I Planned To Create Chaos

Super-smooth Tevin’s cunning strategy on Survivor backfired when the tribe voted him out. He tells YOU about his game plan

- Shanaaz Prince

WITH his tatty vest and baggy shorts hanging more loosely off his lean frame by the day and a fine sheen of sweat on his dirt-smeared brow, he was almost unrecognisable.

Were it not for his oddly well-groomed beard and glossy head of hair, the handsome young doctor would have looked nothing like the dapper TV host of SABC3 talk show Mela that fans know so well.

But with the hardships of Survivor South Africa: the Philippines behind him, Tevin Naidu (25) is back to his suave old self when we meet him at the Multichoice offices in Randburg, Johannesburg, soon after he was booted off the show.

His departure came as a major upset. Fans were blindsided when Tevin – who became known as “the puppet master”, “the godfather” and even “the mafia king” thanks to his cunning manoeuvres – was voted off the island by the newly merged tribe.

Tevin, who also presented SABC2’s now-defunct Eastern Mosaic, says he has no regrets, even though he was eliminated long before the R1 million prize was even in play.

“It was a boyhood dream coming true,” Tevin says. “I’ve been a fan of Survivor since the age of seven, so I’ve been watching the show for almost 18 years.”

He’s not kidding. The former Mr India SA has watched all 36 American seasons, all six South African seasons and all four Australian seasons. “Some seasons more than five times,” he adds proudly.

His Survivor expertise meant he had big plans and he’s rather put out he didn’t get to set the wheels in motion. “I had a list and I’m sad it didn’t come to be because a lot of my pointers were meant to happen post-merge [when the initial two tribes become one]. I had so many intriguing things to do to create drama.”