because we didn't see too much of it on the show. But I have to imagine that after the time that you spent together in the beginning of the game, and then towards the end of the game, that there had to have been a relationship. Yeah, my relationship with Aubrey was very interesting.

[00:10:43] Because what we didn't see is my relationships with everybody else in Batuu was honestly a lot closer than Aubrey. My top alliance members, if I did like a social ranking, Genevieve was my number one for the entire pre-swap of the game. And we see that relationship kind of pay off with her giving me the idol. But Genevieve was like my ride or die out there. And I wasn't really close to Aubrey pre-swap because I was kind of team Genevieve. And obviously Genevieve and Aubrey kind of had this thing going, which we didn't really see too much on TV.

[00:11:13] But like the tension was there. And I was firmly on Camp Genevieve at that time. So I wasn't really close with Aubrey pre-swap. Then we head into the merge. And Aubrey's kind of like this free agent. Aubrey's with like the middle people, which I, you know, rightfully coined. And I want to take a little bit of credit. But Aubrey was kind of with like Rick. And Aubrey was kind of just everywhere. She was just kind of floating.

[00:11:37] So I never really had a great relationship strategically with Aubrey until the power broker twist. But personally, me and Aubrey had a great relationship. Something that I really admired about Aubrey. And, you know, we'll talk about this later on towards the, you know, when we go for our jury votes. But what Aubrey did really well with me is she was always empathetic with me. And she kind of always checked up on me. Whether it was in the game or just personally. She was like, Brazil, like, how are you doing? You know, you're playing back to back. You're kind of on the bottom here. People are saying this about you.

[00:12:07] And like Aubrey and I weren't aligned. But Aubrey would tell me like, hey, Rizzo, you're kind of rubbing Colby the wrong way. Hey, Rizzo, Q thinks you're kind of lazy. You know what I mean? So like she did these little things that kind of let me know that there is a working relationship there. But we were never like rock solid up until probably the Aussie blind side. Yeah. And she got you those cookies. And she got me those cookies. She took one for the team with the grub. I would say me and Aubrey had a very good personal relationship. And I think that's what really paid dividends for her because she had that with a lot of people.

[00:12:36] But what Aubrey did really great was, you know, like you said, give me the cookies, make sure I was good. Checked up on me emotionally. And then strategically, we were better aligned toward the end game. Anything else that you want to talk about from old school Vatu before we talk about where you land at the swap? Yeah, I think what was great about old school Vatu is I genuinely felt like that was the best tribe, starting tribe of all time. I think the dynamics we had were super great.

[00:13:00] I feel really bad with Genevieve, Colby, Kyle, and even Q all having terrible luck because I really do think we would have stuck together and made a deep run. I think so too. Because we were all such in lockstep. But, you know, the way the cookie crumbles, we go from a tribe of eight to a tribe of three heading into a 17-person merge. Well, sorry, a 14-person jury, which is kind of insane to say.

[00:13:27] But forever and remember OJVatu. Okay. So you end up going from this super strong tribe to start. And then you are the only person left from that tribe who is on your new swap truck. Yeah. It's so interesting because I very quickly learned my mistakes from OJVatu and realizing that, like, wow, I'm now going into another tribe where nobody has any idea of really who I am.

[00:13:56] And I need to make sure that I don't come across as a fan, but kind of play the middle a little bit. That's how I kind of endeared myself to a lot of the people. Like, honestly, to this day, I don't really know what made Seri really realize, like, I'm with this guy no matter what. But I think it was my straightforwardness with all of the information I was providing Seri. Yeah. And showing her how much I really wanted to play with her that really brought her in. Because at first, I mean, Seri was kind of like Colby, like, Riz God. Like, I'm not calling you Riz God.

[00:14:26] But then she kind of got the charm and got to see that. I think what people don't see on TV, especially with my game, is the way I come across on TV isn't how I come across on camp. On TV, I play a character. I know how to, you know, ham it up a little bit for the cameras and bring a personality. But back at camp, I'm a very normal dude. That's really endearing. I have a big heart. And people really see that.

[00:14:46] And I think what's very interesting is for Survivor 49 and Survivor 50, the people that are anti-Rizzo are people that don't like me because of what I put on at Tribal Council. I put up this very cocky and confident persona. When I'm back at camp and I get people to vote with me and do all these things, it's because they like me back at camp. But then after Tribal Council, they're like, I don't like Rizzo flaunting the idol or like, I don't like Rizzo calling himself a legend. Like that shit still bothers me to this day. Like, can you not read the room?

[00:15:15] I'm clearly joking about being a god or a legend. But that's besides the point. I think going into the swap, I wanted to make sure that people knew I was a number and I was a loyal number. And that's why D, even though it's been there on the record that D and I have had some conversations before the cast or before people were on the island, it didn't work out for me because I ultimately lied to D because I was being a good Samaritan and not revealing how I placed on 49.

[00:15:42] But, you know, it didn't pay me well, clearly, or I don't want to say clearly, but there were some rumblings of how we placed before we got on the island. When you say you were a good Samaritan, you mean that you were just somebody who was not spoiling the season or you were doing a good deed? Correct. I was trying to be honest. Well, not be honest. I clearly was dishonest. But I was trying to have integrity for my season in hopes that Savannah and I can get on season 50 on even playing field.

[00:16:10] Because the reality is, while Savannah did beat me, I don't want to fuck over Savannah, right? Because if I go out there and tell everybody she won, she's dead on arrival, which, to be honest, she already was because people kind of already assumed she won. And we saw what happened to her. So I was trying to kind of play the game before the game started in the sense of like, hey, neither of us won. Don't worry about it kind of thing. But I lied to D. I had to build a negative relationship because I didn't start at zero with D. I started at negative 100.

[00:16:40] So I had to put in the work there. And what I quickly drew is, if I have D, I have Camilla. And I kind of used Survivor 48 to my advantage. Because the one thing that I did when I came back from 49 was watch Survivor 48, which, you know, my girlfriend, which is a funny story, says like, I was like, babe, did I miss anything on Survivor 48? Jeff Probst was telling us on 49 it's the greatest season ever. She's like, no, just watch the Shaheen Blindside. So that was kind of funny.

