Survivor’s Tevin on getting the boot
Super-smooth Tevin’s cunning strategy on Survivor backfired when the tribe voted him out. He tells YOU about his game plan
WITH his tatty vest and baggy shorts hanging more loosely off his lean frame by the day and a fine sheen of sweat on his dirtsmeared brow, he was almost unrecognisable. Were it not for his oddly well-groomed beard and glossy head of hair, the handsome young doctor would have looked nothing like the dapper TV host of SABC3 talk show Mela that fans know so well.
But with the hardships of Survivor South Africa: Philippines behind him, Tevin Naidu (25) is back to his suave old self when we meet him at the Multichoice offices in Randburg, Johannesburg, soon after he was booted off the show.
His departure came as a major upset. Fans were blindsided when Tevin – who became known as “the puppet master”, “the godfather” and even “the mafia king” thanks to his cunning manoeuvres – was voted off the island by the newly merged tribe.
Tevin, who also presented SABC2’s now-defunct Eastern Mosaic, says he has no regrets, even though he was eliminated long before the R1 million prize was even in play.
“It was a boyhood dream coming true,” Tevin says. “I’ve been a fan of Survivor since the age of seven, so I’ve been watching the show for almost 18 years.”
He’s not kidding. The former Mr India SA has watched all 36 American seasons, all six South African seasons and all four Australian seasons. “Some seasons more than five times,” he adds proudly.
His Survivor expertise meant he had big plans and he’s rather put out he didn’t get to set the wheels in motion. “I had a list and I’m sad it didn’t come to be because a lot of my pointers were meant to happen post-merge [when the initial two tribes become one]. I had so many intriguing things to do to create drama.”
His medical knowledge was also a big part of his strategy, he says. “I love neuro-
science, sociology, psychology and understanding the mind and brain, and how people work. Survivor is one of the greatest social experiments out there,” he says.
“As a fan I wanted to play the type of game that fans would enjoy watching, but more specifically, the type of game I enjoy watching and playing.
“I planned on being a villain to the audience, but a hero to the tribe.”
HIS intrigues certainly got viewers’ tongues wagging – as did his immaculate facial hair. Even in the sweltering island heat, the self-professed metrosexual still managed to keep his famous ’stache groomed to perfection.
“We were allowed some sunblock and I’d put some in my hair and I’d twirl my ’stache with some sunblock,” Tevin says. “But I’m lucky I have thick black hair so even when there was no sunblock my hair always looked okay.”
Many assume his polished appearance means he’d had a silver-spoon upbringing, Tevin says, but this wasn’t the case.
He was born in Vereeniging near Joburg before moving to Durban as a child with his mom, Vasi (53), dad, Charm (59), and sister, Rochelle (30).
“I grew up in humble beginnings in in a place called Clare Estate in Sydenham, Durban. So I grew up with gangsterism. Some of my friends have been stabbed, some of my friends have been shot, some of my friends went to prison.”
And while both his parents were police officers – his mom a colonel and spokesperson and his dad a sergeant – troublemaker Tevin often found himself in hot water, ending up with a black eye and a broken nose more than once.
“I was one of those kids – I was the bully to the bullies,” he says. “I was always trying to defend someone, justifying my actions in a way, so I was never really malicious.”
But once he got involved in the entertainment industry and got his medical degree, going on to become a doctor at King Edward VIII Hospital in Durban, he realised he wanted to live a more responsible life.
“Growing up I was a lot more selfish than I am now. I’ve grown up in the past five years and a lot has changed in terms of my personality.”
On the island, Tevin’s mischievous side won out. As part of the blue Mindanao tribe, outwitting, outplaying and outlasting was his only motivation.
“I planned on just playing a strategic game – lie, cheat, steal, create chaos,” he says. “No one would ever know I was doing the things I was doing, but I’d be the puppet master. I planned on playing a little less openly strategically and out there,” he says.
Initially, he thought fellow Durbanite Marthinus Oosthuizen (29) and Cape Town mom-of-two Murishca Martheze (34) were the two players he’d take with him to the final three – but he was forced to rethink things when both his allies’ torches were extinguished early on.
Luckily he and PK (Pheko Phetoe, 28) formed a bond and their alliance made the pair a force to be reckoned with. But in the end, the mining technician from Centurion turned on Tevin, teaming up with the other players to send him home.
“I believe I would’ve been a shield for him,” Tevin says, though he reckons he should’ve let PK call the shots every now and then. “I could’ve given him an opportunity to shine. I could’ve actually taken PK to the end. We were that close and I wouldn’t have minded PK winning the million.
“I would’ve loved to be the villain that got to the end and lost.”
IT WASN’T all puppeteering and no play for smooth-talking Tevin, who found himself cuddling up to Somerset West travel writer Josie Eveleigh (28) on chilly island nights. But when we ask about her, Tevin’s keeping his cards close to his chest. “I don’t kiss and tell,” he says, laughing. “For me, this is a game, where you have to think with the right head. But I think she’s beautiful, she’s smart and we’ll see. I did mention that I’m going to ignite the flame in her heart. “I think at the reunion show it will just have to be reignited.”
The part of the show he was most looking forward to is the contestants’ visit from their loved ones. Tevin had planned to bring his mom, Vasi – another Survivor superfan – to the island when the time came.
“She’s the most important person in my life,” he says. “A big part of why I entered was because of her. Survivor is the only television show I watch with my mom, so if we’re in different cities I save every episode so we can watch it together.
“I just wanted to get to the loved one visit so she could join us. I told the players that I didn’t care if they wanted to vote me out after that. Once my mom was there, they could get me out afterwards.”
Despite his early exit, Tevin is still a Survivor fanatic – and he’d love to do it all over again. “People asked me when I got there what would be my downfall in the game, and I said it would be over-confidence and complacency. I was right. So it was bitter-sweet – but I’m happy with the game I played. I entered Survivor not to gain anything out of it. I entered Survivor to play Survivor.”
’I could’ve taken PK to the end’