by Thinus Ferreira
The corporate sales exec from Cape Town, Carla Gubb (29) eventually got her torch snuffed in Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island on M-Net (DStv 101) but she didn't go quietly into the wet Wild Coast night.
I sat down to talk with the energetic blonde mover-and-shaker (who wore a cap!) who managed to stay in with the in-crowd and she no longer had room left on the island to manoeuvre and got stabbed in the back by people she trusted.
It was dramatic irony, that as the credits rolled, you said that Shaun is your shield. But he voted you off. How do you feel about that?
Carla Gubb: Sho, that was actually quite a deep betrayal for me.
Obviously, you know, there's a lot of things that happen that, you know, maybe don't, don't get shown - the development of that relationship. Shawn and I were very tight. I said in the episode, he managed to keep the vote off of me twice, which he did, from when we went to Zamba.
We were actually kind of working together quite well. We had a really big, long term plan. For me, it was quite a big, it was quite a big betrayal. I think you'll see my exit interview as well. I did say Shaun is a snake. I genuinely believed in that relationship. So that was always a big one for me. He blindsided me hard.
And do you feel that you were broadly blindsided beyond just Shaun or did you expect that your head is on the chopping block? It seemed as if you realised in a way that you're in danger. Did you realise it's a "competition" between you and Chappies?
Carla Gubb: So, very good question - I did know that my name was on the chopping block because Shaun told me that my name was on the chopping block.
I trusted in our alliance and Santoni because Santi's been playing such a good game - she was openly playing a double agent but I ended up trusting her because I believed her.
So Shaun told me I'm on the chopping block but I believed that Santi and Amy were going to vote Wardah and me, so I wasn't as scared as I should have been.
I did do a lot of scrambling before I left - I did some scrambling to look for immunity idols. I did know that there was a big chance of me going home so in that way I don't think I was blindsided because in a proper blindside the person doesn't see it coming at all.
But I was blindsided and betrayed by Shaun and being betrayed by Santi. That's really where it hits. I didn't expect that but I did know that my name was on the chopping block.
You came across to me like a Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls but in the best of ways. You talk to everyone and I'm wondering is that innately your personality type, or do you force yourself to work at having a higher "popularity quotient" in something like a Survivor?
Carla Gubb: I love people - I love people more than anything in the whole world, people keep giving me the reasons to wake up in the morning. I love connecting.
That was me on the island. I'm genuinely interested in people, I'm genuinely interested in their stories and that was me being completely genuine. I do have a lot of friends and that's because I like people.
I like that you say Lindsay Lohan and Mean Girls but she was incredibly unpopular. Ha ha ha.
When you're genuinely interested in people, they become genuinely interested in you and then you can form a real connection. For me, that does come easy because I am authentic like that.
I can sense when someone doesn't like me immediately and then I retreat. I could sense that Pinty didn't like me. I tried with Paul. I really tried with Paul and he'll even say it. I tried to work with him three times and eventually, he was just "nah, I don't like you" and I was: Okay, retreat, retreat. Ha ha. I do love people.
What was your strategy and why did you enter Survivor South Africa because you would have known that there would be the big Chappies-type guys with physical height and strength and here would come you and you have to be different as the smaller blonde girl?
Carla Gubb: Being the blonde girl I knew it could be either a weakness or a strength, that's also why I wore a cap because people who see the blonde hair ... it's cool because you see the blonde hair but then you also see the cap and you know that I actually do know what I'm doing.
In regards to domineering personalities, I knew that was going to be an issue and one thing I do not like is men telling women what to do - I'm super passionate about that. If I feel that there's any sort of ego involved, then I immediately get defensive.
In the beginning, I was quite good at managing those types of players, I suppose. But as soon as the tribes swapped, and then I was stuck on the island with two of them, then I was at the bottom.
The game kind of changed a lot. Going in, I knew that that was going to be my biggest weakness. I was asked going in what's my biggest weakness, and I said arrogant, egotistical, misogynistic men.
That was a struggle but I mean, that's what the island's there for - it's there to push your buttons and to test you and it does that very well.
I loved that you were, if not the most, one of the castaways who spoke most at tribal council - and very forcefully. Viewers love to see people speak and call out people there but South Africans tend to hold back and be shy. Why did you feel such a boldness and freedom to speak, and do you feel that you could have been even more outspoken at tribal council?
Carla Gubb: I've always said what I feel. Growing up, my parents thought that I should be a lawyer because I was argumentative and I would never back down and prove my case as hard as possible.
Obviously, I've learned to temper that a little bit. Nobody likes someone who comes across as a know-it-all. In tribal - because we were always on the losing tribe - it's very hard to not say what you want to say, and make your voice heard.
At tribal it's also really important because you've got the opportunity to tweak other people's perceptions. And everyone lies at tribal council, everyone. So it's also very indicative of how people are playing and are going to play the game.
When the people that you're playing with trust you, you can say whatever you want, because they know whatever you're going to say is oriented to them, you know what I mean? You have to be very careful with your words because you could, you know, make them doubt themselves.
But if you've got a really strong relationship, then it doesn't matter really what you say. And then I can also use that against the people that I'm trying to play against you know, I can be vocal because that is my freedom to fight my battle.
It's like going into an arena, it's like Gladiator and it's just all these people coming in to fight. It's insane. It's wild and that was my favourite part. As much as I know that you never want to go to tribal, I had so much fun at tribal. So much fun!
I never wanted to regret anything and not speaking enough at whatever might be my last tribal because I thought that I was safe. If I thought that I was fighting for my life, you would have seen "a full show"! Ha ha.
What shocked you from watching back the episode and previous episodes, like Santoni having an immunity idol or what people said about you and what the other castaways did?
Carla Gubb: I didn't know that Anesu and Wardah knew each other - that was a shock for me.
I didn't know that Anesu was a doctor. That was wild. I didn't know that Amy was a lawyer. I didn't even know that Mike was a lawyer!
What shocked me? I mean, with Santi's immunity idols I didn't know she had one behind her back. That was epic! I'm thinking, Carla, why didn't you go and look there? There's always something at tribal.
Despite what a lot of people might think, the first five episodes I knew what was going on, I knew who was going home, even when Mike was going home - except when it was me.
What do you think you could have done more or differently?
Carla Gubb: I have thought about this a lot with regards to my stay-and-play decision.
Ultimately I am happy with the decision I made. I have thought that maybe I should have stayed and that I should have played.
But, if I had, and I came back without a vote and without an advantage, I would have had a target on my back anyway.
They would have got me out anywhere so it was a lose-lose situation there but it was a win to me because I left with my integrity and I left with my loyalties and my friends, and I walked out with my head held high.
Survivor SA: Immunity Island is on M-Net (DStv 101) on Thursdays at 19:30
