'Survivor' Legends Expose What Actually Wins the Game (7:14)
Perhaps more important than the prize, however, is the legacy. Four people who, in their own very different ways, served as the bamboo floor of Survivor’s metaphoric shelter, showcasing to production, players and fans everything Survivor can offer you, in both its skills and surprises.Check out what Boston Rob, Sandra, Parvati and Tony have to say about their Survivor journeys, as well as the legacy of the show. And be sure to check out our individual features on each player, including exclusive insights and never-before-heard stories, linked below.?Don’t miss our weekly Survivor newsletter! Sign up to get Mike Bloom’s exclusive interviews with the players and the latest news about the show right to your inbox.?
Boston Rob Mariano
"I mean, without a doubt, I'm the biggest winner the show has ever seen, because I have my family because of it," says Beantown's most famous reality star. "That's my legacy, my wife and my four daughters."Robert Voets/CBS
Related: How Boston Rob Mariano Went From Crawling Out of a Freezer to ‘Survivor’ Royalty (Exclusive)
Sandra Diaz-Twine
"It works with the right people, for the right people, by the right people," Sandra Diaz-Twine says of the key to her two-win 'Survivor' run. "At the end of the day, there's usually always bigger fish to fry."R
"Her days are numbered. She won't be Final Four. And I got a million that says she won't be the final one."Jonny FairPlay said this confidently to the producers and audience of Survivor: Pearl Islands. He had just gotten into his first (but certainly not last) major fight with Sandra, and he felt she was too contentious and too much of an easy target to last significantly in the game, let alone go all the way. He had no idea how the falsities of that claim would echo across Survivor history.Across hundreds of castaways, some apply to get a once-in-a-lifetime experience, an opportunity to truly test — and change — themselves in the process. Others seek Survivor shores for the love of the game, and the vision of being crowned Sole Survivor. For Sandra, however, her desires — and subsequently her strategy — were rooted in financial reasons."I quickly realized, for me, I'm going to get paid more than my current job anyway," she recalls. "So the longer I last, the more money I make. So for me, I just kept taking it just one day at a time. I wasn't stressing myself out. Just one day at a time. If I could just survive the next day and the next day and the next day.”What became a simple plan to travel into the next pay bracket ended up becoming Sandra's calling card, and one of the most-cited strategies in the show's history: "As long as it's not me." Whether it's making a promise that will immediately get broken, or letting your closest ally take the heat, try anything and everything to make sure yours is the torch that doesn't get snuffed. For lack of a better term: Survive."It works with the right people, for the right people, by the right people," Sandra explains. "At the end of the day, there's usually always bigger fish to fry. And if you could take the spotlight off of yourself and put it onto someone else. Just go with the group, even if it's just for one vote, save yourself. Sometimes it's all you need to do to last one more day. It's a strategy that works."That became clear by the end of Pearl Islands when, after seeing her nemesis fall, Sandra was seen as the more palatable option of the Final Two. Given the win unanimously. But that strategy — and the legacy of Sandra — was definitively cemented in her next season, Heroes vs. Villains. Competing against some of the best and brightest, despite being outnumbered at multiple points, she simply stuck with her original game plan, doing whatever she needed to avoid her name on that parchment. By the end, she was yet again seen as the most desirable option of the Final Three in the eyes of the jury. And so, she was able to do what many fans (and even Sandra herself) deemed impossible: Winning Survivor for a second time.Becoming the show's first-ever two-time winenr cementing Sandra Diaz-Twine as the "queen" of Survivor. But, despite all the commendations she's received, she's still a fan at her core. So, when asked about the legacy of Survivor, she instead looks forward with some things she feels the show has to do to remain on the air for another 26 years."The fans that love Survivor are always going to watch because we want to critique, we want to be happy. But something has to change," she says. "I would love to see a lot of the players return. All these new players constantly...I think if you assembled the right players that were coming back for a second and third shot, especially a lot of the players that went to the end but didn't win that some of us were rooting for, I think we'd have some spectacular seasons on the horizon. So I would like for Jeff to bring back some returning player seasons. I really do."Related: 'I'm Doing This All By Myself': How Sandra Diaz-Twine Went Against All Odds to Become 'Survivor’s First Two-Time Winner (Exclusive)
Parvati Shallow
"I think my legacy is that you can evolve," says Parvati Shallow after her recently-minted second win. "You can evolve yourself and evolve the game, if you show up authentically and just are willing to be courageous."R
“Heroes vs. Villains is where I stepped into a more empowered voice and stopped being the flirt,” the 43-year-old declares. “Flirting wasn't the strategy that was going to help me. So I had to shift gears. Because I started off as the underdog, and I was in just a very different position. I had no power starting that game."That would not be for long, however. A turbulent premerge somehow got Parvati from a 7-3 disadvantage to taking control of the Villains tribe. And her grip on the game even continued when the tribes merged. Despite so much heat being on her, Parvati pulled off a Survivor first, playing two idols at once to guarantee the Villains — and her — would have the advantage for the rest of the game. It was a run that sent Parvati's reputation into the stratosphere, with many incredibly impressed with how she got all the way to Day 39 once more. The irony: The season that changed so many minds was not a winning one. Parvati ultimately wound up finishing second, and she admits she left the season feeling hurt and broken, having been not only deprived the win, but reamed out by those she considered friends.It wouldn't be until 15 years later that Parvati would get the opportunity to travel back to Samoa for her "redemption story." After a subpar showing in Winners at War, she had undergone a series of major life changes, including getting divorced, becoming a single mom, and coming out as queer. She began