Okay, despite the fact that I loved Jaime and PG’s brilliant decision to throw the immunity challenge in order to get rid of one of their biggest competitors, even I can agree that Aaron Reisberger did not deserve to go home. After aligning with the strongest people in the game and playing a strong physical game as well, before last Thursday, it appeared that the surfing instructor from California was well on his way into the merge. Unfortunately, there was a twist which saw him and James Clement switched over to the Zhan Hu tribe where it didn’t take master strategists Jaime and Peih-Gee long to figure out that Aaron had to go. When I talked to him, Aaron addressed the twist, discussed the impact that Leslie had on his game and also explained why there wasn’t a romantic connection with Amanda. Check it out.
Murtz Jaffer: Hey Aaron, how are you?
Aaron Reisberger: I’m great. How you doin’ man?
MJ: Good, good. Are you ready to rock?
AR: Yeah, here we go.
MJ: I want to start by asking you if you thought that the twist that sent you home was fair?
AR: Absolutely not you know…well obviously since I am here talking to you!
MJ: (Laughs).
AR: You know, what happens is it takes away the strongest players from both tribes. That’s what the scroll said when we got it originally and it said ‘take the strongest player to help you win immunity challenges’ and we knew the switch was on, at least over in Fei Long (they weren’t quite so bright over in Zhan Hu).
MJ: Well you also had the benefit of having Todd who is like the smartest player ever.
AR: (Laughs). Yeah, he’s almost psychic sometimes!
MJ: (Laughs). Do you think that was fair in terms of taking the strongest player? Clearly they would take you and James, but was it a fair trade for Sherea and Frosti to go the other way?
AR: No, not at all. And I guess that’s how they level the playing field. And maybe they didn’t think that was going to happen (that they were going to throw the challenge). No one ever wants to see that, the integrity of the challenge and the game is lost a little bit and everyone has to deal with it now.
MJ: Do you think that twists like that should be allowed when Survivor is all about outwitting, outplaying and outlasting (since it seemed to me like you were doing all 3)?
AR: (Laughs). Well, I appreciate it but you know what? It really shouldn’t be allowed but it makes for good television. You throw some kind of wrench into the monkey works and there you go. Everyone who thought that they were going to go to the finals is now the fifth person off.
MJ: How much of an influence do you think that Leslie had in sending you home because didn’t she tell Zhan Hu that you were the leader?
AR: Oh yeah. That’s a good question. You know, probably quite a bit. Actually, I was a little bit of a leader when Jaime was kidnapped by our tribe and she kind of saw that. And Leslie definitely ran her mouth over there on the other side and there was that one little clip from TV where I said ‘you told them that I was the leader? Are you kidding me?!’ (Laughs). But yeah, it was probably a factor. I think that was the deciding factor between James and I. That they thought that I had more alliances on that side or a stronger alliance than James did.
MJ: In my interview with her, Leslie also said that she was trying to soften the damage that Jaime did when she went over there, came back and said that you were the leader. So I guess that wasn’t the case? Leslie actually did more damage?
AR: Um… yeah I guess. What do you exactly mean?
MJ: I just mean that when I talked to Leslie about all of that, like all the stuff that she said to Zhan Hu about you, she said that she was actually trying to soften the damage that Jaime did when you kidnapped her and she went back and told everybody. So Leslie said that she actually was trying to soften what Jaime had already told them.
AR: Yeah, well either one. Who knows what happened? It could have poured gasoline on the fire or it could have softened the blow. The word was out that I was the leader and you don’t ever exactly want to be in that position unless… I felt okay in that position because I was on Fei Long and we were winning all the challenges and I had a strong alliance.
MJ: Leslie also said that she thought there might be a romantic connection between you and Amanda. Did Amanda have a crush on you and why did you get along so well with her and Todd?
AR: You know, Todd and Amanda, I have a lot of respect for them just being that they are students of the game and they have been around for a long time and they know what’s up. They kind of brought me together, they brought me into their fold, into the alliance and I was just like ‘hey, you know what? These are fairly strong players.’ I was grateful to have that and I kind of went with that and I got all of my information about the game from them. Now, you can only trust so much. Amanda’s a great person. We spent a lot of nights huddled together, keeping away from the cold. There wasn’t a whole lot of sparks going on. It’s tough to have that when you’re hot, sweaty, stinky and don’t have anything to eat.
MJ: (Laughs). Right. In my interview with her, Ashley said that when Jaime was kidnapped by Fei Long, she stole some stuff like limes. Did you notice anything was missing after she left?
AR: No, no. She’s a sneaky little girl that one though.
MJ: (Laughs).
AR: It will be interesting to see how she plays out in the upcoming episodes and in the whole season. No, but we didn’t really notice that limes were gone and I think that there was something about some fishing hooks too, but good luck in using that!
MJ: What was your relationship like with Jaime? When she voted you out, she said that you guys were “frienemies.” Do you think that she had any pull in getting you voted out before James?
AR: Oh for sure. With her and Erik, it was a tight bond and then PG was in the fold so we could have kind of had talks with Erik and Jaime. James and I could have tried to sway them against PG but it just seemed like I was the major threat and they wanted to take me out.
MJ: Why did Jaime say that you guys were “frienemies” when she voted you out?
AR: That was one of the terms that I coined when I went over there. A friendly enemy because it’s like what are we? We were going to battle with each other as of yesterday head-to-head and now we have to play nice.
MJ: Yeah, it’s kind of like sleeping with the enemy.
