By Andy Sloan

 

He's been one of the most controversial contestants this season and after 35 Days in the game of Survivor, Dan Foley sits at the 6th member of Season 30's 9-person jury. It's the interview of the season as we talk strategy, Dan's infamous phrase "Flipper's Never Win," editing and the feud with Shirin that's sparked trending conversations across the country.

 

Hey Dan! Welcome to your 100th interview of the Dan! Sorry for adding another on ya.

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Hey listen don't be sorry, don't ever apologize. This is what I signed up for.

 

Well thanks Dan. We have a lot to cover in a little bit of time, so lets rock n' roll. Starting with strategy, your line of the season was "Flippers Never Win." How did this come about and did you ever genuinely consider flipping post-merge.

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Okay. That came up because of times like the first time Cochran played and when Kass played Brains/Brawn/Beauty and there are people that have done this. Is this an absolute rule? Of course not. But for the most part it's a pretty steadfast rule. If you flip on your alliance and the jury gets stacked with people that you screwed over, there is very little chance that you'll win this game. It's very unlikely. I probably shouldn't have said it as absolute as I did, but whatever. I still standby it.

 

No I didn't consider flipping. For all the grief and everything that went down, last week I had no votes cast against me. It went just the way I wanted it to. Last night it went exactly the way I wanted it to, except for Carolyn's idol. The majority of those people voted with me. I got voted out by a minority and an idol. I'd say I was in a good position and people were riding with me.

 

Going back a few episodes, Tyler said that you couldn't see past Top 6. It seems like you'd disagree with that, but I want to ask if during the game you saw past Top 6 and looked longterm? Was there strategy the viewers didn't get to see on television?

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Oh my lord, there was so much of me you didn't see. The Joaquin vote was all my decision. Mike and Sierra wanted to get rid of Joe first and I was insistent that Joaquin had to go first because Rodney had flipped on us. That was before the jury and we needed to make sure we kept our numbers strong. Survivor is, was and ever shall be a game of numbers. When numbers are not on your side, you need to do something different. That's the basis of my comment "You can't do basic math."

 

As long as Tyler continued to perceive that I couldn't think past Final 6, that's why he went before me. You had Mike, who's on the outs at this point, Sierra and me, who had gotten back together and were very tight, and Rodney, who had Will. Rodney was wavering at this point. It was between us and them, us and them. But I really felt like I had Rodney's loyalty. It proved to be right because he helped me get rid of Tyler and never told Tyler it was coming. So apparently Rodney wasn't really all that tight with Tyler in the end.

 

Was there any time, specifically post-merge, where your personal feelings toward some of your fellow castaways clouded your judgement? Maybe against Mike or Shirin?

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Shirin made it crystal clear that she was untrustworthy. Completely, totally, absolutely untrustworthy. She came to me after Kelly got blindsided with Jenn's immunity idol and started to gloat. She kept telling me, "I was responsible for getting rid of Kelly. I did it. You know why? Because I took what you told me and I gave it to Jenn and Hali. That's why she's gone." Now why in God's Green Earth would I ever trust you at this point, when you're gloating over the fact that you took things and used it against me. That's Survivor suicide, to align yourself with someone like that. So I didn't.

 

Mike put himself on the outs because of his actions at the auction. That was nothing we did. We didn't turn on him, he turned on us. He turned on us by proving he didn't have loyalty to us. I'll say it again until the day I die. There are 4 things in life that are earned and not given: Family, Respect, Forgiveness and Trust. You need to earn them. I worked very hard to earn Sierra's forgiveness, regardless of how it was perpetrated in the show. And I still do.

 

Now I know your a fan of the show, applying since Season 2. Was there ever a point on the show where you thought, "I'm going to make this move because if I were watching at home, I would love to see this happen." That is, did being a fan influence any moves you did or didn't make?

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No. At the end of the day I don't give a sh*t about the fans, I just care about me. I'm not playing for the fans, I'm playing for my family, for the bragging rights. It's funny because Jeff actually said it at tribal a few times. He would say things like, "This is your game, not mine. I'm getting paid no matter what, so you do what you want." If you live to play the game for somebody else, you're screwed. You have no hope in this game. You play your game your way.

