By John Powell – GlobalTV.com

Devens has finally done it. After coming so close on Survivor, Devens has won Big Brother. He is the only Survivor player in history to do so. One of the best examples of a well-balanced game that you will ever see, Devens not only has a lot of plans for his winning but more plans for the future.

John Powell: The last time we spoke, we were talking about whether you were going to get that coin from Survivor. Apparently, now you’ve got a lot more coins. What was it like winning Big Brother?

Rick Devens: Dude, I am riding this high right now. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it, but it’s feeling pretty darn good, John.

John Powell: You were in the house and you weren’t aware of this, but your wife has been so supportive of you online. She’s been handling all that stuff. You have the biggest support system there at home. What did it mean to have them there last night?

Rick Devens: Dude, it was incredible. It was so amazing to walk out with that confetti coming down and see my family there and be able to celebrate with them. I just—I loved every bit of it. And you’re right, like, best support system in the world. The kids were fully on board. Becca’s the reason I went on the show. Like, she told me, “You have to go. This is the only chance you’re gonna get.” And the fact that she held down the fort, plus did all her social media work, like, I’m the luckiest dude.

John Powell: So I assume that family dinner you’ve been talking about on the live feeds is on the horizon.

Rick Devens: Oh yeah, oh yeah. Anywhere they want to go. We might do family dinner in Japan, if that’s now one thing.

John Powell: As we saw on the live feeds, I’ve got to say that you should probably renew that gym membership because you do a lot of your best thinking in the gym.

Rick Devens: Apparently, that was my safe place to go. Nobody wanted to be in the gym with me because I’d be embarrassing myself. But yeah, I would just sit up there and go, “You know what? I got time to. I got time to think while I’m lifting these things.” You might be right. I might need to renew a gym membership, and I never thought I’d do that outside of the Big Brother house.

John Powell: You played this perfect game in the sense you had great strategy, great social. You were great at the challenges. But I think there was one flaw, and that was bringing Taylor to the finals, in the sense that she gave you that plea the night before. Based on everything you know now, would you have reacted differently to that?

Rick Devens: I don’t know. I do believe now, and I kind of believed then, that she wouldn’t really take me to the final two. Now I know that Drew wouldn’t really have taken me to the final two, which makes me feel a little bit better. Like father, like son. Yeah, but has she said whether or not she would try to influence Lala’s vote, or who she would vote for? Because I haven’t heard anything about that, and that was the main thing that I was most worried about: if I lost her vote and she influenced Lala’s vote.

Even though I know that, you know, that would have been awkward to do out on stage, I think she easily could have said, “Lala, vote for Drew.” I would have been, you know, up a creek without a paddle.

So I really, as much as I hated to do that to Drew, and I would have much rather sat next to Drew, I thought Drew could beat me under those circumstances because he played a great game, and I knew it. So I think I made the right move. I think even Drew thinks I made the right move, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to spend a lot of time brainstorming, trying to think of how I can make this up to Drew.

John Powell: I think you said it perfectly in your speech when you said your first alliances are to your friends and to your family. I mean, those are who you’re playing for, and you have to put those people first. You played Big Brother, you played Survivor. What’s the biggest difference between playing them both?

Rick Devens: Big Brother is really a marathon and Survivor is a sprint. Survivor comes at you so fast, and you can use that to your advantage because you force people into making last-minute decisions. And sometimes you don’t have time to really work a person and change their mind.

Whereas Big Brother, it goes over such a long period of time. There were times that I had to tell myself, like, “Just don’t play today. Just today, just go out and be everyone’s friend and have a great day and don’t play.”

There were other times where I needed to make something happen, and I said, “I have all week. I’m going to pitch them today. It’s not going to go well. I’m going to pitch them tonight. It’s not going to go well. I’ll pitch them again tomorrow.” And by the end of the week, they’re going, “Okay, you know what? I think you have a point. Let’s do it.”

And so it was really just how fast and how slow things happen.

John Powell: The one thing that really seemed to shine in this season is this idea of personal versus game. I mean, it really was a different house, in the sense that, you know, people would do the move that’s best for them, but then at the same time, two minutes later, you’d be out having a beer in the backyard because all is kind of like under the cover.

That seemed to play into your game because, again, you were able to make these decisions, but because of your social game, people were like, “Well, I understand you had to make that game move, but me and him are still buds.”

Like, I talked to Kamu, and he’s like, “Can’t wait to see you,” and he’s thankful for all the positive things you said about him in the house, considering some of the things he’s had to go through outside.

So you think that that’s a big part of your game, is the fact that you had these genuine relationships with people? You really did care about them?

Rick Devens: Yeah, I really did, and it was really hard to cut those people. Like, that’s not something I’ve ever been able to really do on Survivor, right?

