Read on for my interview with Lindsay, and make sure to check in with Parade.com every day for interviews with this season’s contestants and other tidbits. Survivor 42 premieres on March 9 with a special two-hour premiere on CBS.
Interview with Lindsay from Survivor 42
Why are you here on Survivor? Everything about the game is who I am. I mean, minus the survival skills, as ironic as that sounds. But in terms of being super competitive, that’s me. Very athletic, very me. Very social, very me. Also, really strategic and being able to manipulate people. Not in a negative way, but I’m capable of doing it. So in all those aspects, I was like, “This game is me.” And in no other way can I utilize these strengths that I have in a productive manner in real life. But on Survivor, it can be super productive. So it just screamed me. So the second I saw the show, I was like, “Oh, hell yeah, I’m definitely gonna try this.” What’s your history with watching Survivor? I’ve never missed an episode. My mom and I would always watch it. And a few years ago, we got my sister into watching it. It’s funny because my dad would always walk past the TV, and we’re like, “Oh dad, you wanna watch this episode? It’s really good!” And he’s like, “That’s all drama. It’s all fake.” And now, when I told my dad, “I’m going to be on it. Do you still think it’s all drama? You should watch a season or so while I’m gone to know what I’m going to be doing out there.” He’s like, “No. I mean, they plant coconut trees and make you dig for buried treasure. I’ll just wait till you’re on it.” (Laughs.) So it’s always just been an ongoing joke. But me, my mom, my sister, and my aunt have always been really into it. Every week would talk on the phone about the episodes and what strategic moves we would have done. So we pretend like we’re in the game. Give me one Survivor winner and one non-winner who you identify with the most. Boston Rob is obviously an icon. I can’t in good conscience say I’m like Boston Rob. However, he was great in challenges. He was really good at the social game and a good leader. And also, he was very good at manipulating people to do what he wanted. I don’t have that Italian mobster dominant end to it that he has. But I definitely see myself being similar to all the other attributes. In someone that didn’t win, Stephenie. Stephenie played twice. She was the last girl on her team. And she was just a badass. I felt like she was really well-liked, she was really nice, but she was really strong in challenges. She just had a toughness about herself, which I do too. I’m from Jersey; I’m not going to let somebody push me around. And I felt like she had that spunk to her too. So I always really loved watching her play. I really wish she won. What’s one life experience you feel has prepared you most for the game? So as a registered dietitian, you would think it’s just teaching people nutrition. Get in my door, here’s what you do, then you leave. But it’s a lot of nutrition counseling. There’s a lot of the counseling aspect where you need to dig deep about people’s motivations, what’s holding them back from doing things, and their fears. And within that, I ended up working with the eating disorder demographic as well. Not only has that made me a better dietitian, but there’s also the mental health aspect. The way people think, the different things that might end up being related in different ways, and how to approach different people and get them to open up, I think, ultimately has prepared me. I feel the most prepared I would ever be to play now must by knowing how to adapt to different types of people. Everyone I work with is different, and I have to build a rapport with them. I have to get them to open up. I have to get them to be willing to try something different and take a risk. And hopefully, those skills are going to relate to this game. I can get people also to open up and trust me and want to try things that I tell them are the best idea of what to do. So I think that idea as a whole really helps translate into me hopefully being the most prepared player I could ever be in my life. What do you think people will perceive you as? I hope people will perceive me as someone outgoing and positive. Who has that tough scrappiness, but in a positive way. I obviously hope that no one finds me in a negative light. But I guess we’ll see how it goes. And if they do, that’s personal growth for me. I’m very much open to learning about myself. But I think people hopefully are going to view me as like, “Man, that girl’s got a lot of spunk, and no one’s going to mess with her. She doesn’t really care who it is. She’s not intimidated by anybody. If she feels strongly about something and wants to do it, she’s just going to straight-up do it.” So I hope that that motivates people to also want to just push themselves, stay confident, and just do what they love. What do you desire in an alliance partner? I would love to have an alliance partner that is just as upfront and honest as I am. I’m really to the point. No bullshit, I don’t have time to mess around and be passive. So I would love it if somebody else was also really straightforward and to the point. Where we’re able to kind of cut the bullshit out and just get to the point and figure out what we need to do. But also, if I tell them that somebody has their name out, they’re not going to blow up everything and be like, “Lindsey just told me that you said.” Way to screw that up! So somebody I can trust is not going to sabotage themselves and me in the crossfire of that. So I guess what I hope for in an alliance member would be to trust that they’re going to be smart enough to make the smartest move that doesn’t destroy themselves and me in the process. What celebrity or fictional character would you want to come out for a Loved Ones visit? I’m a huge fan of The Office. So I would probably love Steve Carell to come out and be my celebrity relative guest. Or really anyone on the show, to be honest. I’m such a dork about it that all of them would be great to see. So I don’t really care who. But being able to like have Michael Scott with me would be just awesome. I feel like he’d be my best friend. Next, check out our interview with Survivor 42 contestant Jonathan Young.
