Mindanao puppetmaster Tevin had his strings surprisingly snipped on M-Net’s 'Survivor South Africa: Philippines' in the biggest blindside of the season so far.
At this week’s tribal council, the 24-year-old medical doctor collected votes from all three other Mindanao tribe members to become the sixth castaway to be eliminated from the game.
We chatted with him about his sudden elimination.
Why did you enter Survivor SA?
I've been watching Survivor from the age of seven. I love it. The idea of putting strangers on an island together is fascinating. It's a psychological mind game. At this point in my life, I wanted to be apart of this social experiment and I'm grateful I had the opportunity to do so.
How did you prepare?
I did a lot of reading about the mind and human beings. I also watched all 36 seasons of the American version to get a good understanding of the game. And I had a plan, I already knew which villain I wanted to play like. I even twirled my stash to look the part.
What did you learn while on the game?
I spent 18 days on the island and when you're on the show you become empathetic. So now when I watch the show on TV I know exactly how those contestants feel. It's complicated. Sleeping on bamboo when you're battered and bruised is not fun.
Did you anticipate being voted off at this stage?
There were times that I had a feeling that I would be, but it only hit hard when PK started talking about making bold moves. I was amped to play the game and I spent so much time thinking about how to get the three of us further in the game. Obviously, they knew that I was a threat and had to get rid of me.
Any regrets?
I regret allowing myself to trust PK the way I did. It's Survivor, everyone is playing their own game. And the second regret was letting Marthunis get to my head. When I saw him for the first time - he was wearing a suit and came across as very intelligent and I was a bit scared at first.
What was the first thing you did when you got home?
I missed the internet. Every time I saw something amazing on the island I wanted to read more about it and I couldn't, so when I got home I went straight to the internet. Spending time with my family came in a close second.