The Sole Survivor of Survivor South Africa: Island of Secrets, and a massive physical presence, Rob Bentele assumed he would have a target on his back when he came into Survivor: Australia V The World.
"I was happy that the World Tribe didn't have a clue who I was," Rob laughed, "I did know I was a physical threat, but Survivor Australia is definitely the toughest, most physical version of Survivor... brute strength is quite normal.
"You really do need good strength, so I thought they would keep me around just for that. I wasn't worried about the early stages," Rob continued. "It was when we hit merge that I knew there'd be a serious target on my back."
After the World Tribe lost the first immunity challenge and had to head to Tribal Council, Rob assumed he could rally the World Tribe into making the most logical decision. With three players from Survivor US on the beach, the four players from other nations could band together and dismantle a US alliance from naturally taking over.
Add to that the fact that each of the Americans are some of the greatest to ever play the game, their threat level was clear.
"It was such a basic, logical decision to ensure that one of the Americans went home," Rob said. "That's why I didn't scramble or wasn't chatting too much to try and convince them because, in my mind, it was the most logical move to do."
Early on, Rob was singled out by Parvati, and she attempted to gain his trust by revealing that she and David Genat had worked together on Deal or No Deal Island. Parvati also explained that David was a big fan of Rob's and wanted to work with him if the pair made it to merge.
But Rob was unsure if this was just a ploy for Parvati to manipulate him into working together. On top of that, Rob's first interaction with David was... confusing.
"When David and I first saw each other, when we stood on the mats, he stared me down like he wanted to kill me. Every time I looked at this guy, I started to think, what's going on? What did I do to this guy? It was a very intimidating stare," Rob laughed.
"I thought David was coming for me, so when Parv told me that, I didn't truly believe it. I thought they were spinning a trap for me. Looking back at it, David is amazing, and we've become really great friends, and I wish I could go back and actually play with that man."
Hoping to unite Lisa, Tommi and Kass in an alliance to take out one of the Americans, Rob tentatively brought Parvati in to give her a chance to join them. In a tense exchange, Rob -- in front of his three allies -- put Parvati on the spot and asked who she wanted to vote for that night.
"She couldn't give me a straight answer! For me, there was no option of taking out one of the four of us," Rob explained. "Each of us was representing a country by ourselves; it would be a terrible loss... I needed to make sure an American went home."
When Parvati refused to offer up a name, Rob suggested Cirie, unaware of her and Parvati's longstanding relationship from when they originally played together on Survivor: Micronesia.
While hoping to keep the tribe strong, Rob also admitted that if Parvati had offered Tony up as an option he would have gone with it. "I wouldn't have liked to lose Tony because he was the biggest asset in challenges, he was there by my side picking up heavy stuff.
"Tony could get stuff done, he was working around campand knowing those physcial challenges were coming up, I wouldn't have liked to have let go of Tony but that could havve been a compromise I would have gone with," he explained.
"I was also trying not to alienate anyone, I mean, once I realised Parvati and I are not going to work, I went to Cirie and Tony to tell them the plan because I was trying to really keep us unified. Yes, it was very greedy," he added, "I could have just settled with having my four in the circle, but I was trying to take the whole tribe."
Looking back, Rob was the first to admit that he went into Australia V The World with the same momentum and dominant approach that he had at the end of his original season. "I came in hard," he added.
"I do blame myself because I made these decisions on my own, I should have consulted [Kass, Tommi, and Lisa] far better than I did. My whole key was to try and keep the tribe together, I really wanted the World Tirbe to work together as a single unit.
"I was trying to foster lolyalty and to show them I had their back... I knew the Americans wre a big threat, and I understimated Parvati," he laughed.
"I was trying to do the best for the tribe, I really was. It was about us winning from the Australians. Whether or not I won the game, I just wanted to make sure a World Tribe member wins."
Hoping to make a move on Parvati after it became clear she was protecting her fellow American allies, Rob still felt like his physical strength would be enough of a buffer to get through the first vote. But the tribe unanimously voted him out, giving Rob the rare opportunity to be both a Sole Survivor and a first boot.
"You know, that's the beauty of Survivor, you win some, you lose some," he said. "It was actualy good to experience both sides of the spectrum so that, the next time I go in, I'll be far more prepared. I mean, a similar thing happened to Tony, he won once, the second time he got kicked out, and then he came back to win the third time he played so... I don't regret it. It was lovely. I had a lot of fun."
Survivor: Australia V The World continues Sundays at 7pm and Monday - Tuesday at 7.30pm on 10.
