Sandra Diaz-Twine Rewatches The Pearl Islands Premiere | Survivor Time Trip
Survivor 46 RHAPAugust 01, 20261:14:24

Sandra Diaz-Twine Rewatches The Pearl Islands Premiere | Survivor Time Trip

Sandra Diaz-Twine Rewatches The Pearl Islands Premiere | Survivor Time Trip

The Survivor Time Trip takes a nostalgic turn as Rob Cesternino and Mike Bloom team up for a special trip back to the iconic Survivor: Pearl Islands premiere. Joined by the legendary Sandra Diaz-Twine and fellow Survivor alum Troyzan, this episode dives straight into the unforgettable launch of Season 7. As Sandra revisits her first taste of Survivor glory—watching the episode again for the first time in 23 years—the panel breaks down every wild twist, from the shocking marooning with only the clothes on their backs to Rupert’s notorious shoe heist.

Rob and the guests don’t just stick to the highlights; they explore the behind-the-scenes moments that made the Pearl Islands premiere so memorable. Sandra dishes on her original castaways’ journey from Miami to Panama, revealing how the players were blindsided into starting the game amid seasickness, clogged toilets, and a surprise drop-off in a Panamanian fishing village. The gameplay starts fast as Sandra’s Spanish skills give her Drake tribe the upper hand in bartering for supplies, setting the tone for the resourcefulness and social savvy Survivor fans love. The crew covers the hilarious and awkward first challenge, where naked solidarity overshadows strategy, and shares personal memories, alliances, and even wardrobe mistakes that shaped the early days on the island.

– Sandra’s unique advantage in the village: leveraging her Spanish to outplay the Morgans in the barter for supplies

– The notorious moment where Rupert steals shoes from the Morgan tribe (and Sandra loses hers)—and how it shaped tribe dynamics

– Behind-the-scenes secrets from the Pearl Islands premiere: what really happened on the boats, and how the players handled the surprise start

– The first-night wine-fueled confessional: Fairplay’s infamous antics and Sandra’s honest first impressions

– Raw reflections on forming alliances, first impressions of Rupert and Krista, and dealing with camp hardships (like chafing, wet feet, and shelter woes)

As the group reflects on those first clutch days in Panama, they question what would have happened if the Drake tribe had gone to Tribal Council and why first impressions—both in challenges and at camp—can seal your fate. Can resourcefulness and quick social reads really make you a Survivor icon from episode one?

Dive in for all the legend-making stories and strategy that set Survivor: Pearl Islands apart—and don’t miss Sandra’s birthday cruise details for the ultimate fan celebration!

Chapters:
0:00 Time-Traveling Back to Pearl Islands
1:28 Celebrating Sandra Diaz-Twine’s Birthday
3:23 Sandra Watches Premiere After 23 Years
5:08 Behind the Surprise Panama Opening
8:32 Chaos and Bartering in Panamanian Village
12:30 Tribe Supplies: Shoes, Chains, and Wine
17:23 The Shopkeeper’s Crush on Trish
21:19 Forming Bonds: Sandra, Rupert, Krista
25:44 The Drake Tribe’s First Night Drinking
27:51 Early Impressions of Johnny Fairplay
34:00 The Iconic Cannon Challenge and Strip
43:43 Makeshift Survivor Clothes and Chafing
47:23 Special Guest Troyzan Joins the Party
49:18 Sandra’s Infamous Fake Idol Story
57:14 Aubry Wins Survivor 50 Reflection
1:03:02 Sandra’s Survivor Cruise Invitation
1:06:55 Wrapping Up with Birthday Wishes

To order Rob’s book, The Tribe and I Have Spoken, visit www.robhasabook.com

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[00:00:08] Hey everybody, what's going on? Rob Sestradino and we're back to take another trip through time, our summer podcast series. And I am back here with my time traveling partner in crime, Mike Bloom. Mike, how are you? I am ecstatic, Rob, because we get to talk with one of my favorite people about one of my favorite episodes, one that will knock your shoes off and have someone take those shoes.

[00:00:31] Yes, an all-timer episode and we get to talk about it with an all-timer survivor. And here to talk about the Survivor Pearl Islands premiere, it's the queen, Sandra Diaz-Twine. Sandra, how are you? I'm doing wonderful. And let me tell you, I had not seen that episode in 23 years because I caught it on TV once and that was it. So I got my notes.

[00:00:56] Yes, okay. Well, you don't have it on loop all the time like at Fairplay's house? No, I don't. Does he? You're lying. Yeah, when I used to, when I first moved to California and I, and I used to go visit him in his apartment, that was right when the DVD came out and it would just be on loop all day.

[00:01:19] No, no. I watched him on TV one time and that's it unless I have to do my homework. And even then I've never gone back to my own seasons to do homework. Okay. Well, it's also a special day to have you here because, you know, as we're traveling back in time, we're also celebrating you today because we're recording this on Thursday, July 30th, Sandra's birthday.

[00:01:41] It's my birthday, Troy's hand's birthday, Laura Moret's birthday and Brooke's drugs birthday. So it's four Leos that were born on July 30th from Survivor. And I was telling Mike earlier, is there another day where they have so many survivors? I'm not sure. I don't think so. Honestly. We gotta let the fans dig that up. Any, any, cause we have four birthdays. So there's another day.

[00:02:10] I think my birthday, my birthday, October 20th. I think I'm the only person I think I'm special on that day, but it makes, it makes sense for you now that we know you are, you are giving Leo Sandra. I am. So my daughter does all that stuff and I don't understand it, but she told me that all three of my, all three of my signs, I think it is, everything is fire, fire, fire. Like I'm a Leo, Leo, Leo.

[00:02:38] So yeah. And I hope today goes better for you than Tawana's birthday. Yep. We voted her off. Yep. Yep. I, I forgot about that, but yes. Was it just revenge for that shopkeeper in the opening? Cause we got to see, uh, you know, her treat her a little differently than you did.

[00:02:56] It was. So I think they already walked into that scenario, uh, in the shop a little bit irritated. Um, when I look back at the episode, which I just finished watching like an hour ago, I was telling my husband, gosh, there's such a huge contrast within the two tribes. And you see that on day one, you see it on day two and on day three. Like we were totally on two different levels.

[00:03:23] Yeah. What is it? What's it been like watching this episode back then, Sandra, for the first time in decades, I'm sure you feel like a completely different person. Obviously we had no idea of the legend that you were going to become. So what was it like getting to watch, uh, we're talking about birthday, sort of your birth into being a survivor icon. Well, I got like five pages worth of notes with my husband. And although it was 23 years ago, you know what he said, baby, you still wear your hair the same.

[00:03:54] Okay. How about that? That was it. No, but like I was saying, it's totally different. I think I was smiling. He told me I was smiling the whole episode. And for me, it felt like that's where it all started from me, for me. And I didn't expect it to turn into what it has today. I didn't ever expect to have a legacy.

[00:04:14] Uh, Pearl Island was such a great season. And if I might add, we could easily take three, four players from each tribe and do like Pearl Island versus whatever damn season you guys want. Yeah. Yeah. That'd be a fun. We've talked about that before on the podcast of like, uh, this season versus this season versus this season. And it's, uh, three tribes of six. You could definitely do that.

