Interview with Jesse from Survivor 43
Why are you here on Survivor?Other than the million dollars, right? That should be one of everybody’s first answers! (Laughs.) I’m on Survivor because I want to set an example for my family, to set an example for my son and my daughter. Everything I do in life really is about doing what’s best for my family. And I think that to be out here, to play this game, to chase this dream is what I want them to see. It’s the example that I want to set for that.What’s your history with watching Survivor?I watched it when I was younger. I definitely remember watching Michael Skupin fall in the fire on season two. I think the last season of the early seasons I watched live was Boston Rob and Amber in All-Stars and the whole proposal. That was the last season I remember watching live when I was younger. But then I ended up getting back into it because I got a Ph.D. in Political Science, and I studied voting behavior for a while. And I wanted to find something to watch that was related to voting and related to social politics. And I was like, “What is out there that I could watch and enjoy in my downtime?” And Survivor is all about that. It’s all about voting, all about social politics. And so I came back around to it around Ghost Island, and I sort of fell back in love with it and rewatched all the seasons. I’ve watched Australian Survivor, Survivor New Zealand. I’ve listened to all the podcasts. So I’m a huge fan of the show. And I’m very excited.Give me one Survivor winner and one non-winner you identify with the most.So for the winner that I identify with the most, I’d have to go with…this is tough. I want to say Tony. (Laughs.) But I’m gonna say Jeremy. I’m gonna break the rule and go with Jeremy and Tony. Because I think both of them were motivated by their family, at least what you saw on TV. They were out there to play the game, and they were playing the game with their family in mind. And that’s something that I plan to do.For a non-winner that I identify with the most, this is gonna be recency bias, but I’m gonna go with Shan. She has a sort of history with gang affiliation. And I do as well. When I was 16, I jumped into a gang. And I sort of navigated my way out and ended up getting my GED and getting a Ph.D. I believe Shan has a Ph.D. as well. So I identify with Shan in that respect.What’s your favorite moment in Survivor history?I think my favorite moment might be Parvati’s double idol play in Heroes vs. Villains. I thought it was really cool. Idols are just awesome and fun to have in the game. And I’d love to find one out there and be able to play it in some sort of unique way that’s never been done before.That being said, how eager will you be to look for advantages in the game?I know everybody says, “Don’t do it.” It’s so cliche now. In the first episodes, everybody’s like, “The number one mistake is to go out on your own and look for an idol.” I’m going to be really tempted to look for an idol on Day 1. (Laughs.) Just because, I mean, this is such a unique opportunity. It’s only once in a lifetime. I kind of want to just go for it. So I’m going to be extremely tempted.What’s one life experience you feel has prepared you most for the game? I don’t know if I can boil it down to a single life experience. But like I mentioned, going from being in this position when I was a teenager of being in a juvenile hall, being a gang member, having a tattoo on my face and head. Thinking that the next step was going to be, prison and finding a way to take whatever opportunities I could to pivot away from that and get into a Ph. D. program. I ended up in Berkeley, going to Duke, and getting a Ph.D. And now I just bought my first home with my wife. We’re living on a cul-de-sac. (Laughs.) So I think that sort of journey that I’ve had, just navigating life’s challenges and finding a way to make it and come out on top, I think that’s prepared me for this game.What excites you the most about the new era of Survivor?I think it’s the fact that there are just so many unknowns. 41 and 42 kind of blew up the whole game. Everything was different. Twenty-six days, no rice, idols you have to say crazy phrases, and all this randomness and unknown aspects to the game. And we don’t know going in if it’s going to be like 41 or 42. Or if they’re going to revert back and maybe bring Fire Tokens or go back to an earlier season’s format. I think the fact that there’s just so much unknown is very exciting. We’re just walking into the unknown, and I really enjoy that aspect of it.What do you think people will perceive you as? So I have tattoos on my arm. I think my default face at home is just a very furrowed brow and stern. But I think I’ve just been trying to be more myself out here around people. Be who I am when I’m with my wife and my kids in my comfort zone. And that’s really hard to be vulnerable like that. But that’s when I’m my most friendly, my most happy. So I’m gonna really try and bring who I am at home with my family out to this game and break any sort of perceptions that people might have that I’m unfriendly and not approachable.What type of player are you looking for in an alliance?I think I’m looking for somebody who’s dependable, willing to just talk through strategy and bounce ideas off of, and who’s thoughtful about it. I don’t want anybody who’s hard to predict in my alliance. (Laughs.) I like people who are predictable. And I like people who I can count on. So I’m gonna look for somebody who’s stable. (Laughs.)What is the one thing you told yourself you wouldn’t do in this game?What did my wife tell me not to do in this game? (Laughs.) I guess the one thing I don’t want to do on this game is, if I’m lucky enough to make it to Final Three, I don’t want to tear down the other people’s games that are in Final Three as well. I think that a lot of times, people want to tear down other people’s games and just be a negative nelly on the people who they’re sitting with. But I think it’s really important to build the other people’s games up, but also build your game just enough so you can show that it was better than theirs. Not to be too long-winded or anything. But in academia, when you’re writing a paper, you want to build up the strawman argument. You want to have this counterargument look strong, and then you want to say, “But here’s why my argument is better. And so I definitely don’t want to go into final Tribal and say how weak everyone else’s games were, and “you all suck” or anything like that. I want to build everyone up and just talk about why my game was strong.What’s the best advice you received before coming out to play?The best advice I received was from my wife, who told me just to be myself and have fun.What celebrity or fictional character would you want to come out for a Loved Ones visit?I’m gonna go with Kendrick Lamar. Right before we flew out, he announced that he was going to drop his new album, and he’s dropping it while I’m out here. So let’s get him out here so I can ask him about his new album. Next, check out our interview with Survivor 43 contestant Dwight Moore.
