Courtesy of Survivor Phoenix

transcribed by seftor
November 14, 2003

Q: I thought Jon should have gotten the boot, were you surprised to be voted off?
Ryan O: No, I think I knew I had it coming. Of course a lot of people thought Jon should go bye-bye, but he was tight with Burton and whoever else, because it was a landslide, 8-1.

Q: Your vote for Christa last night seemed personal. What happened between the two of you to provoke that?
Ryan O: Christa, on numerous occasions, would tell me that she was going to vote me off with the rest of them. There was an issue of an orange that she claims that I stole, and in reality, she ended up eating it. *laughs* But she'd do a lot of underhanded things all the time.

Q: Were you surprised to find out that Darrah and T voted against you? I thought ya'll were close?
Ryan O: I was real surprised. They were my girls, so I was really surprised that they voted for me. Understandably, T and I had a little bit of trouble, which wasn't on camera. Andrew, me, and Darrah and a sub-alliance, and I never told Tijuana about it, so she was a little bit upset. I think that kind of led to the fact that I didn't win immunity. She put two coconuts in my trough. She was a little upset with me. Darrah, on the other hand, I have no idea.

Read more...

Q: How's your cat? Did you guys have a good reunion?
Ryan O: My cat died a couple of days before I left for the Pearl Islands, so unfortunately, there was no reunion, and maybe that's why I was so kind to Pelican Pete. I'm an animal lover.

Q: Just how useless was Osten?
Ryan O: Actually, OT did a lot of work, but the camera wasn't going to show it because he complained a lot, and y'know, I still consider him a friend. He wasn't quite as much of a whiner as everybody thinks he is.

Q: Why didn't you aggressively pursue an alliance after Andrew left?
Ryan O: I actually tried to aggressively pursue an alliance earlier on. Maybe it got edited out or wasn't on camera.

Q: On the Early Show, you said that you and Jeff had a big confrontation. What was that about?
Ryan O: I think it was over one of the reward challenges. I think it was the boating one. Trish had hit me in the face with a paddle, and he said he was going to be aggressively watching everyone so we're not hurting each other. I guess I just kind of blew up and started yelling at him, because he wasn't really paying attention I guess like he should, in my opinion.

Q: What are you doing for Thanksgiving? Would you like to come to my house? I'm making homemade pumpkin pie!
Ryan O: Thanks for the offer, but I will be spending Thanksgiving with my family.

Q: What was your reaction when you found out that two people who had already been voted out were coming back?
Ryan O: When I found out that the Outcast tribe was coming back, I was a little upset, but with all the twists and turms of Survivor, I just kind of had to grin and bear it.

Q: I was wondering if it bothered you that people kept calling you Rhino instead of Ryan O?
Ryan O: Actually, my nickname was given to me by a friend years ago, and it's Ryno, R-y-n-o, so I wasn't offended.

Q: What do you think was Morgan's downfall? Why couldn't they get it together?
Ryan O: I think our downfall was the fact that none of us could fish, and not everyone could swim, so it hurt us in some of the challenges, and we ended up getting behind in them, but we ended up making a great comeback.

Q: Did you have a crush on Nicole? When she was talking, it kinda seemed like you did. And who do you think is the hottest Survivor ever?
Ryan O: No, absolutely not. I was never attracted to Nicole. She might have thought so, but that wasn't the case. I was more attracted to Darrah. And out of all of them lookswise, Jesse Comacho.

Q: Any thoughts on posing for Playgirl?
Ryan O: I think I'll have to take the 5th on that one. *laughs* But, you never know.

Q: What did you think of Lillian's behavior to the Morgans? If you had been voted off earlier and came back, would you have acted the same way?
Ryan O: Actually, the way Lillian played the game at that point was great. We all voted for her, so her flip-flopping ensured she stayed in the game. No, if I'd been voted off earlier, I wouldn't have acted that way.

Q: Now that you have been voted out, who are you rooting for?
Ryan O: I'm actually rooting for Darrah. I've got a great respect for how tough the girl is, and I also like her.

Q: What was your first thought when you saw Rupert in a skirt the first time?
Ryan O: I actually didn't think a whole lot of it. I had jeans and couldn't wait to get out of 'em. I'm not the type of person that's going to make fun and laugh at somebody, so whatever he does is his business.

Q: Most irritating voice - Christa or Tijuana?
Ryan O: Christa, for sure.

Q: Being part of the Morgan tribe must have been exasperating. How did you get through it?
Ryan O: Well, I gave 110%, and hopefully the bond I made with these people regardless of how we did is going to stay there for a long time, and it really wasn't that tough when you have people behind you like that.

Q: Was Jon a real jerk, or did he just play one on TV?
Ryan O: Jon just played one for TV, but in reality, he was an alright kid.

Q: Does Rupert intimidate the others at camp? Is that why he won immunity last night?
Ryan O: I feel that Rupert does intimidate a few people, but I think he's doing himself an injustice by doing so, because he could be perceived as a threat.

Q: If you guys wanted Rupert out, why didn't anyone put any coconuts in his trough?
Ryan O: Actually, the others should have done it. I have no idea, really, why they didn't. I'm a little confused on that one, but I'm not in their shoes, so, oh well.

Q: What was your funniest moment on the island?
Ryan O: Probably Pelican Pete coming to visit the camp, and Osten being so scared of him.

Q: What was your favorite challenge?
Ryan O: My favorite challenge was the sandbag challenge, 'cuz we finally proved to everybody that we were physically stronger than the Drake tribe.