[00:04:39] Yeah. We had a lot of standout people. We really did. And I had the first confessional of the season. Yes. So it's quintessential Sandra to even drop a curse word for good measure. Yeah. While I'm sitting there complaining that all fair play does is curse and I can't stand him. Well, I'm cursing too, but yeah. He'll bring that out of you. Yeah. Yes, he does. Yes, he does.

[00:05:08] Let's talk about like the very unique opening of this season. Cause I have so many questions for you just about like the logistics of everything and what you thought you were all going to do and how it all played out. So of course, if anybody didn't, uh, I'm sure many people didn't rewatch the episode, but you all were thought you were going to like a photo day. And instead they throw you off the boat and send you off into the Panamanian fishing village to get your tribe supplies.

[00:05:37] Could you talk a little bit about that day and what they told you? Okay. Just in case I forget your whole question. First, I want to go backwards because we flew into Miami and we took a lot of pictures on the beach, which are a lot of our social, uh, well, back then it was a social media, but the pictures of us on the beach were in Miami. Then they took our passports. We went to the airport. They put us in an open area.

[00:06:04] And then towards the end, they shuffled us over to the area where we knew all of the sudden, oh my God, we're going to Panama, you know? So they tried to keep that a secret. We flew in. Then we went on a bus to a cargo ship. And when I say a cargo ship, it was full of like people and animals. And it was swaying back and forth for hours to then move us into the Rembrandt, which is the ship you guys recognize, which is, then they said, we're going to be on this boat.

[00:06:34] We're going to do social, uh, not social media, but we were going to do interviews and more pictures. So we're just chilling. We're relaxing. They had a lot of food. We were all sick. No one was eating the food. The toilets from the nervousness were clogged with, um, with, um, turds. It wasn't flushing like all around. If I would have known that was when I was going to have my last meal, I would have eaten something, but no one was up to it. No one was feeling it.

[00:07:03] Um, and then they say, let's go up to the top. We do, we sit there. And that's when Jeff says the game starts. Now you're going in with the clothes on your backs and the reactions you're seeing. That's straight up a legit. Wow. That is hot. Go ahead. No. And all I was thinking, I think was like, oh my God, I just charged $700 on my credit card to get all this stuff.

[00:07:29] And now he's saying we're jumping, we're going in with the clothes on our backs. And I'm like, oh my God, I have a credit card bill. I got to come home to. That was my thoughts. I think when he was talking, I mean, to be fair, you had one of the more conducive outfits. You weren't like a full Nicole Delma or anybody having to like buy clothes. You're like, oh, you got pretty good jumpsuits. You're just worrying about the credit card debt back home. Well, they told us to bring clothes that we wear all the time.

[00:07:56] And I worked at the time for a fees and I had the same outfit in two colors. So I'm going to wear that one for the 39 days. And then I have a darker peachy one that I ended up wearing at the finale. But it was an actual outfit from my closet, you know. But the fans, I remember when I used to go to Survivor Sucks and they would be like Sandra in her jailbird outfit because it did look like I was a damn jailbird. But that's what I got for wearing it.

[00:08:26] And the game started. We jumped off the boat into the water and then we made it to the village. So can I ask about the village itself? Because I am interested about was there any stores you could or couldn't go into? Like I think Mike and I watch The Amazing Race a lot. We know that then the people on The Amazing Race, they have to get people to sign releases, who they talk to.

[00:08:53] Were you sort of like confined into, okay, you can go here and go here and go here. You could go wherever you wanted. You could go anywhere you wanted. I don't remember all the details, but right after Jeff told us and, you know, they stopped the cameras and then they say, okay, guys, you guys are going to jump in the water. You're going to swim to that island. You're going to go into that village. You can trade. You can do whatever.

[00:09:16] And remember, we gave up our passports and a lot of stuff, but I still have my necklace and my gold earrings. But they never said anything was off limits. And I'm sure everyone there knew what was happening. Yeah. Let's talk about the swim to shore for a second, Sandra, because this is going to be something that's going to be one of the many points of contention between you and Johnny Fairplay in a couple of episodes. Set the record straight here. Who beat who to the shore? Who arrived first?

[00:09:44] I got to the shore first because I was holding on to the raft with like Krista, Rupert, Michelle. And he was, he jumped in later. He said that he lost his buff jumping in and had to go get that, had to retrieve that. That's the reason why he ended up coming on shore last. But in my eyes, I don't know if that was true. I didn't notice. I was just focused and looking forward.

[00:10:10] I just knew that when we touched land, he was not there. He was still in the water. But he always brought me up because as we see season after season, episode after episode, they're always looking for who's the weakest link. And he wanted to put it, you know, he wanted to let the whole tribe know, hey, between me and Sandra, it's her because she can't even swim. And I can swim.

[00:10:38] It's different swimming in the ocean versus in a swimming pool where you can touch the bottom of the pool or you're in the ocean and you feel these animals that are like nipping at you. Like it, like you get, I get scared. But I won't drown. Now, if Rob or Mike are drowning, listen, the minute I get my hands on the phone, I'll call 911. But I am not coming to help you because I am not that strong. I got to take care of me.

[00:11:06] But he was still out there when I had already touched land. And that was the truth. Austin's drowning a few episodes now. You're like, all right, get the swim team in there. I'm good. I'm not the hero this time. Yeah, I wasn't even focusing on him. That was like a lot of things happen and I'm focused elsewhere, you know? Mm-hmm. So, Sandra, you did such a good job in the village of going to the different shops.

[00:11:29] And, you know, I think of you as we've talked many times over the years that you are a couponer. You're looking for deals. I just feel like that this seemed like this was the perfect task for you. It landed in my lap that I spoke Spanish. Yeah. And they had a couple of college-speaking Spanish people on the Morgan tribe. It just isn't the same. And, I mean, when you see your people, although I'm Puerto Rican and they're Panamanian,

[00:11:58] in a way compared to everyone else, I'm their people. But, you know, I was just talking, mingling. We weren't rushing. We wanted to get as many supplies as we could. We knew it was for the 39 days. I don't know how Rhino thought that he had to save money. And we've talked about this before, that he had to save some of the Balboas for a future trip back to that island. I don't know where he got that from. I don't think they really paid attention because, like I said,

[00:12:27] it was two different mentalities when it came to the two tribes. Yeah. Tribes. But we were there to get as many supplies as possible. And then you see Rupert, which, when they pulled up and they left their floaty thing and left their shoes, not only did he grab their stuff to barter with, but he grabbed our stuff too because he took my shoes and bartered them away. But Krista ended up with those shoes when she made the jury.

[00:12:56] Wait, did your shoes she ended up with when she ended up sitting on the jury? Yeah, they brought their stuff back because they gave me back my gold chain. Oh, the production. They brought the stuff back? I got my gold chain back. And Krista, every time we went to tribal council, had my shoes on because she didn't pack very much, not thinking she was ever going to be on the jury, which there's a lot of people that had that mentality of not thinking it all through.

[00:13:26] And so my shoes that were there, you know, she fit into them. So she wore my shoes to tribal council. Yes. So that's interesting. So I don't think they paid back any of the Balboas that you guys paid for all that stuff, but it sounds like any like material goods you gave away, they eventually got back to you or someone close to you. I know they use Balboa, but I was in Panama not too long ago and they use straight up American money. So I don't know if the Balboa was all a setup.

