Read on for my interview with Rocksroy, and make sure to check in with Parade.com every day for interviews with this season’s contestants and other tidbits. Survivor 42 premieres on March 9 with a special two-hour premiere on CBS.
Interview with Rocksroy from Survivor 42
Why are you here on Survivor? My wife! (Laughs.) We were watching season 39, I believe. And I was in my Survivor rant, as usual. I’m trying to think for the contestants, saying, “Why are you doing this? Why did you do this?” And my wife abruptly said, “Why are you doing this? Why don’t you just go on the show?” And as she said that a commercial comes up, and there is Jeff saying, “If you would like to be a contestant on Survivor, please blah blah blah.” So immediately, my wife grabs the computer, signs on, puts the TV on pause, gets the web address, and starts signing me up for Survivor because she said she was sick and tired of listening to me armchair criticize the show! (Laughs.) What’s your history with watching Survivor? I started watching Survivor the year that I graduated college in 2000, first episode, first season. And I just got hooked. I just got hooked with the social part of the game, the challenges, the exotic places that Survivor would go to, and the situation they would put the contestants in. And I was instantly hooked on it. Give me one Survivor winner and one non-winner who you identify with the most. A Survivor winner I identify with would be Cochran. He came into the game very timid, not being able to find himself or know who he really was. Then he got his feet on the ground, and all of a sudden, the light switch came on, the confidence came up, and he was able to go on and win. I can’t think of any non-winner that I can relate to. The reason why I’m here is for the million dollars. Anyone that tells you they’re here because they want an experience or this is something that they dreamt of is lying. My wife put me here to win a million dollars, and it’s “Yes, dear.” What’s one life experience you feel has prepared you most for the game? I’d say what my career was. I began as an environmental consultant and dealing with many different clients, actually going out and convincing clients that they needed to pay me or pay my company. (Laughs.) And the way to do that is to bring something to the table. In that circumstance, you’re bringing what your experiences are. You’re bringing a portfolio of what you can do for your client. It’s almost similar with Survivor. Yes, you’re going to be with people that you’ve never met in your life. And you also have to convince them. I wouldn’t say “manipulate”; manipulate is a very strong word. But that’s what you’re doing. You are manipulating someone to make you continue in the game. So in one sense, being a consultant and trying to feed yourself in terms of having clients and retaining billability. And in Survivor, living to play the next day by convincing others not to write your name down are similar things. If they have enough confidence in you, or they trust you enough that they’re like, “Oh, we’re gonna move on together.” What do you think people will perceive you as? That is the thing that has me more than anything else. The little voice in your head goes, “How do people really look at you?” (Laughs.) My perception of my own self first is that I don’t like to be in the limelight. I don’t have any social media or anything like that. I’m a very private person. So the way that anyone may look at me, I hope they see someone that is a go-getter, that tries to compromise and tries to work with others. Someone that respects the game. If by any chance, I am voted off at some point in the game, my experience and takeaway from it is that someone played better than me. And what does that mean? Does that mean I’m a loser? No, it means that I learned something, and someone played harder or wanted it harder than I did. Real recognize real. So I hope people see that in me. I do have that part of my personality that comes off as genuine. And I’m going to give you my all. I’m going to tell you my opinion on something; I’m going to have input. But at the same time, I’m going to be respectful of you. And I’m going to be I’m going to bring all my effort in order to move myself forward. What do you desire in an alliance partner? I desire someone who, if you’re going to make a commitment and an alliance, will make that commitment. If you have to go back on that commitment, give me a heads up because I’ll give you a heads up. That’s never really said during Survivor. Sometimes you make a pact with someone or a group, and they’ll say, “Yeah, blah, blah, blah.” But you rarely see contestants say, “Okay, look. I don’t know right now, if I’m hanging with you, it looks as if it’s either you or me”. Give me that heads up. I don’t expect honesty in every circumstance with everything. But at the same time, if you honor alliances with someone, and you feel as if you’re going to give someone your word about going forward, I feel you should just give a nod or something like, “Look behind your shoulder” or something like that, because I’ll do the same thing for you. What celebrity or fictional character would you want to come out for a Loved Ones visit? I just read Green Light by Matthew McConaughey. And if I had to do a celebrity, I would chill with that dude any day. He said, “Sometimes when you think life is giving you the sourest, bitterest lemon, it turns around to green light. You put everything together, you pull the ingredients together, and it turns into sweet lemonade.” Next, check out our interview with Survivor 42 contestant Drea Wheeler.
