Kyle Fraser Admits He’s Worried About the Target on His Back in 'Survivor 50' (Exclusive)
Kyle Fraser didn’t get much time to enjoy his victory before being thrown back onto the beaches of Fiji.
Just a week after his winning season finished airing on television, the Season 48 champion, 32, found himself returning for Survivor 50—a turnaround he didn’t hesitate to accept. “Absolutely, in a heartbeat,” he told Men’s Journal during a preseason interview conducted on location. “The experience is just insane. I learned a ton about myself in the game."
Still, returning so soon comes with strategic complications. While the New York-based litigator isn’t dismissing the traditional winner’s target he might have, he's more worried about the perceived threat of a voting block that has already proven its loyalty. “I think the winner’s target is a little bit smaller,” he admitted. “I think the bigger target is this group of three.”
That group includes his fellow Season 48 players Joe Hunter and Kamilla Karthigesu. While Fraser worries about the vulnerability of being on a tribe with his former allies, he is also weighing the "recency bias" of a cast that literally just finished watching him win. “I definitely feel as if that could be on the top of people's minds,” Fraser said. "Everybody just saw 48."
Rather than shying away from the pressure, he's approaching the milestone season with a focus on narrative control. “There's not going to be easy boots out here,” he told MJ. “It's all about narratives on these returning seasons. It's like, what drives the votes on these returning seasons?"
That awareness extends to the silent social game currently playing out at Ponderosa, where Fraser observes a cast of veterans playing it very close to the vest. “Everybody's just putting on their nice person face,” he observed. “Soft smiles, you know, trying not to create any enemies."
Despite the risks, Fraser is entering the game with a different mindset than his first time out. After playing his winning game in a constant state of fight-or-flight mode, he is hoping to balance his lawyerly instincts with a bit of fun—though he’s willing to be cutthroat when the time comes.
“Here, this is a season of returning players,” he said. “I'm pulling the trigger if I need to… just because people kind of signed up for this.”
Below, Fraser opens up more about returning so soon after his win, navigating "scary" alliances, and why he’s keeping a close eye on the "unassuming" players from Season 49.
Men’s Journal: You're a week out from your win and you're already back out here. What made you say yes? Were you like, "I can't say no to Survivor"?
Kyle Fraser: I mean, literally, you just answered the question. I got the call, and I had just gotten back to my original weight. Literally, that same day, I remember feeling very happy about it. I was like, "Absolutely, in a heartbeat." I think people are gonna hate this answer, but the experience is just insane. I learned a ton about myself in the game. I mean, not even just like living on an island and the people, but just being able to play this game again. I was so excited. I knew I would play again one day, or I thought. I had high hopes.
Men’s Journal: You also have Joe and Kamilla out here with you. Are you worried? Or do you think this is good for you?
Kyle Fraser: I'm pretty worried about it. People ask, are you afraid of the winners target on your back? I think the winners target is a little bit smaller. I think the bigger target is this group of three. I would be very worried if I started on a tribe with Joe or Kamilla. Both of them were shown to be two of my closest allies in very different ways. But I think there's a couple things going in my favor here. There's multiple groups of three, right? The David vs. Goliath people have a group of three. You know, the Season 46 people have a group of three. And there's tons of people who've played together multiple times. Cirie [Fields] played with, like, a ton of people. A lot of them, Aubry's [Bracco] played a couple times. So I think I can use this to my advantage. You know, every vote out here is going to matter, and I think it's really just about making sure that people don't see this group of three as a threat and maybe like a nice shield for them. Or maybe taking out some of these unaffiliated people who are out there by themselves or don't really have that many close friendships in the community, might be an easier sort of thing to dangle in front of people at the beginning of the game.
Men’s Journal: There was some speculation that maybe you were purposely downplaying your relationship with Kamilla in post-season press because you knew you would both be out here. Is that true?
Kyle Fraser: No. I mean, in real life, Kamilla and I are good friends, yeah? Like, there was no bad blood between us at all. I think it showed that at the end, you know, during the season. As soon as the game ended, maybe on socials we dropped a couple things, but no, we weren't hiding anything in real life. We're not that coy or tricky.
