by Thinus Ferreira
The chemical engineer Renier Louwrens (30) from Secunda did everything he could to advance in Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island on M-Net (DStv 101) and eventually even pulled not a final rabbit but a bogus bag "immunity idol" out of his pocket at tribal council.
But Nico Panagio said it's not real and Renier, together with Amy who was ousted in a "tied destinies" episode, became the next castaway joining the jury.
How upset were you for leaving the way you did?
Renier Louwrens: Oh Thinus there's no level of words to describe the level of upsetness.
For me, upset breaks down in different components and the majority of the upset came from disappointment. For me Survivor wasn't "oh that cool adventure that I wanted to do" or "wow, I really love the game" or "I can win a million rand".
For me, Survivor SA is the cherry on top of a 20-year old cake I was baking.
This has been my dream for 20 years, this is what live for, my wife and I haven't stopped watching Survivor since we watched the first episode of the first season together. We break down every strategy and all of that built up over 20 years.
It's pretty much the equivalent of inflating a balloon and inflating a balloon and if you just inflate it a little bit every day for 20 years, you don't realise how big that thing is when it pops and that is exactly what happened to me.
That is why I felt so disappointed when Nico snuffed my torch and there was a real tear in my eye when I told Nico that I gave my best, that I gave my best in every challenge and at tribal.
I promise you I left nothing out, I gave my best. Because of that I was struck down, I was extremely, extremely, extremely sad that I had to leave the game.
When did you realise that this is very damaging after doing the rewards challenge and being chosen to go along - the moment they called your name, or when you returned to camp?
Renier Louwrens: Immediately when we drew the rocks, you do the maths.
You can't help but go "cool, cool, cool". I will lie if I say I knew I was going to go home from the rock-draw. But I saw the rock-draw and thought: Okay, this is not ideal. In my mind a combination with anyone but Amy or Chappies would put me in good stead. And I think I would have survived.
For me, I immediately thought it's not ideal but it's okay.
Then when they took me and Amy to go on the reward, I knew: Here's "moeei-lik-heid" (trouble)". Proper trouble. But even then, going to the reward, in the back of my mind I remember telling myself: Renier, there's a lot of damage done but you have a good enough relationship with Kiran, Tyson and with Anesu to get out of this.
I still believed that it's doable, it's doable, it's doable. I wasn't sure that I was out then yet.
Then came back to camp and realised: Jislaaik, this is not as good as it's going to go, reevaluated a couple of stuff and then took a shot with Tyson, took a shot with Kiran, took a shot with Anesu and a shot with Chappies.
I truly believe that there was a time when Chappies was seriously going to vote for me and then Santoni convinced him otherwise. But I never felt, until 5 minutes before tribal, I'm definitely out.
Even going into tribal, I told myself I have a 5% certainty that Chappies is coming with me. But if there's a 1% chance, I'm going to smash it. If there's a 1% chance of someone saving me, I'm going to go for it and that's why I still went big at tribal.
I never felt I'm completely out of it, and I never felt 100% certain.
Do you feel that Chappies stabbed you in the back or did you not have a solid relationship with him?
Renier Louwrens: No, I don't think Chappies stabbed me in the back I think I underestimated the weight of Santoni's opinion in Chappies' ear.
I know that Chappies was hurt after the first merge vote because he thought me and him were very tight and then I voted against him and he was hurt there, so there was no obligation for Chappies to save me.
What I underestimated is how scared Chappies is of Santoni's vote. If Santoni tells Chappies yes, then it is yes, because that is what happened.
And when Santoni tells Chappies it is no, then it is no. And that's what happened. I wouldn't say he stabbed me in the back. He was true to his alliance and that how it played out.
You really played Survivor SA on a very intellectual level, I would say one of the two top people this season. How did you become a Survivor superfan?
Renier Louwrens: This is a really personal side, not a Survivor side, but most of the credit goes to my wife. She and I have watched Survivor literally from the very beginning.
I watched from school from season one and then we got married 8 years ago; we started watching together, again.
We watched everything together again, from season one, and Survivor Australia and Survivor SA. She has quite an analytical mind and loves the strategy aspect, loves making predictions. What would happen is, we would watch Survivor and after an episode she would go down the rabbit hole of saying "okay this is the strategy, this is how that happens".
Then she'd go: "What if this person did this or that?" - just different permutations, and then we'd chat back and forth, back and forth and ending up with what we would have done.
For me, the biggest difference between your generic Survivor preparation and my preparation would have been the guy who goes to varsity and who needs to study for his calculus test. He opens a book and studies because he has a test. That's the generic form of preparation.
For me, it was almost like after school not going to study, immediately going into a job and learning on the job and learning on the job for 20 years, and then after that you need to complete an evaulation.
By that time you're so good with it because you've done it for 20 years. I think that was more my side. I don't think there was a distinct point where I had to say to myself, okay, you need to start preparing for this test now. It was just living in the experience of the last 7 years of watching Survivor.
The only two people who are completely different in their individual interviews-to-camera in the show are you and Chappies and both with different styles.
You are analytical and contextual and he does comedic zingers. You talk in the show as if you're a viewer watching it from the "outside", giving context while you're in it. Was that a conscious decision to talk as if you are watching it just like us although you're in it?
