A Reality Check With ... Edgardo Rivera (CBS's "Survivor)

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Edgardo Rivera spent his teenage years there while attending high school. After his senior year, Rivera moved to the United States where he attended Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He received a Bachelor's Degree in advertising while playing on the Varsity Tennis Team. During this time, he earned All-Conference accolades and was part of the Davis Cup National Tennis Team for his native Puerto Rico. He is currently a Regional Account and Planning Supervisor for a major client of a multinational advertising agency. Last week, he was shockingly voted out of Bula Bula after Dreamz hatched a plan to turn on his alliance. Edgardo’s here to dish on what happened & how he found out his torch was the next to be snuffed.

RC: How did you end up getting on Survivor? Did you submit a tape?
ER: I had a friend of mine from Puerto Rico who lives here in South Beach with me. He went on the casting call. They interviewed with him & they didn’t feel so great with him. They asked him if he had a friend, and he recommended me. They decided that I was okay, asked me for a video, and then flew me to LA.

RC: You started on the Moto tribe where you lived pretty much in luxury. How excited were you?

ER: You know what? I was pretty excited because I didn’t know if I was ready for that - sleeping in bamboo with ants and all that. I didn’t know how I was going to deal with that.

RC: What were your initials when you ended up on the new tribe consisting of all men & Lisi?
ER: Um, you know, I wasn’t happy because I was secure where I was. I didn’t feel the need to change tribes. We had to rethink the whole game. But it was nice being with other people. We got rid of all the Ravu people we didn’t like, the only we kept was Mookie.

RC: Last week’s tribal council was so shocking – people called it the best episode of the season. How shocked were you?

ER: I wasn’t that shocked. There’s a lot they didn’t show. I knew that Dreamz told the other people about the idol. Ten minutes before tribal council, I told Alex it was either me or him. I told him to watch out who was writing the names, if it was a long name, that was my name. A lot of people think I was shocked but that

RC: If you made it to the end, who would you have taken to Final 2?
ER: I would’ve taken Stacy or Boo any day. I think I had a pretty good chance against them. The only people I liked out there were Earl, Yao Man & Alex but I wouldn’t have taken them.

RC: What was the best part of being there?

ER: There’s no favorite part of being there. You think you’re gonna be on a vacation & you’re not. There’s not much I can say about it that was really enjoyable. Being on the outside & looking at it afterwards might've been the best part.

RC: Is there a side to you that they didn’t show? I thought you were portrayed really well.
ER: Yeah, I was really happy with the way they portrayed me but I’m not usually that nice. A lot of my friends were surprised. You don’t want anybody hating on you, though. One thing that bothered me was the image that they showed of Alex running the game. That’s not true. My strategy from the start was to have somebody I trusted. If he agreed with something, I would have him tell the other people so I wasn’t the speaker. Usually, people who play the game hard go home.

RC: Did you leave there with any friends?

ER: Yeah, definitely! I will be good friends with lots of people.

RC: Would you do Survivor or another reality show again.

ER: I don’t know, it depends on the idea. If another season of Survivor came around, I would consider it. I would like to redeem myself. I did get kind of far but still…whatever comes my way.

RC: What’s the first thing you ate when you left?
ER: You mean, right after? It’s funny, a lot of people were starving & they do have food for you when you get out. You get a bite of sandwich or something. The first thing I had was a beer! They guys on the crew were lookin at me like, “Really?” and I was like, “Please, I am so stressed out right now!”

Survivor airs Thursday nights on CBS at 8pmEST.

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