Survivor: Interview with Artis Silvester

Artis Silvester the 52 year old Computer Engineer from Louisiana became the third member of the jury on Wednesday nights episode of Survivor Philippines.  Artis is an avid Survivor fan who has applied 12 times.  He is also a survivor of stage 4 cancer and is sure that he has a guardian angel watching over him.  The Yak was able to have a phone interview with Artis, this is what he had to say.

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The Yak:  It says in your bio that you’ve applied for Survivor 12 times so you’re obviously a big fan.  Why do you think the twelfth  time was the charm?

Artis:  I think it’s kind of a combination of surviving conditions.  I watched season one and then started applying. When I initially applied I would have been one of the biggest contestants  that they’ve ever had.  I had a lot of muscle mass and I would have been a beast.  When I started radiation and chemo I lost like 70 pounds but I’ve picked up weight.  When I got the green light to start working out again I put back on 20 pounds.  I think the man upstairs decided that I was going to get a new shot at life. The very next time I applied I got called to LA.  I knew if I got to make it to the audition in LA I would be selected.

Q:  Why do you think it was ultimately you and not Penner who was voted off.

Artis:  Because I couldn’t convince just one person to stay with me for one more vote.

Q:  How do you think Lisa is playing the game as compared to Abi?

Artis:  Lisa is playing like a Mom and I have no idea what Abi is playing like.  That’s anybody’s call.  Like I said, she has to one up everybody like she’s got something to prove or she decided she’s going to be the bitch of Survivor, I don’t know.

Q:   During your final exit words  you seemed like such a happy, fun guy.  Why do you think you came across so angry most of the time?

Artis:   Like I said during my initial casting sessions, I’m just one of those people that when I am just sitting there doing nothing just twiddling my thumbs my natural facial expression just looks like I am pissed off at the world! (laughs). Another thing is I aligned myself with Pete and with Pete came the baggage of Abi. That lumped me into the thing of being an evil, villainous person.

When in fact I was nothing like that.  It played out well because  if I’m not smiling  and I’m sitting there doing normal day to day things you would think I’m angry or PO’d at the world.   That was a huge obstacle for me to overcome coming into the game.  That actually restructured how I had to play the game because of the perception people had of me without even knowing my name. It was an easy transition to take a nice person and make them a villain when they are aligned with Pete and the baggage of Abi.  I smiled a lot  out there but they couldn’t show it if they were depicting me as a villain.

Q:  Did you ever consider flipping over to Kalabaw or have any conversations with them?

Artis:  I had conversations with myself about that. Being a fan of the show unless my recollection is wrong,  I don’t know of anybody that has flipped and won the game.  Plus, no  matter how dysfunctional we were we continued to have the numbers. You don’t get to change horses in the middle of the race.

Yak:  Was there any discussion between you, Pete and Abi about using Abi’s immunity idol to try and save one of you or were you that comfortable that you had the numbers?

Artis:  If you know Abi like I know Abi, Abi would not give that idol to anyone but Pete. That was a lost cause right there.

Q:  What is your take on Penner’s game?

Artis:  If you’ve played this game three times and you don’t know what you’re doing?  You just wasted your life.  He’s supposed to be good and he was.  I expected him to be good at it.

Q:  You said early on that you were aligned with Pete.  Pete has been depicted as a villain.  How do you feel about Pete and what is something we don’t know about him?

Artis:  Pete’s 24 years old and just out of college.  A frat boy, Pete’s just doing frat boy stuff. The thing I like about Pete is that Pete didn’t do anything that he didn’t tell me he was doing. I couldn’t get upset with him because I knew what he was doing.

The Yak:  Artis you’ve talked about returning players.  If you got the call would you play again?

Artis:  When I left the game and Jeff P. was snuffing out my torch I was thinking  “how cool is this shit!” that’s why I left so happy.  I was given the opportunity.  I don’t think I’d be invited to play again but if given the opportunity, Absolutely!!

Artis went on to discuss that the edit of Abi is the real deal.  “There is NO editing Abi.”
He also spoke about his dislike of Skupin however would not elaborate on the reason.  “Skupin is out for no one but Skupin, he’s not a good person.” Artis is rooting for Pete but feels Denise is the most underestimated player in the game.

Thank you Artis for taking the time to talk with us at the Yak!!

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What are your thoughts on what Artis had to say? Were you rooting for him to win? Let us know below!