Tyson Apostol and Rachel Foulger (CBS)
Quick Note: I had a chance to sit down with all twenty of the “Blood vs. Water” competitors before the game began. I’ll be posting exclusive interviews with each pairing in the days leading up to the September 18th season premiere. Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@gordonholmes) for those interviews, behind-the-scenes exclusives, and more…
Another Quick Note: Once the season has started, check back for full recaps immediately following each episode, interviews with the eliminated players the day after they’re sent packing, and the return of the always controversial “Survivor” Power Rankings featuring “Survivor” dreamboat Malcolm Freberg.
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Name: Tyson Apostol
Age: 34
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Rachel’s boyfriend
Previous Seasons: “Survivor: Tocantins” – second jury member and “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains” – sixth person voted out.
Current Residence: Provo, Utah
Occupation: Former Pro Cyclist/Shop Manager
Name: Rachel Foulger
Age: 33
Relationship to Significant Castaway: Tyson’s girlfriend
Current Residence: Provo, Utah
Occupation: Cocktail Waitress/Graphic Designer
Personal Claim to Fame: Starting and owning my own business that landed sales with Target and QVC.
Pet Peeves: Chewing with your mouth open, driving slow in the fast lane, getting in my personal space.
Rachel Foulger: You’re going to tell us everyone else’s secrets, right?
Gordon Holmes: Sure, what do you guys want to know?
Rachel: And you’ll keep our stuff confidential?
Gordon: Absolutely. I’ll give you a full breakdown on what the rest of the cast is thinking, how they feel about you, how best to break them down and get them to bend to your will.
Tyson Apostol: Good, that’s what we need the most.
Rachel: In written form would be great.
Gordon: I’ll make an easily concealed cheat sheet for you.
Rachel: Like a little pamphlet.
Gordon: Precisely.
Tyson: I’m going to make Rachel get it tattooed on her rectum. They’re not going to look there.
Gordon: You’re going to have time for that?
Tyson: I can speak the Filipino language, so we’ll have it done in Filipino and nobody can read it except for me.
Rachel: You could do it.
Tyson: Sure, I’ve never done it before, but this is probably a good place to start.
Rachel: You just need like a pen and a needle, that’s what they do in jail.
Tyson: A nice prison tat.
Gordon: Seems worth it. Because even if you don’t win, you’ll have this great story.
Tyson: A hilarious story.
Gordon: So either way you’re coming out as winners.
Tyson: You’re making me feel really good about this.
Gordon: That’s my goal.
Rachel: We didn’t know this was going to be a pep talk too.
Gordon: Alright, Tyson…tell me about this lovely lady.
Tyson: Rachel is much sweeter than I am. She’s the sweetness to my salty, I guess. Much more emotional than me.
Rachel: A little more sensitive.
Tyson: Much more sensitive. She’ll kill them with kindness. But not to their actual deaths.
Gordon: Wound them with kindness.
Tyson: Yes. My little Rachel. We’ve been dating for five years. She’s been with me since before the first time I was on the show. So, she’s lived through it as a third party. Now she gets to experience it herself.
Gordon: Are you worried his looks will distract you?
Rachel: No.
Tyson: Yes.
Rachel: I’ve looked at it for five years. There are no surprises. Well, maybe if he’s going to get all bronzed and tan.
Tyson: Lean.
Rachel: Bleach blonde hair. I could be taken aback a little bit.
Tyson: You can get a nice anatomy lesson of all my veins. I get a real nice sinewy build when I’m out here.
Gordon: Good luck keeping your hands off of him when he’s all emaciated.
Rachel: It’s going to be hard.
Gordon: Speaking of “Survivor” physiques. What’s going to happen on Day 39 when you haven’t been eating?
Rachel: I don’t have a lot to lose.
Gordon: You should’ve bulked up.
Tyson: She did. We’ve been in a weight-gaining phase for months.
Gordon: I look at a donut and put on weight. You guys are (expletive deleted).
Rachel: No, we haven’t.
Tyson: I lied about that.
Rachel: Everyone who knows we’re going on this show says, “Eat so much food!” Why, so I can expand my stomach and then really be hungry out there?
Tyson: And I like to look good on day one.
Gordon: You two were together for “Tocantins” and “Heroes vs. Villains.” What could this guy have done better?
Tyson: Probably nothing.
Rachel: He could’ve won the million dollars.
Tyson: No, c’mon. I want a real answer. I need to hear this.
Gordon: It’s probably better to get it out now.
Rachel: The first time I think he was distracted by the limelight. He was having fun being on TV. I think he got too comfortable. The second time he just over thought it and switched his vote at the last minute which wasn’t smart.
Gordon: I know you and “Boston” Rob Mariano are close. Phillip Sheppard played by the “B.R. Rules” his second time around. Are you going to give that a shot?
Tyson: I don’t think I can play like Rob. Rob and Russell (Hantz), even though they’re mortal enemies, play a very similar game where they’re up in everyone’s business all the time. They make sure everyone’s conforming to what they want. That’s too exhausting for me. I don’t like that much confrontation. I play a more relaxed game. I would like to play more like Sandra (Diaz-Twine). A lot of people don’t notice, but she tells these little lies that get people against each other. Little stuff like, “Hey, they were mentioning that they hate the color of your shirt.” But that’ll be later. I think I’m a safe bet to make it to the merge barring any ridiculous stuff.