[00:13:53] I know it's their money, it's their exchange, whatever, but I don't think they use it like, or maybe they did 23 years ago, but not today. And I'm talking about recent. I was in Panama in May, end of April, beginning of May, and they use American money straight up. Okay. Interesting. Maybe they thought maybe it wouldn't have looked as good on TV. It's like, here's dollars to go spend in Panama. Wow. Very piratey, right? Like the doubloons of it all. Yeah.

[00:14:22] I just thought about that right now. I didn't think about it watching the episode. It just came to me right now. But yeah, I mean, it's the magic of TV. And Pearl Islands is one of those seasons where a lot of people love that first episode and us having to jump off the ship with the clothes on our backs and all the stuff we spent money on just sitting in that damn boat. So we talked about Rupert stealing the shoes. I would love to get your reaction to when you found out about this.

[00:14:51] And how did that affect your first impression of Rupert, who's obviously going to play a large role in your survivor career? I don't think we talked about it until after like we got off the show or whatever. It didn't come to mind. I just know that when we traded the Balboas that we did have, we separated some for the ship that we had to take back. But we tried to get everything. I mean, we had from toilet paper to toothbrushes. We had water jugs.

[00:15:21] We had spear fish. Like I wrote it down, rice, beans, two chickens, you know. I mean, we had everything. Pot, fishing line, hooks, gas cans, mats, spears, tarps, two machetes, apples, a bag of rice, and three jugs of wine. So we were slick. We were smart. Yeah, I'm so curious about Sandra. At one point, you walk away with an entire barbecue.

[00:15:48] Like not just gear or various scraps. It seems like they give you all the chicken, right? All the sauces. The chicken, the barbecue sauce, the hot sauce, the ketchup, the cutting board, the knife, the aluminum foil. We didn't take the grill because it didn't have wheels. How did you do that? That's an entire like celebratory spread for someone. It was my gold chain. Well, this is my, this is, this is different. But it was my gold chain. Like it was just for TV. Those people knew what we were there for.

[00:16:19] And I'm sure they had a little community village meeting and said, hey, we're filming a show and we want everyone to participate. And don't worry, we're going to pay you. I mean, we didn't know that then, but we know how Survivor works now. So I didn't go set on making great TV. I went like, how do I set my tribe up for success? How can I use my Spanish to get us as much as possible?

[00:16:45] And then we see they cut to Rupert with the shoes and a pineapple, you know? So it was just me doing my part because there's going to be times I can't do much or it looks like I didn't do my part. But at least on episode one, I set up my tribe for success because we're going to continue, you know, steamrolling the Morgans and whatever.

[00:17:10] I'd love to talk about the very famous scene of you with the shopkeeper who seemed to have a thing for Trish, liked her in a sexual way. Sexual way. Yes. Why did that even make it to TV? You see, my vocabulary, I mean, even then, like, to me, she just liked her in a sexual way. I didn't know how else to say it. What's wrong with that? I think you answered your own question.

[00:17:39] She just had this liking to Trish that wasn't like, she's like, oh, leave her with me, telling me in Spanish, like she could stay with me. She could come to my house. Like, you don't just say that when you say, oh, you have beautiful eyes. Oh, I love the color of your hair. You keep it moving. But when you are fixated on, oh, I love her eyes. Oh, she's so beautiful. Oh, I want to take her home. Like then to me, it was in a sexual way. Yeah. Oh, I don't know. I've never asked Trish what she thought about that.

[00:18:07] She seemed to go along to get along in the moment. I mean, maybe it's because she didn't understand. She's like, yeah, sure. This is great. Thank you so much. Gracias. Sandra, I mean, here you are thrust into the first day of Survivor and really you've now become a pimp to this shopkeeper where you're negotiating a person. Just for us to get kerosene. It happened really, really fast. And then, of course, the Morgan tribe comes in.

[00:18:37] There's a disaster about they're stealing my Balboas. They're not giving me the pot I paid for. And then we made our way out of that. But still, we saw the whole interaction happen. Here we are with a positive interaction. Here they come with a negative interaction. Two different types of tribes, really two different. And they might have been seeing everything we were getting and they weren't able to copy that. You know, they just weren't getting.

[00:19:06] They just didn't have the luck that we had. We were like really, really set up. But listen, I wonder if the shopkeeper ever watched that episode and was like, no! It wasn't like that. I'm really like, I'm married with kids. Like, I don't know. Yeah, Sandra, you could have broken up a marriage. You might not even realized it with getting to pimp out Trish here. Yeah, but that was on. Yeah, she was still coming with us back to the Drake tribe because we needed Trish. Like, for some reason, she's on the show.

[00:19:36] So, I mean, it was just, you know, what we're saying in the moment, not thinking too much about it. Not thinking that's what's going to make TV, of course. But it's what a lot of people remember. It's funny. I was wondering about the guys who drove the boat to go on Survivor. Because I feel like, just to pull back the curtain a little bit, sometimes I feel like the maps they give you on Survivor. Like, it's kind of, it's not a real map. It's kind of like, just like vibes.

[00:20:05] And I wondered if, were the people that took you to the island, were they actually production people or they were real boat drivers? I believe they were production people. I believe those boats were used after because everything we did in Panama, we did have to go on these boats to different islands like Fiji. It's not get in a car and drive there. Everything was by water. So, they knew where they were going.

[00:20:31] I can't remember the details of if we gave them the map and they really looked at it and said, oh, I know what island that is. So, we jumped in, we started eating, and they started driving. I was going to say. I can't even tell you if they looked at the map. I imagine, especially now finding out that you hadn't eaten that morning, you probably feasted like kings and queens when you were able to get your hands on some immediate food. Oh, absolutely. Because you want to eat what you know might go to waste or spoil first, which was the cooked chicken.

[00:21:01] Like, how long is it going to last? We can kill the chickens two or three days down the line. I believe we also had fish. So, yeah, the chicken was what we were going to hit first. It looked good. It was good. You know, them people be cooking with flavor. Well, let's talk about some of the flavors of the Drake tribe, a very flavorful tribe, as it were. So, who were you vibing with instantly?

[00:21:30] Because you're sort of resplendent with stuff, but obviously you have to get started building camp and everything. Who were you clicking with from the get-go? From the jump, it was Krista and Rupert. Maybe because we all felt like a little bit on the outs. Of course, we see that Burton and Sean, they're clicking. Gay Michelle's in that group, too. Trish is in the middle. Fair Play's in the middle. But, you know, you find your people.

[00:21:58] And my people from the jump were like Krista and Rupert. They were Krista number one, and then Rupert became number two. Yeah. What was your first impressions of Rupert? I didn't know much. I mean, of course, I didn't know much about him, but he just looked like a big old hippie with tie-dye. I mean, that's, you know, we ask everyone what their background is when we're sitting there drinking for the very first time,

[00:22:28] and you try to get to know everyone. But I knew Rupert was a provider, you know. I knew that he wanted to go out there and fish, and I'm over here worried about him getting sunburned and dehydrated or putting in too much work. Like, it's just so early. I just, I liked Rupert, and I like what Rupert could bring to the table, which was something to eat, you know. He knew how to use a spear.

