- 2 days ago
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hey, everybody. Just wanted to say one quick thing before we get into my exit interview with Jake.
00:06There are some very different circumstances than what usually happens in these exit interviews during my conversation with Jake,
00:14particularly when it comes to the video of it all, because there is no video.
00:20So I got the chance to talk with Jake yesterday, Thursday, October 9th, in the midst of Jake actually traveling back home.
00:29He had been at a viewing party to watch everything that happened in this episode go down.
00:35And so the only opportunity I had to talk with him was while he was in the airport.
00:40And so we only talked over the phone. There was no video aspect to our conversation.
00:46But I know that and I'm very appreciative of the fact that a lot of people like to check out the video versions of these interviews.
00:53So I tried to cobble something together.
00:56You know, I really wanted to hear from Jake yesterday because suffice it to say,
01:01there were a lot of questions about everything around the sea crate bite and what happened with medical and his removal from the game.
01:09So what I ended up doing is taking the audio from that phone call and putting it into this video.
01:16So you'll see me asking the questions and then you'll have Jake's audio response.
01:22I did put a lovely looking photo of him right over it.
01:25So you're not looking at this thing the entire time.
01:28And so apologies if the audio quality is not up to its usual, you know, pristine level.
01:36But again, I wanted to bring this conversation to those of you who check this out in video form,
01:43because obviously a very dramatic and traumatic experience for Jake.
01:48And he does a great job, I think, explaining everything that went down,
01:52everything from the previous five days leading up to this medical emergency.
01:56And it gives a really nice endpoint to this chapter, at least, of his survivor story.
02:02So I just want to give you full warning in advance.
02:05Apologies if the audio quality is not up to its usual snuff.
02:09But I figured I'd try to make something work to bring my conversation with Jake to you all.
02:15That being said, here's my interview with Jake.
02:18I guess the first question I have to ask is, how are you?
02:22Because, listen, it's been talked about on the show at the time that this was a traumatic situation physically, mentally, emotionally.
02:31You watched that traumatic experience back last night in a very different perspective.
02:37What was that like for you?
02:39You know what, I didn't like it.
02:40I've been dreading this day since it happened.
02:44I knew that this was going to be a massive part of the show.
02:48And like I said, man, at one point, when I was getting off the boat and the drunken, I thought my life was over.
02:57I was told it was a poisonous snake, a very, very poisonous snake.
03:01And I kept saying, like, I'm going to be a dad.
03:06And that's all I could think about.
03:07I'm going to be a father.
03:08I'm going to be a father.
03:09Don't let me die.
03:10Don't let me die.
03:11And to watch that back, I'm not going to lie to you, I was falling in my eyes.
03:18I had Mr. Joe Hunter right next to me.
03:20I was down in San Francisco for it.
03:22And, you know, he had his arm wrapped around me, making sure I was okay.
03:25You know, Kevin was there on a gut.
03:27You know, Bryson Wendt made sure everything, like, I was doing okay.
03:30But it was a very, very tough watch.
03:35Incredibly tough to relive that again.
03:37But I'm so thankful for the medical staff.
03:41And, you know, I'm still here today.
03:43And I might not even be here talking to you if it went differently, right?
03:46So, yeah, I'm very thankful.
03:49Well, let's get into sort of your recollection of the timeline about this.
03:54Because you go down to the water.
03:56You say that this is usually your place to think.
03:58And a lot of what happened with the incident proper is something that we did not see.
04:04So I want to hear your perspective of it.
04:06I mean, like, in retrospect, you hear so much about, oh, yeah, the dry bite came from the snake saying get away.
04:11Like, did you unintentionally provoke it at all?
04:14How did this end up happening?
04:15Yeah, so basically every single day I kind of went down to the beach.
04:19And I kind of just sat there with my feet coming in the water just where the tide comes in.
04:23And I shut my eyes and I spoke to my family and my loved ones back home like they were beside me.
04:28And it was kind of a weird thing to do.
04:30But it just kind of grounded me and just reminded me why I'm out there.
04:33So, yeah, I was down there with my eyes shut.
04:34And I was telling my family, you know, we've got a water challenge coming up.
