Read on for my interview with Brad, and make sure to check in with Parade.com every day for interviews with this season’s contestants and other tidbits. Survivor 41 premieres on September 22 with a special two-hour episode on CBS. Tell us a bit about yourself. Coming to you live from the white sand beaches of Fiji, this is Brad Reese with season 41 of Survivor. So I’m 49 years old. I am a cattle rancher from Wyoming. And you might have to fact-check me on this, but I believe I’m the first Survivor contestant from Wyoming. So kind of neat, kind of fun to have that role. What’s your history with watching Survivor? It started two years ago, actually. My daughter heard Holly from season 21 when she was giving a motivational speech at a convention. And my daughter came home, and she said, “Dad, why don’t we watch Survivor? I met one of the survivors. We need to watch.” And I was like, “Well, sure.” And so we watched season 21, which was fantastic. So I thought, “Well, this is great. Let’s watch another one.” So we watched another one, and it was [season 23 with] Ozzy. And Ozzy was just passionate. He was on fire, and he lost it in the end to Sophie. But it was amazing. And I just looked at that, and I said, “Oh man, I got to take a run at that.” His passion moved me, and I just loved it. Give me one Survivor winner and one non-winner who you identify with the most So a winner I really liked is Tony. In season 40, I thought he was fantastic. I love his energy. I love his recklessness. A little bit of a gunslinger; that’s a little bit of my language. He’s probably my favorite winner. And obviously, my favorite loser is Ozzy! Man, that guy is the best player never to win. Sorry, Ozzy. What’s one life experience you feel has prepared you most for the game? It’s probably just Wyoming in general. Because as a cattle rancher in Wyoming, it is a tough life. You’ve got the elements; you’ve got a lot of stuff that’s hammering you and making you mentally tough. When you’re out in 10 degrees below weather, and you’re trying to feed the cows, and the tractor breaks down. You got wet hydraulic oil dripping on your fingers, and you’re cold, and you’re miserable with 30 miles an hour wind blowing snow down your back. You got to just suck it up. So I really think that has prepared me mentally for the game of Survivor. What do you think people will perceive you as? That’s a fantastic question. I am not your typical rancher. Your typical rancher loves his horse, and he loves his cows, and he spends a lot of time with him. And I love all that, but I also love a lot of other things. I got to have my fingers into something and going in different directions a lot. I’m kind of a hard guy to put a finger on. So when other competitors view me and they look at my life. I’m a big tall guy, 6'5" with a lot of curly hair, I kind of think they’ll view me as a little bit of a wild man. What do you desire in an alliance partner? Loyalty, man. I don’t care who you are, where you are. If I can see eyes that are kind and that have some loyalty in them. I don’t care where the physical is; I don’t care about anything else. I just want somebody who has kind eyes. What’s your current game plan for when you touch down on the beach? I have been locked up like a thoroughbred horse! (Laughs). Just held in his bay, ready to go. So when that gate springs open, man. I don’t want to become this threat, running around bossing people and telling them what to do. But I’m going to be active with my hands, man. I’m going to hit the beach; I’m going to start building shelters. And as you start working and sweating with people, that’s the best bond you can build with people. So I just hope to start being able to build bonds and connections through work, but not too aggressively. You can’t push things too fast to start with. What will people underestimate in you the most on Survivor? Oh, they’ll probably underestimate my social game just because I’m going to be active physically with my hands. You know, everybody is strategic. I don’t think anybody’s gonna underestimate anybody in this season. You can just tell everybody’s a player; everybody’s a fan. So there’s no underestimating there. But the social part of it. I think maybe once they get to know me, they’ll kind of go, “Whoa, this guy’s a little bit deeper. There are a little more layers to that onion than I first thought.” How much authenticity do you plan on bringing into the game? Authenticity is kind of what I am. So I intend to bring a lot of authenticity to this game, even as a fault. If I tried to hide that and get away from that, I believe it would actually be worse than just being who I am. Which is more important to your game: Strategy or social? I’d have to say it’d be the social part of it. I mean, I love strategy. I love working the numbers and the angles, trying to find the advantages. But socially is where I hang my hat. That’s what I treasure most in people and in life. So I really think the social part of the game is going to be one of my bigger strengths. Next, check out our interview with Survivor 41 contestant Erika Casupanan.
