When we were first introduced to Rizo Velovic, it was under less than stellar conditions. The very first taste we got of the New York native was at the end of Survivor 48 during the Survivor 49 teaser where he referred to himself as “the man, the myth, the legend, R-I-Z-G-O-D, Riz God, baby!” And it immediately had fans shaking their heads, hoping he’d be the first to go.
But that summer, as CBS amped up the next season, Jeff Probst himself said he was “enamored” with Rizo and was excited for the fans at home to see him play. And he was absolutely right.
Rizo Velovic is one of the best new era players to never win.
In a recent interview on Rob Has a Podcast, Rizo sat down with Rob Cesternino to walk through the entire season of Survivor 50 from his POV (below). He makes a really great point pretty early on into the episode, noting that, “...you can play a great game once, but you really make your mark on Survivor the more you play.” So whereas he played Survivor 49 to live out a dream, he came back to Survivor 50 with the intent of creating a legacy he could be known for.
Did he expect that legacy to start off as the first person in Survivor history to lose fire in back-to-back seasons? Probably no more than he expected Jeff to spoil the results of his firemaking challenge live on air at the finale. And while that might be a mark he made on the game, that’s definitely not the legacy he’s leaving behind.
In Survivor 49 his social gameplay matched the level of legends like Cirie Fields, Boston Rob Mariano, and J.T. Thomas—a kid with boy-next-door levels of charm who seamlessly manipulated the vote in his favor week-after-week. Two seasons in a row, he had a known idol in his pocket for the majority of the game and people still let him slide by, guaranteeing himself a spot in the Final Four both times.
And he didn’t make it that far without playing his idol because he wasn’t a threat. One could argue that in both seasons he played, he was one of the biggest threats out there working alongside the other huge threats.
Savannah Louie had the biggest target on her back for the majority of Survivor 49 as people weren’t fond of her social game and she continuously won challenges. But the weeks she wasn’t immune, she was safe because she and Rizo worked together to move the targets off their back completely and pin it on someone else.
It’s not often in Survivor history that you see people targeting one player only for that player to turn around and go, “Yeah, you’re right… X and Y are huge threats…which one of them should we get rid of tonight?” And then one of the new targets goes home as simply as that. He never had to beg to stay through a vote and he’s never been voted out.
Do you know how many players in Survivor history have played more than once and never been voted out (not including those who quit or were medically evacuated)? Four. Four players in the history of Survivor: Michele Fitzgerald, Jonathan Young, Joe Hunter, and Rizo Velovic.
Michele won Survivor: Kaoh Rong before going on to be a finalist on Survivor: Winners at War. Jonathan was eliminated by fire in Survivor 42 before being a finalist on Survivor 50. Joe was second runner-up in both seasons he played, Survivor 48 and Survivor 50. And then obviously Rizo went out at fire for both Survivor 49 and Survivor 50.
That’s 0.5% of total Survivor players who can say they’ve done that. Whether you think they earned it or not, it’s still an incredible feat.
So, Rizo, if you’re listening, you should be proud of yourself and the incredible game you’ve played. We hope to see you back on the island for the next returning players season, but in the meantime, please—for the sake of all of us at home rooting for you—practice fire-making.
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