SEDRO-WOOLLEY, Wash. — Ricard Foyé from Sedro-Woolley, Washington is competing on the newest season of Survivor on KREM 2.
The Up with KREM team had the opportunity to talk with Foyé after he returned from filming. He tells KREM 2 that he hopes he makes a memorable mark on the show.
"Going into it, I thought I would be the funny one or the villain and I guess you'll have to see what I turn out to be," Foyé said .
Before filming, he shared with CBS that his goal was to become the first brown, gay, and hard of hearing winner. He also told producers that he wanted to keep his hard of hearing a secret from the other castaways.
But he shared with KREM 2 that after arriving, he decided he needed to share that part of himself.
"When I actually showed up I realized I need to share this piece of me. It really is part of me," Foyé said. "If there is anything you need to tell me, please do not whisper in my right ear."
Foyé said he spent months preparing for the show.
"I feel like I went a different route than most people would. I'm sure a lot of folks think, 'I'm going to be on T.V. let me start working out and eating well.' I was the opposite. I gained ten pounds. I ate everything that existed. I wanted to have some extra weight on me for the game," he shared with KREM.
Ricard tells us he cut out the "little things" like wearing Chapstick and lotion from his daily routine. He also cut caffeine from his diet.
"I stopped drinking coffee two months before the show started so I wouldn't have any caffeine in my system."
Survivor is calling season 41 a "new era" and promises more twists that will force the players to make quick and big decisions. But Ricard says he hopes everyone notices something else special about the season.
"I feel like this season specifically has so much more representation of BIPOC individuals and queer individuals... this is going to be a new show in that sense, but it's still the same Survivor that I love and that I'm very proud to be a part of. "
"I hope that more people will be able to appreciate the way I feel like I'm going to."
You can watch Ricard Foyé compete on Survivor Season 41 on KREM 2 on Wednesday nights.