Gordon: There are always people who are here to be a trainwreck, so let them be a trainwreck.
Tyson: Yeah, the annoying person almost always goes first.
Rachel: Then the weak.
Gordon: Someone’s always playing too hard, too fast.
Rachel: Yes.
Tyson: That’s why I like to sit back. I haven’t met a lot of these people. I’ve seen them on TV, but that isn’t a true gauge of who they are as a person. Right now I think we’re in a nice spot where we’re in the middle of the road of a lot of demographics. Age-wise we’re middle of the road, when I played last is middle of the road. Size-wise, there are bigger guys than me. I fit right in the middle of that. Whichever rift the game breaks apart at, we can be the decision makers on which way we go.
Gordon: Socially, physically…how is Rachel going to do?
Tyson: Socially, she’s going to be good as long as she can remember to talk to the people she hates and treat them like a friend instead of ignoring them or avoiding them. Physically, she’s fine. Maybe she’s not the strongest woman here, but she’s not far off when it comes to challenges. Emotionally, I think it’s going to be a problem for her. The elements do get to you. There will be days when it’s raining all the time and you might not have a roof. The harder it gets, the more you miss home. That’ll probably be the toughest thing for her.
Gordon: What is it like when you guys fight?
Rachel: (Laughs) It’s just kind of funny.
Tyson: We’re just having fun.
Rachel: Tyson thinks it’s fun. He thinks it’s really funny. But, even for me…we have a good relationship because even when we’re annoyed with each other, we’re still kind of laughing.
Tyson: Sometimes you don’t laugh, you get really mad.
Rachel: Sometimes I get really mad, and he thinks that’s funny.
Tyson: I think it’s hilarious.
Rachel: We don’t get into really big fights like most couples do.
Tyson: She has attacked my physically before.
Rachel: (Laughs)
Gordon: She’s laughing, that’s horrible.
Tyson: We have this crazy friend and she’s insane. Me and my friend played a prank on her with phones and she freaked out and got really upset about it. It was harmless. So Rachel comes home and she’s furious. She tried to jump on me and throw pillows at me. So, I’m blocking her and to me it’s still funny. But, I realize I can’t spend the whole night just blocking her.
Gordon: As impressive as that must’ve been.
Tyson: It was. Block…block…judo chop! She eventually came to her senses.
Rachel: It took a while. I liked that girl for a long time.
Gordon: Liked? Past tense:
Rachel: Yeah, we’re not friends anymore.
Gordon: But she was worth assaulting Tyson over?
Rachel: At the time.
Gordon: Is there a situation where you’d vote each other out.
Rachel: No. We’ve actually been asked that a lot.
Tyson: Can you believe it?
Gordon: In a game where people are pitted against their loved ones?
Rachel: (Laughs) There’s just not a situation where it’d make sense.
Tyson: I don’t think it’ll benefit anyone. You’d lose the one person you can trust 100%.
Gordon: What strategies have you discussed?
Rachel: This is the first time you have an alliance that you can completely trust.
Tyson: This is going to be a nine person game in the beginning until the solo people start accumulating. Then the solo people are going to be the wild cards. We’ve got to latch onto the solos immediately.
Gordon: What twists are you guys expecting?
Tyson: Rachel, give him the breakdown.
Rachel: You think it’s going to be three tribes.
Tyson: Yes, why don’t you tell him because I’ve done a lot of talking.
Rachel: (Laughs) It’s your idea.
NOTE: At this point in the afternoon, Candice and John Cody hadn’t joined the cast.
Tyson: There are nine couples here, they can’t split in half because that would be uneven guys and girls. They want us to start together because that brings the whole story together right at the beginning.
Rachel: But then they’re going to want to split us up.
Tyson: It’s going to be three tribes of three couples. That’s why it’s important if someone gets voted out, you’ve got to bring that third person into your alliance. But at some point they’ll turn the three tribes into two tribes and try to split up as many loved ones as possible.
Gordon: Anyone you guys are interested in aligning with?
Rachel: Maybe Rupert and his wife. And in the beginning it might be smart to align with Aras and his brother because they’re strong. But I wouldn’t fully trust them.
Tyson: I think Aras is dangerous.
Rachel: I think they’re sneaky.
Tyson: His brother wears yoga pants, so he’s got to be way good at stretching.
Gordon: When the stretching challenge comes up, you’re going to want him on your side.
Rachel: He does not wear yoga pants.
Tyson: That’s all he wears!
Gordon: Alright, who are some early targets?
Tyson: I’m wary of the conniving game players. They’re the ones who flip the game a lot or get the game going in another direction.
Rachel: Monica and her husband might be…
Tyson: No.
Rachel: Maybe…
Tyson: Nobody likes them.
Rachel: They’re definitely a couple that I don’t feel comfortable with. I feel like I could be really good friends with all of them except for Monica and her husband…I don’t know how Colton is going to be this season…
Gordon: Will he be less offensive, more offensive, equally offensive?
Tyson: As a Republican, is he against his own relationship? Does he despise his boyfriend for being homosexual?
Rachel: I really want to ask him about it.
Tyson: Well, you’ll get a chance to.
Any Questions? Drop me a line on Twitter: @gordonholmes
Don’t miss the special 90-minute premiere of “Survivor: Blood vs. Water” on Wednesday, September 18, 2013 at 8 p.m. ET.
Tags: jeff probst, rachel foulger, survivor, survivor blood vs. water, tyson apostol
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