Parade speaks with David Genat, the winner of 'Deal or No Deal Island' Season 2.
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00:00Wow, I mean, we've got a lot to get into here.
00:05I would say you're looking like a million bucks, but I guess specifically you're looking
00:08like 5.8 million bucks.
00:10My man.
00:12So I mean, we have to start obviously with where things ended this record breaking run
00:18never before in the history of broadcast television.
00:22And you were faced with many opportunities throughout this of 1.5, 2, 3, 4, and people
00:33in the room and I'm assumingly at home were going absolutely wild that you staved away
00:37those temptations and you kept going.
00:41Please tell me how you were able to ground yourself and turn down these astronomical
00:46amounts of money for just the pure chance that you could get a shot at a bigger amount.
00:50All right.
00:51Do you want the woo woo version or do you want the stable version?
00:55I mean, let's get both here because I imagine you were weighing both of those options as
00:59you were standing there in the jungle.
01:00So all right.
01:01I'll give you the I'll give you the I'll give you the television reason, Mike.
01:05I live for big television moments like I live for it.
01:10I think you hear me say it in the finale.
01:11I was like, I live for this.
01:13And I love knowing that people are going to watch something back and be like, oh boy,
01:21like that was big.
01:22And sometimes you have to risk a lot to get those moments.
01:27And this was risking so much.
01:29So I knew as this was coming, I was like, oh man, this is going to be the best television.
01:36Just don't take the deal.
01:38Just one more.
01:39Let's just do one more.
01:41So I was thinking about that, like trying to deliver for the fans of the show and for
01:46the audience and for the people who have like poured all their heart and soul into making
01:49this thing.
01:50The Joe for NBC, like I really wanted to deliver for them.
01:55And then on top of that, man, like I was really having a very spiritual experience out there.
02:00Like I felt my dad's presence and I just felt really safe.
02:05I knew where I wanted to go.
02:06I knew where that money was in the case.
02:08And it gave me this expanding confidence and room to stay grounded no matter what was happening
02:14and go, no, I know what I want to pick.
02:16I know where I'm going to go and I know which case to avoid.
02:19So it just was all kind of coming together.
02:21And yeah, man, I was I was in the zone.
02:25Yeah.
02:26Well, I mean, you talk about, you know, looking above and around you.
02:28I mean, there were people seated next to you that looked at certain points were like, oh
02:32my God, I can't believe he's not taking it.
02:34But I imagine and speaking perhaps to that social game that we'll get into, like the
02:37fact that you had tangible bodies next to you being so happy for you and supporting
02:43you throughout this entire journey.
02:45Obviously, you did not have your family out there, but you had a family in a different
02:49way sitting there right next to you trying to advise you along.
02:52A hundred percent.
02:53And I think as well, like this is really going to sound stupid, but like I wanted to perform
02:59for them as well.
03:00There's 12 people here who have put their life on hold to make a show, to make something
03:05they want to be big and like fun and like deserve a big moment.
03:10And for me, like walking away with anything less than like three, four million dollars
03:15was going to be a flop.
03:17So whilst I was like thinking about my family and like money for me and that, like those
03:22guys deserved a big finale, like they would all kill to be where I was.
03:28And so I didn't want to do anything that just wasn't worthy of their time, you know,
03:33which if I had got that 75, I probably would have been pissed.
03:36But then, you know, I just I wanted to I wanted to really show up for those guys like they
03:39showed up for me.
03:40They were there really supporting me, especially my alliance.
03:43Like any time I felt like unstable or whatever, I could look at Lachelle, I could look at
03:47Pav and they were just there was such calming energy coming from those girls.
03:52I know they showed up being like, David, take the deal.
03:54But like she they they were just there and they were like a part of that whole experience.
03:59And it was really incredible to have them there.
04:02Well, let's talk about guess everyone was very supportive of you, but maybe there was
04:07a chance that they wouldn't considering that they found out a certain secret of yours very
04:12late into the game.
04:14I need to hear about how this all went down.
04:17You know, when Dr. Will is talking with you during that challenge, I know you're probably
04:22going back and forth.
04:23It's like, do I keep holding up this lie or do I admit that I was on Australian Survivor?
04:27What chose you to pick that?
04:30And was there a general sense of fallout because there were people around?
04:34But did you get a sense that people viewed you differently after finding out your previous
04:38reality TV history?
04:39Yeah, definitely.