to appear on other reality shows, experiencing a bit of a renaissance with star turns on The Traitors and Deal or No Deal Island. So, when she was offered the opportunity to return to the island for Australian Survivor: AU V The World, she jumped at the chance. The result: The best game she ever played, as she went toe-to-toe with some of the best global players in the show's history, and, in a madcap 16-day sprint, outplayed them all. At last, she had earned the second victory she felt she deserved.To date, Parvati has played the most days in Survivor history across any English-speaking series. But she feels like her longevity with the fandom is less about time spent on the beach, and more of about who showed up there."I think my legacy is that you can evolve," she reasons. "You can evolve yourself and evolve the game, if you show up authentically and just are willing to be courageous."And she feels that inspirational quality is what has made the show so successful for over a quarter of a century."People want to see people throwing themselves into the unknown, saying yes to adventure, being brave and also finding ways to survive and empower themselves in restrictive social settings," she says. "I think we are all dealing with that in our own lives, in the world. So survivor is a template for how to succeed in life. "We all just need models for how to do uncertainty and how to thrive in the unknown, because that's what life offers us every day. And I think people want to know that they can handle it, they can handle change, and they can handle when things don't go their way. And watching other people do that is really helpful, and it's also fun."Related: From Doe-Eyed to Black Widow: How Parvati Shallow Turned 'Survivor' Heartbreak into Two-Time Triumph (Exclusive)
Tony Vlachos
"As a fan, I was watching Survivor dwindle down," the energetic and enigmatic Tony remembers of his original win. "I went in there, and I gave it a second life."R
Through the three-month airtime of Survivor: Cagayan, nobody thought Tony Vlachos would actually be the winner. The police officer (or was he a construction worker?) was an absolute madman in the game, finding a record number of idols, bleating at his opponents in llama, and covering himself in branches to spy on the competition. And, for what it's worth, when Tony started his first season, he was in agreement."To be honest with you, the reason I played the way I played was because I thought I had no chance of winning," the 52-year-old admits. "I did not think I was winning that game, so that's why I was swinging for the fences. I didn't care if I thought I was gonna get voted out. So I was like, 'You know what? I'm gonna go big.' And later on, towards the middle of the game, that's when I started having a little army behind me. And I was like, 'Whoa, I might have a chance here!'"To say that would be an understatement. The second half of Cagayan had Tony and Woo Hwang flipping back and forth between alliances, singlehandedly deciding who would go. And, when Tony was at his most in danger at the final stage, he took advantage of his close understanding of his number one ally, convincing him to make arguably the worst move in Survivor history by taking him to the end. The result: Tony's near-unanimous win, making him one of the biggest characters to ever take home the million.Tony returned to the island for Game Changers, only to have his run (literally) stop short when he was voted out second. When he came back for Winners at War, he had a new game plan. Sit on your hands the first half of the game, building relationships (and ladders). When the second half of the game hit, yet again, the true Tony came out, as he engineered the ousters of some of the best players in the show's history. And the similarity to his Cagayan dominance saw a similar outcome, as he took home the second win and a $2 million prize.In talking with many Survivor players since Tony's time on the show, they often cite him as an inspiration, hoping to weaponize advantages and allies in the way that he was able to do so successfully. So even if he has no desire to continue, his gameplay certainly will."As a fan, I was watching Survivor dwindle down, as far as I'm concerned," he says. "And when I played Season 28, it got another jump start. From that point on, it was like, 'Whoa! You could actually backstab your alliance, jump back and forth.' I haven't seen that in many seasons that I watched prior to that. Now that's all I see! I went in there, and I gave it a second life."Related: 'I Had No Chance of Winning': How Tony Vlachos Turned Jungle Chaos Into Two Legendary 'Survivor' Wins (Exclusive)
Survivor: The Next Generation
“They're such good kids. They're so adventurous. And if one of them wanted to do that someday, of course, I would support them,” Boston Rob says of the four daughters that came from his 'Survivor' journey.Courtesy of CBS
Tony, who has a 13-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son, has opted for a strict law in his household: Do as I say, not as I do.
Parvati has opted for a similar path with her daughter. She feels TV is in her destiny, though, as she puts it, “There’s probably easier paths than playing Survivor.” But when it comes to that competitive spirit, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Rob’s four daughters arguably have Survivor in their blood, considering they’re the product of two winners. But he’s a protective parent when it comes to heading out to the island, wanting to not set them up for disappointment.
Of course, having a child become a Survivor player is more than just speculative for Sandra. When she flew out to play on Australian Survivor, she wasn’t alone, joined by her daughter, Nina Twine. Nina would go on to vote her mom out of the game, then had her game cut short due to a knee injury. She would quickly be given a second chance the very next season, where she made a run all the way to fifth place. And she even joined her mother in the reality TV winner’s circle when she was crowned the champ of USA’s The Anonymous. The two are once again competing side-by-side, currently on Season 2 of FOX’s Extracted.
Whether or not their children will appear on a Survivor season in the future, Parvati, Boston Rob, Sandra, and Tony’s effects have had a profound impact on generations of castaways. They have showcased the wide variety of people and strategies it takes to survive the challenges, the elements, and most importantly, each other. They have inspired those who have followed to instill fear into their enemies, to hoodwink someone with an idol, to burn the hat, to speak llama.
Related: Meet the Full Cast of 'Survivor 50': Photos, Bios and What to Know
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