[00:17:09] Anyways, so I knew that Camilla didn't want to play a loyal game. She wanted to switch it up a little bit. So I kind of used that to her advantage. I'm like, Camilla, do you want to stay, you know, OG Kalo strong? Or do you want to make a move against these guys and really be the narrator of your own story? And I also knew that she was with D and Tiffany in this like girls OG Kalo alliance. So I kind of played that as well to my benefit.

[00:17:32] And, you know, what we didn't see is I actually tried to pull Rick Devins into the fold because I knew Sari and Rick Devins was good at OG Sela. Because Sari told me Rick was the one that gave Aubrey the idol. Obviously, Rick lies to Sari there. And I'm like, Rick, like, I'm trying to tell Rick to be a part of us without giving up the Charlie plant. But I think Rick was just playing a little scared. And Rick was like, OK, Rizzo, I can't I can't, you know, I can't stay with you.

[00:17:59] So we actually had a plan during that Charlie boat, which doesn't make the edit because it's kind of irrelevant. But I tell Rick, I'm like, Rick, if you think I should play my shot in the dark, play with your beard at tribal council and look at me. And Rick at entire tribal is like playing with his beard to cue for me to play the shot in the dark. When in reality, I'm just kind of like, you know, laugh. This is my problem with Survivor. When I know I'm up in the score, I kind of like, you know, rubbing it in people's faces. So I was like, all right, thank you, Rick. Thank you, Rick. And then after Charlie gets blindsided, I go back to Rick.

[00:18:28] I'm like, Rick, I try to tell you. And he's like, you got me, Rizzo. So that was really fun. But ultimately, my OG or sorry, my swap Sela game was really just trying to build relationships and build an army heading into a potential merge. A couple of questions on all of that. You said that you started off down with D. We see that D wants to work with you and is ready to vote out Charlie in order to work with you.

[00:18:56] Was that where you that D realized that you lied to her on the phone call and then you won her back over on the island? I think what and I can't comment because I'm not too sure. But I think what D realizes once we got on the beach and, you know, it was very apparent with the tribe breakdown that Savannah won. D realized that I probably was lying about our placements and going into it.

[00:19:21] I kind of told you like, hey, I'm sure that, you know, because there were rumblings in OG Vatu like, oh, like I suspected Savannah one. So OG Vatu felt that I'm sure the rest of the cast did. So I kind of went into D apologizing. And ultimately, it took about a day or so of me just being myself and getting her to see the true qualities of an ally that I can be.

[00:19:42] And I also think it was the way that Charlie played in D's perspective that really was alarming to her where she was like, actually, I can work with Rizzo and I can't really work with Charlie. And I think that's where we see her in the hammock like Rizzo, like I want to play with you. And we kind of came together there. I'm curious to know with the Charlie vote, at what point do you start to realize that Charlie is gunning for you? Is it from further back than we even see in the episodes?

[00:20:12] Honestly, it's actually crazy because Charlie was the person I actually went to first at Swap Seelah. I came into the cast or came into Survivor 50 really wanting to play with Charlie because I think Charlie and I are kind of two players on the same coin. I think we're young, social, strategic, super fans of the show. And I think we would play really, really well together. And he's also like my girlfriend's favorite player. So I went up to Charlie. I'm like, Charlie, I'm gonna tell you everything I know about this game to prove to you that I want to play with you.

[00:20:40] And I didn't really know he was going behind my back until I started to become closely aligned with Serene B. So it was about like, you know, 24 to 36 hours until I really knew that Charlie didn't have me in his best interest. And what made me really realize that Charlie was not with me was that boat conversation that we see on TV. I'm sleeping and Charlie decides to wake me up in the middle of the night. He's like, Rizzo, who did you tell about the Billie Eilish idol? And he just makes a complete fallacy that didn't need to happen.

[00:21:06] It's just a lie for no reason about Jonathan asking about idols. And I knew from that moment, Charlie was being paranoid. And I knew that I can use that to my advantage and target him. So that's where you see me put the plan in motion, going to Serene, going to Dee and wanting to get Charlie out. Was one thing that was shown in the episode, which I think it was just mostly for, you know, suspense, was Camilla really wasn't wavering between Charlie and I.

[00:21:32] Once Dee was locked in with me, I mean, granted, this is just from my perspective. Camilla was always going to ride with us because Camilla and Dee were kind of a pair. So I think once Camilla and Dee realized that Charlie wasn't really with them, they decided to hitch their wagon to me. So you end up then, you have the idol at this point, correct? Yep. And you tell Serene about the idol. And you end up making this really strong bond with Serene,

[00:22:02] which is going to really carry through most of the game. And so after Charlie goes home, that really, Serene wants to get this, what does she call it? This, this poly alliance with you and Ozzy going? Yeah. Were you excited for the Ozzy alliance? Yeah. You know, it's so interesting because I, as a super fan and kind of like, you know, reading in all these articles,

[00:22:32] I knew Serene and Ozzy were together from the beginning. It was kind of like, it's shocking to me to see other players on my cast, not really realize it. Um, when to me it was like bold face in your face, Serene and Ozzy were together, but that's also naive for me to, or ignorant for me to say, cause I was so closely aligned with Serene. But what I was super excited about was Serene and Ozzy kind of fit the exact same trio. I had in 49. Ozzy,

[00:22:59] you can say it has some parallels to Savannah being the comp beast that can win immunities when needed. And Serene and Sophie kind of had that ability to gather information and play the middle. Whereas I felt like I kind of fit the same mold I did in 49. The guy with the public idol that can kind of strategically maneuver himself through the game. So very similar. I was like, wow, this is exactly what I did in 49. And obviously like Serene and Ozzy have legacy, bigger shields than Savannah and Sophie were for me.