[00:22:57] I wasn't going to go out there and use a spear. I wasn't going to go past, like, four feet of water. So, listen, if you're my friend and you're going to fish and you know how to use the spear, best buds. Yeah. What about Krista? What was your first impression of her? Krista's always been that kind of person where you're like this geeky girl. She's so tall. You know her voice.

[00:23:23] But Krista is, she's really amazing. She has a big heart. She's so nice. You know, a California girl. She cares about everything. She cares about the bees, the sheep, the fish, you know, the hermit crabs. Like, she just cares about everything. And that's just her loving nature. And she tries to be inclusive. And she was just what I was looking for in an alliance, you know. And Rupert, too. Someone that could provide.

[00:23:53] Someone that could keep me level-headed because I know sometimes I could be an ass. Come on, guys. Y'all know me. But you find your people out there. You really do. And it was instant for me. It wasn't like Sean or Burton were calling me to go on and have conversation. You know what I'm saying? Like, you find your people. And within the first couple of days, you know who they are. Because you're going to know on Survivor who wants to play with you and who doesn't. Or who doesn't care to play with you. And it's going to be obvious. They don't mean to do it.

[00:24:22] It just happens. So when you all got the shelter together, it seemed like that there was a couple of rough first nights. It seemed like you guys got rained on. We got rained on, but we didn't see rain on the episode. We didn't see rain on episode one that I watched today. Am I wrong? No, I think Morgan had the rain. They had issues more so on the ground than from the sky, right? Because they had the rats and the quote-unquote snake. That was actually the palm frond.

[00:24:52] And then the rocks falling. The hermit crabs. And they had their lean-to. And it was a debacle. And because Savage was saying that he didn't have sleep at tribal council, Savage said to Jeff, I haven't had any sleep. That was his issue where someone else was talking about water. Well, we know they had water. They just never looked on the map. But our sleeping situation, because on day one, we built a pretty good shelter. And we stayed there. We found water.

[00:25:21] And we were eating. So we didn't have any issues. We had fire. We had everything. But I don't recall having a miserable first day. That's going to come later. But our first three days, according to what I saw trying to remember back, we didn't have any issues of rain or anything. It was just the mosquitoes. And that was it. Can we talk about that first night? Because it seems like, yeah, it's less so about water and more so about wine here.

[00:25:50] So what led you all to just consume that stuff on the first night of the game? And how drunk did you get, Sandra, compared to some of your compatriots? I didn't even drink. And at that time, I want to think or I want to say that that was one of my first drinks ever because I'm not, I mean, I drink now like daiquiris and everyone knows like margaritas or something sweet, like sweet stuff that I shouldn't have. You know, diabetes is trying to creep up on me.

[00:26:16] But anyway, I took a sip to take a sip because it was Survivor. It was going to be our first time. You want to experience it, whatever. I just remember and something they didn't touch on that night when we were drinking. That's when Krista had that tattoo and she said, I'm playing Survivor in memory of grandma. I mean, in memory of my dad, who was a big Survivor fan and fair play says I'm playing in memory of grandma who recently passed away.

[00:26:45] And episodes later, we're going to have the grandma drama. And I'm like, wait a minute. I remember on day one when they were drinking and talking because people tell the truth when they're drinking that he said grandma had already died. So that happens on night one. But we don't see that until later on. And that's what I remember from the drinking. Yeah. And it seemed like that fair play is really carrying on that first night when he's having that much drink.

[00:27:15] Was anybody else particularly wound up from drinking? No, no, no. And it's fair play. And you know when he's been drinking a lot because he laughs behind everything he says, even if it's dumb or stupid. He laughs, which to him, it's funny. And to everyone else, we're just looking like, oh, OK, you know, but and he's still like that today. Just like your hairstyle never changed. It never changed. Yeah. I got a lumpy side over here.

[00:27:45] What was your first impression of him? I imagine a lot of it was colored by some of the stuff he was saying that night. Oh, I said it on TV. I was like, he's an ass. What else did I say? Like. I might have. Did I write it down? Could I stand him or I can't stand him? Mm hmm. I remember what all I said about him. But I said a couple of things, probably that he was annoying. He was an ass. I wish I would have known that's what you were going to ask. I would have wrote it down.

[00:28:13] You said on the episode about how you said he you couldn't stand him. He talks crap and he curses and it's already getting old. Yeah, because he's when he's louder, when he does his wrestling voices, he gets really, really loud. This is very true. I mean, Rob, you said you've been to his apartment in California. So then you would know how he is. Yeah.

[00:28:39] No, it's so true because I saw him recently also. And, you know, I've known him, too, for, you know, like you, for, you know, what? How many? What? Almost 25 years of this. And I saw him at that. He was able to they had a like a comic book convention here in Raleigh. And he my my kids really wanted to go. He got us tickets to go.

[00:29:06] But it's very funny watching him through the eyes of my kids who were watching him in action for a first time. And they're just like, is this this is a real person? He puts it on. He puts it on. But that's what works for him. You know? Yeah. So very, very funny. Yeah. But, you know, on the on that episode one, I'm giving my real thoughts of just three days of being with him. You know, it's no filter.

[00:29:35] Like, we're really, you know, they would ask you questions and you just answered them. And that was, you know, 27 year old Sandra saying, you know, he's annoying. You were only 27 when you did this. 27. 52 today. Wow. Yeah. How old were your girls then? Five and seven. Yeah. And what did they say about you going on the show?

[00:30:03] I don't remember if they really knew where I was going. They just knew that my mom and my husband were going to take care of them. And then when I'd be back in a couple of weeks, because, you know how it was back then, whether you were voted out first or last, you're stuck somewhere out there. So they just knew I'd be back. But I don't think because they're little kids that they care much. And it was the summer and they were running the streets. Them girls didn't care about me or what I was doing.

[00:30:32] They were getting over on grandma. That was it. Yeah. Could you talk a little bit more about how the tribe was coming together? We see where really that Burton and Sean have really like started to take control of things where that they're sort of just like talking to each other, opening coconuts, feeding each other and Michelle. How much was that talked about amongst everybody else?

[00:31:02] Well, me and Krista had that conversation because I asked her, hey, they opened up that coconut. Did they share it with you? And she was like, no, it was just Michelle Burton and Sean. But that's just proof that people don't realize a lot of times the things that they do and when they do them and who's observing and who's paying attention and who's watching. And that's the stuff that comes back to bite you. But, you know, we're off in our own little worlds.

[00:31:31] You forget the cameras are recording everything and catching all the everything that is being said. But at that point in time, I just felt like I was in a strong tribe. There was plenty of people that I could get along with. I don't have to like you to be in your presence or to hang around with you because, you know, that's how the army is. You don't like the people that you're stationed with and you have to stand side by side with, but you do.

[00:31:58] And so I'm able to get along with whoever for whatever reason and just make it through. So I guess I really didn't focus too much on them. And I was just there to do a job. It was only day three. I'm just paying attention and trying to make sure I'm not the first one voted out that I think that's pretty much has always been my mindset when I play survivor, no matter what season I'm on.