04:38And, you know, I'm going to get ready.
04:39I'm going to go for a swim right away, do some laughs here, get ready for it.
04:42And then I felt like this little, so we got bit by crabs at night.
04:46So crabs would, like, crawl up our pants.
04:48Like, because we slept on the beach, right?
04:50They didn't show that on the other day either.
04:51But, like, we were sitting on the beach.
04:52So crabs would, you know, they'd pinch you and stuff like that.
04:55So it felt like a crab pinched me.
04:57And I opened my eyes and this white and black snake, mouth open on the bottom of my foot.
05:04It didn't hurt.
05:05It just felt like a pinch almost.
05:09Come check this out, man.
05:09I think this thing just bit me.
05:10Then I yell in production.
05:12I'm like, hey, guys, like, I don't know what that is.
05:15But that just bit me.
05:17And then chaos just ensued.
05:19People started running out of the jungle.
05:21The snake stayed on the beach for a couple minutes.
05:23Scurrying the tide line there.
05:26And then you could see the fear in the production's eyes.
05:29And that's when it got real.
05:31So, no, did I provoke it?
05:32Not at all.
05:33I didn't even know it was there.
05:34I've been thinking about this dude for fucking four months now.
05:38And I think I might have been near a nest of some sort.
05:42I haven't done any sort of research on the snake.
05:44But I wasn't provoking it.
05:46So unless it felt threatened I was near a nest maybe,
05:49that's why I'm thinking it kind of gave me a little bite there just to tell me to get away.
05:53So, obviously, it's a lot to take in all at once,
05:57especially when a producer starts tending to it.
06:00I mean, we get Alex's perspective, right, from, oh, I looked it up in the book.
06:05I saw what it was.
06:06I'm going to try to teach this, for lack of a better term,
06:08pretty tenderfoot when it came to you.
06:10But, like, you mentioned, you know, being on the boat thinking your life was over.
06:13When did you find out the severity of the sea crate?
06:17And how were you trying to just reconcile all of that in the moment?
06:23Yeah, so Alex, he didn't tell me that the thing,
06:26he was trying to keep me a little bit calm, I guess you could say.
06:31But he knew it was poisonous.
06:32And I've talked to Alex since.
06:34But I don't remember, like, who told me.
06:37But someone did say, like, dude, like, this is a very serious situation.
06:41Like, this is a very highly venomous snake.
06:43And we've got to get you to the tent, like, now.
06:47And that's when my world kind of flipped upside down.
06:50I wasn't in and out of consciousness,
06:53but I was in and out of, like, mental capacity.
06:56Like, I was, I don't remember a lot of that boat ride.
06:59I do remember, like, I was on the floor for some point to that.
07:02I think I even threw up on the boat.
07:05It was a lot of psychological stuff happening, too.
07:08Because, like I said, man, I'm about to be a father.
07:10This cannot be the way I go.
07:13So, yeah, it was just after that, everything's a little bit of a blur.
07:17A little bit of a blur.
07:17There's so much happening.
07:19Yeah, so then you end up getting, you know, brought to base camp.
07:22You end up getting treated.
07:24But, I don't know, at least from my perspective,
07:27given the severity and immediacy of the situation,
07:29I had figured that there was going to be, you know,
07:32next to no chance that they would put you back in.
07:35Obviously, your life, very understandably,
07:37was the first and foremost concern with everybody.
07:40Including yourself.
07:42Once you start coming to,
07:44do you have any sort of memory as to, like,
07:47what happened when reality came back in?
07:49And did you have a sense,
07:51before Jeff even reveals the news,
07:52of, like, yeah,
07:54this is not just a patch up your foot
07:56and send you back in?
07:58Yeah, so, I mean,
07:59they were treating it like it was a venomous bite, right?
08:02So, I was kind of out of the loop for a little bit.
08:04All these medical charges are being thrown around.
08:06I got needles in me everywhere.
08:08I got oxygen on me.
08:09My leg, at one point,
08:10was in this massive balloon-looking,
08:13I don't even know what it was.
08:14It was like a pressure cooker almost on my leg.
08:17And, yeah, it was real.
08:18It was scary.
