RHAP: We Know Survivor - Rizo Velovic Postseason Interview

Episode Date: June 25, 2026

Rizo Velovic Postseason Interview Survivor 50 comes to a close with a deep-dive post-season interview as host Rob Cesternino sits down with the unforgettable Rizgod for an exclusive look behind the scenes. Rob and Rizgod revisit the wild journey of Survivor 50, exploring the strategy, alliances, and personal moments that shaped one of the most talked-about seasons in franchise history. From playing back-to-back seasons to navigating tricky social waters and iconic twists, this episode is your ticket to understanding what really happened on and off camera. Rizgod opens up about his experience entering Survivor 50 just nine days after finishing Survivor 49, sharing the pressures of living up to his own legacy. He walks through the chaos of Vatu’s tribal dynamics, the scramble to form new alliances after the tribe swap, and his evolving bond with players like Cirie and Ozzy. Rob and Rizgod also break down key moves—like surviving by social awareness after the Kyle medevac, the infamous Mr. Beast coin flip that turned Tribal Council on its head, and the strategic calculus behind blindsides and idol plays. The interview takes a personal turn as Rizgod explains how he processed his jury vote, his take on endgame strategies, and what it’s like to be seen as both a superfine strategist and a target. – Rizgod’s approach to back-to-back seasons and mentally resetting between games – Social slip-ups and adaptation after falling out of favor with early allies – The formation of the Cirie-Ozzy-Rizgod alliance—a modern echo of old-school strategy – Wildcard moments like the Mr. Beast advantage and the shifting post-merge landscape – Candid discussion about final tribal council, jury perceptions, and Rizgod’s vision for his Survivor future As Rob and Rizgod analyze the highs and lows of Survivor 50, they ask: What does it really take to play—and win—against a cast of legends? How do you recover after a massive target gets painted on your back? Don’t miss this honest, behind-the-scenes breakdown and personal reflection on the strategies, betrayals, and bonds that define Survivor 50. Chapters: 0:00 Rizgod Joins Rob to Recap 1:20 Preparing for Survivor 50 Return 3:45 Early Vaatu Chaos and Alliances 7:59 Building Trust with Aubry Bracco 11:17 Surviving the Tribe Swap Shakeup 16:36 Dee’s Distrust and Idol Fallout 21:05 Ozzy Picks Rizo for Exile 24:21 After Exile: Strategic Losses Mount 29:44 Rick Devens’ Idol at Tribal Shocks 37:40 MrBeast Coin Flip Changes Game 40:19 Power Broker Twist and Aubry’s Survival 46:42 Orchestrating the Endgame Boot Order 59:23 The RIZGOD and ROBGOD Sign-Off To order Rob’s book, The Tribe and I Have Spoken, visit www.robhasabook.com Never miss a minute of RHAP’s extensive Survivor coverage! LISTEN: Subscribe to the Survivor podcast feed WATCH:  Watch and subscribe to the podcast on YouTube SUPPORT:  Become a RHAP Patron for bonus content, access to Facebook and Discord groups plus more great perks!

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What's going on, everybody? Here we have a medium dive with the Manda Myth the Legend. And, of course, the head of the Survivor world. And 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 you doing after the season? Rob, I've been great. I've been doing a lot of things. 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. And I'm like, holy shit, I'm ready to dive right in. All right. So 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 massive season with all these legends. What was going through your head? 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. 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. 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, who's 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. I probably should have practiced puzzles a little bit or maybe some fire, but, you know, ultimately coming into season 50 as a 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 make it that far. So why I put all my resources to that? And honestly, without 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 exactly what I'd say. Like every day of your life. I can have a lighter and I don't think I was beating that.

Yeah, you said you brushed up on the tape. Did anything you saw on tape help you in the game, or was that a hindrance? 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 Ozzie 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. 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. You really end up being, you and Aubrey actually are two people who walk away from this thing. but it doesn't look that way in the beginning. Yeah, you know, I would say 50 was a pretty rough start for the Rizziad. I probably started off a little high on sugar like a kid out of the candy store.

I'm seeing Colby, I'm seeing Stephanie. I mean, you see me in the first challenge. Like, go Kyle, go Colby. And literally as soon as we hit the beach, I'm getting to know everybody, not as Rizzo the human, but as Rizzo the super fan. So I'm asking Colby, Colby, like, why did you take Tina to the end and lose a million dollars? Stephanie, how'd you feel coming back from Palau to Guaoulo? Guatemala being a hero to a villain.