[00:23:25] So I was super excited because I realized that I can go deep into the game with them and they can be shields for me. Now you get to this 17 person merge. You talked to Genevieve about the Billie Eilish boomerang idol trademark. And she denied that she sent it to you. Correct? Correct. And do you believe that? So what's interesting was when I got the idol, just based on deducing who could have potentially gave me this idol, I knew it was Genevieve. I was like,

[00:23:54] and you see me say it to Serene in the episode. I was like, I hope it's Genevieve. So when we go to the merge, Genevieve was like my closest ally aside from Serene at this point. And honestly, Dee as well. I was super excited to, you know, get back with her. And what we don't see from the episode is I actually tell Genevieve about Serene's extra vote because I was super, super locked in with Genevieve. And when we go to the water well, I'm like, Genevieve, you gave me the idol, right? Genevieve was like, who did you tell? And I told her honestly, I said, I told Dee and Serene because I needed them to save me.

[00:24:23] And then she decided to lie to me. And to be honest, I bought it because up until this point, she's never lied to me. I've told her everything in the game. So I would feel like the energy would be reciprocated, but it clearly wasn't. So I never really got confirmation. It was Genevieve. And obviously once she goes home, the only other option I thought about was it has to be Aubrey. But Aubrey swore up and down to me that it was never her. So throughout the whole season, I felt like it was Genevieve, but I never had that confirmation.

[00:24:52] So I kind of use that to my advantage a little bit when we would talk about votes. I'm like, listen, guys, like you could vote for me, but if I go home with this idol in my pocket, you don't know who's getting this idol. So I did use that in my favor for my strategy with the idol as well, which obviously kind of worked out for me. Yeah. Okay. So Ozzy is going to find the advantage and he's going to have to pick somebody to take with him to Exile Island. And it ultimately ends up being you. Did you know instantly that this was a good thing?

[00:25:22] Honestly, Rob, I was actually pissed that Ozzy picked me first because I'm in the camp. That is, I rather be in the fold and in the chaos controlling my fate than kind of being separated from everything. Right? Like I don't want to be away from the action because in my theory, I was thinking, all right, what better way to prove my allegiances to a big group of people than being a part of a vote. But in reality,

[00:25:46] what ultimately ended up happening was it made me look or it put me in the best position in the game because I avoided three vote outs, which honestly was kind of the worst case for me because three of my allies literally went home. Colby was one of my closest allies. Genevieve was one of my closest allies and Camilla just voted tribal before. So I kind of got like, you know, you know, it's terrible. I lost three in one, but it was great for me because I was able to blend in and really play a middle position that I truly wanted to do. And what Sari,

[00:26:14] Ozzy and I did really well was kind of float back and forth as a trio getting all the information. So at first I didn't want to get picked because I'm like, Ozzy, what like, what the hell, man? Like you're taking me away from the action. And also like, I didn't want to sleep in exile alone, but Ozzy ultimately took really good care of me. And we had no idea three people were going back. So when we got back to camp and heard all the trial or like all the blood that was shed, me and Ozzy are giggling. Like we just saved our idols. Nobody knows me, you and Sari are together now.

[00:26:42] And now we can play the middle and really run the tables, which ultimately it was a good thing. So after you come back from exile, the first normal vote that you all have at the merge is the vote where D ends up going home. And D was somebody who you had wanted to work with that you, you know, we're building something with and you have to sort of reverse course on D. Yeah. It's, you know,

[00:27:10] it really sucks because a lot of my strategy when it comes to survivor, and we see it both on 49 and 50 is I like aligning with strong players, because I rather play with people that I can depend on than people. I got to kind of manage and hold their hands. And I feel like we see that in 49 with Savannah and Sophie and 50, we saw that with Sari. We see that with D Genevieve, you know what I mean? Like, and D was somebody else like, listen, D is kind of like Savannah and many facets, great loyal players, great with challenges. And D was a winner. She had a huge target on her back.

[00:27:39] So I was ready to ride with D pretty, I mean, I'm not going to say turn the final three, but pretty far into the game. And when I get back to camp and I hear Emily of all people tell me that D told her about my idol, I was taken aback because at that point, only Sari, Ozzy, and then D at that point were the only people that knew about my idol. So the fact that D spilled my secret really did upset. Oh, not, it didn't really upset me. It actually hurt me because I gave D my entire game.

[00:28:07] I told D I'd be loyal to you until I couldn't be loyal anymore. And she ultimately used her relationship with Emily, which they've been friends for years. Like I can't hold that against her. It just happened that she decided to tell Tiffany and Jonathan and the word kind of spread a little bit. And Sari and I realized like, Hey, are we going to really hitch our wagon to D and save her? Cause if me and Sari really wanted to, I promise we could have saved D in that boat and send coach out the door.

[00:28:35] But what we really decided on was D has already proven to us that she can't be trusted. So she's a big target. And it kind of allowed us to be with that honor and integrity people because Sari and I discussed, I mean, Ozzy as well, um, that listen, I'm with the four horsemen. Why would I vote out coach when we can survive another round? Joe and Jonathan think I'm with them. Coach is going crazy right now. And why would we burn that and have D there? Cause D is going to, you know,

[00:29:04] slip under the radar. Let's stay with the honor and integrity. Let's get out D to make them happy. And then course correct in the next round. Yeah. I'm glad you brought up the four horsemen because that was something that I felt like was not really explored in the episode, but I suspected it was a bigger deal where you show up after the merge and Colby was in the alliance with coach. And they were talking about Jonathan and Joe, and this was going to be the four horsemen.

[00:29:30] And you get asked to be a part of this by coach. And we never really see it come up again or be mentioned in the episodes, but it seems like that that was important. Yeah, it was. Like I said, Colby and I's relationship was super, super tight. Once we got to the 17 person merge, Colby laid down the law for me and kind of told me what to expect. He's like, listen, Rizzo, I came from OG Callow where it was me, Chrissy, coach, Joe, and Genevieve as a five.

[00:29:59] And Colby basically told me like, listen, uh, the honor and integrity people are going to come to you and pull you into this alliance. So I was like, okay, great. And Colby never told me the name or anything like that, but obviously he then leaves in the blood moon and coach realizes that like, oh darn, I need to get Rizzo before he goes somewhere else. So the way he pitched it to me was, as we see in the episode, he's like, Rizzo, you're going to replace Colby. And be a part of the four horsemen. It was already in a named alliance, but they just wanted me to be the fill in.