08:19But one thing I will say, man,
08:21and I just spoke to Dalton about this,
08:24is that, you know, when you're, like,
08:25so Jeff Copes showed up there,
08:26and I'm like,
08:27holy shit, Jeff,
08:29like, this has got to be something, like,
08:31pretty crazy, right?
08:33But you know when you're a kid,
08:34and you're, like, riding a bicycle,
08:36and you fall off your bike,
08:37and you scrape your knee up,
08:39and you're crying,
08:40and you're looking for a familiar face,
08:42you're looking for mom or dad
08:42to come and pick you up
08:43and hold you
08:44and tell you everything's going to be okay.
08:45I have all these medical people around,
08:47and I've never seen them in my life,
08:49and I'm scared for my life at the moment,
08:50and when Jeff showed up,
08:52and he held my hand,
08:53you could see that on the show,
08:55and he said,
08:56if it's going to be okay,
08:56and that right there was so calming.
08:59It was just, like,
09:00this familiar face,
09:01and I don't know Jeff
09:03other than being on Survivor, right?
09:05But having him there in that moment
09:09and holding my hand,
09:11it made me so calm in that situation,
09:15and I can't thank Jeff enough.
09:16He doesn't know how much
09:17that meant to me at that moment,
09:20but it means a lot more
09:22than anyone would ever think.
09:24So give me your reaction
09:26once you're given the official,
09:28you know,
09:28good news, bad news, right?
09:30Good news, hey,
09:31you're not going to die.
09:32Bad news is your life in the game
09:34died in a manner of speaking.
09:36Obviously, yeah,
09:37very understandably emotional reaction,
09:39but what was going through
09:40your head at the time?
09:42It's bittersweet.
09:43So obviously,
09:44Dr. Barry,
09:46I think he said,
09:47it appears that this is a dry bite,
09:49and that was music to my ears.
09:50I'm like,
09:50I'm going to be able to see my kid.
09:52Like,
09:52I'm going to be able to see my kid,
09:54and then I go into Survivor mode
09:56where it's like,
09:57all right,
09:57I'm going to get back to my tribe.
09:58We got a challenge coming up.
10:00So did I think
10:00I was going to pull out of the game
10:01at the moment?
10:02No.
10:03If it's a dry bite,
10:04like, yeah,
10:04like,
10:04let's manage me out.
10:06Like,
10:06let's get back.
10:07I'm ready to fucking go here.
10:09But then when they pulled me out,
10:11I'm not going to argue the decision.
10:12These are medical professionals.
10:14Jeff's there.
10:15This is his show.
10:17Was I absolutely devastated?
10:20A hundred percent.
10:21That was not the way
10:23I wanted to go out.
10:24I feel like with Survivor,
10:26the only way,
10:27when your journey is done,
10:28is when your torch gets snuffed.
10:29And my torch was never snuffed.
10:31And it's just,
10:33like I said,
10:33unfinished business.
10:34I don't feel like
10:35I'm done out there.
10:37But I do respect the game.
10:39I respect the rules.
10:40I respect the medical staff,
10:42which are great,
10:43by the way.
10:44And it was out of their best interest
10:46to get me out of there
10:47and then flew me out to Australia
10:49to be seen by some other doctors
10:52and specialists.
10:53And I respect all that.
10:57Yeah.
10:59It sucks,
11:00but you know what?
11:01I got home from the birth of my kid
11:02and now it's worth a million dollars
11:03in itself.
11:04Yeah.
11:04I want to talk more about that
11:06because, yeah,
11:06we did not necessarily know
11:07a lot of the postscript
11:08about the fact,
11:09Jeff talked about this
11:10on the podcast,
11:11that, you know,
11:12they sent you to a local hospital,
11:13but nobody was familiar
11:14with the sea crate by there.
11:16So they sent you off
11:16to a whole entire other continent
11:18in a ironically familiar place
11:20for you in Australia.
11:22But, you know,
11:23as all that is happening,
11:25you know,
11:25are you contacting your wife?
11:27Because she is obviously
11:28about to undergo,
11:29you know,
11:30her own big medical milestone as well.
11:33Give me sort of the timeline
11:34of you being in the hospital
11:35to then immediately going home.
