He may not have won the title of sole Survivor, but lifeguard Matt Sharp has now cemented himself in a very special club, having made it to the final tribal council after almost 50 days stranded in Samoa.
Whilst former Olympic pole vaulter Liz Parnov did ultimately take the crown, we still commend Matt for the stellar effort he put into this season.
TV Week caught up with the Heroes vs Villains star in the days after the finale aired to reflect back upon his time on the smash hit reality show.
If you could play this season again what would you change?
My game plan was locked in for it being a final two, so I would’ve played so differently knowing I would have to beat two other players.
What was going through your mind at the final tribal council?
I was fighting an uphill battle at that tribal and I knew it since finding out it was a final three.
Is there anything you wished you had pitched to the jury/elaborated on but didn’t?
I try not to live with regrets but yeah, I’m sure there’s heaps of things I could’ve said or articulated better. I don’t know that it would’ve changed much though.
Matt was also a challenge beast, securing a number of individual immunity wins.
(IMAGE: Ten)Not to re trigger you but was that final individual immunity challenge as painful at it looked?
Yeah, it was really painful, it’s a Survivor bucket list moment for me (the final challenge) and I really wanted to push myself to see what I had.
It’s such a mental battle pushing through pain, and I did my best and didn’t leave anything up there.
You survived almost 50 days in Samoa, how long did it take for your body (and mind) to recover?
I had lost 10kgs and my mind was cooked, definitely took a few weeks to recover but I’m lucky that I have awesome friends and family around that helped out.
Toughest moment of the season?
Definitely those last few days from knowing that it was a final 3. I didn’t sleep much and was trying to come up with a plan of how to win.
Matt remained close allies (and friends) with Gerry for the majority of the game.
(IMAGE: Ten)How did your personal relationships seperate from strategic decisions?
At times it was a struggle like voting out Dave was hard cause I really like him. But post merge keeping Gerry and George around was all game plan. My game plan was to get to the final 3 with George and Gerry and beat them at the challenge and then take Gerry to the final. Didn’t work out that way but while you make friends out there at the end of the day it’s a game.
Would you play again?
Yeah I think I would, it’s an amazing experience playing the game. I loved pushing myself physically, socially and emotionally and that’s why I went for the challenge so while I’d do some things differently it would be hard to turn down the opportunity again.
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