David Genat Talks Forming an On-Island 'Family' With Fellow 'Survivor' Winner Parvati Shallow in 'Deal or No Deal Island' Premiere (Exclusive)

While he may have come in as one of the biggest X-factors of the Deal or No Deal Island cast, David Genat certainly made his presence known in the Season 2 premiere. The Australian Survivor champ and self-proclaimed “Golden God” made TV gold over the two-hour premiere, thrown immediately into the strategy, high-stakes competition, and, most importantly, the chaos.

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David was able to prove his tactical chops in the very first Excursion of the season, plotting with his teammates Seychelle Cordero and Luke Olejniczak to get a one-up on the competition. Unfortunately, the two newbies failed to heed his instructions, throwing caution to the wind. Even more unfortunately, David’s plan was outfoxed by fellow Survivor winner Parvati Shallow, ensuring that his group would be facing the Banker. The two quickly brokered a bond, though, when she recognized him. David was granted a reprieve from playing at the Temple, due at least in part to Sydnee Peck’s attraction to him. By the end of a tumultuous premiere, David was riding high. He got to sit back and watch Luke continue to self-sabotage, as he left the game adding only $1 to the pot. And he had formed a tight alliance with Parvati and Dickson Wong to create a strangely familial dynamic, something the other players are already starting to clock.

David spoke with Parade about the events of the Deal or No Deal Island Season 2 premiere, including his Excursion strategy, his relationship with Parvati, and whether he would have been eliminated first had Luke beaten the Banker.

Related: Australian Survivor Winner David Genat Calls American Reality TV Debut on Deal or No Deal Island a ‘Dream Come True’ (Exclusive)

Earlier in our interview, you talked about how you hoped you would be recognized. And so far, with one exception, that has not been the case. Was that something you had anticipated?
Mike, I was really upset they didn’t recognize me. I was furious! It was very upsetting. [Laughs.] I mean, I know my profile is different here compared to Australia. So, in Australia, it would have been a really big problem. But out here, I thought maybe there’ll be a super fan that recognizes me. But I thought I had a pretty good chance to go under the radar. And the strategy was, really, if I am recognized, let’s use that as a gameplay piece together. You can blackmail me, let’s go. So I was kind of hoping at least three or four people might come up and say that. But they didn’t.

Well let’s talk about the one who did in Parvati. You talk about fanboying out upon seeing her. But what was your reaction when she outright told you she knew who you were, considering now she knows what you’re capable of?
Oh my gosh, it’s so interesting. Because then also I know what she’s capable of! So I thought, “I’m giving someone this really big piece in my game,” and that was super, super scary. But the thing for me is that, and what I’ve experienced in Australia as a returning player coming back, is you are the target. People want to make a name off of you, and Parvati has experienced that in all her shows. So since she’s the greatest Survivor player of all time, she is in that situation where people want to make a name off of her. And so I knew we could trust each other. She needed someone that she could trust going in. And even though there’s that thing of she knows what I do, I know what she does, we kind of probably play pretty similar games. So it was dangerous. But I knew working with her that we could potentially have something good going.

Let’s talk about the first excursion. You immediately come up with a strategy to wait and see what the other groups grab, something your other teammates in Luke and Seychelle don’t follow. But it turns out, while you pursue that tactic, you were outsmarted by none other than Parvati, who came up with the idea to switch the highest case while they were hidden. Talk to me about how that all went down.
It’s very good. I love the first challenge, because that’s where everyone is really freaking out, and the mask comes off, and you can just kind of see how people handle pressure, how they handle social situations. Because right off the bat, they’re like, “Okay, who’s going to go where?” And you see the people that want to step up and the people that don’t. And then you see the people who are trying to hide and the people who are being big and how they respond under the pressure. And the pressure when you’re opening cases is insane; I’ve never felt anything like that. So I was working with a couple people, but I also was watching most of what was going on.

And obviously, there’s things they don’t show. You’ve only got 40, 45 minutes to show what’s happening. But that challenge was big. I mean, there was a lot of talking, a lot of strategy, a lot of bluffing going on. Parv and I were feeling each other out before we even got to the cases. With Lete, with CK there was a whole thing that was transpiring. And then also, I’m establishing my relationships with Luke and with Seychelle, because if we lose, one of us is playing the Banker, one of us is potentially going home. So there was just a lot going on. So you’re really trying to play it cool. I’m trying to be undercover, trying to not pretend like I know what’s happening. But the gears were just going berserk. I’ve never felt anything like it. 

You talk about forming relationships. But one particular one develops with Sydnee, who very clearly is attracted to you. Give me your reaction to that.
[Laughs.] I mean, look, man, I like those kind of relationships. I play that kind of flirty game. I think in these shows, establishing those social bonds, you use whatever you have at your disposal. And Sydnee and I got along really well. And I thought, “Oh, I flirt with her a little bit, see how this plays out.” And she really went in. So I was like, “Whoa! Okay, here we go.” But when you feel that energy for someone that plays games like me, that’s great energy to have. And you want reasons for people to want to keep you in the game. And if that’s because they think you’re pretty man, let’s go. That’s good.

Related: Everything to Know About Deal or No Deal Island Season 2

This premiere is really themed around Luke throwing caution into the wind at every decision point, culminating in him turning down every deal at the Temple and only adding $1 to the pot. Do you think, if he had made a good deal and survived, he would have picked you to go?
I will answer this honestly. Luke and I had a really great relationship, and a lot of what doesn’t get shown is that I was working really hard on making sure that Luke didn’t send me home. I was working really hard on making sure that Luke was going to play the Banker. And Luke is from Wisconsin. I know a lot of people from Wisconsin. My wife is from Wisconsin. It’s a very honest, honorable place to be. They take pride in that state and honesty. And Luke’s archetype, I’m very familiar with. He gave me a Wisconsin handshake that he wouldn’t send me home. And for me, that word is bond. I felt very safe in that Temple.

Not to mention you have a history with Lukes on these types of shows!
[Laughs.] Listen, Luke was a really great guy. And he was just thrown straight into the deep end immediately. But he had the balls to take it. I think there’s a lot of people that shrink in that situation. They would be like, “No, I’m not going to do this. I can’t.” And Luke was just like, “Yep, I’m here. I’m doing it. This is why I came to play.” He was a gamer. He was really into it.

We end this episode on a bit of an on-island “family” forming with you, Parvati, and Dickson. And we see this trio being so public that it catches the eye of the opposition. Talk to me about this dynamic came together, and were you aware of how visible it was?
Oh, yeah, of course, definitely. But power couples can be super dangerous, and I think that’s something people are very aware of. They go, “Okay, there’s, there’s an obvious power couple happening here. We have to do something about that.” When there’s a third person bought into the mix, it starts to get even more confusing. And because Parv was such a big target, I felt kind of comfortable in that position to just be a little bit open-facing, because also you have to have this big social network happening. And we were bringing people into that network. We were like, “If you want to play with us, this is what we’ve established. Come in!”

Obviously, there’s all your little side hustle things. But I wanted that to be kind of prime target. I knew I wasn’t the main target in that alliance. But it was also just really fun. I think when you’ve done a few of these shows, you’re trying to find new concepts or new things, or fun things to work around. And the family was just too much fun, man. You’re looking for puns, you looking for fun things. And Dickson, he’s such a great kid. I have kids; I have teenage sons. So there was part of me that I just couldn’t help but actually really buy into liking this guy. He’s a really nice kid. And, yeah, I did almost fall into that real dad role, which is bizarre. I wanted to protect him and look after him. He’s an awesome guy. So it would just happen kind of naturally. And then it was funny, so we just rolled with it.

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