[00:30:28] So I'm going to say yes. And honestly, I did a really good job to the point where they really felt like I was really with them. Honestly, everybody felt like I was with them and they could say whether I had no, um, win equity or whatever it was, but I was so socially integrated with everybody. And Joe, Jonathan coach, and I were pretty tight. I'm not going to say like, we weren't personally tight. Like we didn't spend around the campfire all hanging out, but like strategically, we always checked up on each other. And funny enough, if it wasn't for the duos twist,

[00:30:59] I would have triggered, or I would have tried to figure out a way to keep coach in the game. But because Chrissy was so gung ho against me, Suri and I mostly Suri's credit. I mean, we see her literally flip the vote. I ultimately realized that like, listen, coach is not worth keeping Chrissy around. So I'm going to have to let coach go. But I think I would have rode with them a little bit, a couple more votes. Cause I felt like I had good win equity and good prospects against, you know, that the four horsemen.

[00:31:25] But ultimately I think with coach leaving and coach was kind of blindsided by me pretty hard. Like, and, and you know, he's, he said it on the record that he was really upset with me because he felt like we were bonded. Obviously I have this great coach moment where I tell him we don't slay dragons at camp. We slay them at tribal. And that kind of showed the relationship I had with coach. Like coach realized that we were very similar in ways. And one thing that I really like about coach is that coach obviously knows how to play up for the cameras, but like at his core,

[00:31:55] he's a good dude. And the reason why we got together so well is because I think he kind of saw that in me a little bit. He knew I was a risk guy, the character, but I also knew how to play the game when it mattered. So that's why we were kind of very close. So the four horsemen was, was a thing. I went back, I watched that live tribal council at the duos, uh, tribal council. And you were so fun to watch during that. You were really just, uh, having a field day.

[00:32:24] What during all the chaos? Yeah. I think what I've really realized playing survivor is there is only one winner, right? You're already coming into survivor, a loser. I don't care what you think. You can have the winners mentality. You already lost once you entered the Island. So why not go out there and have fun? And I see, I think you see this through 49 and 50. I'm just that tribal council putting on theater because at the end of the day, this game is meant to have fun. So of course, when I see Rick, Rick Devens pull an idol out of tribal,

[00:32:53] Rick Devens things. Yeah. Rick Devens doing Rick Devens things where it's never happened before. And obviously as a fan, I know Jeff has said after winners, that we'll never put a tribal or an idol at tribal, but then Rick finds when I'm like, Holy shit, did Jeff just go back? Cause it's season 50. I'm going berserk because also Rick Devens just broke a record live in front of me, finding his sixth idol. So I'm going over there giving him props. And I think what Jeff does a really good job is like, Rizzo, what the fuck? Did you just fanboy for Rick Devens? And I was like,

[00:33:23] I guess I did. Like, I didn't really realize it was literally just my innate reaction to everything. Cause I truly was having a great time. And I think if I had to give any advice to the next generation of players is to go out there and have fun. Don't be fucking quiet. Don't be cagey. I don't care if that's good gameplay. If you're a good player, you play well when it back at camp, because what you say at tribal doesn't matter if you have a good social game back at camp. All right. So after the duos,

[00:33:50] I believe Christian ends up being the next person to get, but did you have a relationship with Christian? Yeah. You know, actually I'm very glad that we were talking about this vote because I feel like this vote, I don't want to say I take credit for it, but I'm very proud of the direction that this went. But Christian and I kind of had like a very nerdy, good relationship. Christian and I now are like great friends, but on the Island, I could very much tell that Christian had his priorities in different baskets. It was the Emily's. It was the Rick Devins. And then kind of like Jonathan,

[00:34:20] he was kind of holding very close with, and obviously Sari. And Christian kind of, I felt like Christian was kind of the big target anyways, just due to his likability and just having reputation. So it was kind of hard for him, especially for playing as much as he did in the pre-merge to really have a solid footing because everybody knew like, oh, Christian is still here after going to every single tribal council. He's got to go. So Christian and I didn't really have a great close relationship,

[00:34:46] but what I knew Christian was doing was he was playing the middle in a sense, right? Like he was trying to ping pong back and forth. So in that round, and I will say this, Christian, while I know a lot of the fans hated the Jimmy Fallon twist, the Jimmy Fallon twist did not send Christian home. I'm in the firm belief that Christian was the target and was going to go home if he didn't win immunity anyways. But what really sealed the deal was obviously the public announcement of the vote against him. Because going into that round,

[00:35:15] Emily kind of was like rubbing people the wrong way. We see the Rice incident. I think her just going back and forth and like kind of rubbing the people the wrong way with like her facial reactions and stuff like that. Sari, Tiffany, and a few others really wanted Emily to go. And based on my winner prospects at that point in the game, I'm like, I cannot vote Emily out. Emily's one of the people I need to sit at the end with, which is why I kind of course corrected. I'm like, guys, what are we doing? Christian is the biggest threat here. And Emily and Christian,

[00:35:44] and it was mostly Emily, to be honest, devised an Ozzie blindside plan. That was like the counter attack. Was we need to get Ozzie out. Ozzie's playing such a great game. And to Ozzie's credit, and I will still stand by this, this is the best survivor game Ozzie's ever played in his five times, I think, because he ultimately had a social strategic game. And was he, you know, you know, did his, was his hand held by me and Sari at times? For sure. But I ultimately think Ozzie has improved the most that he's ever did. And had Ozzie made the end, I think had a really, really good shot at winning,

[00:36:13] which I don't think you can really say any other time besides South Pacific. But anyways, I think, I mean, he did get four votes in Cook Islands. He did, he did. But ultimately he was one vote short. Tomato, tomato. But yeah, you're right. But ultimately, with Emily and Christian trying to devise the plan with Ozzie going home, I think everybody was like, you know what? Like, let's just get Emily out. She wants Ozzie out. Let's protect Ozzie. And I'm like, guys, like, let's get Christian out.

