By John Powell – GlobalTV.com

His last time on Survivor was a dream come true. Survivor 50 though was a physical and psychological nightmare. 48 winner Kyle Fraser saw his game go up in smoke on the season premiere when a torn Achilles tendon forced him to leave the game only days into the competition. Since then, Kyle has had a rough road which has included surgery, walking with a boot, a cane and a lot of therapy.

John Powell: The last time we spoke, you were on a high; you just won Survivor. You talked about getting married. Now, if you’ve experienced the low of the low, how are you doing watching it all back?

Kyle Fraser: Well, John, I’m still on a high, man! You know, listen, I got a little girl coming in a couple months. You know, life is good! You know, watching it back, it was hard at some point, but I’m grateful. I was grateful that I got to be a part of Season 50. I think they did a good job of showing just how hard I was trying to play the game.

John Powell: Well, congratulations on the news! That’s wonderful! How are you feeling now? We saw you take that fall. You went back to camp. How were you feeling? Because it seemed like you were getting a little bit more and more agility going or was that for show?

Kyle Fraser: It was for show. (laughs) I was trying. I was trying. I was in a lot of pain. It was definitely torn, it was a full tear. I had to go back and get surgery immediately. So, while I was fighting to stay, I’m glad that they made that decision for me. They wrapped it up and I just thought if I could try to show them that I can do what I can do then maybe they’ll let me stay. It was hard but ultimately I think they made the right choice.

John Powell: If it would have been left up to you what would you have done then and now?

Kyle Fraser: So, if it was then, I would have stayed in the game. I really would. I was going back and forth with Jeff (Probst) and the doctor for quite some time. I know they couldn’t show all that but knowing what I know now, especially with the little girl on the way, I would say I would have gone out the game. There’s another gentleman who is getting physical therapy at the same place that I am. He actually took longer to get his surgery. His scar is much farther up. His healing process is going to be completely different than mine. I kind of saw a glimpse of what it would be like if I did stay.

John Powell: Well, you gotta say that once you become a parent, your perspective changes, doesn’t it? Now, what have you gone through since then? We saw you in a walking boot during the episode.

Kyle Fraser: Yeah, so I came back, I had to get surgery essentially immediately. They confirmed it was a full tear. I was in a cast for quite some time and then I switched to a boot but I couldn’t walk or put pressure on my foot for probably about two months. And then I started walking. It took a little bit more time to get into two shoes. I had to walk with a cane for quite some time but I was going to physical therapy for three to four months, for three to four times a week. Now I go three times per week. Still, I’m just starting to run again. I just started. I haven’t run a full mile yet but I’ll be sprinting, hopefully, and jumping in the next month and a half, two months and hopefully, wrap this thing up.

John Powell: Well, it has to be soon because I’ll tell you once your kids get moving, there’s no rest for the wicked.

Kyle Fraser: Oh yeah! I got to be ready for that!

John Powell: Did you know that you had such an impact on your tribe for the short time you were there?

Kyle Fraser: Frankly, I didn’t. I knew that I had made good connections and I was making inroads in the game. You don’t ever know what’s real or not on Survivor. Like, you’re playing this game but you’re still second-guessing yourself. When I knew I was getting pulled…that has to be real. It really meant a lot to me to see that. Even on the way out the first thing Jeff (Probst) said to me was, on the boat, was: “That was real.” Four days or not, I have a lot of love for those people. I meant what I said, and I was like, “I want one of you guys to win.” It just was such a cool experience to play with that specific tribe.

John Powell: Give us a rundown of what your perception of the tribe, what’s going on.

Kyle Fraser: I’ll try to keep this from being disjointed. Genevieve was my number one…It was like a pyramid. Genevieve and I were number one, right? Stephanie, Colby, myself and Genevieve had a foursome. Then Stephanie, Rizzo, myself, and Q had a foursome. Well, then me, Angelina, and Aubrey actually formed a threesome because I got very close with Angelina.

I still told Genevieve about all that stuff but we actually ended up having this sort of alliance where we were able to feed information to one another and it worked out really well. I love the relationships that I was able to sort of build out there and it was paying dividends, strategically.

John Powell: What drew you to Genevieve? Why did you want to play with her?

Kyle Fraser: It was sort of managing the pyramid that I just mentioned, right? I knew coming out of 48 that I was going to have a target on my back so I sort of had to play very hard and fast. I think being able to have someone who can help me manage those narratives would be very important. I thought Genevieve would be the person, perfect person, because you can’t slip up. No mistakes, no little false sentences or anything like that. I needed someone who would be rock solid, right?

John Powell: I’ve spoken to previous winners before who’ve come back yet they had nothing to prove. Were you worried about your legacy as a previous winner?

Kyle Fraser: Not really, honestly. I was 28 pounds down coming out of 48. I literally just got back to my weight when I got the call if I wanted to consider 50. It was an immediate yes for me with the caveat that I need to go talk to Maggie, my wife, right? I genuinely do feel as if I was sort of built and made for this game, just like the way that I choose to live my life. I love learning about people; they love learning about me, I think. Ozzy had this confessional years ago, I think on his first season, where he was like, “This game is built for me, because, like, I have all these weird talents and like, things that I like to do, and I’ve never got a chance to show them.” And I feel like in a different way than Ozzy, socially. I feel like this thing was built for me in a lot of ways.

John Powell: Obviously we don’t get to see everything about your journey. What do you wish people would have seen about your journey out there this time around.

Kyle Fraser: Maybe my moment with Angelina because I think that’s a good example of changing your mind and being fluid in the game. Angelina, I was wary of her because I thought she was playing with Aubrey, but we were connecting, me and Angelina, very well personally. Then eventually that turned into a working relationship that I really cared about and I was excited about. At first I didn’t know if Angelina and I would be able to work together and then all of a sudden it turned into something that I think I would have also relied upon later in the game. So, you know, it’s interesting.

John Powell: There are a lot of conversations, things you weren’t privy to. What surprised you the most watching the show?

Kyle Fraser: Two things. The first one, quickly: I did not know exactly the severity of that conversation with Aubrey and Genevieve. That obviously left an impression on both of them. I think Genevieve and I were planning to target Aubrey, right? And just how hilarious the Q, Coach, Ozzy situation was. The way that Q had explained that when he came back to camp was that Coach had agreed to two, right? And then stole the key. And so it was funny! I think who knows how it was edited and stuff like that, but it was funny to, like, see that in real time!

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