[00:32:23] It's just how do I make sure I'm not the one that's being talked about or perceived to be the weakest or the one going home first. But I'm also paying attention of what people are doing and who they're doing it with. Yeah, because that's also I think when we start seeing Rupert really step up in a major way, right? Trying to bring home eight fish on day two. So were you already getting the sense of like this power struggle going on to be the provider or alpha male between him and Burton and Sean?

[00:32:52] No, no, I didn't notice that until I watched the episode because Burton just went out there one time, got the fish and came in. Whereas Rupert, he didn't care about being out there for hours. And nowadays, no one does that. You don't want to be away from camp that long. But back then you could do that, you know? And like Rupert said, he was hoping to bring in a fish, but it was only seven. He wanted everyone to have a fish. Burton brought his in early.

[00:33:22] Rupert, it was more like I think dinner time or whatever. But also you could see how Rupert came in with the mindset of being the provider and making sure we needed him and couldn't fend for ourselves, which is a mistake too. You can't. That's a huge mistake. Looking back on it, I'm sure he'd play differently. But I didn't notice it then. Again, we're only on day one, two, and three.

[00:33:50] Like we don't realize a lot of things until later on. Should we talk about the challenge? Oh my God, yes. An iconic challenge that we see. And we hear before the challenge starts that Savage is going to say, you know, Austin, his shorts are falling down. We don't want him to be embarrassed. And so we're going to join him in solidarity.

[00:34:16] I can't believe that as a leader, that that's his worry. You know what I'm saying? That he wants to include Austin. So we're all going to take our shorts off. Like that's the mentality. And that's the difference you see as a leader, that that's his first thought. Instead of motivating the whole group. That's his first thought is solidarity of Austin. We're all going to take our shorts off.

[00:34:43] Starting with Austin, then Rhino and then Savage when Jeff brings it to their attention. Yeah. What was your reaction when this was brought to your attention? Because you're you're carrying the torch, right? You're pushing through this heavy cannon trying to survive. And then you look back and you see three buck naked men trying to outmatch you here. I just want I was like, you know, it's dangerous. Why would they do that?

[00:35:08] There's a lot of like dangerous things that can actually cut your skin and even leaves and crap that can get on your skin. And if you have an open wound like that's so dangerous. But I also was focused on my torch because in my head I could have sworn Jeff said, you can't let the torch go out. And I remember running through that challenge and thinking, don't let the fire run out. And when it did, I remember being in a state of panic.

[00:35:37] And I don't know who I turned to and said, my torch, my fire's out. And they responded like, don't worry, it's OK. And then I just kept holding the torch. And then I start grabbing and helping them pull the big old cannon. And because prior to that, when I had fire, I was like zoned in on. Not them not having clothes on, but my torch staying lit. Like I thought that that was my job and I can't screw this up. And my fire goes out, you know.

[00:36:09] But, yeah, I was focused on me. I wasn't focused on them and their ding-a-lings and hoping they get wrapped in a vine or whatever. Like, that was so dumb. That was so dumb. But, again, it's something we all remember. It's a highlight of the Pearl Islands of episode one. We have a lot of highlights. And that was one of them. Yeah. How long was that first challenge? Oh, it was long. And we were doing all the work. Our tribe did all the work.

[00:36:37] And the Morgans just followed. And after we led the entire time, we finally see the beach. They steamrolled past us because we're exhausted. And then all of a sudden we passed them and put it into high gear. And we did it. And that was such a relief. Such a relief. I don't know if I would have been the first one going home at that point. If something, you know, if we would have lost.

[00:37:03] But our desire, we had more desire than the Drakes. We definitely, I mean, than the Morgans. Sorry. See, I got to remember the tribes. We had more determination than they did. And we put in triple the work. Yeah. I mean, that's quite literally the million dollar question. Because it is an incredibly close challenge. Despite, as you said, you being out in the lead. It really comes down to like six feet from Morgan winning. So, I know you said you didn't know if you'd be the first one voted out.

[00:37:31] But like, what names do you think would have been on the table if Drake went to tribal council on day three? Probably me and Fair Play. And I say that because if we look at the Morgan tribe, you know, Savage points to Ryan's shoulders as being the weakest compared to Rhino and compared to Austin.

[00:37:54] And where, you know, Tawana, Nicole and Dara are talking about Lil, although she gets water and although she does fire. I think everyone within their group was trying to find the weakest male and female. That would have ended up being us as well. Mm-hmm. Maybe if Ryan's shoulders would have taken his clothes off in the challenge, people wouldn't have thought he's as weak. It didn't matter what he did.

[00:38:22] I think his physique, them looking at him said, oh, he's weak. Yeah. Because don't tell me Savage was watching him the entire time when he's focused on his own challenge. Like, you don't focus on what everyone else is doing. You're worried about what you're doing and making sure that you give your 110%, which Ryan said he gave 120%, which I'm sure he did. I'm sure he did, yeah.

[00:38:49] But in the eyes of Savage, they look at who appears to be the weakest or, you know, they just want to point the finger because that's what Savage said to the girls. You ladies saw what I saw, right? You're putting words in my mouth now. What did I see? I'd rather him point a finger than something else. Right.

[00:39:10] I always look at Ryan's shoulder, Sandra, and I think that, like, oh, that could have been me in another life where I think that he, it's the season after our season. And I think that they liked having a person who was like the big fan who was on the show. And I think that, you know, in another world, like, I definitely could have been on a tribe where somebody like a Savage looks at me and says, hey, we got to get rid of this guy. And I totally agree. And it still happens today.

[00:39:39] But the problem is to nowadays, there's a lot more people that look like Ryan's shoulders versus, you know, it's more diverse. But back then, I think we had one or two people. And those are the ones you first go after, whoever is the oldest and whoever appears to be the weakest. Did you have any preseason thoughts about anybody from the Morgan tribe? What do you mean preseason?

[00:40:05] When you were traveling and you were spending time with them, did you have any, like, strong first impressions about the people from the other tribe? Anyone you wanted to, like, work with or anything? No, because like I said, we were on that one cargo ship. We were all sick rocking back and forth for hours. Then finally, you know, we get on the other ship and it's kind of calm. And, you know, we're just getting ready to do the media stuff that they're saying.

[00:40:33] I'm not thinking, like, who's going to be on my tribe? I'm just like, I hope I perform well. Like, I can't believe I'm out here. Oh, my God, I'm in Panama. You know, you don't. At least I was. And I wasn't even hungry. I was later on after the fact, I was hungry. But at that moment, like I said, there was even food there, a bunch of food and nobody touched it, not knowing that's your last supper.

[00:41:01] You know, because you're you're what's next. Am I prepared? But I never sized anyone up. Right. I did on Heroes and Villains because now I'm coming in with a different mindset. I've already played Survivor. Now we got 19 seasons that you can learn from and do your homework on. But back then for me, it wasn't like that. I wasn't like trying to like, let me see. Let me look at Mike and see what. Let me look at Rob. No, I did.

[00:41:29] What about when you were actually in the game? What was sort of like your sense on what was going on with Morgan in those first few days based on the limited things that you saw? Besides, I guess, their hot mess of a tribe. Well, I realized what a hot mess of a tribe they were when I went over there to take that tarp. That's when I realized how unprepared they were because I was comparing them to us, you know?