But it started off with Rome in Week 2. Like, I loved Rome. Everyone loved Rome, and I made it very clear, even during that crazy nomination speech, where Jason and the Egg are yelling at each other, like, “Rome, I’m coming for you. I need to get you out of this game, but I love you and I respect you.”

And I give all the credit to Rome and Yosh and Kamu and these people that I came after. They could have treated me like dirt after that, but they didn’t. They were—and maybe it had to do with my approach, because I did really lead with love and let them know that this is strategy.

And maybe they said, “He’s played this game before. Like, you know, if he says it’s strategy, it’s strategy.” But I really just appreciated how much, how well they handled it.

And there were cases like Yash, where it’s like it allowed us to get back together and help each other later because we didn’t take it so personally.

John Powell: I was going to say that, you know, again, you’ve been known on Survivor to take risks, to have a little bit of fun. On Big Brother, you did the biggest no-no you can possibly do, and you volunteered to go on the block. Looking back at that, what do you think of that move?

Rick Devens: Hubris, dude. Hubris. I was feeling myself, and honestly, I was a little bored. Like, everything had been going so well. I had not been on the block all season. I hadn’t won a challenge since my HOH and Veto Week 2, and I’m going, “This never works. It’s the dumbest thing you can do. But I can pull it off. The risk is worth the reward.”

It is not. It was so dumb, and I got so lucky that I pulled out that challenge because that’s one thing I’m learning more and more about as I do these interviews: everyone wanted me out that week. So I got away with one there for sure.

John Powell: Were you surprised to learn that Dee had contemplated possibly voting you out, possibly getting you up? Because again, even she recognized—I mean, you know, it is what it is. You are a huge threat.

Rick Devens: Yeah, hearing that actually blew my mind a little bit. Like, I knew I couldn’t trust Dee to take me to the end, and she couldn’t trust me to take her to the end and I also knew she was annoyed with me that week.

I did not know that she was really contemplating getting me out, and that shakes me a little bit. But that is why I love Dee. Like, she’s such a killer, man. That’s why I wanted to work with her.

So I’m not mad at it but it did surprise me and I do think it’s hilarious.

John Powell: You did get away with a number of moves that you might not have gotten away with in Survivor. What do you think the difference was? Why could you manipulate and do some things, and, you know, again, people would just forgive and forget and be like, “No, it’s—you know, that’s just the game”?

Rick Devens: I think it’s, again, you just have more time. It’s like in Survivor, everyone is vulnerable all the time except whoever has that immunity necklace. Like, they can all turn on you at any time.

So if they were annoyed with me after the Rome nom, I’m up. But in Big Brother, you know, Kamu won the next HOH, so I only have to be on his good side. You know, as long as I’m on his good side, I can’t be nominated, and they’re not going to be able to get me out.

So that gives me more time to kind of sink back into the shadows until I do my next big trick. I think that really lent itself to the way I played the game.

John Powell: You were a forgiving ally, in the sense that Dee didn’t tell you about her power right away. Drew was shifty, a little bit shady here and there, but you found a way to move on.

Just like you found a way to be, “I’m going to be his coach. I’m going to be his dad. I’m going to be their friend.” Is that one of the keys to Big Brother and Survivor, I guess, is evolving? Is that what you found?

Rick Devens: I think so. I think I definitely had evolved this game. I think I definitely put more—because I couldn’t make up advantages and hide immunity idols. It’s like I couldn’t. I didn’t spend time thinking about those things. I invested more time in my social relationships and built better bonds.

And then, if you remember Joe Hunter and I on Season 50, butting heads, a big part of that is because his philosophy was, “If I’m your ally, you tell me everything. We’re totally open.” And even then, my philosophy was, “Listen, if you’re my ally, I’m never coming for you. I’m going to look after you, but I can keep my own secrets.”

Sure. So when other people are keeping secrets, I’m okay with that. That’s fine. I got secrets of my own, so I don’t want to hold your feet to the fire. And I think that’s just a part of the way I play.

And I do think allies appreciate that—that you’re not constantly trying to analyze them and ask them questions and get to the bottom of it. Or, if you are, you’re doing it in a fun way, like, “D, get real. Like, I know you have an advantage. What’s your advantage?”

John Powell: Well, Devens, just like on Survivor, it was so wonderful watching you play. You’re a very insightful player, very strategic player, but then you have a lot of fun, and I think that’s the most important thing. Every minute there, you look like, on the live feeds and on the show, you’re just having the time of your life, and that’s infectious to a lot of people. So it’s great watching you. All the best of luck in the future. Perhaps, if Becca let you, maybe we’ll see you on the Amazing Race with Drew. Who knows?

Rick Devens: There you go. I want to be there with Becca, but Drew would be pretty good, dude!