[00:36:43] He has a vote against him. This is the only way we can do it. Clean, sweet. And then obviously Christian goes home. I'm not saying I'm the sole proprietor to that, but I feel like I had agency in that vote. And that is in the episode that you were like saying to people, what are we doing? Yeah. Yeah. And I, I think ultimately it was the right move for me because I needed Emily at the end with me if I wanted to win the game. Yeah. I want to ask you about the auction that did you realize,

[00:37:12] and in talking to some of the players and in the episodes, people seemed annoyed. You didn't finish your chicken at the auction. Did you know that was a thing? No, I'm going to be honest. While I like to say I have good self game awareness, I was definitely oblivious to all this because I, while I play survivor in the sense of like, I always look, what's the best move for everybody else. I thought that people would empathize with me because I'm at this point, 14 days, 15,

[00:37:42] 16 days without eating. I just played back to back. I'm on day 38 out of 45 playing. I thought people would say, you know what? I feel bad for Rizzo. Give them all the food that you want, but instead everyone's ego or whatever came into it. And they're like, why is Rizzo not eating this? He should be grateful. And I'm like, what the fuck? Food makes people fight. Right. Right. Which I didn't really realize until, you know, later down in the game, but funny story to the chicken breast of it all that really sparked this conversation is obviously Aubrey takes one for the team,

[00:38:12] eats the grubs and I have chocolate chip cookies. So I am anticipating a burger, a state pizza. I'm trying to get like something really, really good that I would love. So I'm saving all my money and you know, I haven't won, you know, we're going, you know, food after food after food. I'm like, fuck it. I'm just going to put $300 to the next thing. And I hope I win. So I put 300 bucks and it's actually a PB and J sandwich. It's half of a PB and J sandwich. And Jeff decides, all right, Rizzo, are you going to go with this PB and J sandwich? Are you going to go with this covered item? And I'm like,

[00:38:42] Jeff, stop talking. I'm going with the covered item. He's like, why? I said, because I'm on survivor. I don't want a PB and J. I'll take the risk. So he opens it up and it's, you know, grilled chicken breast, broccoli with a protein shake. And I'm like, uh, and then everyone's like, why the fuck are what? That's exactly what you need. So I was like, well, I'm not hoping for a burger, but like, I'll eat it. So like, I think they were really upset because I wasn't grateful. Cause I'm like eating it. Like a kid eats broccoli, you know, at the dinner table. I'm like, um,

[00:39:11] I'm like not happy. I'm eating it, but I'm eating it. And at this point, obviously Rob, you've played survivor. After a certain amount of time that you haven't eaten, your stomach has gotten so small. So there's only a certain amount of food that you can really eat. So I had two chicken breasts and broccoli. I probably ate like one and a quarter of the chicken breasts with a few broccoli. And I tried to eat or drink the protein shake. It was like a banana chocolate protein shake. It was disgusting. And you know, when you drink milk on survivor, you're going to have to use the bathroom.

[00:39:41] So I was like, you know what? I don't want to drink this and, you know, go and shit in the ocean. And Jonathan is like, Mr. Jeff, can I please buy that protein shake out of Rizzo? He's not drinking it. And Jeff's like, Nope, you can't do it. And like Jonathan got super angry because he just ate a sea slug. So I think I didn't really realize how much that people. Yeah. Okay. Um, this is also the same round that has, uh, the Mr. Beast coin. And then ultimately Stephanie gets voted out.

[00:40:11] I know you were very excited during all of this. Uh, did you have a particular outcome that you were hoping for? Yeah. You know, this round was probably the most chaotic round of survivor I've ever played in my survivor career, because ultimately we really had no idea what was happening. Mr. Beast and Jeff did not tell us what Mr. Beast is going to do besides the fact that his beware advantage, his super beware advantage will come out tribal. So me and Rick were probably the biggest Mr. Beast fans there.

[00:40:40] So we were kind of contemplating is Mr. Beast going to bribe somebody? Are we going to flip a coin? Are we going to have to play a game for our safety? So we ultimately had no idea. So going into that round there, everybody's name was up for grabs. Literally everyone, probably besides Sari, to be honest. And ultimately going into that round, I think everybody was so scared of the chaos that they said, let's just all vote out Rick Devins and like, you know, put our, put our guns down and just make it another round. So going into that vote,

[00:41:08] Rick Devins was the consensus vote to go home. And when Mr. Beast shows the coin flip, everybody's like, Oh my God, like who's going to flip this coin? And very quickly, Rick Devins is like, let me do it. And there was, you know, like Joe and a couple of people were like, we can't let Rick Devins flip this coin. And I'm like, all right, do you want to fucking flip this coin? And then like Rick literally was openly like, I'll give myself a 50, 50 shot of going home because the reality is, okay, Rick flips this coin and goes home. That's the outcome that we wanted. Rick flips this coin and it hits.

[00:41:36] We win $2 million and this is great. Now we can vote somebody else out. And Rick did such a great job throwing all of the dirt on Stephanie that a lot of us knew, especially Sari, Ozzy and I, and I'm sure Aubrey and Tiffany, because Tiffany was in our alliance at that point as well. We all knew like if Rick hits it, Stephanie's going to go home. So it kind of was like a win-win regardless of what happened. And we saw exactly what happened. I think, no, I think it played out exactly how I want it.

[00:42:04] If Rick didn't hit it and the pot was only a million dollars in season 50 would probably be ranked a lot lower than it is. Like, I think one of the most iconic moments on survivor 50 is that coin flip. And you can argue if it's ethical to the game of survivor, but listen, we're in the 50th season at this point, you got to just try shit. And if it works, it works. If it doesn't, you put it in the vault, like the power of medallion or the medallion of power from Nicaragua. It worked. So I think it was all in all a success.

[00:42:33] After the Mr. Beast coin, Mr. Beast super beware advantage. We have really, maybe the most important day of the game, you know, in ultimately how it all works out where we have the power broker advantage and Jonathan wins immunity and you all are split up. And it looks like Aubrey is dead to rights. And this was relitigated at the final tribal council of who did what, whose move was this.