11:38Yeah.
11:38So once I was pulled
11:39from the game officially
11:40and I went to the Fijian hospital,
11:42I was told by our medical professionals
11:45that they're getting me on a plane
11:47and taking me to Australia.
11:49I'm just,
11:50it's just a bigger hospital.
11:52They have more outlets,
11:54I guess you could say.
11:55But yeah,
11:57they gave me a phone
11:59and I called my wife
12:01and just,
12:01that was an emotional phone call.
12:03I said,
12:03I'm safe,
12:04I'm okay.
12:04I got to go to Australia
12:05for some other checks
12:06and stuff like that,
12:07but I'm going to be home very soon.
12:09So yeah,
12:10that's a phone call
12:11I'm never going to forget
12:12in my life
12:13because there's a lot of crying.
12:16However,
12:17I tried to comfort her
12:18knowing that I wasn't dying,
12:20but it's going to be a few more days
12:22until I can be home.
12:23Well,
12:24I'd be remiss
12:25considering that,
12:26you know,
12:26you are more than just a snakebite,
12:28Jake,
12:29to talk about the other five days
12:30that you played in the game
12:32because you were,
12:33you know,
12:33one of the most well-connected people
12:35on Kela.
12:36I got to start with Alex.
12:37I got to start with this bromance.
12:38This was a connection
12:38that was struck up
12:40even before Alex knew it.
12:41So talk to me a bit more
12:42about your relationship.
12:44Yeah,
12:44so Alex,
12:45I just kind of knew
12:47even on that very first challenge
12:48just the way that he handled himself
12:50in that water
12:51and he gave everything.
12:52I'm like,
12:52this is the kind of guy
12:53that I want to work
12:55with that kind of thing.
12:56However,
12:56what they didn't show you
12:57in the edit,
12:58so listen,
12:58this is where the bromance
12:59comes from
13:00because I'm getting
13:00absolutely blasted online
13:02to make this so known,
13:03right?
13:04So me and Sophie
13:05were actually ride or die
13:07on the very first date.
13:08We made an alliance
13:09that let's get to the end together,
13:11all right?
13:11But they didn't put that
13:12in the edit,
13:12right?
13:12So when I made the bromance
13:15with Alex,
13:16I did that on purpose.
13:17I made it very well known
13:18to take the heat off
13:19me and Sophie.
13:20So Sophie did her homework,
13:21I did my homework,
13:22and we come back
13:23with information
13:23for the two of us,
13:24right?
13:25So that's why I kind of
13:26made it so well known
13:28to everybody.
13:30And I hope that makes sense.
13:32Yeah.
13:32But it was working out
13:34for me.
13:34I had two number ones,
13:35so.
13:36I mean,
13:36to that point,
13:37I am curious
13:37because we got so much
13:38of Sophie talking
13:40and Alex talking
13:42about essentially
13:42like competing
13:43to be your number one,
13:45number one.
13:46If it ever came down
13:47to whatever situation
13:48where you had to choose
13:49between the two of them
13:51or even like a situation
13:52where you would have
13:52to trust one over the other,
13:54would you have picked
13:54one in particular?
13:55You know what?
13:56That's such a tough question
13:58because I love both of them
14:00so, so much.
14:00And they're both
14:01my very good friends
14:02outside the show now.
14:04I would have stayed true
14:06to my word with Sophie
14:07that I was,
14:08if I had to pick
14:08between her and Alex,
14:09and Alex is going to
14:10probably kill me
14:11for saying this,
14:12but I would have,
14:13I would have probably
14:13taken Sophie,
14:14but I was hoping
14:15to never get in that situation
14:16where I had to choose
14:17between both of them.
14:19My whole plan
14:20was to take us three
14:21in a perfect world
14:22to the top three,
14:23right,
14:23to the final.
14:24And then if any of them
14:25beat me in the final,
14:26I'd be the first one
14:27to give them a hug,
14:27right?
14:27So that was my whole gameplay.
14:30But yeah,
14:31if you're getting me
14:32to pick one of them
14:32over the other,
14:33I gotta go with my girl's soul.
14:35Miami Latina.