Men’s Journal: Obviously, you mentioned the winner target. You also have Dee [Valladares], another winner out here. How are you going to navigate that? Any plans to work with Dee?
Kyle Fraser: I mean, I would love to work with Dee. I don't know if we'll be on the same starting tribe, but if we got together, I think that it would be a necessity for us to work together, because one of us goes, and then the other one, obviously, becomes a massive target. And here's the thing, I just worked with a very scary player throughout my entire season. Kamilla was a very scary player. I think that came across on TV. I'm not afraid to work with scary people like that. That is my MO. I saw Dee pull the wool over so many people's eyes, but I'm happy to work with that, because I trust my own gut. And if I got by that, it's better than getting got by somebody else who's not that shown to be a great player. So I would love to work with Dee and then you just got to look over your shoulder, just like I did with Kamilla.
Men’s Journal: Who are you not thrilled to see out here? Who do you not plan on working with?
Kyle Fraser: I don't know the 49ers. I'm the type of guy, like, I can see myself working with so many different people on this island. I think that I could develop a connection with ton of people. The thing that scares me about the 49ers is we just don't have any game tape on them. And, like, for example, Rizo [Velovic], I'm trying to think, like, what is it about this guy that he's on Season 50? This is a season that's a very landmark season. He's obviously got to be a good player. Savannah [Louie]—Savannah is locked in. I can tell that she is ready to play this game. Rizo comes across as this very unassuming sort of person. I don't know, like, is he out here finding five idols? Is he out here lying to everybody, or is he just an unassuming challenge beast? There's something about these people that I don't know and that, to me, is very threatening. I'm sure it's a very cookie cutter answer you're gonna get from a lot of people. But I am very scared of them. I like predictability.
Men’s Journal: Anything you're picking up at Ponderosa?
Kyle Fraser: I think I'm the biggest culprit of this, but everybody's just putting on their nice person face. Everybody's super courteous. And not that anybody wouldn't be in real life, but I think that everyone's super courteous, soft smiles, you know, trying not to create any enemies. And that's because it's such a different vibe than my last Ponderosa, which was less than a year ago, right? Where everybody's kind of being themselves. Here people have been through the process, and you can tell that everybody's trying to broadcast, like, "I am a good person." Now, hopefully for me, people just saw me be like, you know, nice guy crying on TV. Hopefully people think that about me, so I don't need to do too much, but that's definitely what kind of the vibe is. Everybody's kind of just being super courteous and nice at Ponderosa.
Men’s Journal: Are you planning to play a similar game? Or are you switching it up completely?
Kyle Fraser: I think yes and no. I think one thing–I don't know how much this shown through the last time, but–I really had strong relationships with every single person on the island. I mean, up until the end of the game, everybody that I came in contact with, for the most part, I had a very good relationship with, and I plan to do the exact same thing. I did it in a way, like I talked about, the party analogy. I go to a party, sometimes I can be boisterous, but I think, like, my bread and butter is I genuinely like to talk to people one on one and learn about them. So, I want to build a foundation of people at the beginning of the game that I can get close to and see myself playing the game with and move forward with them. Now, where my game diverges a little bit is, I think that because it was my first season and because of the really emotional conversations that were had—some shown some weren't—I was really kind of afraid, and didn't feel as if I needed to, to be clear, but didn't want to pull the trigger against these people who I really came to love in the game. And still have close relationships with. Here, this is a season of returning players. I'm pulling the trigger if I need to. I think that I'll be willing to be a little bit more cutthroat, just because people kind of signed up for this. And I think that's where I'll diverge a little bit, but my foundation will be exactly the same.
Men’s Journal: Do you see it being a sort of new school versus old school thing?
