Today the Yak interviewed Caleb Bankston the 26 year old post office manager/ farmer from Collinsville, Alabama. Caleb is engaged to returning player Colton Cumbie from Survivor One World. Previously this Yak interviewed Colton when he exited Survivor One World and found him to be hilarious, witty, extremely intelligent and quite charming. Although Jeff Probst questioned Caleb on the show as to how this mellow, laid back, easy going man could possibly have anything in common with the high strung, seemingly high maintenance Colton, I see them as the perfect yin and yang. As Caleb said on Survivor, “opposites attract.”
YAK: Congratulations Caleb on making it 30 days in the game although I have to say I’m a tad disappointed because I had you in the finals with Hayden.
Caleb: Thank you! It was a good run. Me, Hayden and Ciera were my final 3.
YAK: Have you always been a Survivor fan or only because Colton was on Survivor?
Caleb: I’ve caught several seasons of the show. I’ve never been as loyal as Colton. Colton has never really missed an episode. Growing up on a farm you know if you get home at 7:00 (back then it was on a Thursday night) you got to watch it, if not you just missed it. That’s kind of how it was. If I was home and was able to watch it, I watched it.
YAK: How did you really feel about Colton quitting?
Caleb: I was actually shocked about it but you know when Jeff (Probst) was grilling him I wanted to jump in but I didn’t want to disrespect Jeff at all. I knew what Jeff was going to say but it didn’t really matter what he was going to say. Nothing that Jeff pointed out or said would actually change my opinion about Colton. When Colton wanted to quit he made the comment that he’s changed and he’s grown since One World. There is definitely a different person than that. I understood. I got it. I really didn’t want him to be broken when we got home. I didn’t want him to stick it out in the game and go against who he wanted to be. That was my whole thing. As long as he stayed true to himself I wanted him to do whatever he wanted to do.
YAK: Who did you enjoy getting to know the most out there?
Caleb: I was really a Tyson fan since Tocantins. His kind of humor; to say whatever is on his mind. Colton is kind of similar to that.
YAK: You mean sarcastic and witty?
Caleb: (laughs) Yes I kind of gravitate towards that. I really enjoyed getting to know Vytas, Ciera, Hayden and John. John was a cool guy. Marissa and Rachel I wish I had gotten to know them more but they weren’t out there enough for me to get to know them. I felt like I got pretty close to John. Me and Vytas and Hayden were thick as thieves until the tribe swap happened and threw Vytas to the other side. Then we had to grab hold of Ciera and pull her in close.
YAK: What did you find the most challenging?
Caleb: I guess getting over those challenge jitters. You know you go into those challenges and the veterans have a little bit of an edge on you because they’ve walked up on day 1. They’ve been to their first challenge, their first tribal council. They kind of know what to expect. I think that’s why the first few weeks the “loved ones” tribe, we were ahead and then we just kind of lost it at the end. I think it was the jitters. I think it was the nervousness, everything getting to us and not knowing what to expect. Being there in the element and that feeling of euphoria.
YAK: Who do you think is playing the best game so far?
Caleb: Right now I think Tyson is playing the best game. I loved Hayden’s performance at that last tribal council. His back was against the wall and he came out swinging. I was loving it. That was my first tribal council as a jury member and that was a great first one!
YAK: During that last tribal council you jury members were laughing at some of the things being said.
Caleb: Yeah, Gervase should keep his mouth shut more at tribal council. He tends to step all over himself when he tries to talk and ends up burning a few bridges. That was pretty good. If they hadn’t have gone to rocks and Tyson had switched and voted Monica just to kind of avoid putting himself in danger, Ciera would have been the power player of the season. Since that didn’t work out and she tried to pull a move and it didn’t work, I think Tyson is running the show and he’s in a good spot to go to the end and win. Who knows?
YAK: What are you most proud of regarding how you played the game?
Caleb: I don’t know. I didn’t think the Brad Culpepper tribal council was that big of a thing. I was just feeling that way and I just went with it. I wasn’t thinking this will be a big move or anything. My thing was staying true and not letting anything bother me. Being able to let things go and separate the game from real life. Realizing that people who voted me out or did something, or flipped on me, it’s just a game and I don’t hold that against them at all.
YAK: That’s probably one of the reasons that you are well liked by fans and the other players, however you don’t think that announcing at tribal, “I’m voting for Brad” was a big move? It was pretty cool.
Caleb: Watching it back, I did because Colton being such a big fan of the show explained to me why that was such a big move and he respected it a lot. That meant a lot to me that he was so proud of it. I left and I was all smiles because I actually had done something to help my alliance I felt. It wasn’t I’ve got to do this to make a big move. It was I’ve got to do this to secure my spot.
YAK: Is there anything you’d like to tell our readers or clarify, that was maybe lost in the edit?
Caleb: I’ve probably got more fans than Colton does out there. But for the fans, go easy on him. He’s not the bad guy, he’s really sweet. If you got to know him you’d all love him. I couldn’t make it to the end to get the million, but vote for me for Fan Favorite!
YAK: You and Colton have been together a long time now, when are you getting married?
Caleb: It’s four years now. We are getting married on October 11th in Connecticut. I’m really excited about it!
Being an outdoorsman Caleb really enjoyed his time on Survivor and would definitely do it again.
Thanks for talking with us today Caleb and congratulations on your upcoming nuptials!
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What do you think about what Caleb had to say? Will you miss him on Survivor? Let us know in the comments below! Then, come on in and join us in the FORUM where we are discussing all your favorite shows and more!