04:40It was a big concern for me, especially going into that last challenge, because I had a
04:46conversation with Matt Kunitz, like the showrunner, about whether people had access to phones
04:53in the Cast Hotel.
04:54And he said yes.
04:55So immediately I was like, oh, you've got to be kidding me.
04:58Like they know who I am then, you know, because the second you kind of get out, like out of
05:03the game, what are you going to do?
05:05You're going to start looking up who all these people are, you know, look up Harvey, look
05:08up Will, they're going to Google me.
05:11And that's what had happened.
05:13So I was feeling very upset about that.
05:17And we had a lot of time waiting for that final challenge because I was last.
05:21I drew third and I was waiting for hours.
05:24So I was sitting there and I'm thinking, like, how am I going to get around them knowing
05:29that I've been lying to them?
05:31And like I was like, look, Mike, I was I had invented seven years of life for these
05:36people. So I deleted all my television history and kind of was like, how am I going to how
05:42am I going to play myself off?
05:44And I was telling him I do some YouTube and I was telling him I was a jujitsu instructor
05:48and it was all stuff that I was grounded in truth, like I'm a jujitsu black belt.
05:52But it just happens I have this huge television career.
05:55So I kind of made up this alternate reality that I had to stick to.
05:58Like I was an undercover agent.
06:00I was Don D'Brasco, Mike, you know, and so I was basically just doing this.
06:07And then I'm thinking, like, how upset are they going to be that I had been able to
06:13upkeep this and all I had really to rely on?
06:16And Matt was like, look, how good are you?
06:19You know, yeah, they've got their phones, but like, how good are you?
06:22And that kind of gave me a thing.
06:23And, you know, I was like, you know what?
06:24Actually, I am really good.
06:26Like I will turn this around even if they're mad at me.
06:28I'm going to come through these gates with so much love and so much like humility and
06:34so much just energy and make them feel good about being a part of my final game that
06:39they're going to want to give me the high cases.
06:40They're going to want to help me.
06:42And I didn't know what was going to be behind those doors.
06:44And it just happened that they were all things I was really good with.
06:47And yeah, I just I was very convincing to those guys.
06:51I came down with humility and was like, look, I played a great game.
06:54You know what it takes to like be undercover for 21 days and pretend you're someone
06:59you're not like is a lady being able to do that?
07:02I mean, she kind of was also pretending she was someone she's not, but she just isn't
07:05aware of that. So it's like it's just like a it was just like a big, big thing, you
07:11know? Yeah.
07:12So let's talk about a couple of these people that you were able to see behind those
07:16doors. So when we spoke at the very beginning, we saw that you had struck up this
07:20relationship with poverty, one of the few people that actually knew who you were.
07:24And you turn into this, for lack of a better term, power couple.
07:28Now, there was this point right before she ends up facing the banker where, you know,
07:32there was a chance that she she could have been eliminated.
07:36You were debating Elise Phillips pitch about like, do you want to go to the end with
07:39her at that point?
07:41Talk to me about that.
07:42Did you have every intention of going to the end with poverty or were there points
07:46during the season where you thought like, I know what she is capable of?
07:50Do I want to take the Black Widow to the end here?
07:52No, I was taking her.
07:54I was taking her. I think I'm at this stage with my career, Mike, where I feel so
07:58confident in my skills when it comes to these games that I'm like, I want to beat the
08:02best. And in my head, we have such a great relationship.
08:07I'm a fan.
08:09And I was like, what better ending will will be like the Golden God versus the Black
08:14Widow? And if she beats me in that moment, she deserves it.
08:19If I beat her in that moment, I deserve it.
08:21And it just so happened that we kind of it got sorted out by the banker, unfortunately.
08:25But my whole endgame, I was in it from day one.
08:29And I would have been so happy for her to win because I just feel like it's like 20
08:33years of doing competitive reality.
08:36And it's so hard to maneuver through these games when you have a big reputation like
08:40that. Like I've seen it on my end in games I played in Australia.
08:44I know she's seen it.
08:45And like, we'll continue to see that Boston Rob.
08:48So if no one wants to play with players like us, the big one's got to stick together.
08:53And so I was like, we got along so good.
08:56And I was just like, I really want this for her as much as I want for me.
09:00And at that point, we didn't know what kind of money was going to get won.
09:03You know, it was easy to retrospect to be like, oh, yeah, 5.8, I would have cut her
09:06throat. But I wouldn't have.
09:08I mean, she's incredible, man.
09:09She's like a she's a single mom.
09:11She deserved it. You know, she's like put her time in with this career.