14:37So you were very upfront
14:39to everybody
14:40from the first day
14:41about your dad's eye condition
14:44and that being part
14:45of the reason
14:45why you were out there.
14:47What you chose
14:48not to disclose
14:49so publicly
14:50was your wife's pregnancy.
14:52You only told that information
14:54to Alex and Sophie.
14:56Talk to me a bit
14:57about why you chose
14:59not to be so open
15:00about that particular secret.
15:02I mean,
15:03yeah,
15:03so the one
15:05with my dad,
15:05that just kind of came out.
15:07That was the reason
15:07I was playing for
15:08and I wanted people
15:09to kind of know that.
15:12But when I told
15:13Alex and Sophie
15:14about me having a kid,
15:16I kind of used it
15:16as currency, right?
15:17So like I said,
15:19I got blocked
15:19on the line.
15:20He's saying way too much.
15:21He's saying way too much.
15:22However,
15:22that kind of locked me
15:23in with them
15:24with a friendship
15:25and a trust thing
15:26because I said,
15:27listen guys,
15:28I have to be here.
15:29I'm here for a reason.
15:30Like I need to make this count
15:31and in order for me
15:32to get as far
15:33to get far in this game,
15:35I need your guys' help.
15:36So I'm going to keep
15:37you guys safe.
15:38You keep me safe
15:39and let's do this together.
15:40So that's why
15:40I disclosed that
15:41just to them.
15:43So had you made it
15:44further in the game,
15:45was this something
15:46that you were intending
15:47on telling other people
15:49or was this just going
15:50to be something
15:51to keep the three of you
15:52tightly bonded?
15:53I think if I felt threatened,
15:56like if I got to the merge,
15:57because I knew
15:58I was going to be
15:58a massive target,
16:00if I had to use
16:01that information
16:01to kind of like
16:02keep me safe
16:03because, you know,
16:04it does pull the heartstrings.
16:05It shows people
16:06why you're there.
16:06Like it's more of a reason
16:07than just a million dollars.
16:09Like you want to be there, right?
16:11So I didn't get that far
16:14so I don't know
16:15how to answer that.
16:16My plan was at the end
16:18if I got to the top three
16:19I was going to use that
16:20in my speech, right?
16:23But yeah,
16:24I just wanted to get that
16:25off to my alliance
16:26straight away.
16:27And I mean, it worked.
16:29We ran that tribe.
16:31I didn't have a vote
16:32cast it against me
16:33and just kind of
16:33dictated what happened.
16:34So I think that
16:36revealing that information
16:38helped my game
16:39massively with those two.
16:41I have to ask
16:42about the shoe bandit
16:43because listen,
16:44this is something
16:44that you and I
16:45did not talk about.
16:46Was this something
16:46that you had premeditated
16:49coming in ready to do?
16:51Where did this come from?
16:52No, not really.
16:54Like, I'm actually
16:55in the Calgary Airport
16:56right now
16:56and I'm just checking
16:57out everyone's shoes
16:58or walking past you
16:58and seeing which ones
16:59I can take right now.
17:01But yeah, so I,
17:03on day two,
17:04I think it was,
17:05we have a lot of downtime
17:07that day.
17:07There's not much happening.
17:09And like,
17:09I haven't been like
17:10diagnosed with 88 feet.
17:11I'm pretty sure I haven't
17:12because I can't sit still
17:13for more than five minutes.
17:14So I think I was
17:16sitting on a log
17:16and I saw a shoe,
17:18I think it was a cold shoe
17:19or something like that.
17:20But I'm like,
17:21I'm just going to go hide it.
17:22I'm going to put it
17:2310 feet away.
17:24And I just wanted to see her
17:25try to figure out
17:27where it went
17:28or why it went
17:29and it started chaos.
17:30And then it just kind of,
17:32I enjoyed it.
17:33I enjoyed that little bit
17:34of entertainment for myself
17:35and I just kept doing it, man.
17:37And I hid a lot more shoes
17:39than they put on TV.
17:40A lot more shoes?
17:43Yeah, I actually even hid
17:45my own shoes at one point.
