Sam Allerton was the first member of the Aguila tribe to be torched from Survivor SA when he was voted out five votes to two in Sunday's second episode of the show.
Sam stayed on the island for six days in total and in this time managed to commit every possible Survivor crime known to humanity with the humdingers being a fight with his tribemate Mzi and an alliance with model Brigitte.
I caught up with him on Monday morning to make sure he's suffering as much as he should be:
Tashi: Hello – you’ve survived watching the episode?
Sam: That was the hard part. Reliving it all.
Tashi: Seeing it - were you driven crazy by all the millions of mistakes you made?
Sam: It was terrible. I mean, watching yourself on TV is one thing but watching yourself making blunders and being ludicrous - that … whew, it’s humbling.
Tashi: Who did you watch with?
Sam: My wife and kid.
Tashi: And what did they say?
Sam: We were all embarrassed through it. You are who you are, aren’t you? It’s a bitter pill to swallow but you have to swallow it.
Tashi: Tell me more about all your mistakes? How did you make the decisions you did?
Sam: I think that’s exactly the problem. I’m not a rational thinker, I didn’t go with a strategy, I just really wanted embrace the adventure and have a good time but I’m too hot-headed, I’ve always been like that - extreme emotions, up and down and if something ruffles me I’m volatile.
I’d love to say “Oh I slipped up,” or “I did it for viewership ratings,” but it isn’t, alas it’s me and I am hectic. The Mzi thing was crucial - that was just so stupid - the Brigitte thing as well, but you know, I don’t regret that in a weird way.
Although I spent such a short time there it was still cool to meet somebody and have a friendship. Of course it was misconstrued which was hectic but you can’t retract that.
Tashi: How could you
not have known that everybody immediately loathes someone who wants to take over and has a cliquey alliance with one person – particularly when it’s a guy/girl thing?
Sam: I didn’t even think about it that way. In retrospect it’s obvious, but what you don’t see is the other friendships that were forged like with Sanele and even Mzi - before the fight we were all having a jol. For the first four days it was superb, it was spectacular - we were having such a nice time and we were all getting along.
It was the last two days, after the fight, that things really changed. I wasn’t thereto play a game and I wasn’t there to try to please audiences and that’s the hard thing. You’re chosen because you’re you and you know you’re going to be you. I knew I was digging my grave - it was terrible.
Tashi: What was the fight about exactly because we couldn’t hear a word. What happened? -
honestly.
Sam: It was so stupid it’s embarrassing - what I can say in my defense – or our defense - is that we were seriously ruffled because that fire took a long time.
We’d been struggling for ages with it so spirits were sort of high but also sort of mixed because we’d just won the challenge but it was a walkover and I really didn’t like that. I’d rather be on a weaker side and be able to help so I said to my teammates: “Let’s give the reward to them. We’ve already got fire and we’re eating, we’re catching fish.”
That put me in an opposite camp because they said: “No ways, it’s a game and we’re gonna win.” So I was feeling a bit funny after that, we got back to camp, we struggled with fire and everyone was telling everyone what to do and then Mzi told me: “Stop blowing carbon dioxide on the fire,” and I knew I was blowing carbon dioxide but in turn I was blowing oxygen - it’s so petty and so stupid and too many male ego’s clashed - but that’s how it was, as simple as that.
I explained that I was blowing oxygen and then I swore at him and he said: “What? You swore at me?” and he was ready for fight straight away as well. It was the right breeding ground.
Tashi: Did you align with Brigitte because of her tattoo, belly-ring and body?
Sam: No, not at all, I definitely see through that kinda stuff. It was more a similar mentality, a mind-set. She was also out there to play as physically as she could until the two teams merged.
I wasn’t really there to win a million. I always knew that if I did it would be purely because of physicality and enjoying the challenges and helping at tribe. I wasn’t there to connive and she was the same or I think or thought so - from Day 1 we decided that we were there to enjoy the island.
We spoke to Sanele about it as well - they don’t show it because they just pick up on the big stories - but we had the conversation with him that we were going to enjoy playing a physical game up until when we merged.
I was there to have fun - I expected it would be with some other guy to go and have an adventure but it happened to be her and it wasn’t a lurid alliance - even that, it was never an alliance. It was friendships. I formed friendships with I thought Sanele, Mzi, Brigitte - the rest were kind of loose cannons - but with those people I thought it was strong, but I was wrong.
Tashi: So there was nothing romantic between you?
Sam: No, I mean there was a definite, I’m sure attraction, you can’t lie, but I don’t know if she was playing me or not. It’s a very unrealistic, superficial environment where you’re feeling real things but you always question. As far as I was concerned I was gonna be open and honest with everybody and I thought they were with me. No it wasn’t romantic, it was serious and I think it definitely would have turned into an alliance from friendship.
