Read on for my interview with Shan, and make sure to check in with Parade.com every day for interviews with this season’s contestants and other tidbits. Survivor 41 premieres on Sept. 22 with a special two-hour premiere on CBS. What’s your history with watching Survivor? My mom lost me to Child Protective Services when I was really young. And I bounced around from group homes to foster homes. We didn’t have a lot in the foster care system. We didn’t have a lot of money; we didn’t get a lot of cable. But on the channels that we did get, Survivor was one of the shows that aired on them. And so every week I was in front of the TV watching Survivor. I didn’t really have a lot of parenting voices in my life. And Jeff Probst kind of became that parenting voice. When he encouraged the players to dig deep, “there’s more in you than you know, you can do this,” those were the messages I carried with me. And that eventually put myself through high school, college, grad school and my doctoral work. And so the show has had a really big impact on me, not just surviving, but winning and thriving in life. So what was it like meeting Jeff in person? It was wild. He’s so great in person. He’s so nice, and he’s so real. He knows how much his part on the show has played in my life. Because I’m sure he hears about all of this. But yeah, it was a little surreal. Give me one Survivor winner and one non-winner who you identify with the most. I definitely identify with Davie and I identify with Kim, although my favorite player is Sandra. Davie was a “blerd,” and he played with the Black community in mind, wanting them to come out and apply, encouraging more Black viewers. Also, he was super strategic and really fun-loving. I feel like I’m a lot like Davie in that way. I’m a goof, I’m really silly; you’ll probably catch me doing a lot of whack things on camera. [Laughs.] A little awkward. And for Kim, she just was able to cultivate so many meaningful relationships. I believe that one of the reasons she wanted to come on the show and play the game was that she went through a failed relationship and wanted to find redemption. That’s how I feel. Developing social capital with people is one of my gifts. I’m able to have people open up to me pretty easily and just talk to me. I guess that’s probably why I’m a pastor. [Laughs.] I identify with Kim in that way. And also my own desire for redemption in terms of health and knowing that I’m capable and feeling empowered to be able to pursue my dreams and do well in a game like Survivor. What’s one life experience you feel has prepared you most for the game? There was a time in my life where I was affiliated with a gang. I was homeless; I was living on the streets. When you’re in that environment, you encounter a ton of different people. You face a number of circumstances that most people just probably don’t face in their life. And you really learn how to read people, both cops and people that live on the streets who say that you’re friends. While I am a pastor and have deep empathy and a real compassion gift, I’m also a hustler at my core. People will try me! [Laughs.] And it doesn’t work very often because I read people so well. Game recognizes game, for lack of better words. What do you think people will perceive you as? I really don’t know. When you’re tall, you tend to stand out, and people are a little bit intimidating. But I know that I’m disarming in a lot of ways, the way that I relate to people. So it’s just a matter of conversation. What I hope they perceive as someone that they can trust, although they probably shouldn’t trust me. [Laughs.] But I think they’ll perceive someone that’s fun-loving and caring and a jokester. Someone that they can talk to. But when you’re likable, that’s also a target. I have to get blood on my hands, but it has to be respectful blood for the jury. I’m going in with a prayer and a hope and all kinds of incantations and candles and all the things that can get me through the game. [Laughs.] What do you desire in an alliance partner? I desire somebody who ultimately wants to work together but not decide everything for me. I want someone who’s decisive and just as confident and sure of themselves as I am. When people aren’t confident in themselves, they tend to just flip back and forth and be wishy-washy. I also hope for someone I can slightly manipulate just a bit, if I’m being completely honest. [Laughs.] But I also want to make real friends here and develop deep relationships. So that’s what I hope for an alliance partner. Somebody that I can trust, someone I can slightly manipulate, and someone who can perceive me as bendable and flexible even though I might not be. [Laughs.] What’s your current game plan for when you touch down on the beach? So when I touch on the beach, my game plan is to really just start getting to know people. I really just want to talk to everyone, get connected to everybody. But not be seen connecting to everybody, which is going to be hard. But I do just want to build relationships with people and just get a feel of what other people are trying to do. I want to walk the beach and see the area where our tribe is going to be situated and just pick out in my mind landmarks and different areas that I want to search for idols, like either early in the morning when no one’s around or when there’s some kind of distraction. Like everybody’s throwing up, or they’ve got diarrhea. [Laughs.] But just think," I want to check there, I want to check there, I want to check there." But while I’m doing all that, I want just to be cultivating deep relationships. I’m not trying to look for an idol straight out the gate, because that’s how you put a target on your back. But I am gonna be watching people very carefully and just getting my own read on people. Next, check out our interview with Survivor 41 contestant Ricard Foyé.