Kyle Fraser: I hope that it doesn't. I see it. I can see it, and I'm gonna keep my eye out for it, because I'm a very non-confrontational person in real life. At the same time, I'm not an idiot. I'm a litigator. I'm in confrontation all the time–very adversarial nature is my job. At the same time, I like to play organic Survivor. I want to get on the tribe, and I want to see who I'm meshing with. And hopefully go that route. If that's a mix of old school, mix a new school, I'm 100 percent cool with that. But if this old school, new school thing starts to—this war starts to brew, I will fall in line and get behind it, because I don't want to get picked off like anybody else. I'll keep my eye out for it, but I'm really hoping that that's not the case.
Men’s Journal: Are you worried at all that one of the Season 48 people will be a first boot, just because you just played? Everyone just saw you play.
Kyle Fraser: It definitely is—I definitely feel as if that could be on the top of people's minds, especially because of the recency bias. Like, 49 just played, but they just saw 48. Everybody just saw 48. That said, I think all of us kind of have things, like—Joe is a physical threat. You need Joe at the beginning of the game. I'm a physical threat. I can help a tribe at the beginning of the game. Also, we were both just shown to be a part of these majority alliances that were locked in. Whether I was doing shady s--t or not, I was locked in with that alliance.
I do worry for Kamilla at the beginning of the game. I think that she might have to do what she did last time, throw somebody under the bus, build a common enemy. But, if I really thought about it, I'm worried about Kamilla for the beginning of the game. Hopefully, I'm worried about myself for the middle of the game, the merge. That's when guys like Joe, for the middle of the game. I'm worried about me late-game, rather. Because I think as soon as you start to get to the end, people are like "former winner, he's got to go." That said, who knows, maybe somebody tries to cut me at the beginning. That would suck. Nothing I can do about that.
Men’s Journal: Speaking of Kamilla. Do you think there's any part of her that's like, "I love Kyle, but he can't go far because it's putting a target on me. And it's my turn to win now"?
Kyle Fraser: Yeah. You know, it's tough. I think there's conceptions–I don't want to say, misconceptions–about the game, that people think that Kamilla was just willing to hand it over to me, or something like that, at the end. In reality, we had this agreement. And the only way one of us could win is if one of us were sitting at the end. So it's funny, because I think we're an incredible duo, because we saw every move, the same step of the way, the entire time. Now there's two parts of your question: If Kamilla is threatened of me as a player, and doesn't want me to get that far, because she knows what I could do if I get to a merge, I'm sure she is. Kamilla is really smart, and she knows me better than anybody on this island, probably. So that's scary. With respect to her having any sort of ill will or worry about me, I don't think so. I would like to hope that Kamilla doesn't. But that said, I mean, if cutting me is good for Kamilla's game, she's gonna do it. Kamilla wants to play this game. She played last time on a season where people were locked in in a majority alliance. It wasn't that fluid. I think this time she's really excited to play with people who are willing to sort of voting blocks, and like bob and weave. And so I'm going to be looking over my shoulder with her 1,000 percent because I know she'd love to, like, get that TV moment of just clipping me.
Men’s Journal: Anyone you definitely don't see yourself working with?
Kyle Fraser: I said the 49ers. I think this is a 50/50 coin flip on Charlie [Davis]. Charlie is the one person who–like, I'm scared of Cirie, but I think Cirie and I could work with and everybody is scared of Cirie. I think what scares me about Charlie is I see a lot of similarities in myself, and that's not like a self-aggrandizing, ego thing. I think it's more so that what I respect and admired about Charlie's game is that he was willing to sort of put his ego to the side. He's very unassuming, but a very strong player. And I think because I just did that exact game, people are going to be thinking about me, but I don't think people are going to be thinking about just how good Charlie's game is. And again, I'd like to work with scary people. If Charlie is somebody who, like, we're in the mix together on a starting tribe, I would try, but he's also somebody who...the guy really oozes social intelligence, and I know he can look right through my bulls--t, and I don't really want somebody around who's able to do that.
Men’s Journal: You obviously won the game, but is there something from your experience that you wish you did more of, or is there any what-ifs or unfinished business that you're hoping to accomplish out here?