[00:43:01] So I'd love to hear your account of this day for you. Yeah, for sure. I think what I will say is this, had Ozzie not said anything, Aubrey definitely would have went home. And the reason why I was okay with this was because up until this point, I did a great job still maintaining my four horsemen of Joe, Jonathan and I after coach left. So I felt like no matter what I have a trio with them. So even if Aubrey goes home and we go into the final seven, I have me,

[00:43:31] Joe and Jonathan and Rick Devens, who is just trying to fight another day. And I felt at that moment, I can flip on Siri and Ozzie at seven with these four guys. But the reason this all changes is because Ozzie very quickly, like right as soon as we got to the beach, Ozzie goes, Aubrey, can we talk and tells her the whole game plan? He didn't tell her on the last hour. He told her in the first five minutes. So when you do this to a player that is savvy as Aubrey, and to be honest, you don't even have to be savvy. You could have told, you know,

[00:44:00] crazy Brooke from Vanuatu, the first boot, he would have gone to everybody and been like, yo, Ozzie told me Rizzo and Siri have a final three. Ozzie are gave Siri an extra bow. Like they're, they're a final two. Like any competent human will go around telling people that. So when Aubrey's going to me, Aubrey's going to Joe and who at this point, I have a final two with Joe. Joe is like my ride or die. And what we really didn't see in the edit is Joe and I had a conversation in a secret scene

[00:44:28] that talked about what he meant to my family and showcasing awareness for autism. So that's really where the bulk of Joe and I's relationship came from. And from that point on, we were in unison the entire season. So when I haven't told Joe about my alliance with Siri and Ozzie and Aubrey is doing this, I'm like, holy shit, I need to course correct. Because if I tell Ozzie to play as idol, I now burn Joe and Jonathan, who are the two people at this point that I realized I need to sit with them at the end to win.

[00:44:57] If I burn them and keep Ozzie, I just have to be with Ozzie and Siri because I rather at least make the end and pitch a case than go out seventh because Joe and Jonathan are upset at me. So once Ozzie did that, all of the leverage that I had in terms of me playing this true middle was gone because Aubrey exposed my entire game that is associated with Ozzie. So ultimately, when it comes down to it, did Jonathan want Ozzie out? Absolutely. Did Aubrey want Ozzie out? I mean, she did because it was the only way to save her.

[00:45:27] So ultimately, what I think happened is Ozzie sunk his game. Aubrey put the plan in motion, but I truly decided Ozzie was to go home. So had we made the final three, and it was Joe, Jonathan, and I, because had Aubrey make the final threes, like even though I felt like I had the move, Aubrey could take all the credit because she was the one that survived it. I was felt that it was my move because I could have told Ozzie to play the idol, but I didn't. I realized Joe and Jonathan and I needed to make the end. And I knew,

[00:45:57] I knew Siri wanted Ozzie to stay. You saw me in confessional saying like, I know Ozzie wants, or Siri wants me to save Ozzie, but I had to do what was in my best interest. And ultimately, me blindsiding Ozzie didn't tarnish my relationship with Siri because Siri realized that, wow, Ozzie gave them the keys. Ozzie told them everything, and I don't want to sink my ship to it or sink my boat to a sinking ship. So me and Siri's relationship was very good, even after that. Yeah, that sort of recontextualizes how I look at it to hear you say it that way,

[00:46:27] because it wasn't just that Ozzie telling Aubrey tanked his game. It tanked your version of the game working with Ozzie and Siri, because that wasn't a viable path anymore. Right, right, exactly. So when he does this, I don't have an option anymore. I don't have the options of like playing both sides. I ultimately have to pick a side once he does that. And am I going to pick the side against the best to never,

[00:46:55] the two best players to never win or Joe and Jonathan, who a lot of the jury didn't respect. Obviously, I'm going to go with the two people that the jury didn't really respect because I was one of the people that the jury didn't respect. So obviously I had to go with them. Okay. So after this vote, I mean, how formal is, is there like conversation with Joe and Jonathan of like, Hey, we're, we're doing this. We're going to the final three. Yeah, I, that, that round specifically when, you know, Aubrey was probably going on a walk. Um, and Ozzy was,

[00:47:25] I don't know, doing whatever, probably cooking the rice. Joe, Jonathan, I got together, did a formal handshake and was like, listen guys, are we doing this? Are we going ahead and blindsiding Ozzy and going to the end with us? And we all agreed. Yes, we all shook hands. And from that point off, from the final nine on Joe, Jonathan, I kind of locked in. And I think we were not, I think honestly, we controlled the end game throughout the final four. And was there an order in which you wanted to, move to the final three? And did it go according to that plan? Honestly,

[00:47:55] the boot order was exactly what we wanted. I know there's some conversation with why not bring Sari at four instead of Aubrey. Cause Sari, just like Aubrey doesn't have really good track records and individual immunity challenges. But this was my thought process. Aubrey and Sari at final four, that gives Sari way too much wiggle room to get to the end. She needs to win a challenge. Maybe she gets fucking lucky. The survivor gods just gives her a win or she wins fire. She's done fire before.

[00:48:25] We have zero, zero shot at winning the game. And I needed a move against Sari for my resume because beating Sari in fire or like having Jonathan beat Sari in fire isn't a move. I needed to say I got out Sari and I was Sari's understudy and I became the main study because I got her out. Hence why I did it. I wanted to do it at five. But once Tiffany won the immunity at six, I had to course correct and get Sari out. So Rick at seven was always the plan.

[00:48:54] The plan was Tiff at six, but she won immunity. So it became Sari. Then it ended up being Tiff. Joe, Jonathan and I felt like Aubrey was the best person that we can be in a competition and not. That's ultimately the reason why, but she came in clutch and won the final four immunity. Yeah. So in the final three, it ends up being, of course, Aubrey and Jonathan and Joe, and you end up voting for Aubrey.