[00:41:55] So then I realized, like, these motherfuckers are ate up. You know, like, did they even do their homework? But before then, I didn't. I didn't. I'm not. I can't sit here and lie to you. Like, I was sizing up like Darren Tawana. No. I. They were on the other tribe. I didn't care about them girls.

[00:42:17] You know, part of this first episode and then even more so when the sewing machine comes that you're going to have some clothes that get made by the tribe where we're going to see in this episode where Krista makes the skirt for Rupert. And the resourcefulness of, like, trying to make clothes out of other things that you are wearing ends up being a big part of the season. Did you have to do any modifications to what you were wearing?

[00:42:45] I didn't because I didn't want to cut my pants up like Sean did because after he cut his Armani suit, he realized that at night he needed the sleeves and the bottom portion of the pants he cut off. Where mine, I could easily roll them up because they were more like capris. But we were all having issues because all our thighs were rubbing. Like, you know, the seam from the sewing on my pants. They were rubbing.

[00:43:14] Rupert had on heavy, heavy jeans. He was raw. Even Krista, who was real skinny and still is, even her thighs were rubbing against each other and chafing. So no matter what, we were all screwed. We really were because there's no change of clothes. It's what you have and that's it. So everybody was rubbing out there and we just needed some kind of relief. You did MacGyver something.

[00:43:44] I saw briefly, did you make a new pair of like sandals out of palm fronds? Oh, because my, my, um, I didn't want to walk around barefooted from fear of cutting the bottom of my foot and getting taken out of the game. That was the only reason I was trying to do that. Tell Colby that. Yeah. Yeah. And, um, and so I was like, but my, my feet just were wet the whole entire time because my shoes, I didn't have the right shoes. Back then they didn't say bring water shoes. That was on heroes versus villains.

[00:44:13] The kind of sneakers that I had, I think there was new balance. They never dried, but they weren't made like that. And then the sand would get in there and rub my pinky toe skin, like worst shoes ever. But you don't think these things through. They knew what they were going to do to us. They said, pack whatever you want, but whatever you pack, you carry. And I was like, I don't care. I'm packing all of this. I'm going to have me a different outfit every day. It's going to be solid colors.

[00:44:43] I could just move everything around and stay clean and smell good in a miserable situation. And then nothing, you know? So that's all I was doing with my, was trying to take care of them, protect the bottom while letting them air out. Sure. Yeah. I'm so curious to know what else is in your notes that you had about the episode. Oh, nothing. Um, about track. Let me see. Anything good.

[00:45:09] Or like anything that you wish we saw that we didn't from your three days in Panama so far. Oh, you know, Jeff always used to call me Sandra. He didn't start calling me Sandra until Game Changers. Wow. Even through your two winning seasons, he only called you Sandra? Is it Sandra or Sandra? And I said, it's Sandra. But Jeff, whenever you're talking to me, I, you know what I'm saying? Whether you say Sandra or Sandra, I know you're talking to me. That's like Tony.

[00:45:39] Tony can't say Sandra to save his damn life. Mm-hmm. Well, Sandra, you know, so, but I know they're talking to me. Um, oh, I wrote down about, uh, Nicole saying that Austin was a jerk for telling her to flash her boobs. Yes. You see how different the two tribes are? Yeah. Look, in fairness that they just saw Jenna and Heidi and that works for them.

[00:46:06] Sandra, you were a much more gentle pimp than Austin was. That was for sure. Well, I didn't mean to. Like, it just, it was, you know, it was, it just happened. Yeah, hold on. We have a special guest here. There we go. We have the big birthday four on the Mount Rushmore of July 30th. It's Troy's hand. Troy's hand. How are you? Good. Rob says, you know, I can't believe I'm here. Happy birthday. Thank you, sir.

[00:46:36] I'm, uh, do you want me to do? Do I disclose my age or whatever you'd like? If you'd like to. No, I mean, I'm 65 today. Wow. Wow. I know. No. You're eligible for social security. You better get it. Social security two years ago, but I get free, like a free grand slam Denny's breakfast. Just, uh, Sandra, are there discounts over 65? Yes. I think so. There's a menu for 55 and up. Yeah.

[00:47:05] I have to say hi to Mike. Mike, how are you doing? I'm doing great, Troy's hand. Happy birthday. So excited to see you here. Is everything going well? It's going great. Sandra, happy birthday. It's the first time I've been saying happy birthday to you. And look what I brought. What is it? You know what this is, Sandra? Oh, the fake idol I made on Game Changers that got me in a lot of trouble. It never got used, but it could have been, it could have been awesome if it ever got used. First off, that's an incredible looking idol.

[00:47:35] Oh my God. Yeah. You know, that's a fake idol. Look at, she tweaked that thing together. Like, and this is what I joked about in my post today. Like, is that an idol in your bra? You want to tell the story, Sandra? We might have to revisit that one, but yeah. So I had, I had that idol in my bra. I made it. I put it in my bra. I went off to look for the real idol. Forgot it was in my bra. I walk up to camp and Caleb says, either she's got three nipples or she got an idol in her bra.

[00:48:03] And then for hours, it became a whole thing. Why would you make a fake idol? Who were you going to, it became an entire, like, it became such a big thing that I didn't want to have shit to do with this idol anymore. Troy, and then we got a paper saying, uh, we didn't know the tribes were going to swap. Troy's end was the only one that said he'd take it and hand it up on a tribe where no one knew that that idol was fake. And that was game. I had it forever. So I had, I had found one. Yeah.

[00:48:31] So I had every day had to hide two idols in the jungle, then shove them in your shorts to go to tribal. And so like, I got two idols in my crotch and it's like, I thought like, for sure I'd get to use, like, it would have been great to use it. I almost was going to use it on the Sari idol train vote out and go like, Sari here, you know, it's so much worse. Don't take the knife in further. I know. I think I would have got murdered if they like, bro, it's already bad enough. Like you're going to give her a fake idol too.

[00:49:01] Wait. Okay. That idol got me in a shit ton of trouble. She's like, I don't want it. I said, give it to me. I'll take it. It's a good. Come on. This is extravagant, Sandra. Like this is not the little beach tchotchke that we see nowadays. What did you make that out of? So there was a lot of trash and debris on our beach and I just found that. And then I took back then they started putting all the dangly stuff off the torches and I

[00:49:28] went and grabbed as much as I could and I didn't want anyone else to make a fake idol with that stuff. So I made sure that I possessed all of it. And then I tried to put one together late at night in the shelter while they're sleeping. Cause I was sleep with, I think it was me, Caleb and Jeff Varner, the only ones that were sleeping in the shelter at first. And then everyone else was sleeping around the fire, like Michaela. I can't remember who else? Me. I don't know.

[00:49:59] You. So anyway, I decided to make this idol and then it just, it, it, it became, I never ever after that made a fake idol. It's like, it's like, it looks like this, right? It's like, what the hell? And, and Kayla's like, what's going on? What's something in her bra? I'm looking like. It was in the middle. It was in the middle. A chunk, like it was a piece sticking out, like go, what's, what she's hiding. So what's going on? So he basically confronted her and she's like, oh, I'm busted.

