When Brady Booker was eliminated during the first merged Tribal Council of Survivor 51, he was still wearing a bandage after slicing off a chunk of his thumb. In the months since his ouster in Fiji, his prognosis is excellent: “It grew back, dog! I’m half axolotl, I guess.”
Brady was booted by a 9-4 vote over Eric Macksoud, but things would have turned out completely differently had his true target, Mike Pinsky, not won immunity. He “100%” would have gone home, Brady tells Gold Derby, even though “it would’ve put holes in” the games of his allies, Jelly Loblack and Devin Way. “I gave [Mike] his moment, and he stayed with his tail between his legs.”
The Tennessee-based pro wrestler also reveals that Survivor aired him urinating on a tree because he didn’t use “Coconut Grove,” aka the designated bathroom area. He ended up “draining the main vein” in the wild, just like he does at home on his 10 acres of land. “I am a little bit of a man-child — shout-out to Sabrina Carpenter.”
On the show and during our exit interview, Brady frequently calls other people “Brody,” which he explains is because he’s forgetful with names. “I want to be inviting. I don’t want to bum anybody out,” he admits while comparing himself to a friendly puppy. “Touch me, hug me. I’m very lovable — we’ll say a golden retriever. … He’ll sit there, wag his tail: ‘Pet me.'”
Gold Derby: We are here with Brady Booker, who was just eliminated from Survivor 51. Are we Brodies?
Brady Booker: I mean, Brody, you got a smile on your face and it seems like you’re talking good with me, so I’ll Brody down with anybody who wants to Brody up. There’s not much requirements for a Brody other than treat others how you want to be treated and have a good time, have fun doing it.
Can we get a thumb check? How’s your thumb doing?
It grew back, dog! You can’t even tell. I’ll post a picture of the lopped-off piece, but it’s impressive. I’m half axolotl, I guess. I didn’t know people were built like that, dog. God truly made us to overcome adversity. Hey, you chop off a little bit of your finger? Don’t worry, dog, it’ll grow back. Just keep the process going, keep pushing.
I’m so glad you’re OK, because there was a moment when I thought, “Oh, they’re going to pull him from this game.”
You thought that? Did you see me? I went through seven stages of grief in 30 minutes. It was almost like a drug trip, Brody. [Laughs.]
Shortly after you sliced your thumb, Rob [Antonson] quit the game because of an injury. He claimed he hurt his foot, but medical said he was OK. What were your thoughts on that?
When I first found out on our beach, I was a little bummed out because meeting Rob on the first beach, I thought maybe we could work together. I had a good vibe off him. But for me, another person gone is another step closer. Now watching it as a fan, Rob did something that has never been — I mean, it’s been done, but maybe not to that extent. It could never be me, but it’s great TV. He’ll probably be infamous forever. And after watching it, I think it makes my stuff even better! I just want to thank him for helping me get my stuff over, you know what I mean, Brody? No malice toward Rob. Could never be me, but I can understand the splash he made.
Congratulations on making it to the merge. What was the name of the merge tribe? They didn’t reveal it.
Oh, dude. They did talk about it. We had to paint something — this big thing with our names on it. I think it was in Fijian, something to do with a whale. I say “Brody” because I can’t remember names, dog. I want to be inviting. I don’t want to bum anybody out. What’s up, guy? What up, Brody? Touch me, hug me. I’m very lovable — we’ll say a golden retriever. I don’t know if I can say teddy bear anymore, with how toxic and aggressive people want to make me out to be. If a golden retriever runs at you, dog, he’s going to be kind of scary, but all he wants is the ball or treat. He’ll sit there, wag his tail: “Pet me.” Yeah, it was something to do with a whale. I can’t remember.
Let’s talk gameplay. At Tribal Council, Lewis [Kelly], Carter [Krull], and Thien An [Nguyen] stuck with you and voted out Eric. Why do you think this specific group of three people had your back?
That was our alliance, and Maggie [Nestor] flipped. I thought Devin might’ve been on my side, but Dev was never working with me from the jump. Jelly was never working with me from the jump. She wanted to get me out since Episode 1. Kudos to them for playing Survivor and playing me. They were the only people I think who made an alliance [the Helicopter Alliance] on that first beach. An alliance of five out of 21 is insane. An alliance of three out of 12 is even more insane, especially with the swaps and separate tribes, and me not being able to talk to certain people for longer than other people. So, we were at a disadvantage, especially when Maggie flipped.
