‘Survivor 50’: Benjamin ‘Coach’ Wade talks about his legacy after elimination, mistakes made and why the Dragon Slayer is still standing

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In Fiji, Benjamin “Coach” Wade was a popular pre-match winner among the press – a calmer, more introspective version of the Dragon Slayer who looked ready to go deep. Survivor 50. This calm did not last. In his exclusive exit interview with Hollywood Reporter Below, the coach explains where the game went downhill, how old instincts came back and why he believes he may never have been meant to win Survivor.

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You can’t find a single time where you went to vote saying, “This is what I’m going to do.” And then I did something different. This is my item. When Ozzy tried to wear that item down, I stood up for myself. But I was in the middle of everything, and I had this huge army that was being systematically wiped out, without anyone knowing that this was the group I was assembling. So that kind of exposed me a little bit. What actually happened was that when we went to the Blood Moon, I made a huge mistake when I forgot that Colby didn’t have the right to vote. Colby and Joe asked me to come up with a challenge before the merge, which is the final challenge. They said, “We’ve got to get Colby’s voice back and we’ve got to get Aubrey out or maybe Tiffany.” I said, “This goes against what I believe as a competitor, so I can’t do it.” In hindsight, we probably should have done that, but I forgot that Colby didn’t have the right to vote.

So we’re in the lead (in last week’s challenge) and I couldn’t hold on any longer. Dee turns and looks at me and says, “Coach, I got you.” So I said, “Dee, are you sure?” She was like, “Yes, I got you, Coach.” So I got out. Then the moment Colby says, “Coach, we screwed up.” I said, “No, we’re not, man. We still get the votes. It’s you, me, and Siri.” He was like, ‘Coach, I don’t have a voice.’ I say the f-bomb. You can see it on TV. They bled. That’s the moment I realized I had made a huge mistake, so it really derailed me because then I went and played really messy with Dee and scrambled and I didn’t want Colby to come home.

Then I said, “Frick, Colby just came home. So, okay, let me be cool and calm. Let me reconnect with people.” Then we get into Dee’s vote which is a very simple vote. So I said, “Okay, let’s go. Let’s vote for Dee.” It was just a group of us. It wasn’t me running the show. Then we said, “Okay, who’s going to finish second?” I think Jonathan, Joe, and I were having a conversation. The three of us agreed that Tiffany should be taken out because she is my best friend. So we came to this decision and then it was like, “Who’s going to vote for who? How are we going to split the vote?”

You’re talking about all the returning players. Are you going to vote and not split it? If you have the numbers, that is Survivor 101. And they refused to do so. I couldn’t believe it. So I started to get angry because it was all about fear again. I’ve already made some mistakes. I saw people leaving who were in my larger alliance and I thought, I can’t go home tonight. We could have been sitting here last week and you would have said, “Well, why didn’t you do more to convince people to split the vote?” I was going to say, “Nobody wants to split the vote, so I put my tail between my legs.” This is not me.

After the challenge, Chrissy asked you to keep a low profile. How much did I actually buy from her advice and in hindsight – was she right?

I think there is a middle ground. I started with Rizzo last episode. It shows that I have grown. I’d better have grown up as a man – but in Tocantins I would say, “You’re not telling me what to do.” But I took the advice. I thought it was sound advice at the time. I know I was aggressive. I knew that in order to split the vote, I had to do my best. And then it was like, “Okay, now let me be calm and let me sit here and let me let the chips fall.” I didn’t spend all day in a hammock, but I felt like it was sound advice and came from a good place, so I took it.

I was allied with Ozzy. Did you have a feeling that he didn’t let the early “struggle for supplies” issue completely go away?

I congratulate him for playing the most strategic game he has ever played. So congratulations, it didn’t come out the same way it always does. Siri, Stephenie, Joe, Jonathan – you can outrun most people. They come the same way they came last time. Ozzy has developed strategically and it’s good for him. But I knew that at the end of the day, he and I wouldn’t sit in the finals together. And it was really about who was going to get to the other first because I imagined him going down to six, and then cutting it off at six.

If you’re interested in my boot order, I was thinking it would be Stephanie, Siri, after Ozzie, it would sum it up like this. Then me, Jonathan and Chrissy are in the final three. But it was inevitable. Ozzy and I never had the luxury of starting out together on the same beach. So we will never have an alliance on that day and trust on that day.

