‘Survivor: San Juan del Sur’ interview: Keith Nale on ‘stick to the plan,’ reception, underdog status
While it would have been very close, we learned something very interesting about Keith Nale last night at the “Survivor: San Juan del Sur” reunion: Had he made it to the end of the game, he would have won. Unfortunately, one immunity challenge loss ultimately did him in.
Our exit interview with Keith was somehow even more fun than we expected it to be. The guy owns his mistakes, is completely upfront, and had some good perspective about his overall time on TV.
CarterMatt – So how does it feel now that the show is over, and everyone knows what happened?
Keith Nale – It’s a weight off your shoulders, I’ll tell you that much! I do wish it was a different outcome, but we can talk about it anyway.
I think a good place to start here is that you’ve had so many different great experiences in your life, and you’ve been with a fire department for so long, and now, you are this this TV star. What has it been like for you going out and dealing with everyday life?
You wouldn’t believe. I wouldn’t say ‘TV star’ to begin with, but people are so happy and they love it. They just want to talk ‘Survivor,’ and ‘Keith, how did you do it?’ The guys at the fire department are giving me grief, but I’m retiring here before long so I won’t have to put up with them a whole lot longer.
Did you have any idea that people would find you so entertaining?
I don’t know where I come up with that mess. I was just trying to be myself, play the game at best I knew, and I wasn’t a big fan or anything. I just kind of surprised myself … if it hadn’t been for all them women at the end, I maybe would’ve had the thing.
Since you weren’t that familiar with the show, how did all of this happen for you?
Wesley sent in a tape back in 2010, flashback then, and then they contacted him this March saying ‘hey Wesley, this is Survivor. Why didn’t you ever send in another deal,’ and he was like ‘well, I never heard from you then, didn’t think you liked it.’ They said they liked it and to send more videos, and asked who he would bring along. Well, come find out I wasn’t even his first choice! He was going to bring his little brother at first. They had a brother / brother team, so bam, insert me.
So that was in March, we flew out in April, and we were sitting in Nicaragua in May. That’s how quick that went.
So you didn’t even have time to watch old seasons and prepare.
Oh, heck no! Wes was kind of quizzing me the whole way throw, kind of like ‘this guy did this, and this gal did that,’ but I was like ‘what’re you talking about?’ It probably could’ve helped me if I was a little more of a fan.
It’s interesting because in a way, not being a fan helped you get further. Nobody really saw you as a big threat.
Roger that. I mean, look over at the [jury]. Jeremy gone, Josh gone, Reed gone. There’s some top players right there, and I was thinking ‘I must be doing something right, I’m not sitting over with them yet.’ It might have helped me, but I didn’t want to be the guy [who said] ‘go over here and do that.’ I wanted to stay right in the middle, which I guess kind of worked for me.
What was the experience like going out and finding the immunity idol?
Well I didn’t get the clue the first time out with Val, but I got the clue the second time with Josh, and I just went poking up there by the well, seven steps north … I kicked some dirt, and that baby popped up out of the ground like it was on a mouse trap or something! And I jumped back, it scared me to tell you the truth. I thought it might have been a king cobra down there! It popped up and it was a big deal. I held onto that thing for like 25 days.
With the merge you were reunited with Wes, and everyone really got a chance to talk. Did you have a gameplan for what you wanted to?
I really didn’t, and it kind of showed, but I was happy to be with Wesley. We didn’t get to play more than like three or four days there, and then I did the stupid thing and he got voted off. They had a solid six over there, but then it didn’t seem so solid after Jeremy went home, and then Wesley and Reed went home. I got to thinking ‘they’re picking off guys, one after the other. I got to start winning here.’
Are you the sort of guy who is really haunted by things, like the whole ‘stick to the plan’ moment? Can you move on quickly past that?
(Laughs.) I don’t know about that coming in fourth place! You may have to call me in a couple of months, and see if I am over that yet. I said to myself, would it be better to come in tenth, or come in fourth? Come in eighteenth, or come in fourth! That fourth is a hard pill to swallow, knowing you were that close.
So is that puzzle [at the final immunity challenge] giving you nightmares.
Not really. I was struggling so much there at the end, physically and mentally. Women are kind of good with puzzles, but I knew I had a chance. But you’re right; I’m never going to forget those final minutes. I had one [piece] left, and I didn’t even get to slide down the fireman pole no more.
When you saw the fireman pole, did you think this challenge was made for you?
(Laughs.) That was pretty sick! I mean four stories tall, you would give out running up and down that thing. Golly.
Had that whole ‘stick to the plan’ thing worked, do you think you would have made it to the final three?
Golly that’s a tough one. It was bad for Reed, it was bad for Wesley. I don’t actually know if it was bad for me. I stuck along two or three or four more people past that. I wish it wouldn’t have been Wes. If he had just stuck around a little while longer, [that would’ve been great].
But I don’t think it was bad for me. It may have been bad for Reed or for Wesley. I didn’t plan it, in other words.
So was there anything that you learned about yourself being out there in Nicaragua for so long?
Well, I knew I was good outdoors. The elements didn’t bother me at all. I learned that I am pretty good with balls, doing all them [challenges] balancing them and throwing stuff. I’m pretty good with that; that was a big joke.
I don’t warm up to people really good, as you can tell. (Laughs.) Other than that, I mean you miss your toothbrush, you miss your wife, you miss your pillow. Stuff you take for granted; I couldn’t just go down to the 7-11 and grab a honey bun and a coke.
So if you were going back, would you take some of what you’ve learned and play a different game?
A little bit, you’re right. Find someone at first you can trust, talk to them … I don’t know if I’d do this by myself, to tell you the truth. I enjoyed it with Wesley, at least I had one person I could count on for a little while. It’s tough; you got to be a player, and I wasn’t the best player ever, not even close. I feel I still did pretty good, anyway.
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