I'm asking Q about, does he really like all these people from 46 or like, do they ate 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. I mean, they all, you know, kind of on the wrong foot with me. So I started off really bad. I think had Vot 2 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 But before the Kyle Metabact 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. 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 in Q, Genevieve, Kyle and I were together.

and then obviously Stephanie, Kyle, Genevieve, and Colby were together, and once Kyle got Medevac, 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. Obviously, I got to know Colby in 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, me and Colby, obviously, as we've seen over, you know, the whole season, and 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. And if we lost after Kyle got medevac, I think Aubrey, if not Aubrey, it would have been Angelina,

one of those two being the first food. But I think Aubrey was the one in the 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,

because what we didn't see is my relationships with everybody else in Batu was honestly a lot closer than Aubrey. My top alliance members, if I did like a social ranking, Genevievee was my number one for the entire pre-swept. 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 throwing which we didn't really see too much on TV 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 And 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. 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. 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, Rizzo, 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. 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 Ozzy 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. Well, Aubrey did really great was, 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. 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 15 person merge, well, sorry, a 14 person jury, which is

Kind of insane to say, but forever and remember Oji Vatu. Okay. So you end up going from this super strong strive 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 Oji Vatu and realizing that, like, wow, I'm now going into another tribe where nobody has any idea of really who I am.

am 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 to honestly to this day, I don't really know what made Surrey 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 Surrey and showing her how much I really wanted to play with her that really bought her in. Because at first, I mean, Surrey was kind of like Colby, like Riz God. Like, I'm not calling you Riz God. 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. 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? 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, but 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, yes. 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 the, on season 50 on even playing field

because the reality is, as well, 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. 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. 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 else Survivor 48? Jeff Proops 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.

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 Callow 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 Dee and Tiffany in this like girls OG Kalo alliance. So I kind of played that as well to my benefit. And, you know, what we didn't see is I actually try to pull Rick Devin's into the fold

because I knew Surrey and Rick Devinz was good at OG Seala because Surrey told me Rick was the one that gave Aubrey the idol. Obviously Rick lies to Surrey 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, okay Rizzo, I can't, I can't, you know, I can't stay with you. So we actually had a plan during that Charlie Bo, 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 the entire tribal is like playing with his beard to cue for me to play the shot in the dark one. 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, 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 seal, or sorry, my swap seal a game was really just trying to build

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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. Was that where you 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 Dee realized is once we got on the beach

and it was very apparent with the tribe breakdown that Savannah 1, D realized that I probably was lying about our placements. And going into it, I kind of told you like, hey, I'm sure that you know, because there were rumblings in Oji Vatu, like, oh, like I suspected Savannah 1. So if Oji Vatu felt that, I'm sure the rest of the cast did. So I kind of went into DeApolligua. 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.

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? Honestly, it's actually crazy because Charlie was the person I actually went to first at Swap Sula.

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 going to tell you everything I know about this game to prove to you that I want to play with you. And I didn't really know he was going behind my back until I started to become closely aligned with Surrey and D.

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 realized 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. the middle of the night. He's like, Risa, who did you tell about the Billy Irish Idol? And he just makes a complete fallacy that didn't need to happen. 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 Surrey, going to D 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. Once D 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 D were kind of a pair. So I think once Camilla and D 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 Ceri about the, idol and you end up making this really strong bond

with Surrey which is going to really carry through most of the game and so after Charlie goes home that really Surrey wants to get this what does she call it this this Pali alliance with you

and Ozzie going yeah were you excited for the Ozzy alliance yeah you know it's so interesting because I as a superfan And kind of like, you know, reading in all these articles, I knew Surrey 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 when to me it was like bold face in your face. Surrey and Ozzy were together. But that's also naive for me or ignorant for me to say, because I was so closely aligned with Surrey. But what I was super excited about was Surrey and Ozzie kind of fit the exact same trio I had in 49. Ozzy, you can say has some parallels to Savannah being the comp beast that can win immunities when needed.