09:16She's put up with a lot of shit from the media, from fans and all that kind of stuff.
09:19And she stays strong.
09:21And she's just such a great like symbol for strong women.
09:24And I was like, she she deserves.
09:26I want her to have that opportunity to win.
09:28And if I beat her, I deserve it.
09:31If she beats me, she deserves it.
09:32And I wouldn't have helped pulled any punches.
09:34Then on that last challenge, I would have gone hell for leather.
09:36Don't get me wrong, but I was taking part to the end.
09:39So let's talk about the third member of the family here in Dixon.
09:43And listen, this this is like a relationship that, you know, you end up playing like
09:4760 something days of Australian Survivor.
09:49And I don't think I've seen a relationship like this, maybe like shades of you in
09:52Tarzan, but not really where this guy comes to you and says, like, you are the dad that
09:57I wish I had in my life.
09:58And like that obviously very profoundly affected you as someone who has been through
10:03the cutthroat nature of these shows before.
10:06That's a very tangible, emotional connection.
10:07Talk to me about how you were able to sort of reconcile those feelings in the midst of
10:13a game that is for five point eight million dollars.
10:16Well, I think as well, it's like I have kids, so I'm a dad.
10:20Right. That was that heightened.
10:22I was feeling that heightened emotion for Dixon for MG as well.
10:27Like I was really upset when MG was gone because I like I've got a daughter almost her
10:31age, you know, and I just felt like she had been really treated poorly by Will in that
10:36in that circumstance. So it did like I can be really cutthroat, bro.
10:41But in that circumstance where we were in the game, I didn't need to be.
10:45So it's like if we're down to, you know, the final part of the game and I got to cut
10:49you, I will 100 percent will if I need to.
10:53But that relationship that was building with Dixon was a whole part of this thing where
10:59I was really feeling my dad's presence and knowing that he hasn't had that experience
11:05like really magnified that for me.
11:07I had a great dad. Like he was he was awesome.
11:09The past two years ago.
11:12And my biggest regret with him is that I just miss him like crazy.
11:17And so I was really feeling that.
11:19And then being able to get that from Dixon, that relationship happening like at first, I
11:24actually wanted to cut Dixon because I didn't want to repeat the Boston Rob
11:28Aaron scenario.
11:30I think about television.
11:32I know this sounds stupid, Mike, but I'm kind of writing my own stories as we go on.
11:35And I'm like, no, no, no, this can't happen again.
11:38Like Rob and Aaron did it.
11:40They're already comparing me to Rob.
11:41Like I'm like the Boston Rob of Australia.
11:43They were saying when I was coming in and so I was like, look, I'm no, this is I can't
11:48have I can't have Dixon a part of this.
11:50But then once the game started going and I saw he was going so hard and trying to be
11:54strategic at the start, I was like, I kind of like this little guy.
11:58Like he's like really getting it.
12:00And it just we just like started bonding, you know, and then we had that moment and he
12:04shared that really, you know, tender thing.
12:08And I was like, I couldn't help but love the kid.
12:10And then when you've got a connection like that with someone and they're going to have
12:13you back until the end, like why would you try to cut him?
12:15You just once there's a once there's a real bond there.
12:18And for me, these games, I know it's like the real bonds are the ones that will get
12:22you to the end. If you come in there and you fake and you don't have real connections,
12:26you're cooked any competitive reality show.
12:29So you've got to give someone something more than just being like, oh, hey, he's a nice
12:32guy. Like you really need real, real relationships.
12:35And it's being able to build those super fast because everything's happening real
12:38quick. How do you bond with someone like as quickly as possible?
12:41And anytime you can find those threads, you got to jump on them.
12:45So I'd be remiss not to ask sort of what is the epilogue to this incredible story that
12:51you had on the Bankers Island, you had more money than you could possibly ever imagine
12:56even going into this show.
12:57So what is life been for you?
12:59And is this I know obviously there might be another chance you'll be showing up on our
13:05screen soon. But does this mean that you're you're slowly going off into the sunset
13:09after that of like, I've made my money, I've won a couple seasons of reality TV.
13:14I'm good. Man, I love making television.
13:17Like, I just love it.
13:19And like, yes, the paychecks and winning the money is great.
13:23I mean, it's amazing. But like, I love entertaining people.
13:26I like making television.
13:27I want to do interesting projects.
13:29This just gives me the ability to say no to some things.