Tashi: So you’re saying that the tattoo did play a part.
Sam: No, no if anything I’m almost averse to tattoos. I love art but myself – I could never have a tattoo ‘cos I know how quickly I move on from my art. It was more: “Who are you?” “Are you going to stab me in the back or are you here to have fun?” and I thought she was there to have fun.
Tashi: Did you fight with Mzi because you were threatened by him?
Sam: If anything I felt a bit patronised I think. That was the hard part. Up until then, I’m not trying to brag, but the two of us were crucial in most of the physical things.
I know everyone will want to jump up and say they could have done it without us and they would have, but both of us from the word go, we staked our claim to try to provide for the tribe.
I always knew that he was the biggest player physically and I know it’s not even about physicality but I knew he’d always be a physical and I loved that. I loved that at some point we’d have to challenge each other so the fight was more me knowing I was wrong and feeling it and it’s not nice knowing you’re wrong and when Jude and Vanessa jumped on the bandwagon, it was pretty hurtful. Nobody likes to be told they’re wrong when they know they are.
Tashi: That’s true – it's very strange - why is it so difficult to be proven wrong even when you know it?
Sam: It’s terrible – it’s a human glitch. I am a seriously up and down character with an artistic temperament, maybe bi-polar – I can’t deny it but it’s not nice and makes living with me exceptionally hard. I would have preferred them showing me swimming out there, collecting coconuts in the water.
Tashi: You were in a couple of those scenes with some sort of music in the background.
Sam: That we were having such a romantic thing but it wasn’t like that. For the first time in a long time I spent a lot of alone time as well which I loved.
Tashi: Last week I
spoke to Don and he mentioned one of the reasons Rana were so iffy with Daniella last week was because she had hooked up with you and Brigitte before the tribes started and wanted to be with you – is that true?
Sam: We all met up on the plane - before that we kept separately and you don’t know who’s in and who isn’t - but Brigitte, myself and Daniella we didn’t take a back seat.
A lot of people were still reticent - we’re open - Danielle is a seriously outspoken girl and straight away from then we clicked and said that no matter what happened nor what tribe we were going to be in we were gonna have a fun time. To a degree I think you must be right because in the first episode her face was pretty glum.
Tashi: Was there anything important that happened that we didn’t get to see?
Sam: No, it is how it is. A lot more happened, which I would have loved to have seen - like the nice times - but they’ve only got X amount of time to show things. They show you what’s important and create a story and it was categoric - five people voted me out, only two of us voted for Vanessa so it was unequivocal and they showed why.
Tashi: Are you happy with the way they presented you?
Sam: Again, it’s one of those bitter pills – I know I’m capable of so much that’s much better than this but I am a hectic guy and I’m embarrassed that it’s what got portrayed of me but it’s there and you can’t take it away. I am an arsehole a lot of the time and that’s just how it was. It’s upsetting but you just hope that the people around you still know who you are and you take it on the chin.
Tashi: If you were to do it again what would you do differently?
Sam: In hindsight it’s easy to say: “Of course I would never have aligned myself with Brigitte,” but no I would have still gone to enjoy myself.
Maybe if I was in the other team it would have been very different. The thing I would have done differently - because it was totally unnecessary - was what happened with Mzi.
I gave everybody an excuse to vote me out and that should never have happened. I apologised to him off-screen and it just wasn’t enough. You can’t really retract all that and the damage was done. An altercation with one, you can get over it but an altercation with three people - but that was how it went.
Vanessa up until that point was sitting on a bench not really looking like she wanted to be there and then all of a sudden she rallied to his side. If I could do anything differently it would be to take that fight away – not so I could stay just so - “learn to control yourself.”
Tashi: How did your wife respond to it all - Brigitte especially?
Sam: Very hard. She knows me, I’ve got an artistic temperament, I’ve always loved connections. It’s terrible - I hate the group thing, I love one-on-one, I love to hear what people are really thinking and feeling. The emotional side always comes into play so she’s always known this with me and seen that and when I got back she said, “Did you make a connection on the island?” and I said: “Ja, I did.” For her to find out a bit later that it wasn’t just anybody but a female and an FHM model - it just wasn’t nice.
Already your partner’s going to a tropical island with, in her mind, a whole bunch of gorgeous people, it wasn’t nice. Even Sunday night was hectic - I’m operating on not too much sleep. I've always have been hectic. It wasn’t Survivor that brought it out, I’ve always been like that and we’re working at it but it isn’t Survivor that did it to me, it’s Sam.
Sam can be a prick and that’s the way it is.
Ends