AR: That is exactly it. Just ask Erik how that feels.
MJ: Did you and James know that Jaime and PG had thrown the challenge before you got to tribal council and do you blame them at all considering you would have definitely jumped back to your old allies Todd and Amanda after the merge?
AR: We kind of got the inkling back in camp life right before we went to tribal council that the gig was up. That they had thrown it and that our heads were on the chopping block already. But I was told that it was going to be James and James was probably told that it was going to be Aaron and it ended up being me but it was a tough little pill to swallow.
MJ: A lot of people are saying that Jaime and PG exhibited poor sportsmanship by laughing and enjoying the fact that they came up with such a brilliant plan. Personally, I think it was well within their right to do so since they only took advantage of the twist and didn’t plan it. How do you feel about how they acted?
AR: They took the integrity out of the challenge. You think that everyone’s going to be a fierce competitor in the challenges and that was one of the reasons why you’re picked but you know what? If it works, it will be one of the most brilliant moves that goes down in the history of Survivor. We just have to wait and see.
MJ: Let’s say that you were back in the majority back in Fei Long and you had two of them on your tribe. Would you have considered doing something like that? Throwing the challenge?
AR: No, no. It’s not in my nature. I don’t think I could have done something like that. And especially been so disrespectful in doing so. We would have let the chips fall where they may, especially with the power that I had over there at Fei Long and the alliance that I was in.
MJ: You seemed to be quiet with the details about your alliance with Todd and Amanda when you were at Zhan Hu obviously. Do you think that if you were more open about it, they would have kept you?
AR: That’s an interesting question. I think the reason that I got out was because I had stronger alliances. That’s the vibe that the girls got from me versus James. I can’t speak for James but I had a really strong alliance and Jaime kind of knew that I had been the leader at some point, but James kind of was maybe not quite getting together with Jean-Robert, and Denise, and Courtney on the other side.
MJ: And you not talking about it, is that what flagged them to saying ‘wow, this guy’s the bigger threat?’
AR: Yeah, probably my reluctance to talk about what exactly was going on and in hindsight, if I would have been smarter… I would have told them that ‘actually I am the leader but I am the hated leader… and that no one really liked me over there and I couldn’t trust anybody and I am kind of a loose cannon, so if you want me on your team, here I am.’
MJ: Yeah, that’s actually quite brilliant. Did you think of that when you were there or only after?
AR: Only after, my friend.
MJ: (Laughs). Because that’s pretty smart. I like that idea.
Yeah, yeah. Me too. In 20/20 hindsight!
MJ: Right, right. Does it bother you that you are out of the game and players like Courtney and Jean-Robert are still in?
AR: Oh yeah. It’s unbearable. It’s like, you have got to be kidding me that the stronger players are really on the chopping block and then you’re going to be playing with people that aren’t pulling their weight in the camp or aren’t pulling their weight in the challenges. But that is also survival. It is survival of the fittest but this is outwit, outlast, outplay.
MJ: Did you know anything about the hidden immunity idol because we don’t really get a sense from the people who don’t get any clues or did you just find all that out when you watched the show back?
AR: You know what? There’s been people that are students of the game and there’s always this talk of ‘wonder where the hidden immunity idol is? I wonder if there is one this season?’ So you know, kind of looking around but other than when you’re kidnapped and you give that hint to somebody do you really know if there is one or not and Leslie made the mistake of sharing it with one of the craftier players in the game and the search is on.
MJ: Is there anything you would do differently?
AR: You know what? I would have went after Erik to try and get PG out. I don’t think I could have broken up Jaime and Erik, but I would have went after PG just in hindsight. I didn’t know that Erik didn’t know about them throwing the challenge and I think that rubbed him the wrong way.
MJ: And my last question is why didn’t Erik get picked by Fei Long as one of the strongest people to take over because that still baffles me even now.
AR: Yeah. We really enjoyed what we saw in the challenges and we really liked Frosti as the guy. When Fei Long lost the pirate ship, winner-take-all challenge, a lot of it was because of Sherea. She also pulled those coins in the chopping challenge… she pulled those coins over the line almost by herself with Dave and it was just like ‘wow, we really want her!’
MJ: What’s next for you?
AR: I am riding this wave of Survivor: China and just getting through this media grind. We’ll see what happens. I am still teaching people how to surf but you never know what’s going to happen and what opportunities this will lead to.
MJ: Was this the best interview that you did?
AR: Oh, by far… (Laughs).
MJ: Awesome! Thank you so much.
AR: Hey, thanks a lot man.
MJ: Take it easy. Bye.
AR: Later.
Originally from Belmont County, Ohio, Aaron Reisberger obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Hospitality Management from Ohio State University. After college, he moved to Chicago for some time and then to Hawaii. He also has his certification from the American Council on Exercise and a bartending license from the state of Hawaii. He is currently a surfing instructor while also tending bar and managing a tapas restaurant. He has previously worked in home remodeling.
Reisberger’s hobbies include cooking (his favorite show is “Top Chef” and he subscribes to Food & Wine), surfing, golf and reading. He describes himself as witty, fun and, well, sometimes too nice. He is proud to say he was on THE PRICE IS RIGHT. He thinks his knowledge of cooking and how to make things edible and tasty will help his game, as will his ability to adapt to his environment and to get along without a lot of creature comforts.
Reisberger currently resides in Venice, California. His birth date is April 25, 1975.
– Survivor: China airs on CBS on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
– Survivor: China airs on the Global network in Canada on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Sir Linksalot: Survivor: China
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