“I can only blame myself,” says Sam, eliminated from the game.

• Sam was eliminated from Koh-Lanta, the island of heroes, broadcast Friday evening on TF1.
• “I digested elimination quickly and widely. Rather, what I have left across my throat is that I lost the immunity test, “Sam explains to 20 minutes.
• “If I had to redo something in this adventure, it would have been to be more open to others and to be more strategic,” he adds.

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Koh-Lanta, the island of heroes lost this friday night on
TF1 one of its strongest candidates. And the sentence is irrevocable. The adventurers decided to eliminate Sam. The 20-year-old young Alsatian – 19 years old when filming – used to shine on the tests but did not really seek to attract the sympathy of his acolytes on the camp. This is what partly cost him his place, as he told, over the phone, to 20 minutes.

Several months after the shooting, did you digest this elimination or does it remain in your throat?

It was digested quickly and widely. Rather, what I have left across my throat is that I lost the test of immunity. If I had won it, I could have continued the adventure. I only hold it against myself and no one else. Once you’ve lost, you can only blame yourself. And then eliminations, it’s normal, it’s the game.

You say you thought you could win the immunity test. For you, the victory of Naoil, who remained the only candidate competing against you, is mainly due to your failure at the time?

Exactly, I was so sure of winning because I love this event [celle dite « de l’étoile », consistant à rester en équilibre le plus longtemps possible sur un support, bras et jambes écartées], I loved watching it as a viewer. When I knew it was the one planned, I thought it was folded. I did not want to let go because my head was priced. I had a moment of inattention, I slipped and it cost me my place. Afterwards, Naoil was very very strong too and fought a very beautiful battle which I remember as if it were yesterday.

You were called back to participate in this “Koh-Lanta” season, while you were in the running for the one whose shooting was canceled in 2018. It is a consolation to tell you that you still had a second chance to do this adventure?

It’s sure and certain. Have the chance to participate in Koh Lanta, besides, at 19, coming out of adolescence, it’s something incredible. Just setting foot, even for one day, in Fiji, is exceptional.

What do you think cost you your place in the adventure?

There are a lot of things that come into play. I was not in strategy. I think that the desire to want to win a maximum of tests, not to have been too sociable with the others and the fact that I wanted to protect the heroes, not to eliminate them, that played a lot.

Several adventurers warned you by advising you to be more sociable. You haven’t really listened to them …

You should know that in everyday life I am much more jovial. But at Koh Lanta, you cannot trust others until you know them. Some people told me to be more sociable, but it was mainly a pretext. Because even by opening myself up, telling my life story, pretending to be interested in others, I don’t think it would have changed much on the outcome of my adventure.

What would you do differently if you had to do “Koh-Lanta” again?

If I had to do something again on this adventure, it would have been to be more open to others and to be more strategist. Do not be deceitful but know which group to go to. But even with that, it would have been complicated. I rather have the profile of a Teheiura who takes credit at stake and who comes for adventure and survival.

Did this adventure make you change?

Before or after the adventure, I have always been the same. She hasn’t changed me. On the other hand, it brought me a lot. It made me realize that I am made for that: to discover other civilizations, to travel… It is really something that I like to do. It also brought me very strong memories, which will remain etched forever.

Were you surprised by certain aspects of your behavior, by the pressure you tended to put on yourself to be effective on camp or in the tests, while watching the program?

Yes. I wanted to live up to the chance I had been offered to participate in Koh Lanta. I didn’t want to disappoint myself or anyone else and not to waste this opportunity. It’s true that I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself, but if we don’t do it, I think that we cannot win or live the adventure fully and that we risk missing out.

Are you aware that you are now an emblematic candidate for the show, just like Claude, Teheiura, Sara and the “heroes” of this season?

I wouldn’t go that far. They are heroes who have done a lot of Koh Lanta. You have to leave them in their place because they are the masters of the game. I don’t have social networks, so I don’t see what’s going on on the Internet. But I think I tried to be the type of adventurer I always wanted to be when I was a kid.

You’re still performing very well on the tests, you’re showing ingenuity on the camp… These are things that viewers will remember. Don’t you feel like you’ve marked them?

I don’t realize it because everything I do in Koh Lanta, I find that normal. Trying to give the maximum in the tests or on the camp is my vision of the game. I think it must be very different from those of other candidates who have made the adventure with me. I’m not conscious, especially with the
containment, Who could follow me, recognize myself in me or the number of people who appreciate my personality.