Q: I read somewhere that you said Osten had holes in his body. Explain this please.
Ryan O: Osten had pus-filled holes in his body that needed to be cleaned out regularly. It was pretty disgusting. I'm not exactly sure what it was.

Q: Probst seems to have it in for Jon. Any funny/odd moments with these two that the viewers didn't get to see?
Ryan O: Too many to list. Jon and Jeff always were in verbal shouting matches.

Q: How much weight did you lose?
Ryan O: I lost about 17 pounds.

Q: Were there ever any sparks between you and Darrah?
Ryan O: I think from my point of view, yes, but from hers, no, but I wasn't going to cross any boundaries because she has a boyfriend of two years, and they plan on getting engaged.

Q: Who do you think is the most untrustworthy person of the remaining players?
Ryan O: Out of all of 'em, I would say Lil, and Jon's a close second.

Q: Are you single these days, or has some lucky lady snatched you up?
Ryan O: I'm actually single. I've been single for a while, and I'm always looking.

Q: Are there any former seasons that really helped you prepare? Who do you think your strategy most resembles?
Ryan O: I'd say Ethan, strategy-wise, but I didn't quite make it for the full distance like he did.

Q: We never really saw you and Sandra interact. What was your opinion of her?
Ryan O: From the moment that she took the tarp, I was a little upset with Sandra. We never really interacted at all.

Q: How have your family and friends reacted to seeing you on Survivor, especially with that nude challenge?
Ryan O: Everyone has been totally supportive of me. All my friend and family love to watch the show, but I'm sure they're a little upset that I got voted off. As far as the nude challenge, nobody even questioned it *laughs*, because they know me.

Q: Who was the stinkiest out there?
Ryan O: Rupert was by far the stinkiest, but also the hardest working.

Q: What has surprised you the most from the show episodes you have seen since leaving?
Ryan O: I think the editing of me has been really favorable, and not so kind to others. *laughs*

Q: Do you think Rupert and Jon got too much airtime, compared to the Morgans?
Ryan O: I think Andrew and I and Rupert seem to get the most airtime, actually, and Jon not as much as I thought he would.

Q: Which outcasts did you hope would come back? Were you happy with Lil and Burton?
Ryan O: I was hoping that Burton and Michelle were going to come back, and Burton come back to the Morgan tribe, and Michelle back to Drake.

Q: Is there anyone you would not like to speak with after the show ends, or will it all be water under the bridge?
Ryan O: I actually want to speak with everybody, just to get a feel for some of the people's attitudes toward me.

Q: Why weren't you expecting a merge?
Ryan O: At the time, all of us were so run down and beat up, that we didn't care what happened next, as long as something happened, but we didn't think it was going to be a merge. We thought it would be a twist.

Q: What was the biggest difference when you got to the Drake camp after the merge?
Ryan O: The biggest difference for me and for the rest of the Morgans was the abundance of fish and food.

Q: Did anyone get sick after that feast?
Ryan O: I actually threw up after the feast, because at the keelhauling challenge, I hit my head three times in a row, and might have gotten a concussion. Eating all that food just made me sick.

Q: Did the Morgans ever talk about an alliance with Rupert after he visited with you?
Ryan O: Andrew might have spoken to Rupert about an alliance, but I let Andrew do all the work, because he has better communication skills than I do. So, I'm not sure that there was talk of an alliance.

Q: Why did you try out for Survivor? Have you ever tried out for another show?
Ryan O: I actually applied for the Amazing Race, and I was an alternate for Survivor: Africa, but Survivor's the best one, so that's why I wanted to be on the show.

Q: Was everyone surprised when Rupert gave away the reward breakfast?
Ryan O: I think everyone was pretty shocked that Rupert would do that, because he liked to eat so much. He might have thought it'd help strategically though.

Q: What was your strategic plan after Andrew was voted out?
Ryan O: To try to convince Burton, Little Jon, Tijuana, and Darrah to get rid of Rupert, Christa, Sandra, and Lil, but to no avail.

Q: Who was the original person you planned to target in episode one before Nicole made herself a target?
Ryan O: Ryan Shoulders was actually on the chopping block until Nicole started running her mouth.

Q: Who would your partner have been in Amazing Race?
Ryan O: My friend Brent was supposed to be my partner on the show, but he actually flaked at the last minute.

Q: Do you guys ever have contact with Jeff Probst besides challenges and Tribal Council?
Ryan O: No, we don't have any contact with Jeff during the game except for at challenges and Tribal Council.

Q: Are you glad you got Pearl Islands, or in retrospect, do you wish you had been on Africa?
Ryan O: Actually, I'm really glad I was chosen for Survivor: Pearl Islands. It was a great cast, crew, and the island was beautiful.

Q: Why didn't you give Ryan S more of a chance?
Ryan O: What a lot of people didn't see is Ryan after challenges laying around, not pulling his weight at the challenges or at camp life. We actually did give him a second chance, being that Nicole was the first voted off and not him.

Q: Are you aware that public perception is that laziness led to the Morgan downfall? Do you agree?
Ryan O: No, absolutely not. At Morgan, we worked our butts off when necessary. The downfall came because of the twist, because before the twist, we were even five to five. So, we were only going up at that point.

Q: Did you bring back any souvenirs with you?
Ryan O: I actually came back with a bamboo cup that we used to pour water into our canteen.

Q: Will you go back to your regular job or will you persue something with your new found celebrity?
Ryan O: I would actually like to maybe get into acting, modeling, or something of that sort, but my old job is great also.

Ryan O: Keep watchin' the show. It'll only get better from here on in. Thanks for all your support