[00:50:28] She didn't even, I'm not even a second, not, no hesitation. I'm busted. Well, when they said like, either she's got three nipples or she has an idol in her bra, I turned around to walk off. And Troy's hand, was it you that grabbed me? Yeah. Yeah. I'm like, in my tracks. Like, like I'm stealing, like, stop. You ain't going nowhere. On day one. So I'm like, I can't get her in trouble. She's got to, she's got to be saved. What is she doing? She didn't tell me about no fake idol. So I'm like, she just did all that on her own. Like, what is she doing?

[00:50:58] Like, doesn't she realize like we can see any little mark? Like, I went looking for the real deal. Forgot about this fake idol I made. I'm like, the queen two-time winner. Is she really that dumb to come out of the woods with the, you know, I mean, I thought. I sure was that day. And then never again did I ever, ever in all my seasons of playing Survivor, did I ever think to make another fake idol because.

[00:51:28] You're so good at it. I really wanted to use it. I mean, I really did. It came off so bad. Like, for hours it was like a whole interrogation. Yeah. It was bad. How'd you get out of it? We ended up with a tribe swap. Oh. So you didn't go to another place. No one knew that she had made anything. I had, she basically was between me and her and only Caleb knew. He was on another tribe. Then he got voted out. I'm like, okay, I'm safe. No one knows. I don't know.

[00:51:56] Because Troy's in, it was talked about within the whole group. And then I put the, I put the necklace on, on the tree and I said, I don't want to have nothing to do with it. And you took it. But, but I ended up. No, but little one, when Malcolm was gone, I'm like, okay, he's gone. He, Caleb, he's gone. Tony, he's gone. Everyone was going away. I'm like, okay. I don't think anybody's even questioning what happened to that fake idol. Because half of the people were gone. Pretty much everyone was gone.

[00:52:25] Nothing came from it. So there's no reason probably to hash it out. By the time the merge came, nobody knew. Yeah. Wow. Wow. Who would have thought? We're talking about the, here we are talking about the beginning of Sandra's legacy and we find out something completely new. So, yes. I've never heard of this before. Yeah. Well, I mean, me and Troy's, I have talked about it throughout the years. Like it's out there somewhere. I don't think like in general, we always think everyone knows if you say one thing. Yeah. I didn't know this story.

[00:52:55] That's the secret story with the legend of Sandra. Yeah. Now I know you two are. That's the word that popped to me. Like you're making it. Come on. Troy, I know you two are close. How much did the shared birthday help to foster this friendship? Well, I think just like energetically, spiritually out there, we'd like, are like, listen, we're two people born on the same day. We have very similar, you know, like, okay, she's one twice, one zero. But it's like, why did we just connect?

[00:53:25] Like there was times we didn't have to talk. Honestly, I think there's two Leos out there and it, you know, it worked, it worked well. Like it's just two lions. We're like, look at all the cubs, like little peons. We're just doing, we'll do it. And I just kind of handed her over, like, you know, you're the queen. Like, what do I do? That wasn't the first thing he ever told me when he first met me. Tell them what you said to my face. So this is also in a post we did, like we're flexing. And at first time I met her and she's like, Troy's that? Oh my gosh. This is like when everyone was there.

[00:53:55] Like I was shocked. Like Danny Boatwright, Tom Westman, Richard Hatch, all these winners. And they knew my name. I was just kind of like, what? And so I said, she said something like, you know, nice to me. I said, if we ever play together, I'm going to vote 12 times. If we ever play, I'm going to vote 12 times. I'm going to vote 12 times. His first words to me and I never forget that shit neither. For him to tell me, if we ever play together, I'm voting you and I'm thinking like, God dang. Yeah. We ain't even drunk.

[00:54:25] This motherfucker's telling the truth. Okay. But how did he come back from that? How was I going to say? I, well, that's really tight. And then come on. That was in 2012. So I didn't think he was going to do it. He was just talking. No, I mean, but there she's sneaky. So we were always talking. I knew that she was, I was never really like her. If, if she had to vote my ass out, it's like, if it's Troy's in fine, I kind of always knew that in the back of my head, but we were pretty tight, like right off the bat.

[00:54:53] And which is in the beginning of a game like that or any season, it's like, if you feel safe for seven days, which I knew it would probably be seven before it's like, I'm like, I know I'm safe with Sandra. And if Sandra's got somebody, Varner, and then if we got a group of four, so I felt, you just felt safe with Sandra, honestly. And the way she talks, she makes you feel like you're safe, which you might not be.

[00:55:17] No, I was Troy's and always, I remember when Tony, we lost that snake challenge on 34. Although we're supposed to be talking about Pearl Island, I'm going to say this. We lost that one snake challenge, that snake challenge, the snake weighed like 400 pounds and it was in the water. And I remember, uh, uh, Tony came to me and said, um, uh, because, because we lost a snake

[00:55:42] challenge and Jeff and, um, Troy's and are both over 50 years old and Troy's and fell off the balance beam and Varner couldn't carry the head of the snake. One of them is going to go home first. And I'm like, this, he's talking, he, Tony's telling me a bunch of shit. Like I didn't believe nothing he told me. And I went and I told Troy's and, and I told Jeff Varner, you guys are going to have to catch him alone and see what he really means to do. And he confessed to both of them that he wanted me gone.

[00:56:10] But for me, he said, I said, Troy's and he said, you kept falling off the balance beam Varner. He said, you can carry the head of the snake. And that, and that's the truth. That's what he told me. But there had to be an all like, if what's he going to tell Troy's and he's not going to tell Troy's and the truth then who, and then that's when I found out Tony was coming after me and that's when we voted him out and he was like sheep to slaughter. And I'm like, that's what you get. Well, no, I didn't tell him the second I caught him digging a spice bunker.

[00:56:40] At the well. Remember that? It's like, he's got leaves and twigs all like, what the hell is he doing? I didn't know at the time, but I'm like doing something fishy. Like what does he get? What's he digging? What's he doing? So I knew at that point when he was giving me like the rigmarole, I'm like, okay, he, he, I knew I was a standard. And then once he talked shit about her, I'm like, okay, I know Tony's going. You know, since we're talking about some game changers, uh, you both were there with the winner of survivor 50.

[00:57:08] Was it surprising for either of you to see Aubrey go on to win survivor 50? I think the universe righted a wrong. I think for a while she, people always debate who should have won. And finally she got hers and she got it with interest, you know, for all her years of doubt, she got her two mil. Yeah. Um, you would have asked her years ago before she even started survivor. Okay. Here's the scenario.

[00:57:37] You know, I'm God speaking to you, you know, down the road on survivor 50, you're going to win and you're going to win 2 million. Would you take that over losing your first season? I think she probably says yes. So yeah, I mean, she played way different though in 50 to me than she did in game changers. I didn't recognize her game as much. Not, not really to me. I mean, she was, I was with her on both the tribes and she wanted an alliance with me. And I would tell her to her face.

[00:58:04] She was the, she's the only person that I've ever said, no, I don't want to have an alliance with you, which we know is contrary to what you want to do on survivor. Yeah. When someone offers you an alliance, you say, yes, I do. And you can ask Aubrey, she would be like, why you don't want to play with me? I was like, girl, you almost won your last season. No, you're dangerous. I know what you're capable of. You're good. No, I don't want to play with you. That's kind of what happened with her and Genevieve on this season. Yeah. She learned from you, Sandra. Yeah.