 

If you want to play for somebody else, great! I'll put you in my alliance because you'll be the goat I get rid of in the end.

 

In the world of Survivor, we get heroes and villains. In your Ponderosa video, you said you played a Hero's game. In your opinion, what are the instances that back-up this statement?

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My edit doesn't make me look like a hero. But I'll tell ya right now, my loyalty is what defines me as a hero. I'll tell you exactly what did it. When Tyler, Carolyn, Will and myself went on the cheeseburger reward, we got back and Mike had found a cormorant (?) in our fishing net. He killed it, cleaned it, cooked it and had it ready to eat. I told everyone not to eat them because they are dangerous. If I had kept my mouth shut I would've won that game by default because everybody would've gotten sick and I would've been the last person standing. I think that all by itself is the definition of a hero.

 

When I found that fruit in last night's episode, not for a second did it cross my mind to keep that fruit and not share it. I came right back to camp to share that with Sierra and Rodney. They stood by me, stuck with me, I earned their trust and they earned mine. So while those guys were eating lobster and steak, we were eating fruit, laughing and Rodney got so damn happy it was ridiculous.

 

Lets switch gears a little bit. I'm going to read a comment said by Shirin in my interview with her 2 weeks ago and I want to give you the chance to respond.

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Okay, this outta be good.

 

In reference to the game, Shirin said, "I thought Dan was just dumb. But now that I'm seeing what he says in his confessionals, what airs on TV and the way I'm seeing him behave on social media, I actually think Dan is cruel." Do you want to comment on that?

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I think it's hypocritical of Shirin to say negative things about me when she continues to say negative things about me right up until last night episode. She's saying that she's been picked on or bullied and she's actually exciting people to pick on and bully me. This season has already been marred bad enough with all this "men hate women" kind of thing. But nobody really seemed to get up in arms when Lindsay said she wanted to break Rodney's jaw and feed it to him.

 

At the end of the day, I don't want this season to be ruined by it. Shirin has tried to continue with this negativity, but I'm going to prove who the better person is. I wish Shirin all the best. To put in the words of Mr. Lavoie (Rodney), her and I get along like chicken parm and tuna fish. There is nothing wrong with that. Sometimes people just don't get along. I think it's clear Shirin has had a troubled past that still affects her to this day. With all my heart and all the sincerity I hope everyone believes, I hope she gets the help that she clearly needs to make herself whole. I truly wish her just the best.

 

In your Ponderosa video, you said you didn't learn anything new about yourself while you were playing the game. Does that still hold true after you've watched yourself on television for the past 3 months?

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I consider myself a very self-aware person. I've recognized my strengths and my weaknesses. I recognize my benefits and I also recognize my flaws. I'm not afraid of either of them and I'm not afraid of owning either of them. I actually don't need Survivor to realize that I can be a jackass. I don't need Survivor to help me understand that there are many times I stick my foot in my mouth. I've actually tried to earn Sierra' forgiveness because it goes back to that trust, family, forgiveness and respect. I believe they are earned and not given.

 

I truly believe that I knew who I was going into this game and I knew who I was coming out of this game. That may sound arrogant and I don't mean it to, but I do recognize who I am. Does that mean there isn't room for personal growth, improvement or character development? Of course not. There is always room for things like that, but I look at myself fairly constantly to try to recognize those things. But I do know who I am.

 

Lets end on a fun note. You're a huge fan of the show and next season is Second Chances. We have contestants spanning all the way back to Kelly Wiglesworth in season 1. Who are your top choices for going in?

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Haha, well the top choice was clearly me but they didn't pick me! It took them 14 years to finally choose me! But I'd like to see Kelley Wentworth on there. I think she kind of got the short end of the stick because having her dad in the game hurt her. I'd also like to see Troyzan because he was a very interesting character and I like him a lot. I'd be real interested to see what he could do with the motley crew!

 

Alright thanks very much Dan! I look forward to hearing your jury speech on Finale Night! We'll be seeing you next week!

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Have a comment about any of Dan's answers? Drop them below!

 

Photo credit: CBS