Kyle Fraser: I experienced Survivor to the fullest. I got to do everything: caught fish, played idols, won challenges, majority alliance, playing in the middle. But I think one thing that I really lost sight out here even though I learned a ton of lessons about myself is just having fun. The way that my game started, I think people forget about it because I won, but I lost the challenge. I got sent on a journey by my tribe. Like, broke a challenge. I was down and out after day one. Really feeling down in the dumps, and fortunately, my tribe had me, and I was able to sort of work my game in a different way. But I think I was in fight-or-flight mode from day one. Three hours into this game, I was like, "I'm doing whatever I can to stay here." And that colored my entire game. That's why I was so nervous and anxious a lot of times, and really thinking through all the options. And the reason I wanted to come out here is to have fun. I'm a lawyer. I'm working my ass off every single day in a very office-y place. And so to be out here on an island, I want to have fun I want to have a good time and enjoy it too. I think last time, it was business, and this is a business trip too, but I'll have a little bit of pleasure on the side.
Men’s Journal: Was there any preparation that you did to come out here? Do you know everyone else's pre-existing relationships?
Kyle Fraser: So with respect to people's relationships, I think I have a good pulse on it. But, I didn't focus on that too much, just because I didn't know who was going to be out here. I can only guess. There were different lists and stuff, and that was literally right after I won. So I barely had time to look. But I watched landmark returning seasons. I watched Heroes vs. Villains, Game Changers, Second Chances, Winners at War. I watched returning seasons. I also looked at winners who are on those seasons. So I watched JT’s [Thomas] season. I think we played similar games in some respect. And I looked at how these players perform on the returning seasons. And what I learned is themes, like, there's not going to be easy boots out here. There's not going to be easy votes. And so, it's all about narratives on these returning seasons. Like who's with who, relationship-wise. Lions and hyenas, strong players, weak players. You know, just different themes and narratives you can sort of spin. So that's what I've kind of been thinking about. It's like, what drives the votes on these returning seasons? What sort of players make their way through? And things like that. And then, of course, I just did these challenges. So I've been working out with an eye toward being physical out here.
Men’s Journal: I know you just got married. What does your wife and family think about you coming out here again so soon?
Kyle Fraser: My wife Maggie and I had no expectations of me being out here for 50. I think I got to call a little bit later than expected, than others, and she was just shocked and excited. Her family, my mother-in-law, Susan, was actually the one who got me into Survivor. And they were the ones who were like, "You should apply, you'd be good at this." And then so she's my biggest sort of cheerleader with this stuff. And was super excited. But it did feel harder leaving this time, especially because we've been just, you know, getting married, moved back to New York, changed jobs, then we start the season, and we're gone so much. We've been traveling so much, and coming off the heels of a very busy season. Up until me winning, it just felt like we haven't had time to just sit back and enjoy.
Men’s Journal: Have you gotten the chance to even go on a honeymoon?
Kyle Fraser: We went to Aruba. That was the first time I saw sand again after Survivor, because we got married around three months after. I was ready to go back to the beach. But, like, it's been non-stop. She just started a new job. She was super excited about me going out here. My family is obviously like, you know, my mom's like, "Go get another check."
Men’s Journal: So Kyle, if for whatever reason you don't win this time around, is there another player you'd like to see take home the million?
Kyle Fraser: Kamilla. I think it'd be Kamilla hands down. I just think that she's such an awesome player. We do have a really good friendship, like a sibling-related friendship. But if it wasn't Kamilla, be Joe. It's funny because Kamilla and I are so damn close on the show that people kind of forget just how close I was to Joe. I’m even wearing Joe’s shirt right now. But it would 100 percent be Kamilla, and then if it couldn't be her, it'd be Joe. I think Joe's probably got the best shot out of the three of us. Because Joe is a very good player. Joe was doing stuff out here too that was shady. But Joe's kind of that All-American guy, and he has this presence that people like to be around. I think I have that, in a way, but it's different. Joe has a different sort of gravitational pull, and I think that as long as the people on his tribe aren't out to get him from the get-go, I think he has a good chance of making far in this game.
The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.