13:32I think throughout my career, it's been really hard if someone should knock on my door
13:35and be like, hey, we're going to pay you X to do this, to be like, oh, no.
13:41But now I can really have authenticity with myself.
13:43Like if I want to do the project, I'll do it.
13:46I don't have to do it because I'm like, oh, I need to make like some money to pay my
13:51rent. It's like I can pick and choose the projects I want to do.
13:54I can. I don't have to play in a way where I need to be conservative to have to win,
13:59show out, be a big character, play the golden god to the max or whatever I want to do.
14:05I can. It's just it's just ultimate freedom.
14:06So it gives me that ability to be a bigger television character, I think.
14:11Sometimes I have to, like, play it down or hide a bit like you didn't really see me
14:14getting into too much mess in Temple, you know, just because it's like that makes
14:20great TV, but it doesn't make a good social game.
14:23And, you know, now I can I can tell anyone they got a flat ass.
14:28Yeah, exactly. You go full, full Seychelles.
14:30I mean, on that note, I will say, you know, I got the chance to have a long sit down
14:34with Joe last week and I asked him who is somebody he want to see on Survivor 50 and
14:39he name dropped you.
14:41Do you would you ever want to cross over now that you've like dipped your feet into
14:46the toes of American reality TV to to make your way over to our version of it?
14:50Look, I just and this is no disrespect.
14:53Actually, it is going to be disrespectful.
14:56American Survivor is not what it was, in my opinion, if we were playing the game, if
15:01this was 20 years ago, that's the game I want to play.
15:04I think Australian Survivor is so superior in every way to that game.
15:10I just I don't want to do puzzles with a bunch of dorks, man.
15:13Like, I just I feel like it's just game bots, like randomized, like I want to see real
15:18competition, real strategy, real physical strategy.
15:22And like all in that diverse social strategic gameplay thing, I just don't really think
15:27that's what it is anymore. Yeah.
15:29I mean, yeah, I'm not saying I beat ass, but I just it just doesn't interest me.
15:34And also, like the prize money hasn't changed in what?
15:37How many say you just made nearly six times the amount in one season than they typically
15:41get out. Anyone want to do that with deal or no deal exists like you really do like
15:46Survivor puts your body through hell.
15:49I came out looking better than I ever have after and I'm seven million dollars richer.
15:54So if you're a real six million dollars richer, but if you're a reality talent, I can't
16:00understand going and playing that game.
16:02Now, I know a lot of people kind of make their careers off of one show and they're like,
16:05oh, Survivor is my thing.
16:06And they do that.
16:07They cling on to that whole thing.
16:08But when we're when the branches are like opening up, it's like I just think deal or
16:15no deal would be where I'd go a hundred times out of a hundred.
16:17If they asked me to play next season, I would play next season.
16:20So Survivor 50 for me is just not not interesting, which might be a bit sacrilege, but
16:24like I've won the harder, better version of the game against the best players.
16:29So I don't know.
16:32No, completely valid.
16:33Listen, you've had your time in the trenches, so you're happy to move on to the next
16:36battle as it were, no matter what that might be.
16:39But regardless, the battle you had here was so much fun.
16:42I mean, the fact that to your point, you're a little bit more of like a conservative
16:45version of yourself to everyone else.
16:46But in those confessionals, we knew what we were getting.
16:49We were getting that that guy that we've seen on our screen.
16:52Oh, it was so much fun to get to see and obviously play out an incredibly emotionally
16:59satisfying way for not only your bank account, but for yourself as well.
17:02I feel like we got to know even more about you in this season than we did through, again,
17:06like a season and more than a half of Australian Survivor.
17:09So thank you for everything you brought in a massive, mass congratulations, man.
17:15Like, absolutely incredible.
17:16I cannot wait for people to watch this tonight and just have their minds blown by what
17:22you're able to take away from this, both financially and emotionally.
17:26Yeah, thanks, Mike.
17:27I mean, I think it's it's a dream come true.
17:29And I mean, we just are so gracious, grateful that you cover this.
17:34And we like it's been really good to watch your coverage and have you be a part of it
17:39for this season. So thank you for that.
17:41The pleasure was all mine.
17:42Well, I give the best to you and your family as well.
17:45And you're, you know, ever winnowing bank account, but only slightly.
17:48And I cannot wait to see you, you know, in a brief portion of time showing up on our
17:54screen and then beyond.
17:55But always great talking with you, man.
17:57Thanks so much again.
17:58You too, brother. Take it easy.
17:59You too. Bye bye.