And Surrey 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 a public idol that can kind of strategically maneuver himself through the game. So very similar to us, like, wow, this is exactly what I did in 49. And obviously, like, Surrey and Ozzie have legacy bigger shields than Savannah and Sophie were for me. 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 Billy Elish Boomerang Idol trademark, and she denied that she sent it to you, 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, and you see me say it to Surrey 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 Surrey 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 Surrey's extra vote because I was super, super, super locked in with Genevieve.

And when we go to the water well, I'm like, Genevieve, you gave me the out of right. Genevieve was like, who did you tell? And I told her honestly. I said, I told Dee and Surrey because I needed them to save me. and then she decided to lie to me. And to be honest, I bought it because up into this point, she's never lied to me. I 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. So I kind of use that to my advantage a little bit when we would talk about votes. I'm like, listen, guys, you could vote for me, but if I go home with his 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 honestly 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? 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 allegiance is to a big group of people than being a part of a vote? But in reality, what ultimately end up happening was it made me look or it put me in the best position in the game because I avoided three voteouts, 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. Genevuey was one of my closest allies and Camilla just voted in tribal before. So I kind of

got like, you know, it was terrible. I lost three and 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 Surrey Ozzie 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, Ozzie, 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 Ozzie are giggling. Like, we just saved our idols. Nobody knows me, you and Surrey are together now. And now we can play the middle and really run the tables, which ultimately it was a good thing. So after you come up. 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, 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. then 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 in the 50, we saw that with Surrey. We see that with Dee, Genevieve. You know what I mean?

And Dee was somebody I was like, listen, D is kind of like Savannah in many facets. Great loyal players, great with challenges. And D was a winner. She had a huge target on her back. So I was ready to ride with D pretty, I mean, I'm not going to say to 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 Surrey, Ozzie, and

then Dee at that point were the only people that knew about my idol. So the fact that D spilled my secret really did upset, oh, it didn't really upset me. It actually hurt me because I gave D my entire game. 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 work. And the work kind of spread a little bit. And Surrey and I realized like, hey, are we going to really hitch our wagon to D and save her?

Because if me and Surrey really wanted to, I promise we could have saved D in that boat and sent coach out the door. 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 Surrey and I discussed,

I mean, Ozzie as well, 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?

Because D is going to slip under the radar. Let's stay with the honor 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

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 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 O.G. Callow, where it was me, Chrissy, coach, Joe, and Genevieve as a five. And Colby basically told me, like, listen, the honor and integrity people are going to come to you and pull you into this alliance.

So I was like, okay, great. And Kobe 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've seen the episode, he's like, Rizzo, you're going to replace Colby and be a part of the Four Horseman. It was already a named alliance, but they just wanted me to be the fill-in. So, of course, 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 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 spin 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 duo's twist, 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, Surrey and I, mostly Surrey'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 to. rode with them a little bit, a couple more boats because I felt like I had good win equity and

good prospects against the four horsemen. But ultimately, I think with coach leaving, and coach was kind of blindsided by me pretty hard. And 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 at his core, 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 ris god of 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 Horseman was

a thing. I went back, I watched that live tribal council at the duos, tribal council, and you were so fun to watch during that. You were really just

having a field day 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 winner's 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 40, 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 Devons pull an idol out of tribal.

Doing Rick Devons things. Yeah, Rick Devons doing Rick Devons things where it's never happened before. And obviously as a fan, I know Jeff has said after winners out where 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 because it's season 50? I'm going berserk because also Rick Devons 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 Devons? And I was like, I guess I did, like, I didn't really realize it was literally just my innate reaction to everything because 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 a tribal doesn't matter if you have a good social game back I can. All right. So after the duos, I believe Christian ends up being the next person to get brought up. Did you have a relationship with Christian? Yeah. Actually, I'm very glad that we're 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. 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 Emmylies. It was the Rick Devons. And then kind of like Jonathan, he was kind of holding very close with and obviously Surrey. And Christian kind of, I felt like Christian was kind of the big target anyways just due to his likeability and just having reputation.

So it was kind of hard for him, especially for playing as much as he did in the premurge 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. 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, 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. Surrey, 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 correct. I'm like, guys, what are we doing?

Christian is the biggest threat here. And Emily and Christian, and it was mostly Emily, to be honest, devised an Aussie blindside plan. That was like the counter attack was we need to get Ozzy out. Ozzy's playing such a great game. And to Ozzy'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, was his hand held by me and Surrey at times? for sure, but I ultimately think Ozzy has improved the most that he's ever did. And had Ozzy made the end, I think had a really, really good shot at winning, 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 Ozzy out. Let's protect Ozzy. And I'm like, guys, like, let's get Christian out. 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 be like, what are we doing? Yeah.