Renier Louwrens: You're extremely smart picking that up, I don't think many people pick that up - but yes there were two conscious decisions that played into exactly the question you're asking.
The first conscious decision I made and ran past my brain, as well as my wife before I got into the game, was that the moment you get subjective, your vision is clouded. So you need to have an objective view of the game at all times.
You cannot - and I don't care what who says - you cannot have an objective conversation while you're in the game. Everyone's opinion is subjective, even me. Everyone is biased. You can't have an objective conversation.
So what I used to do - what I love to do - is I used the audience as my objective bouncer.
I would say: "The current situation in the game is this," and then I would try to be as objective as I could be because that is the situation and then play it back from the perspective of the audience watching it, from "audience, you're sitting at home, you're watching this. This is the situation. Best case scenario for this is this. And: Oh wow. This is true."
That was me bouncing it against the audience and I really enjoyed that not a "correct" play, it \'s just for me personally that that worked well.
There's also a second conscious decision that went hand-in-hand with it, and that was that I will never, ever, admit that I'm a superfan in and of this game. There was just no way I would ever admit that.
My approach was the following: I have a toy at home. Some toys you take out of the packaging, and you play with the toy and you really enjoy it and you go "oh this is my favourite toy" and that's great.
There are many tools like that. For me, one of those tools would be performing in a challenge. I need to perform in a challenge, when it comes to a challenge, I take my toy out, I play with it, I put it back in, I go home.
But, that's not how all the toys work. That's not how some of the Survivor tools work.
Some of them are collectors' items and when they're out of the package, they're out of the package. You can't put that back in. If I have a limited edition 1962 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and take it out of the packaging it's "gghooooo" - then that thing is open. It's lost value. And that's exactly how I felt about my Survivor knowledge.
I'll go as far as to say that I know more about Survivor that anyone else in this cast and that's a bold statement. But if I let that out of its packaging, you can't shove it back in. No-way.
So I told myself: There are going to be people who love a Survivor superfan and will maybe even work with me for that reason, but there are also going to be people - the other superfans - the Carlas, the Dinos, the Thorisos, Jasons, those guys, who are going to say "Superfan alert!, superfan alert! Whaaa, get rid of him!" And you can't undo that.
So I just told myself that there is no way that that information would ever come out in front of anyone else but there's no reason not to give that back to the audience: "Audience, this is Renier. This is true Renier. Renier is a superfan".
I told myself many times, if only Thoriso knew what a superfan I was because Thoriso and I would have fan-freaked together and it would have been so much fun.
She can also recite season 13, Cook Islands, so-and-so did this, and it would have been so much fun to fan-freak with her. Yet I knew that if this comes out of its packaging, it can't go back in, and therefore I can't. But in front of the audience, it was a case of "at least I can fan-freak a bit. Guys, you will not believe! This is a Survivor first, warra-warra-warra!"
I think that also answers your question of Renier why were you a bit different in front of the camera than in front of the castaways and that is because I didn't have another superfan-outlet other than what I had with the audience.
If there's ever a Survivor SA All-Stars season I think you should definitely be included but you talk about taking something out of the package and I presume it must have been extremely stressful - although it makes for excellent viewing - to take a bogus bag and immunity idol out of your pocket and to walk up to Nico and to present it at tribal. When did you feel that you're going to do that?
Renier Louwrens: Before the season started I said if there's a 2% chance of me staying in the game, I'm going to press on it.
When I was feeling uncomfortable whether Chappies is in or not, I told myself: Renier, there has to be a Plan B, there has to be something.
So I stole the tree mail little blue beads, put that into the bag of my previous idol, and said to myself that I don't know what's going to happen tonight, but I have something with me.
Ha ha, I remember walking to tribal thinking: Renier, if you can get Kiran to scream at you, at least that will be one win. Ha ha. I'm just saying that tongue-in-cheek.
So to answer your question, I wasn't really at the point of I'm going to do X, Y, Z at tribal and then I'm going to do this and this and that.
I just knew that, Renier, you're not going out without trying. If I have to go home and sit and think, "Ag, Renier if you only tried harder at tribal" I would never be able to forgive myself.
I took it with me to tribal without a specific plan and just told my alliance that whatever happens tonight, we're voting Tyson. Don't change. Whatever happens tonight, we're voting Tyson. I will do something but what exactly I'm not sure of yet. And that was in the lead-up to tribal.
What surprised you the most in looking back and seeing who said and did what?
Renier Louwrens: I think Thoriso is an incredible reader of the game and the way that she picked up on the dynamic of the tribe, although not saying it in public.
I think she's extremely underestimated and very, very socially aware - not only a strategically orientated player.
I really enjoyed her confessionals. Then on the complete flipside, in the same package more or less, is Santoni's ability to say in your face, "Sjo, Renier, I completely love you" and behind you go "Oh that Renier, what an idiot". It's the Survivor player Santoni which surprised me, I must say.
I often laughed, thinking, I hear what you're saying about person X, but I remember sitting and listening to you when you came to chat to them and those were two different stories. So that to me was very interesting.
Survivor SA: Immunity Island is on M-Net (DStv 101) on Thursdays at 19:30