17:47They didn't put that
17:47in the edit either
17:48because I wanted to,
17:49because I saw everyone online
17:50saying like,
17:51why is he hiding his own shoe?
17:52I did do that.
17:52They just didn't put it
17:53in the edit.
17:54So I felt quite a bit
17:55of confusion in the camp.
17:56Well, last thing,
17:58last thing I want to ask
17:59is that again,
18:00obviously family
18:00was a huge connection
18:01as to why you were out there
18:04for many reasons.
18:05Obviously, again,
18:07this was far from
18:08the ideal outcome for you.
18:10But what has the reaction
18:11been like from your family
18:13through your very eventful
18:15six-day adventure
18:16considering the reasons
18:18why you were out there
18:19in the first place?
18:20Yeah, I mean,
18:21I have so much support up here.
18:23I've been kind of like
18:24being the first player
18:25from Alberta
18:25to play on the show.
18:27I have both Calgary,
18:28Edmonton,
18:29all the small towns
18:29support me,
18:30which is really nice.
18:31But my family
18:32watched it, man.
18:33Like I watched episode two
18:34with my father
18:35up in Edmonton
18:36at a watch party
18:36and I sat right beside him.
18:38We watched the show together.
18:39So we,
18:40I got to experience
18:41the love from my father
18:43watching his son on TV
18:44and that's the whole reason
18:46I was kind of there.
18:47I wanted to make him proud
18:49visually one more time
18:50and I did do that.
18:52Obviously,
18:52he's very upset
18:53with how it ended
18:55out.
18:56I haven't actually
18:57even talked to him
18:57about watching it last night.
18:58I'm going to wait
18:59until I get home.
19:01But yeah,
19:02it's,
19:03you know,
19:03I love my family
19:04and I made them proud
19:05and I'm sorry
19:07I couldn't go farther
19:08for them.
19:08I mean,
19:09listen,
19:10it's not about
19:10the number of days
19:11you last,
19:12it's what you do
19:12with them.
19:13And the fact of the matter
19:14is it seems like
19:15you made the most
19:16out of,
19:17for many reasons,
19:18a really,
19:19really tough hand.
19:20I mean,
19:20Jake,
19:20you know,
19:21from the first time
19:21I met you,
19:22you wear your heart
19:22on your sleeve
19:23and that bore out
19:24from beginning to end here.
19:26And,
19:26you know,
19:26not to pull the
19:27everything happens
19:27for a reason card,
19:29but I'm sure a lot
19:30of people have said
19:30as well,
19:31the fact that you
19:31were able to make
19:32it home after all,
19:34I don't know,
19:35it just shows that
19:36you were able
19:37to experience a lot
19:39in that moment
19:40and maybe you leave
19:40with an even greater
19:41appreciation
19:42for what you have.
19:43And I appreciated
19:44what we had
19:45with you on the show
19:46as well.
19:47So again,
19:48I know that things
19:48are far from a deal.
19:49I know last night
19:50was rough,
19:51but I really appreciate
19:52you being,
19:53as always,
19:53so open with me
19:54about all this.
19:55Yeah,
19:56it's such a surreal
19:58experience, man,
19:59and it's something
19:59that I'm going to
19:59remember for the rest
20:00of my life.
20:02Did I want to go
20:03out like that?
20:03No.
20:03And I mentioned before,
20:04I said the only way
20:05to leave survivors
20:06is get your torch
20:06snuffed, right?
20:07And I said to Dalton,
20:09they'll say to you,
20:10like,
20:10I have unfinished
20:11business out on
20:12that island,
20:13and if I ever get
20:14a call from production
20:15saying that they want
20:17the shoe banded back,
20:18they don't even have
20:18to finish their sentence,
20:19and I'll be,
20:20you know,
20:20I'll be packing.
20:21I'm ready to go.
20:21So there's this fire
20:23to my belly,
20:24and next time I'm
20:26coming to play
20:27if I get the shot.
20:28So I appreciate
20:29all the support.
20:30My phone has blown
20:31off in the last 24 hours,
20:33so yeah,
20:34it's just an unreal
20:36experience, man,
20:36and Mike,
20:37it's an absolute pleasure
20:38to talk to you as well.
Recommended
19:55
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