[00:49:22] And I've thought about this final travel council a lot. And I think that your vote to me is the most interesting of ever. Like people have picked sides of there were Aubrey people. There were Jonathan people. Then I felt like that Rick and Christian and Emily, they were kind of like a block. They all ended up going for Aubrey, but you to me are the most independent voter in the jury. Could you tell me a little bit about your decision and, and,

[00:49:50] and how you came to voting for Aubrey over Jonathan or Joe, who you were working with closer? Yeah, for sure. And this is a great question, Rob. So ultimately after I lost in fire, my decision was I was going to vote for Joe because to contrary belief, I tend to do vote for my number ones, hence why I voted for Savannah, even though I felt like Savannah played the best game. I wanted to vote for Joe based on the relationship that we cultivated in the 14 days of playing. But heading into Ponderosa,

[00:50:20] I felt that, not that I felt, there were two very strong factions, one pro Jonathan side and one pro Aubrey side. And to be quite honest, as somebody that played the game with Joe and Jonathan, very closely aligned, I didn't see the game that Jonathan played. I felt like Jonathan had a lot of strategic missteps. And as somebody that prides himself on the strategy, I ultimately wanted to vote for the winner. So I was worried if I voted for Joe, that will cost somebody the win. So ultimately I said, listen,

[00:50:50] I knew I would have been the only person voting for Joe. So I said, and to be quite honest, like that did hurt Joe's feelings. And I, to this day, I feel really bad about it, but we're still great friends. And he understands why I ultimately do vote for Aubrey. But once I realized that my vote for Joe is kind of a wash, I said, you know what, Joe, I'm taking you out of the equation and I'm voting for who I felt like played the best game between Aubrey and Jonathan. And I tend to vote based on the best social and strategic players. And to me,

[00:51:19] I really felt like Aubrey, while didn't have the most agency in the game, moved the game with intention. Whereas I felt like Jonathan really had the agency and intention, that he says he does. Some of the moves he would have made would have been different. And I'll give you an example. The power broker twist is the one that he really won, where he could have put his foot down and make a move on the game. And where I felt he really misplayed it is what better resume move to say

[00:51:45] that you are the reason why Ozzy and Sari go home in the same boat. I felt like him voting with Sari and Tiffany to get out Emily of all people was a terrible miscalculation because Emily is somebody that I guarantee you, he beats at the end. So why are you catering to Sari who has an extra vote and she's coming to you like Jonathan, I have an extra vote. Let's split the vote. You can still split the vote, flush Rick's idol,

[00:52:13] but still get out Sari in the game. And to me, that would have been a game winning move. Instead of putting the ball in his hands and taking the last shot, it really felt like he passed the ball to Sari and said, Sari, this is your move. Because let's talk about that move. Whose move is it for Emily to go home? It's Sari's, not Jonathan. And I felt like that was a big dick to his game. Because Jonathan talked about a lot of his social and strategic agency. Let's talk about a social game. And I think even with when it comes to Christian and he didn't really manage that well,

[00:52:43] the big fight with D, I mean, like the last time I checked, if you're going to publicly fight with someone, I wouldn't expect their vote. So there was a couple of things where I just felt like that wasn't game winning moves. Like I said, I'm not sitting here and say Aubrey played this amazing mastermind game, but Aubrey had a lot of intention with her social relationships. And I think she cultivated it at tribal council. So well, survivor isn't really about who played the best game. But who you want to win the game more and Aubrey's relationships that she

[00:53:12] invested with people in made them want to vote for her to win. Whereas I didn't really feel like Jonathan had that. And this is no shade. Like I, you know, Jonathan played great. I think he improved well. He's probably the most improved player from our season. But I felt like in that moment, I thought Aubrey played the best game out of the two. So Aubrey also was talking about you as somebody that she felt like that she could be going towards the end of the game. And I've heard you talk about how you felt like that there were certain people you could

[00:53:41] beat and certain people you couldn't beat. Were you feeling that also that a lot of people were looking at you as somebody who they wouldn't want to vote for at the end? Yeah, 100%. And I've said this in some press where I had a conversation, probably early merge with Rick and Emily, where they notoriously told me that Rizzo, like, I don't really know what you're doing in the game. And this was like right after I got out. Charlie got out D flipped with coach Chrissy. And I'm thinking to myself, wow, like I'm playing so well. I literally know Stephanie has a steel of all.

[00:54:10] I don't literally all these advantages that you guys aren't aware of, but you don't really see me as a respectable game player. And ultimately survivors perception is reality. Nobody really knew what I was doing because they didn't see 49. They didn't see how I could control a vote in 49. They just thought I was a kid that was coasting and a kid that was kind of depleting because that was the part of the game where I, I'm going to just say sick. Cause that's what everyone said. I wasn't really ill. I was just malnourished where a lot of my, I looked like a sick dying child.

[00:54:39] So I thought the respect there was kind of lacking from everyone around me. So I realized that the only way I can win is putting my close allies in the jury, a la Sari and Ozzy and a D to be honest, and getting them to vouch for me against people that the other jury didn't like, which at that point I thought it was Emily, Joe and Jonathan. But once Emily went, I was like, listen, Joe and Jonathan are right to the end. So I knew my prospects weren't that great. And to be honest, I felt like my game in 50 was so much better in 49.

[00:55:09] So in many ways, it really did frustrate me that I wasn't garnering the respect at the end of the day. It doesn't matter what I think, Rob, it matters what jury thinks. And that's why I put myself in the best position to get to the end. And, you know, I, I don't know what would have happened obviously. Um, because, you know, revisionist history is a thing, but I do feel like if Aubrey is in that jury and it's me and the three guys, I give myself at least a 60%. You're a yapper. Yeah, exactly. I am a yapper.

[00:55:37] And I feel like I'm able to dictate what I like, what I just told you now, I would have said about Jonathan and his agency. And I feel like I would have given myself a good shot at winning, but had I won, I don't know, but I think there's, there's a possibility. I know that there's been so much speculation about when are you going to come back? When are you going to do this again? You told me at the finale, you'd leave, you'd leave that day and, and head back out.

