‘Survivor Caramoan: Fans vs. Favorites’ interview: Shamar Thomas

Wednesday night’s episode of “Survivor Caramoan: Fans vs. Favorites” was certainly an interesting one, as we saw more than one castaway sent packing over the course of the episode. First, we had Shamar Thomas forced out of the game due to injury; and then, Laura Alexander was voted out at Tribal Council in a move that actually went against the dominant alliance.

We had a chance to chat with both parties this afternoon; be sure to scroll down to check out our full interview with Shamar, and we’ll back tomorrow with what Laura had to say about her time in the game. (For the record, Shamar told other reports on the conference call that his eye is now fine, and while he wished he could have fought it out for another challenge, he was also dealing with another injury that was hampering him.)

It’s always interesting to see how big characters are represented outside of the game, and we have to say that Shamar here was soft-spoken, insightful, and really a pretty entertaining guy to chat with.

Cartermatt.com – I don’t think that a lot of people understand that when you are a big guy, it’s a lot harder to go through [this sort of adjustment] on the show. How rough was it for you to go through this?

Shamar Thomas – Well, the reason that you see me in the shelter, but you don’t see a lot of the other people around, is because they were swimming, exploring the island, climbing rocks. I just knew that if I got on a boat and started rowing, that was all my challenge strength. I had to go with it in a different way because I knew that I didn’t have the energy [to do that]. I wasn’t 120 pounds, and I need a lot of water. In my daily life I drink a gallon of water, and even in the Marines because they preach hydration … A lot of people didn’t understand that I was turning down coconuts. I didn’t care about no coconut; I just wanted water and that was why I was fighting for fire the first day, because I knew that if I didn’t have water that my life in the game was going to be very short-lived.

Did it bug you at all that Sherri referred to you as her ‘Phillip’ when you sat down to watch the show?

It didn’t really bug me, because I understand the game. Sherri is such a great player, and I admire her gameplay. The problem for where I come from is that the guy who is laying down, and she is up making sure that I’m okay and she’s helping me out with the food and water, [that guy] is the boss to me. Sherri is this big-time business owner and so I don’t think she is going to call her workers ‘the boss’ or the people who make money for her ‘the boss,’ so it’s like ‘how are you the boss and you’re doing all of things for me’? Do you get what I’m saying?

I do.

I didn’t get [it], but it is what it is. She is a great player, and I have a lot of respect for her and hope she does well. The only issue that I had with Sherri was how she talked about her workers. Other than that, she was a great player.

So is there anything that you wish that the editors did show of you that they did not?

One of the biggest things with me was that I was chopping down tree, and I came home and said I was doing all of these exciting things, and I just wish that at least I could’ve got one tree shot in there or something. I understand the storylines, and I’m happy that I got the opportunity. A lot of other players, people don’t even know their names, so the fact that people are like ‘Shamar, Shamar, Shamar’ makes me happy to be a part of the ‘Survivor’ family, regardless of if people hate me or not.

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Do you think that the Fans tribe this season really has any hope left at all? In addition to sharing your thoughts on this question below, you can also read our full review for it over at the link here.

Photo: CBS