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“I Just Thought I Could Trust My Friend” – An Interview with Survivor: Micronesia’s Ozzy
by David Bloomberg -- 04/21/2008

 
Ozzy figured he was in a good position, with the immunity idol and an alliance that included a friend from outside the game. But he just never saw the knife coming for his back. In this exclusive interview, Ozzy tells RealityNewsOnline how he changed up his game, how his alliance formed, where his relationship stands with Amanda, and whether his friendship with Parvati will be affected outside the game.

It might seem like Ozzy should have known people would be gunning for him, but he had good reason to believe otherwise. In this interview, he explains what went wrong and why he made certain decisions along the way.

RealityNewsOnline: Hello, Ozzy, and thanks for taking the time to talk to RealityNewsOnline! When I interviewed you after Cook Islands, you said you “probably screwed up a bit in my strategy in that I didn’t do enough politicking and did too much fishing.” How did you take that into account this time around?

Ozzy: I tried to do a little more politicking and I think I would’ve been good, if I had just played that stupid idol.

RNO: I’ll jump right to the obvious question – why didn’t you?

Ozzy: I’m stupid. I just thought I could trust my friend – I thought Parvati was my friend and I thought we were good. And that was not the case. I got stabbed in the back a few times, twisted blade and all that.

RNO: How did you end up so quickly in an alliance not just with Parvati, but with Amanda and James as well?

Ozzy: It just fell into place really. Parvati and I were friends outside of the show, going into the show, so we knew we had to team up. Her and James had rapport and Amanda and her had rapport. It seemed like the obvious choice, it just happened. The other two people who knew each other were Eliza and Ami, so they were obviously going to team up. Nobody trusts Jonathan, and I knew Jonathan and Eliza were going to get together. Cirie was sort of the odd one out and Yau-Man was sort of the odd one out. It just sort of fell into place that way.

RNO: Did you ever consider working with Jonathan, or did your previous time with him on Cook Islands prevent that?

Ozzy: I did, but Jonathan wanted to get Parvati out. Stupid me, I fought to keep Parvati safe. Shame on me, I should have probably gone with Jonathan. It’s just one of those things. It just sucks.

RNO: Earlier you mentioned that you thought you were all good. But why would anybody have wanted to take you to the end, knowing your challenge skills and popularity?

Ozzy: The thing is, it wasn’t like we had to go to the end together. We just had an alliance to make it to the top five together, and then all bets are off. I was like, if I lose at that point, I’d gladly go home, that’s fine. I did what I could to keep her safe in the beginning of the game. It was sort of like reexamining the events leading up to it. I should not have ever trusted her to actually keep her word.

RNO: Will this have repercussions outside the game?

Ozzy: Yeah.

RNO: What else did you learn from your first time around that you tried to put into effect this time?

Ozzy: I learned – I just really tried to cultivate relationships with everybody. It didn’t work out as well in the end. I couldn’t quite see eye to eye with Eliza and Jason. Outside of the game, they’re actually really cool people. But when you’re out there on the island, the game messes up your relationships a bit. I tried to play an all-around better game. I almost had it – if I had just played that stupid idol.

RNO: Do you think your game was hurt by people having seen you the first time around?

Ozzy: Yes. The reputation precedes you. When you’re seen on TV doing all the things I did, there’s not much I can do to persuade people I’m not as capable as they think or deflect that energy. People were going to think that regardless. And if I didn’t perform up to that standard, they’d laugh and say, “he’s a big idiot.” I guess I proved that a little bit. That performance I gave on Cook Islands was hard to beat. So I had to play differently and come at it from a different angle. It’s kind of a miracle I made it as far as I did, because people were gunning at me from the very beginning and somehow I was able to skirt around it for 27 days.

RNO: Did you realize how hard Parvati was playing the game?

Ozzy: Yeah, I thought she was playing, though, for the betterment of our alliance.

RNO: Switching to a different person, what is the status of your relationship with Amanda?

Ozzy: We’re still seeing each other. We’re dating, we’re taking it mellow, day by day.

RNO: Did you realize how jealous she was when you were hanging out with Alexis immediately after the merge?

Ozzy: Oh, she wasn’t really that jealous. It was just taken out of context a little bit.

RNO: What was the most eye-opening thing you saw on TV that you didn’t know about while you were there?

Ozzy: That very last episode, the conversation with Cirie and the girls. That was it, everything else I pretty much had an idea of what was going on.

RNO: It looked like Cirie whispered something to you when Jason was awaiting everybody’s “guarantee” of safety. What did she say?

Ozzy: We were just talking about whether we should make a deal or not.

RNO:Was it clear at that point that everybody was lying to him?

Ozzy: I thought so.

RNO: Do you have anything else you’d like to tell us about your time on Survivor?

Ozzy: I saw God a few times.

RNO: Would you care to expand on that?

Ozzy: Being out and being in a situation where you’re totally removed from society and you’re in the natural world without anything to distract you or take away from the pure experience that nature can often offer. I had some epiphanies and realizations about life and things in general. That was the best part about Survivor for me is to let go of everything and be totally free. I really am very happy that I did it.

RNO: How will your epiphanies change your life going forward?

Ozzy: It’s given me another dimension, another angle. I’m working on a project to get skateparks built in Mexico and Central America. Skateboarding is something that has greatly influenced my life. It is an amazing art form and sport and it has a lot to offer the youth of the world if they’re exposed to it.

You can go to Ozzysurvivor.com or Humblenoble.com and buy a t-shirt, and a portion of the proceeds will go to helping this cause.

RNO: Thanks again, Ozzy!


David Bloomberg is the Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com.


 

http://www.realitynewsonline.com/cgi-bin/ae.pl?mode=4&article=article7940.art&page=1

 

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