[00:56:00] Have you had any further thoughts on what you're going to do with this thing of ours in terms of future survivor playing? Yeah. I mean, listen, I, I would play survivor. I hope to place. Honestly, I, I, my dream is to play a third time, win and retire. Um, Hey, all right. And honestly, if I somehow, I do think if I ever come back,

[00:56:27] whenever that day is my winning prospects would be good because people will respect me of how I played. It's just going to be a lot harder for me to accomplish. Um, I, my dream, honestly, is to play survivor again, give it my all, win an immunity. Um, and then I'll be happy. Obviously I want to win the game and like cement myself as one of the greats to ever play, but whether that's survivor 54 blood versus water survivor, survivor, a hundred, whenever Jeff gives me the call, I'll be there. Whether it's, it's tomorrow or 10 years or 30 years from now,

[00:56:56] I'd play this game when I'm 75. Rob truth. Yeah. Yeah. So I don't know. I think I'll have, you're 75. I don't want to talk about how old I'll be. Uh, yeah, I don't know that you're pretty old. No, I'm just joking. Um, what do you do in real life when you're not on survivor? Honestly, Rob, I think for me, a lot of my joy just comes with putting myself, uh, in situations, which I truly enjoy, which is obviously spending time with my girlfriend, with my friends. I go to a lot of sporting events. I see you a lot,

[00:57:25] a lot of basketball games. Yeah. A lot of basketball games, a lot of baseball games. Uh, I play in a men's basketball league, which is honestly pretty embarrassing. Cause every week I go to my men's league and they're like, dude, I've watched 26 episodes of survivor and you score 20 points in this men's league, but you can't fucking win an individual immunity. It doesn't make sense. Yeah. It doesn't make sense. I'm an athletic guy. Like, look, look, come on, Rob, I'm kind of fit, but it just, it didn't translate on the Island. So I'm hoping to reverse my curse. Um, I do feel like though,

[00:57:54] I have a really good shot of making it to the end again and hopefully winning. But, uh, that is to remain to be seen. Let me ask you a deep cut question that is sort of, uh, you know, a little bit off of this. One of the things you talked about in your survivor 49 preseason was that you, uh, referenced a book called how champions think I read it, uh, on your recommendation. Okay. Very interesting book. A lot about how golfers, uh,

[00:58:23] think about the mental game and how it gets them, uh, focused and ready to play. And sometimes these people are beating themselves, uh, because their, their head's not right. Did that have any impact on you in either of your survivor seasons? What you took away from that book? For sure. So to be quite candid, I don't read Rob. I really don't read. I read your book and then I read, well, this was after the fact, but yeah, how champions think was the only book I read.

[00:58:50] And the reason for that is I needed a book to remind me of how great winners in sports history. Think Michael Jordan, um, all the greatest golfers, like, because you don't want to put yourself in a situation where you're already at a negative. And as somebody that calls himself the risk God, I have high, high confidence, but entering survivor, like sometimes you can get nervous, right? You see Nate Moore, you see Savannah, you see all these people that seem like they're successful and want it as much as you do. Are you going to shrink or are you going to rise to the occasion?

[00:59:20] And what that book really taught me is Rizzo, you are a winner, no matter what you are a winner, whether your first book or the actual winner, winner, you have won this already. So I went in there with guns a blazing. And ultimately that mentality of 49 brought me to 50 a week later. And I read that same book again. And the reason I read that book is like, holy shit, Rizzo, you are with three winners. You are with Sari, Ozzy, Coach Colby. Are you going to rise to the occasion and get what you want?

[00:59:49] Being a memorable, one of the greatest players to ever play? Or are you going to be that guy that came back around and be the worst place back-to-back player ever? I don't want to be this. I wanted to be this. So I reminded myself with the high confidence I already have that you are a winner. Go show the world that you're a winner. And I feel like I genuinely did that the two times that I played. I've never been voted out. I've been in the right side of the vote every single time, aside once where I lost my glorious King Nate. And I should have known about that, but whatever.

[01:00:18] I had two idols that I brought all the way to the end. And I feel like I really innovated the game. I think in 49 and 50, there was a lot of parallels where I played similarly, but in many ways I played very different. 49, I was the loud in your face. You're either with me or against me player. But in 50, I was that same kind of player with the same idol in a same trio in the same role. But I was undercover. I was under the radar. I was playing a flip-flopping game. I was playing a Rob Cesternino Amazon type game.

[01:00:48] You know what I mean? And I felt very, very proud because I felt like my 49 game is very, very strong. I really do feel that way. But my 50 game, I think is even better. And ultimately, the way I look at it, and I genuinely do believe this, I walked into Survivor 50 with a 0% chance of winning. Rupu is going to award not only a player that they've never seen play before, but someone that calls himself the Riz God, which is the only thing these people knew about me, and someone that is the youngest on the cast.

[01:01:17] Not only won, but $2 million. I realized that I had a low percent chance at winning. But if I can get to the end, and give myself the best chance at winning, which I literally almost did, it's a win in my book. Yeah. Incredible answer. Great job on the season. I'm so proud of what you did. Thank you. You really did really, really the best you could under very tough circumstances to play these games back to back. And I'm so happy to have you

[01:01:46] in our Survivor world. And I'm so glad we had this chance to catch up. Rob, as always, thank you so much. I think what better way to close off this chapter and the way I always close off my chapters is doing the iconic R-I-Z-G-O-D, Riz God Baby. But this was all about me, but it's now time to flip the script and make it about you, Rob. So as all the people and all of the people that love Rob Cesternino and love the Riz God, I think it would be a great way to end this podcast by signing out

[01:02:15] the best way that you can, Rob, and by anointing yourself as the man, the myth, the legend, R-O-B-G-O-D, Rob God Baby. So please do me the honors and take it away. Yes, that's right. So be sure to check out every... Actually, before you do that, I'm going to be you and then I'll sign it out to you, okay? Okay, please do. Okay, okay. All right. Hold on, let me lock in. I'm sorry. All right, everybody. This is Riz Sesternino here thanking the Rob God for joining us

[01:02:44] on a medium dive on Survivor 50's fourth place finisher, Riz God. With that being said, thank you so much. Tune into the podcast where we'll have another person do a medium dive. Rob, take it away. I don't know what I'm supposed to do now. The Rob God part. That's... Take it from me. The R-O-B-G-O-D. Take care, everybody. Have a good one. Bye.

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