[00:58:33] No, I mean, she, she, she was really like she, cause she was connected to Tony in game. So that bad move of hers, which she didn't realize at the time once she's like, and then she was alone, she can't, she was crying to me on the beach. Like Dave, whatever, four or five, like, I think I'm done. Tony's gone. And now I screwed up. No, I don't. I said, just relax, Aubrey. You never know. This is a long thing. Da, da, da. And like, she ended up, you know, just like, you know, you know how it is. It's like changes daily.

[00:59:03] So it's like, you never know what's going to happen, but she played just way different. She was a little more, she really goofy kind of character with me and in game changers, always doing goofy stuff around camp and joking. And she didn't see, she seemed more serious than 50, which maybe she had to be. She didn't as jovial. I mean, I think at least, you know, Rob and I think our sense in talking with Aubrey is that she has kind of, I wouldn't say calm down. I think she is a little bit more of a grounded personality since those first couple of seasons.

[00:59:33] That goofy side is still there. But I think to your point, Troy, it also might have been like a, not this is a business trip, but certainly like I have come to embrace this, the game of survivor. Maybe not necessarily. Yeah. I think she took it as a, I mean, she, I think she had been talking to Sarah Lucina too. And Sarah's like, take it like a business trip. This is like, you know, you play Monopoly. So in game changers, you know, we talk about aliens and goofy shit about the universe and, you know, spirits and weird, you know, starting to.

[01:00:02] Like forest on fire with like a torch and just goofy stuff, you know, it's like, and she was still, you know, brains, but watching her. But, you know, again, I'm watching an edit. So I'm like, is the Aubrey that I played with in there somewhere? Like once in a while I get like a little, you know, cause she's like engaging. She ran over to Jeff and like jumped up in his arm after she won a challenge. Like she didn't, you know, she, that was like energy, crazy fun. And I did, she seemed that more low key, but maybe she had to be that way with, with all

[01:00:32] those people. So. Okay. Well, Sandra, we talked about survivor Pearl Islands and your birthday. We talked about the guys in their birthday suit for you. Troy's in. Do you have any, any special message for Sandra today? What special message? She talks to me every day. You got a special message for me? She knows, um, what my, my birthday wish is. So that's between us.

[01:01:01] And that's what I want to tell her today. That it's like, fingers crossed, everything's working out. It's my birthday. It's your birthday. No, Sandra is a super special person. She was like, honestly, one of the first survivor, I think maybe the survivor winner that I, the first survivor winner that I met. And ever since that, I just was like, I don't know. We had just a connection. I never, it was right off the bat. She was funny. She was like, you know, punching me. And it was like, you know, we were just.

[01:01:31] Was that in response to you saying that you'd vote her out? Well, yeah. Just two Leos getting together right off the bat. It's like, you know, so it's like, you know, we hit it off right away. We've been friends ever since we talk all the time. It's like, you know, and yeah, I don't know. What do you say about Sandra? I personally think that she's the best ever. I don't, I only, I have my reasons because I feel like she was the first person to win twice.

[01:01:56] She won her first season, you know, which, and then she won to me this best season ever of actually players. Heroes versus villains. As far as players, if you think about that whole cast and she beat all of them, I'm like, okay. Okay. That's it. Okay. Wait, can we stop that first? Troy's in. Do you have the survivor theme as your, as your ringtone? Yes, I do. You're good. Cause I was only like two, two, like, you know, I can name that.

[01:02:25] I don't blame them one bit. You know, I have a survivor ornament and it plays this song too. So during Christmas, all I do is press the button on my ornament. I'll be on set shooting and that the phone will go off, but it does the whole cycle. And they're like, what in the hell? And they're like, is that survivor? Cause it's a long story. Can I plug night cruise before we go? Yes, please. Of course.

[01:02:55] It's your birthday. Play anything you want. Anyone that's not following me yet. I'm on, I'm sassy SDT on Instagram, but we have a cruise next year, July 23rd through the 26th. If you want to celebrate my birthday with me and a bunch of other survivor players, we're going on Royal Wonder of the Seas out of Miami. I mean, it's going to be like 12 players so far that are going. It's going to be fun.

[01:03:24] We're going to the Bahamas. So it's on my Instagram. Okay. Who's going? Who's the 12? Troy Zan? No, Troy Zan, not this time. What? Maybe we will. Troy Zan, you want to come? Not yet. I want to come. Not yet. Like, I mean, I think what happened today was a good sign. Okay. Well, I told you to have him. We won't give you his good sign.

[01:03:49] Coach, Ozzy, Jam Jam, Todd, Tevin, Stephanie, me, Carolyn, Lauren, Abby, Laura, and Sierra. Wow. Quite the dirty dozen. Yeah. There you go. All right. Survivor Cruise next July. Follow Sandra on Instagram. Check that out. Anything else, Sandra? No, that's it. Okay. All right. Well, Troy Zan, what about for you?

[01:04:20] What's your birthday wish that you could tell us? My birthday wish? Yeah. Be careful what you say. Why? My birthday wish is that Survivor's on long enough so that I will play again and be the oldest winner ever. Oldest winner ever? Okay. Yeah. You got me to go now. For Traitors to call you, Troy Zan.

[01:04:49] Traitors is in the... There's been some little bit of talks going on there. Whoa. Troy Zan the Traitor? Dina Katz had some words. So, you know, you never know. Hey. Okay. Zan's going to go get him a shield. Let's have it all work out. You know, like, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So, Bob Crowley was, what, 50-something. So, I would beat him. Yeah. You got him beat. Yeah. And then, this was so fun, Sandra. Thank you so much for doing this.

[01:05:17] And we had a great episode last week with Kelly Wentworth talking about Kelly's real idol play back in Survivor Second Chances. And we'll have more fun all summer long. Mike, what else is coming up for you? Lots of Big Brother, Big Brother, Big Brother. Of course, it is a very Survivor-themed Big Brother season. Are either one of you watching Big Brother considering the Dean Devon's connection? I do. I do. I'm watching it. What have you thought been so far? I think they're going to get into a lot of trouble.

[01:05:46] I, Angela, I met Angela. She's kind of crazy. But I'm enjoying it. It's hard for me to watch the live on. I mean, I do have to hear about, so I'm able to do it. But because I get hooked. So, it's like, I don't want to. But also on TikTok, you get a lot of information in case you missed anything. But I hope they go far. But they could be in trouble already. You know, depending on who steamrolls through the season. Yeah. Okay.

[01:06:16] All right. I would never do Big Brother because it's 100 days. And I love my husband. And he would not support that. Okay. What if he went in there with you, Sandra? Yeah. No, my husband wouldn't do nothing. What about a short one, though, Sandra? What if it was like three weeks? If it was like the celebrity one, if they would consider me a celebrity. Oh, I'd fucking steamroll through that whole season. Call me. You're going to do it for 100 days? Absolutely not. Let's go. Let's go. Sandra, House of Villains. That's what you got to do. That's short.

[01:06:46] There you go. Dad, would you do House of Villains, Sandra? I could do House of Villains. Yeah. I can be a villainess. Yeah. Okay. All right. Man, we're worst cooks in America because I am an awful cook. All right. All right. Thank you, everybody. Happy birthday, Sandra. Happy birthday, Troy. Take care of a good one. Bye. Bye. Bye.