[Danny] Kilby was working for me at Tribal, but then ended up voting for me because he didn’t want to have to explain to Eric, who already didn’t trust him, when he got back to base. He needed to keep people on his side. I can totally understand that, but shout-out to my ride-or-dies. I truly didn’t have a No. 1 because none of those people came up to me and said, “It’s you.” Thien An talked about being intimidated by other people and them keeping her away from me. Carter and Lewis talked about their names getting thrown out, which they were, and they had to look out for themselves. They ended up not voting for me, but I truly didn’t have that person who needed me there, and it ended up showing.
You mentioned Maggie. There was a moment when you found an extra vote and Maggie said, “Give it to me,” so you gave it to her. Do you have any regrets about that?
I can’t, because first of all, the way it ended up getting used is an all-time Survivor moment. It was amazing to see how that pulled off. Frankly, I think Kilby and Lewis deserved it because we’d already seen some boring Tribals where people just voted out the obvious and stuff like that. That’s not cool. We all like drama and crazy flips, so it was cool to see it go down that way. Of course I wanted it for myself. I would’ve rather had it for myself. But when I walked down there, Maggie was there first, and I saw she was having trouble. We’d already started to build a rapport, and I knew how frantic she was. She was crying earlier that day about being at the bottom. I didn’t want to blow anything up in that moment. I felt like that was my easiest way to stay in good graces with everyone and keep it kind to ourselves. I didn’t want to look like a bully on screen. Why would I pull it from this woman? If that’s the ground I have to break to win, I can find other ways.
You were vocal about wanting to vote out Mike, but then he won immunity. Would Mike have gone home if he hadn’t won?
Brody, 100%. I think it would’ve put holes in Jelly’s game and Dev’s game, but shout-out to them. Dev actually came up to me and Carter before talking to Mike about telling him the Kristin [Flickinger] vote. He was like, “Hey, don’t you want to keep Mike involved in the vote?” I said, “All right, I’ll give him one last chance. Dev, I’m trusting him. He’ll probably tell him, so I’ll just be the one to make him maybe feel good.” Mike had it out for me, which I can understand, but it was very surprising. Realistically, on the first beach, he was attached to Patt [Cannaday]‘s hip, and with everybody else he was just making small talk, not giving any information. That’s why people were so down on him. Then we get to the 2.0 beach, and they’re already down on him, and he’s missing his No. 1 ally. No one was giving anyone information, so I took it upon myself to say, “We’ve had some common ground.”
I kept him informed. Sure, people want to say I’m leaky, but information is gold and that’s how you prove loyalty to people. It’s whether they’re going to share your information or not. I was the only person keeping him involved in information on that beach, but he was still upset with me. If I come on a little strong, Brody, just talk to me. But we all saw when I gave him that opportunity to stand 10 toes down and have that man-to-man with me in the shelter, he didn’t. He didn’t tell me, “Yeah, I got you.” That’s all I wanted. I gave him his moment, and he stayed with his tail between his legs. Maybe I’m just too uber high-maintenance or too toxic and aggressive. But if you want to be that man and give that confessional or show that, then stand your ground, Brody. I don’t think it would’ve changed much if he had, but he didn’t. I guess that’s a testament to who he is as a person.
Were my eyes deceiving me, or did the producers actually show you urinating on a tree in last night’s episode? What was happening there?
Yeah. Is that the first time they’ve ever shown that?
Possibly, yes.
We were on a new beach and they pointed out Coconut Grove, but people were talking, and I was thinking about going fishing for the first time. That’s how locked in I was about the vote at the beginning. I hadn’t had the fishing gear, so I wanted to get out there. But as I was thinking about doing that, I ended up draining the main vein before going out. I was still peeking around to see who was talking, and I guess they got a little footage of that, dog. Maybe I didn’t go in the designated area, so they got the footage and showed it. But we all pee, right? I was just marking a little territory out in Fiji, dog. I am a little bit of a man-child — shout-out to Sabrina Carpenter. I live out here in the country on 10 acres. I’ll walk into my backyard and find a spot sometimes. It was very comfortable and normal for me, but I can see the entertainment in it, and I was glad they showed something for me that they don’t usually show for the Brodies.
Can you describe the taste of a grub worm?
There was a little cheese essence to it and kind of a bread-dough taste. I took one bite and swallowed. They almost did me a disservice, Brody. I put two in my mouth, bit them and swallowed. I think it was under two seconds. I’d like to see the track record on that, maybe get Jeff to talk about it.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