Yeah. And 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. I want to ask you about the auction that did you realize, and in talking to 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 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, 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 ends up 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 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, 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. and it's actually a PBNJ sandwich. It's half of a PBNJ sandwich.

And Jeff decides, all right, Rizzo, are you going to go with this PBNJ sandwich? Are you going to go with this covered item? And I'm like, 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 PBNJ.

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, eh. And then everyone's like, why the fuck are, what? That's exactly what you need Rizzo. And I was like, well,

I'm not open for a burger, but like I'll eat it. So like, I think they were really upset because I wasn't grateful because I'm like eating it like a kid eats broccoli, you know, at the dinner table. I'm like, 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 in a quarter of the chicken breasts with a few broccoli. and I tried to 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. So I was like, you know, I don't want to drink this and, you know, go and shit in the ocean.

And Jonathan, it's 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 stopped.

people. Yeah. Okay. This is also the same round that has the Mr. Beast coin and then ultimately Stephanie gets voted out. I know you were very excited during all of this. 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. Beas 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. 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, everybody's name was up for grabs. Literally everyone probably besides Surrey, 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 Devons and like, you know, put our guns down and just make it another round. So going into that vote, Rick Devons was the consensus vote to go home. And when Mr. B shows the coin flip, everybody's like, oh, my God, like, who's going to flip this coin?

And very quickly, Rick Devons is like, let me do it. And there was, you know, like, Joe and a couple people were like, we can't let Rick Devin slip this coin. And I'm like, all right, do you want to fucking flip this coin 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. 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 Surrey Ozzie 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 wanted. If Rick didn't hit it and the pot was only a million dollars and 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. 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've 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 medalli or the medalli. galling of power from Nicaragua. It worked, so I think it was all in all

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Boat's Nick. His name is Hay Hey. His name is Yum. when he goes in my tum-tum in theaters July 10th. After the Mr. Beast coin, Mr. Beast Superviewer Advantage, we have really maybe the most important day of the game 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. 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 Ozzy not said anything,

Aubrey definitely would have went home. And the reason why I was okay with this was because up into this point, I did a great job still maintaining my poor horseman 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, Joe, and Jonathan and Rick Devins, who is just trying to fight another day. And I felt at that moment I can flip on Surrey and Ozzie at seven with these four guys. But the reason this all changes is because Ozzy, very quickly, like right as soon as we got to the beach, Ozzy 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, crazy Brooke from Vanuatu, the first boo. He would have gone to everybody and been like, yo, Ozzie told me Rizzo and Surrey have a final three. Ozzie, or gave Surrey an extra boat. Like, 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 comment. in a secret scene 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 Surrey and Ozzy and Aubrey is doing this,

I'm like, holy shit, I need to course correct. Because if I tell Ozzy to play his 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. If I burn them and keep Ozzie, I just have to be with Ozzie and Surrey 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 Ozzy out? Absolutely. Did Aubrey want

Ozzy out. I mean, she did because it was the only way to save her. So ultimately, what I think happened is Ozzie sunk his game. Aubrey put the plan in motion, but I truly decided Ozzy was to go home. So had we made the final three, and it was Joe, Jonathan, and I, because had Aubrey make the final three, 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, I realized Joe and Jonathan and I needed to make the end. And I knew, I knew Sari wanted Ozzie to stay.

You saw me in confessional saying like, I know Ozzy wants or Surrey 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 Surrey because Surrey 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 Surrey's relationship was very good, even after that. Yeah, that sort of re-contextextual.

how I look at it to hear you say it that way, because it wasn't just that Ozzie telling Aubrey tanked his game. It tanked your version of the game working with Ozzie and Surrey 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 playing both sides. I ultimately have to pick a side once he does that. and am I going to pick the side against 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 doing this, we're going to the final three? Yeah, that round specifically when, you know, Aubrey was probably going on a wall, and Ozzy was, I don't know, doing whatever, probably cooking the rice. Joe Jonathan and I got together, did a formal handshake and was like, listen, guys, are we doing this? Are we going ahead and blindsiding Ozzie 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 and 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, the boot order was exactly what we wanted. I know there's some conversation with why not bring Surrey at 4 instead of Aubrey. Because Surrey, just like Aubrey, doesn't have really good track records and individual immunity challenges. But this was my thought process. Aubrey and Surrey at Final 4, that gives Surrey 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. We have zero, zero shot at winning the game. And I needed a move against Surrey for my resume because beating Surrey in fire or like having Jonathan beat Surrey in Fire isn't a move.

