Tales of a ‘Survivor’
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A scene from the show
Natalie Anderson, raised in Sri Lanka was named the ultimate ‘Survivor’ in the show’s season finale last year and walked away with the grand prize of US$1 million. In an exclusive email interview she tells the Mirror Magazine about her experience
What was it like to win Survivor? What do you think were the big milestones?
Winning survivor was a very proud moment for me, ‘Survivor’ is one of the most physically and mentally demanding experiences anybody can go through.
Lasting 39 days on an island with almost no food or clean water and no shelter was something that forever changed my perspective on life. I was also proud of myself for being a physical, social and strategic player. Being a woman nobody expected me to be so strong in the challenges, but I was able to dominate, beating the rest of the girls and most of the guys. It was also exciting to be the first South Asian woman to be cast on the CBS show and on top of that to represent Sri Lanka and Asian women by winning was awesome! Making my parents Andy and Bernadine Anderson proud was worth more than any money. Family means everything to me and to see them proud of my accomplishment was priceless. Milestones in the game for me were making it to the merge and then when I made the final three I knew I had won the game.
What kind of head space do you have to be in to stay on top of a competition like this?
Being mentally tough was the most important element of survival; no matter how strong physically you mentally “give up” you wont last two days on the beach. I woke up hungry and dirty everyday and went to sleep hungry and dirty. Mentally you have to never quit, because once your mind is checked out there is no way you are going to last long on survivor. I think my mental strength kept me ahead of my competition because I never complained, never let the elements or conditions get to me, I focused on the game of survivor instead of how bad our living conditions were and therefore stayed two steps ahead of everybody.
How did you prepare for it and what saw you through it?
Preparing for survivor for me was a rigorous workout routine that involved everything from Crossfit, running, ocean swimming and Olympic lifting. Nadiya and I have always been athletes. We played rugby for MAS here in Sri Lanka and then played rugby for my university in the states.
Being physically prepared to compete and perform well on challenges was very important to me, as a woman I wanted to make sure that I broke stereotypical ideas that women are not as strong physically as men. Being a strong competitor allowed me to win immunity and rewards for myself and my alliance members which helped me in the game. It also made me a desirable alliance member because people wanted to work with me rather than against me.
Did you have to change gears to move from the Amazing Race to Survivor? In what ways did the shows challenge you differently?
‘Amazing Race’ and ‘Survivor’ are two very different shows. ‘Survivor’is more strategy and being able to read people and influence strangers to work with you, to be loyal to you and to trust you.
‘Amazing Race’ was your ability to navigate and get from one point to the next with minimum error. In ‘Survivor’ you are not only starving and have no basic needs met you also have to constantly protect yourself from being voted out. The social aspect of the game never stops. Both shows however require you to have alot of personality, be competitive and be a character that America wants to see each week!
How do you feel about knowing that your failures and successes will be broadcast all over the world?
I think Nadiya and I are very polarizing characters; we are loud in your face and are 100% authentic! I think you either love us or hate us and that’s fine by me. I didn’t go on ‘Amazing Race’ or ‘Survivor’ to be “Americas sweetheart” When I got casted to be on the show I was excited because being as competitive as I am it was a challenge and I could not refuse. Being able to race around the world with my twin sister was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Having 10 million viewers each week watch us for three seasons at our best and at our worst is a surreal experience, people feel like they know us so well, and have been apart of our life for the last three years. On survivor I exposed who I was as a person you see me cry when Nadiya gets voted out, you see me mad and angry and hungry and happy.
It allows the audience to connect with me as a person. That is why I was the fan favourite pick to win my season, everybody was rooting for me to win. It is because I was so real, vulnerable and showed raw emotion. I was authentic in everything I did and that came across on TV.
What makes you and your sister a good team? What was it like to be separated so early on in ‘Survivor’?
Nadiya and I have a very unique relationship, we are best friends but fight alot. We hold nothing back when it comes to arguments and have no boundaries, sometimes it’s a good thing but it can be a bad thing too.
However, no matter how bad the fight is we make up so fast and are back to being besties in two seconds. I feel like we are closer than most twin sisters are and the fact that we have gone through so much together only makes our bond stronger. Nadiya getting voted out first on ‘Survivor’ fuelled me through the 39 days. I was angry with her tribe; I was able to beat every single person who voted for her. I wanted to make her proud of me and show her that even though she was gone I was able to win for both of us.
What will you do with your winnings?
First you have to pay your taxes. In the states winnings are taxed. Basically 50% after that big investment I made was to the children of Bridge2Peace; my mother’s non-profit. Being able to give back to something that she is so passionate about and to help the children that are enrolled in her schools was something that was very close to my heart.
I am excited to visit the schools in Sri Lanka with her and make improvements in the children’s and families quality of life, their education and their future. Other than that my plans are to invest the money for the future of my family and myself.
How do you think your years here have contributed to the kind of person you are today?
I visit Sri Lanka as often as I can, I was born in New York but moved back to Sri Lanka when I was 3-years-old, I went to school here and so still have a lot of friends and all my family here. I think the Sri Lankan resilience and the attitude of ‘no matter what keep smiling’ powered me through some very hard times on the Nicaraguan beach. There were times when I was so hungry that my whole body would shake and I would look out to the ocean and just appreciate the beauty of the sea and tell myself that I am strong enough to keep going.
My parents Andy and Bernadine Anderson are the biggest influences in my life, growing up they always encouraged my sisters and I to be ourselves, even if that meant being a little crazy. To chase our dreams no matter how impossible they seemed and always appreciated where you came from.
If it wasn’t for my parents being who they are I would have never had it in me to win survivor, I owe everything I am and what I have accomplished to them. Sri Lanka is home for me and it will always be. No matter where I live or where I go this is where my heart is and I look forward to the possibilities ahead. (SD)