Tyson Talks

The good and bad thing about Tyson Apostol is that he never minces his words. The 29-year-old former professional cyclist had two sides to him in the ‘Survivor’ game. Some thought he was a free spirited joker and to others he was just plain cruel. No matter how you view him, Coach’s right-hand man always has something to say.

John Powell: So, has the scar healed after you were stabbed in the back?

Tyson Apostol: (Laughs) I think so. Sometimes I can still feel the sting though. For the most part, it is healed. I went out because I was too awesome and everyone was jealous of my good looks. It is kinda the story of my life but what can I change?

John Powell: I am very confused about the Brazil series in the sense that nobody seems to have any loyalty to anyone. It seems you got caught in the middle of all that.

Tyson Apostol: I knew there were people scrambling but I felt confident in the alliances that were built. I didn’t think I would have to be worrying until like the final five. I let my guard down. In my mind I thought people disliked Sierra enough to overlook all of my strengths and dominating gameplay.

John Powell: Why do you think there are so many blindsides this season?

Tyson Apostol: Here is what I think it is. It comes down to the fact that there are two people on Exile Island and that gave the tribes time to interact and do it in secret. I saw that coming. That is the point where it all started. That is why you have people jumping back and forth. It made for some exciting television. My blindside was one of the greatest ones in history. It definitely changed the momentum of the game.

John Powell: That is for sure. Speaking of Sierra, my opinion of her dropped so severely last episode. She made a decision and then whined about it when it didn’t work out.

Tyson Apostol: Exactly. Even in my discussions with her, she admitted she would have voted against me. From that point on, I knew exactly what she was going to do. The way you saw her in the last episode was the way she was the entire time. It wasn’t that she was scrambling and begging. It was that she thought she was entitled to have us forgive her, she was entitled to be back in the game and entitled to all this stuff. She didn’t even deserve it. I don’t think she was ever a mastermind. There was no way she was. She didn’t accept the consequences of her actions and just kept scrambling and whining. There was a time in the series that she was the "sweetheart" but to tell you the truth, throughout the show people in general disliked her. Living with a person like that does get on your nerves.

John Powell: Having watched the episodes now, has your opinion of anyone changed?

Tyson Apostol: Stephen is playing a much smarter game than I was giving him credit for and J.T. is not the player I gave him credit for. He is actually Stephen’s puppet. On the show, Stephen goes to J.T. and tells him what to do.

John Powell: If everything worked out to your liking, what were some of the moves you would have executed later in the game?

Tyson Apostol: Sierra would have been voted out and I would have continued to win immunities. I would have won any challenge that required skill or talent. Later, I was going to make it seem like I was voting Stephen out but actually vote Taj out.

John Powell: Would you have stayed loyal to Coach?

Tyson Apostol: At that point, my loyalties were to Debbie and Coach. Coming into the game, I didn’t care about friendships or alliances. I was there for myself. When you build alliances though, it is nice to know someone has your back. Coach and Debbie always stayed true to me so I would have stayed with them.

John Powell: If the final two were you and Coach, who would have won?

Tyson Apostol: Do you think Coach would have had a chance against me? Nobody liked the guy out there. I barely tolerated him. He was nobody’s best friend on top of that, I was killing all the challenges while he sat out or performed half-heartedly.

John Powell: If you had to do it all again, what would you have done differently?

Tyson Apostol: (Laughing) I would have won the million dollars. I would not have lost.

John Powell: If another All-Star ‘Survivor’ starts up, would you play again?

Tyson Apostol: Would you like to see me do it? (Laughs)

John Powell: Sure.

Tyson Apostol: I would definitely think about it but it would depend on where I am in life.