Edina Native Tollefson Booted from 'Survivor'

Edina native is officially out of the running for the $1 million grand prize of Survivor: South Pacific.

Two weeks after being voted from the main island on the reality TV, Tollefson lost a contest on Redemption Island and with it any chance of returning to—and winning—the game. Tollefson may not bring home the title of "Survivor," but he will be among a jury of former contestants who ultimately decide who takes home that honor at the conclusion of the season.

He was a strong competitor from the outset, forging an alliance with county singer Whitney Duncan and Survivor veteran Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth within minutes of first landing on the island.

Tollefson cruised through the first part of the series, all the way up to when the two tribes—Upolu and Savaii— merged into one. He was then stabbed in the back by Harvard law student John Cochran, costing him his shot at the $1 million prize.

Such is the game of Survivor.

Edina Patch spoke with Keith Thursday afternoon to see what he thought of his time on the island, who he would like to see win the show and what he would do differently, given the chance.

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Edina Patch: Good to talk with you again. How are you doing today?

Keith Tollefson: I'm OK. Kind of bummed that I was kicked off of the show last night.

Patch: That's understandable. Let's rewind a bit and talk about when you first got to the island. What was running through your mind?

Tollefson: When I first got there I started playing the game, forming a close alliance with Ozzy and Whitney. I talked with him within 10 minutes of being there. I also really trusted Whitney, so I talked with her as well. We had a very close alliance from day one. My first impression was that you were always playing the game. It was very tough to be completely out of your element, but the minute you stop playing is the minute you're kicked off.

Patch: People have pegged you as one of the stronger competitors on this season. Do you think that worked against you?

Tollefson: It's known that if you're strong physically, you're a benefit to your tribe before the merge. As soon as you merge, that becomes a liability. So I really worked to ally myself with people. Unfortunately someone threw us under the bus.

Patch: Speaking of which, any hard feelings over your elimination? Are you holding a grudge?

Tollefson: It's not really a grudge, it's just one of those things where I still to this day can't understand why he (Cochran) made the move. I can understand making a big move, but in my eyes it was just an idiotic move. You flip at that point and betray your whole tribe—that's five votes you lose. It's basically impossible to win if you just lose five jury votes by betraying them.

Patch: Who would you like to see win the $1 million prize?

Tollefson: It's not necessarily someone. I'm very open. Whoever plays the best game is the one who deserves the $1 million. I have a very strong allegiance to the Savaii tribe and I'd love to see one of them potentially win it. It's anyone's game now, you just have to play the best game you can play. 

Patch: If you could do it all over again, would you do anything differently?

Tollefson: I was very adamant about Cochran going to Redemption Island before Ozzy. I was very opposed to Ozzy going and I still to this day believe Cochran should've gone. He would've lost to Christine, we could've gotten her on our side and then it would've been six-on-six. Who knows if it would've worked out better in our favor.

Patch: How has your family back home been reacting as they've watched the season unfold?

Tollefson: They were very excited and loved watching me every week. It's disappointing to have your game cut short by someone kind of taking all of our games away. That was disappointing. It's hard to kind of come to grips with you get used to see us all every week, then we're suddenly picked off one-by-one.

Patch: What'd they think of Wednesday's episode?

Tollefson: I think I just got a couple texts from my dad saying good job, but it kind of sucks. My mom sent me a nice little email saying she was very proud of me and she was disappointed my game was cut short. Everyone was very happy with what I was able to do and it wasn't necessarily something I did to cause my time there to be cut short. 

Patch: What was your favorite memory from your time there?

Tollefson: Probably winning the wheelbarrow challenge. Just coming from behind and winning, then being able to go for that reward.

Patch: What was the biggest shock for you during the experience?

Tollefson: The biggest surprise was just the fact that the game of Survivor never stops. It's 24 hours a day. There's challenges, but the other time you're on your beach and you have to continue to get food and nourishment. It seems like on TV the surviving part isn't as big of a deal. 

Patch: Did the cameras miss anything big?

Tollefson: There was one time that Jim and I had put the fishing net out because I was so persistent, and we caught a ton of fish. It was kind of disappointing, as we caught this good amount of fish and it wasn't even shown. That said, most of the stuff shown is pretty much what happened out there. 

Patch: You were kind of quiet on the show, for the most part. Was that reality or just editing?

Tollefson: It's funny, because I was one of the more active players in my eyes. Ozzy and I had become close, so I knew I was basically keeping him within my sights, with the end goal being I'd need to get rid of him at some point. Whitney was really close with Dawn. Jim also was close with me in the sense we had the collective goal that we needed Ozzy out. I was making some big decisions all the time, trying to get myself further in the game. It just wasn't really shown.

Patch: Any comment on the rumors circulating that you might be in a relationship with Whitney?

Tollefson: Whitney is a great girl. We got very close on the show; she was one of my strongest allies. I definitely care about Whitney a lot. That question will probably be answered at the finale. So if anyone is still interested in finding out if Whitney and I are a couple or not, they can tune in. But I really care deeply about everyone I got to know during my time on the show.

Patch: Would you do it all over again?

Tollefson: I would definitely do it again. I think people who say they won't are just lying to get people to beg them to do it. When else will you be able to put all of your responsibilities aside and fly away to this gorgeous island?

Patch: Anything else you'd like to add?

Tollefson: I'm just very happy to be able to have been on the show. I hope everyone back home in Minnesota is proud that I got to the jury. We'll see what happens at the finale.