When Siri returned from exile, she seemed to switch the vote to you and Chrissy. Was that the turning point or were you already in trouble?

I think this was still part of the tribal plan, maybe not 100 percent but maybe 50/50 or 60/40 against me. Then sure enough, Deven’s idol flipped it 10 percent one way. But I didn’t think I was in trouble. I think Ciri came back and it was interesting because I talked to her on the hammock and she said, “Coach, I don’t know what being in an alliance means to you, but I’ll tell you that for me to be in an alliance means I’m going to fight for you. I fought for you with Colby’s vote and I’m going to fight for you until my last breath here.” This level of emotional deception was what made her dangerous at that moment. Hats off to her.

I sent her a text and said, “Okay, coach, you should know that Dee already told me that you would support me in voting for Colby.” Then he said: “But Dee came back later and said she was lying about it.” It’s like a snake resting. They’re not really dangerous and she did do some things, but she wasn’t a strategic mastermind in this game. In fact, I was sitting there thinking, “Is Siri overrated?” Then you do something like this and it changes the whole game and you think: “Yes, it’s dangerous.”

I had an unforgettable send-off with Tai Chi and Chi Rocky Kelat and Haikus. You even got a song. What was it like for you watching the final episode, even though you were back home?

They have really honored me over the years. I have nothing but gratitude to the producers. I only have happy times and memories, even the bad times. The fact that they don’t have to show any of those things. Everything is the icing on the cake. They didn’t have to show titles. Now it’s gone viral. I have literally thousands of orders. I’m running this limited edition title party on my website and we’re almost sold out. It’s crazy. And as I said to the producer who did that episode, “You didn’t have to show that. So thank you for doing me the honor all the time on this edit.” Sometimes an eye roll is included. Sometimes Tiffany finally gets airtime by insulting me and expanding my airtime.

A lot of people have to thank me because they are associated with me, whether good or bad, they get airtime. I feel humbled, blessed and proud that they continue to position me as one of their most memorable figures. Five years from now, 18 of these contestants from Season 50 won’t be remembered. But they will be thinking 50. Whether they love me or hate me, they will remember my attachment to this season.

Coach, you always come close Survivor With a sense of mythology and personal narrative. What story do you think the season told you in the finale?

I can be wise, I can be a big personality, I can be selective. I think the most important thing is that I can be happy, because they really showed my happy side. I sing and dance almost all the time. I think that’s the biggest takeaway. But I can be stupid and I can have holes in me because I’m older and I’m weak. They can show all of the above. That is why, in the great man’s own words, “There has never been a coach, and there never will be another.”

The joyful part really shows where I am in life. I have this wonderful family. I’ve got a great job, a great career. My children’s artwork hangs behind me. The meaning of life is not what it was 15 years ago. He’s transformed and he’s different. It is to be in relationship with the Creator of the universe. It is to be in relationship with the Creator of the universe. This is first and foremost. There is a spot inside our soul that will never be filled by anything else, no matter what it looks like to you. Number two is to find your soul mate and crush life’s obstacles together and leave a legacy for generations through your children. The third thing is to preserve the magic within us that we were born with.

It is joy, kindness and love. The world wants to beat us, especially when we are men. It got the better of me for a while, but I see it in my kids every day and I protect it in my kids every day. If we gave that to everyone we meet – joy, kindness, love – the world would change. And in my corner of the world, I do that every day and it has changed. Whether I’m in high school or I’m radiating light through these kids that come through my program and they in turn radiate light to the student body, or where I’m conducting the symphony, where I’m coaching football. It’s there. It’s a ripple effect and we can all do it. We just have to let go of our ego and pride.

To close us out, do you have a haiku, quote or song that sums up your p Survivor 50 expertise?

I’ll give you a haiku and then I’ll give you a quote. So Walter Savage Landor once said: “It is easy to look down on others, but to look down on yourself is the really difficult task.” I think this is appropriate. It’s easy for people to talk loudly online. But when you look at yourself and your introspection and say, “This is not who I want to be,” that’s the hard task and it’s something I think I’ve done through my survivor’s journey. Haiku poem, “Bitter at this time. My heart is depressed now. Resilience will come.”

Coach, always a pleasure talking with you. I look forward to seeing you at the final in Los Angeles next month.

And you too, my brother. I appreciate you.

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