Read on for my interview with Deshawn, 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. What’s your history with watching Survivor? I started watching Survivor in season 37: David vs. Goliath. That was the first live season I watched. And then I’ve watched every season since then, and I’ve gone back and watched pretty much 70% of all of them. So I’m pretty much a superfan at this point. Give me one Survivor winner and one non-winner who you identify with the most. I identify with Cirie Fields the most as a non-winner. She’s like a mom in my head. She’s just the GOAT. She’s a social queen, strategic queen; she’s super slept on. She definitely deserves to have won at some point. And I identify with Wendell Holland as a winner of the most. He’s also very social, very cunning, very charming. And I think I have a lot of those same qualities. What’s one life experience you feel has prepared you most for the game? That’s a good question. I come from San Bernardino, California. I think that the life experience that is preparing me the most for this game is being from San Bernardino. Being from a place that’s a little bit more rough, you learn to have a little bit more street smarts, which means you’re not showing your full cards all the time. You’re not just trusting everybody readily. Moving around a lot also helps. So I’ve moved around for school from California to Arizona to Washington, DC to Florida. I’m really good at interacting with different people and coming across as a very easygoing guy. I have like the street smarts, the book smarts, and the social skills. And I think that those are going to suit me pretty well in this game. What do you think people will perceive you as? So I assume that people will perceive me as a very likable guy. I have zero intentions of actually carrying that out behind the scenes. I thought about how I wanted to play the game, and I think the fans might perceive me as a bit of a villain because I’m definitely going to be one way in confessionals and in a different way amongst the other people out on the island. But I think that if we’re talking about the players I’m playing with, they’re going to see me as a likable guy. Probably pretty charming, kind of funny. I have these one-liners, and I don’t take up too much space in front of your face. But behind the scenes, I’m going to be doing quite a bit. The survivors should see me as likable, and the fans might see me as a villain. What do you desire in an alliance partner? I desire loyalty. I want people to show loyalty to me; I don’t want to show them loyalty back. (Laughs.) I’m also looking for a bit of level-headedness and a bit of predictability. I don’t want to work with the people who look off their rocker, running all over the place. There’s a woman here who seems a little sporadic. She seems like she has a charm to her. But I don’t know what she’s gonna do. I don’t know if she can hold information. I also want people who aren’t as physically dominant. Because once we get down to it, I hope I can convince these people to be loyal to me. And we can get down to the bare of just our alliance, and I can just beat them at the Immunity Challenges. So I want them to be loyal, predictable, and not that athletic. What’s your current game plan for when you touch down on the beach? Currently, I’m planning on just using my social charm when I touch down on the beach. Doing what is natural to me. Like I said, I thought about it for a long time. Should I change anything up? And I don’t think I should because this is a largely social game. And in life, I’m pretty successful socially. So I’m just going to be me; everything that you see right now is what you’re going to see. But I just plan on going out there and being the fun, witty, and outgoing guy. What will people underestimate in you the most on Survivor? People will definitely underestimate how devious I can be. I’m #DeviousDRad. I’ve definitely given myself that nickname. I think when people talk to me, they’re not going to see devious. They’re gonna see naive, that I’m happy-go-lucky. He’s just here to have fun! They’re not going to be ready for my strategy. And that’s perfect. How much authenticity do you plan on bringing into the game? I mean, I plan on being 100% myself when it comes to the game. Like I said, there’s really no reason for me not to be myself. Just because I know it works in the real world, and I think there are some similarities in the real world, especially the city I grew up in, in the game of Survivor. So I’m just going to bring those inherent qualities into the game, and I plan to be about 90% authentic. In my real life, I am in medicine; I’m empathetic, I’m trying to save lives. And in this game, the only life I’m saving is my own. So I would say about 90% authentic, the other 10% I’m brand new. Which is more important to your game: Strategy or social? Oh, this ain’t even fair! Oh my God. Um, I think the most important component to my game is going to be the social part, because it’s going to be the bulk of what the people on the island see and is probably going to be what ends up winning me the million dollars at the end of the game. When people like you to a degree, they kind of want to help you out. And when I tell them my story, where I come from, how I’ve had to struggle through a Bachelor’s degree, a Master’s degree, a Doctorate, taking out mad loans. Being authentic and real, but telling my struggle and my story and how I’ve been able to overcome certain adversities. I think that that’s all a part built into the social game. And I’ll be able to tell that story while I’m out there. And hopefully, those things will help me win the money. So I would say my social game is going to be most important. But my strategic game is what I hold the closest to my heart because I’m a Survivor fan, and I’m coming to play! I’m coming to blindside people. I’m coming to find idols. Idols with an “S.” I’m coming to just really get my hands and feet fully dirty, you know, submerged into the sand and just get to it. Next, check out our interview with Survivor 41 contestant Heather Aldret.
