by Thinus Ferreira
Tyson Zulu (24), the creative director and entrepreneur from Johannesburg saw his torch snuffed on Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island after Chappies changed his mind and decided not to vote for Tyson, but with Tyson not changing his vote to Anela - leading to his ouster.
Why did you decide to wear the one earring to the island, didn't you think it would hamper you and get caught in something or get lost?
Tyson Zulu: I just decided to take it because it's something that I usually wear, so I just wanted to have it with me on the island. I didn't think it would be a distraction at any point. It was just a part of my look.
In our professional lives and in our families we all have people we just can't stand and limit our interactions with or have decided we will never speak to again.
How awkward was it to take the initiative and to go and have that last discussion with Chappies who you really didn't want to talk to at all, to try and get him to not vote for you?
Tyson Zulu: I decided to go and talk to Chappies because at that point in the game I was pretty much a unanimous vote for going home but I didn't just want to lay down and not go home without having tried anything to save myself.
As much as over the season I've said I won't go to an enemy in the game and try to save myself, but when I was in that position I realised that I've come so far in this game and I've had to fight every single time, so why would I stop now?
At least if I go out, at least I go out knowing that I've tried everything to stay in the game.
Why did you decide to enter Survivor SA?
Tyson Zulu: I entered Survivor SA because I want to be a part of the film and TV industry, not just in South Africa but globally.
When I looked at the productions in South Africa, Survivor South Africa is one of the biggest ones, so my whole objective behind entering Survivor SA was to learn from one of the biggest TV productions, being there and seeing what goes on behind the camera whilst being able to play the game as well.
Before playing Survivor SA I've never watched a full season of Survivor. I wasn't a superfan and not the kind of person who's going to tell you their favourite player and all that type of stuff.
For me playing the game, I think, aligning with Kiran, was a huge bonus for me because he's a superfan. So I was able to get a lot of Survivor knowledge from him and how the game operates and then I had to be a fast learner and adapt.
But going into it I didn't enter Survivor SA because I was a superfan, I wanted to learn from the production.
And if the production company and show ask you to come and work on Survivor SA for the next season would you take such an opportunity and in what job position would you maybe like to work on the show?
Tyson Zulu: Having been a castaway in Survivor SA I think I would like to work on Survivor South Africa behind the scenes because that's what I want to do anyway within the industry.
I think I'd like to be one of the content producers because having played the game I understands how it works. I understand how the mind of a castaway works.
Being on the other side and drawing all that content out of them is something I would be able to do because I've been in that position and I know and will know how to draw it out of people.
You said to Chappies you don't have any respect for him and I'm wondering once you have a cold war-like conflict like that with someone, how bad is it being in close proximity to someone that you just can't stand but you can't escape the physical environment?
Tyson Zulu: The beauty of it was - between Chappies and I - we literally stayed out of each other way.
We were never forced to be within the same space. We would come together when we were eating as a tribe but he'd be over there doing his own thing, and I'd be over there doing my own thing.
We never really mixed although we're all together at camp. We just stayed out of each other's way because we knew that we just don't get along.
If you didn't vote for Nicole and just switched to Anela after Chappies said he won't be voting for you anymore, you'd still be in the game. Was it even a possibility to vote for Anela or was it a case of being impossible for you to vote for him?
Tyson Zulu: With Anela it wasn't the same as with me and Kiran because evidently Anela voted for me and that's what got me out of the game.
The reason why that vote happened how it happened, was that after my conversation with Chappies at the beach, there's a conversation Chappies had with Anela.
That conversation came back to me after I had spoken with Anela about it. Chappies basically gave me false hope and was just playing around with me for the sake of it. That made me write Chappies off.
When Chappies then approached me at tribal council, in my mind, it was just another thing where Chappies was playing with me again, so I didn't trust him.
There's a conversation I had with Anela at tribal where I told him that I'm still voting for Nicole, stick to the plan. So I counted on Anela changing his vote as opposed to trusting what Chappies was saying. Anela was a proven flip-flopper in the game so that's a better decision to make.
Chappies whispered to you "I gave you a chance" and you replied: "I checked". What did you mean?
Tyson Zulu: I saw. I saw that he gave me a chance. When the votes were read out I was basically acknowledging what he was saying.
A few episodes earlier at tribal you said "I'm done being an emotionless robot". Was it your conscious strategy to not show emotion initially or are you usually more emotionally guarded?
Tyson Zulu: It was strategy to hold off on showing my emotions because I know that I'm an extremely passionate person.
In a game like this it wouldn't have bode well for me so I knew that coming into it, I'm passionate and emotional, naturally.
I'm also very reserved, so I chose to stick to being more reserved and emotionless because if I chose to be more myself completely, I would have said a lot more than I did and it probably would have worked against me in a game where you have to bite your tongue all the time.
What surprised you that you didn't know others said about you or did?
Tyson Zulu: between Kiran and myself we were very perceptive of what was going on.
I'm not surprised about anyone's game. Kiran and I were never on the receiving end of a blindside - we pretty much knew what was going on and how everyone was playing.
The one thing I'd say surprised me the most was how much people were saying.
I knew Santoni was speaking to everybody but I had no idea how much she was speaking to everybody - for instance if you look back at the merge episode where she goes around telling the entire tribe about the idol. I knew she told people but I didn't know she told that many people. That was a surprise to me.
What didn't you expect Survivor SA to be and to be stranded with strangers?
Tyson Zulu: The surprising thing about it is how normal it becomes. I never thought going into it and you see all these strangers and you see all these cameras - you think, it's still very different from what you're used to.
But as the game goes on it becomes completely normal. You start to get to know these people that you wouldn't necessarily come close to in your everyday life and it changes the way you look at life and it changes the way you look at people.
What have you learned about humanity and what would be your advice for people who want to enter?
Tyson Zulu: You have to be extremely adaptable to be able to play this game because there are so many personalities and so many circumstances that come from the dynamics from within the game.
So you can't be a rigid person because it's going to be a disadvantage. You have to be adaptable.
You have to expect the unexpected. For me, I took a lot of things personally because I didn't bother anybody, I kept to myself but a lot of people were coming for me even before I had established myself as a threat.
A lot of people came for me so I took those things personally. I would advise people not to take things personally. It's a game. Strategy is the best policy as opposed to letting your emotions get the better of you.
How did it feel when your torch got snuffed and you walked away and what did you do at Ponderosa?
Tyson Zulu: I was expecting it for at least 5 tribal councils before it happened so every single time I'd go into tribal expecting it to happen.
When it finally happened it wasn't such a surprise. I was more proud that I'm not a superfan but I made it all the way to the final four. When I got to Ponderosa it was just a case of starting to get back to real life.
Physically the game affected me a lot more than it affected anybody else.
I lost 10kg and my body was just not what it used to be. When I got to Ponderosa I was very uncomfortable.
For the first time ever I was very insecure in my body; I didn't want to be around a lot of people all the time. I just kept to speaking to Kiran and Shaun was also very helpful.
It was just a transition time to get back to myself and to feel less insecure because my body had completely changed.
Survivor SA: Immunity Island is on M-Net (DStv 101) on Thursdays at 19:30