I needed to say I got out Surrey and I was Surrey'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 Surrey out. So Rick at 7 was always the plan.

The plan was Tiff at 6, but she won immunity, so it became Ceree. Then it ended up being Tiff. Joe Jonathan and I felt like Aubrey was the best person that we can beat in a competition and not. That's ultimately the reason why. But she came in clutch and won the Final 4 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.

And I've thought about this final tribal council a lot. And I think that your vote to me is the most interesting of every. 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 end 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 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, I felt that, not that I felt, there were two very strong factions,

one pro-Jonathan side and one pro-Aubbard 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, I knew I would have been the only person voting for Joe. So I said, to be quite honest, that did hurt Joe's feelings. And 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, I really felt like Aubrey, while didn't have the most agency in the game,

moved the game with intention. Whereas I felt like if 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 that you are the reason why Ozzie and Surrey go home in the same boat? I felt like him boating with Surrey 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 Surrey 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, but still get out Surrey 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 Surrey and said, Surrey, this is your move. Because let's talk about that move. Whose move is it for Emily to go home? It's Surrey'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. I think even when it comes to Christian and he didn't really manage that well. 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. Aubrey's relationships that she 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. I've heard you talk about how you felt like that there were certain people you could beat in 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 of myself, wow, like I'm playing so well. I literally know Stephanie has a steel of a vote. 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, Survivor's 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 because 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. So I think, 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 Ozzie, 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 and I 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.

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 the jury thinks. And that's why I put myself in the best position to get to the end. And, you know, I don't know what would have happened,

obviously, 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 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 how'd I won? I don't know, but I think 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 that day. And head back out. 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 would play Survivor. I hope to play. Honestly, my dream is to play a third time

win and retire. Same. Yeah, right. And honestly, if I somehow, I do think if I ever come back, 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. My dream, honestly, is to play Survivor again, give it my all, win an immunity,

and then I'll be happy. Obviously, I want to win the game and cement myself as one of the greats to ever play. But whether that's Survivor 54, Blood versus Water, Survivor 60, Survivor 100, whenever Jeff gives me the call, I'll be there, whether it's tomorrow or 10 years or 30 years from now. I'd play this game when I'm 75, Rob, truthfully.

So I don't know. I think I'll have... Well, when you're 75, I don't want to talk about how old I'll be. Yeah, I don't know. You're pretty old. No, I'm just joking. 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 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. Yeah, I see a lot of basketball. games. Yeah, a lot of basketball games, a lot of baseball games. I play in a men's basketball league, which is honestly pretty embarrassing because 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, 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. I do feel like, though, I have a really good shot of making it to the end again and hopefully winning, but that is to remain to be seen. Let me ask you a deep cut question that is sort of a little bit off of this. One of the things you talked about in your Survivor 49

preseason was that you referenced a book called How Champions Think. I read it on your recommendation. Very interesting book. A lot about how golfers think about the mental game

and how it gets them focused and ready to play. And sometimes these people are beating themselves because 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 Africa, but yeah, How Champions Think was the only book I read. And the reason for that is I needed a book to remind me of how great winners and sports history think, Michael Jordan, all the greatest golfers.

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 Riz 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? And what that book really taught me is Rizzo, you are a winner. no matter what, you are a winner. Whether your first boot or the actual winner, you have won this already. So I went in there with guns of 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 Surrey, Ozzie, Coach Colby. Are you going to rise to the occasion and get what you want, 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. 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 Sester Nino-Amazon-type game. 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. Rpool 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, not only one, 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. 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 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 patrons and all of the people that love Rob, Sesternino, and love the Riz God, I think it would be a great way to end this podcast by signing out 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 Sestrino here. Thanking the Rob God for joining us on a medium dive on Survivor 50s, fourth place finisher. Scott. 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 taking it from me, the ROB, GOD. Take care, everybody. Have a good one. Bye.