Survivor: David vs. Goliath interview: Lyrsa Torres on elimination, jackets, immunity idols, and more
Today, Lyrsa spoke to us about everything from her elimination to her infamous jacket to also her close bond with Elizabeth that she wanted to continue throughout the game. For more thoughts on the interview, check out the video below with our takeaways! You can also subscribe for more updates — and also check out our Survivor playlist!
CarterMatt: Obviously this is the most important question: Did you know going in that you were going to have one of the most-popular jackets in Survivor history?
Lyrsa Torres – I feel honored! My jacket is making history. I didn’t expect it and I think that it should go into the Survivor hall of fame. Everybody loves that jacket.
You found yourself in some danger almost every single time you went to Tribal Council. How difficult was it to play your game from the outs?
It was really difficult, because I didn’t really understand why they were coming for me or what the motivation was. I’m not great at challenges, but I’m not the worst. I won that first challenge with Christian — what you didn’t see is that I’m the one who picked the course and he picked the puzzle. I told him ‘just follow my lead; I know what we’re doing. It may not look like I can do this s–t, but I do kickboxing and I do exercise.’ I re-watched a lot of the episodes twice, and I don’t see myself being a liability in challenges. I was very nice at camp, I was working by butt off, I was bringing food and wood for the fire. I really don’t know.
What I’m thinking now is that maybe I was that person who worked hard at camp and was very nice and could potentially go to the end and win the votes, so maybe that’s what they were thinking — that I was a threat that may convince people.
How much did your cooking skills really help you out there in the game? We obviously saw everything that happened with you and Natalie.
The first day we ate something was when Davie caught the octopus. If you’re too pushy about stuff, then you get a target on your back, so I let them do their thing. Carl made some mean-ass rice. It was awesome.
When we got to the Jabeni tribe, I was finally just like ‘guys, this is my thing. You can’t cook the eggs like that or we’re going to get sick.’ It was funny to me that Natalie kept trying to fight with me about it because I actually went to school for this — I have the knowledge and I think that helped me a lot. They didn’t know that you can cook the rice with ocean water to give it flavor. I think my knowledge came into play — you didn’t see much of it, but it did help a lot.
Did you feel entering Tribal that it was going to be you heading out the door?
Yes. People think I was blindsided and I wasn’t. I thought we were going to go to a tie, but if not I knew it was going to be me. You feel at camp the change and that they’re treating you differently. They are either talking to you about random stuff that doesn’t have to do with the game or not talking at all.
As we sat down at tribal and we started to talk and Angelina is praising [Nick] for his beautiful baby blue eyes, I’m like ‘what about my eyes, girl? They’re brown but they’re beautiful’ (laughs). That was when I knew it was going to be me. I don’t have pretty eyes, apparently.
Would you have stayed loyal to Mike and Nick at the merge?
If I would have made the merge, I would have had some degree of loyalty to Mike and Nick. I mean, it is a game, but you have to play for yourself. I was eager to go to the merge and work with Elizabeth, Gabby, and Christian. But I really like Mike! He is awesome and he would have voted Angelina out. I told him ‘the Goliaths might hate you, but I have the Davids in the bag and we’re going to protect you. We’re going to work with you and we’re going to play with you.’
I think he was more concerned going into the merge not about the numbers, but because of the idea of ‘I voted a lot of Goliaths out and the Goliaths are going to hate me.’
Is it frustrating to go so soon before a huge swing in the game, especially when you could have been okay after that?
Yeah! It’s sad. It’s like when you’re in a race and you’re about to get to the finish line, but then you trip and you fall. It was like I was almost there and I could taste the cheese and the ham and the mimosas at the merge [feast], and then I tripped.
It was a little bit sad that I didn’t make it, but I get it. It’s a game. It’s twenty people — twenty-one with my jacket — and we’re all competing for one spot at the end. At some point, all of us are going to get eliminated. It’s an experience and an adventure and I am very grateful for the time I spent. A lot of people didn’t expect me to get that far and I proved them wrong. I learned a lot about myself, other people, and other cultures. I think it was a win-win, even though I left way earlier than I expected.
The moment the Tribe Swap happened, did you think that you were going to be in a certain degree of danger just from challenges alone?
That’s not what I thought when we first got to the swap. My first thought was ‘what was Elizabeth’s buff?,’ and then ‘oh, we’re split.’ Then, it was ‘oh, I’m with Mike. Yeah!’ But then, I was like ‘oh, the green [tribe] has both Dan and John. We’re so going to lose everything.’ The swap didn’t favor me at all or the purple team, but it’s a part of the game. We did our best in every single challenge. It happens, man. It is a game of chances and the unknown. You don’t know what’s going to happen! Enjoy every moment you’re there and if you play again, try not to make the same mistakes.
If I play again, I’m not going to be that nice — I’m going to be f—ing ruthless. I’m going to lie more. I can lie; I just decided not to do it.
I’m guessing that you’re eager to go back and play this game again.
Hell yeah, man. I’m way open to play the game as many times as they want. My jacket too — we’re so willing.
Were you aware that Dan had a Goliath tribe idol and there wasn’t one out there?
Oh yea! As soon as we got there, they told us. I also knew that Davie had the idol — that’s a thing people don’t know. I was the only person that knew he had the idol without him knowing because I saw him! I saw him get it and I told Elizabeth ‘Davie has the idol.’ She was like ‘no, he doesn’t,’ but I was like ‘yes, he does. I saw it.’
I thought about approaching him and letting him know that I saw it, but I didn’t. I thought it would be a good secret for me to keep and reveal it later, but as soon as we got to Jabeni, Mike and Angelina told us everything that was going on. My game strategy was to say ‘they didn’t like me at the Davids, I was going to be the first one out and that I had no connections.’ I played with them stupidly so they wouldn’t target me. But, I knew everything that was happening. I knew Dan had the idol — I didn’t know he had two, but I knew that he had the one he found at the Goliath tribe.
Did your plan for playing the game differ dramatically once you were out on the island?
No. When I got to the game, I was like ‘I’m going to do my best and I’m going to play with whoever wants to play with me.’ You have to play this game day by day — you can say ‘I’m going to do this’ or ‘I’m going to do that,’ but regardless, you’re not in control. You have to contend with whatever is thrown at you that day.
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