Rizo Velovic Reveals the Family Visit That Almost Happened on 'Survivor 50' (Exclusive)
Rizo Velovic - the man, the myth, the legend himself - once again came painfully close to the end on Survivor. Just 9 days after finishing in fourth place on Season 49, the self-proclaimed "RizGod" returned for the milestone 50th season with a massive target already on his back. But for the second straight season, his journey ended in heartbreaking fashion at Final Four fire-making, this time losing to Jonathan Young, who suffered a similar fate during his original season.
The New York native, 26, went into the finale believing his best path to victory was sitting next to both Jonathan and Joe Hunter, hoping the pair would split votes. But after (eventual winner) Aubry Bracco won the final immunity challenge, Rizo knew his odds of winning had dramatically decreased. "I knew I had zero shot at beating her at the end," he says. "But honestly, I think for my legacy and terms of being remembered, I'd rather go out in fire twice than going to Final Tribal and getting decimated."
In his exit interview with Men's Journal, Rizo opens up about why he still believes he made the correct strategic choice in getting rid of Ozzy Lusth, his emotional reaction to learning his mother had flown all the way to Fiji for the finale, and why he feels proud of the legacy he's already built on Survivor. Oh, and he reacts to Jeff Probst'slive on-air mishap where he accidentally revealed Rizo lost to fire before it aired on television.
Scroll down to read the full interview with Rizo.
Men's Journal: Did you get any sleep, Rizo?
Rizo Velovic: Maybe like an hour. I'm pretty good with dealing things back-to-back with short time frames, so I'm doing pretty well.
Men's Journal: Jeff accidentally spoiled the result of Final Four Fire-making last night. What was your feeling in the moment?
Rizo Velovic: Honestly, in the moment, I was a little heartbroken, because I had so many of my friends and family at home on the East Coast rooting for me. Obviously, they don't know the result, they're hoping for me to win, and just to kind of get spoiled like that was like, "Oh, that sucks." It kind of takes the wind out of the moment, but honestly, I'm so grateful for Survivor. I think Jeff and I handled it so well. It wasn't Jeff's fault. And I think, looking back at it today, a week from now, 10 years from now, it's an iconic moment. I mean, I haven't been online too much, but I see everybody's covering it, so add it to the resume for the RizGod 3.0.
Men's Journal: Do you need a break or would you go back out there?
Rizo Velovic: I don't know, man. I mean, like, do I want to be on 52? Probably not, but like next year, I wouldn't mind going back out there next year. Matt Van Wagenen made a joke to me, and he was like, "Rizo, if you come back, we're waiting until you have wrinkles on your face." I'm like, "Matt, I'm young, that's like 30 years from now. I don't want to wait that long."
Men's Journal: Going out in fire twice in a row, which one was harder for you emotionally to accept?
Rizo Velovic: I think I think 49 because I truly felt like had I beat Savannah in fire, I have a really good case to win the game. On 50, once Aubry won final immunity, I knew I had zero shot at beating her at the end. My endgame was Joe and Jonathan in hopes that I can win, but once Aubry won, I just wanted to win fire, just to reverse my curse. But honestly, I think for my legacy and terms of being remembered, I'd rather go out in fire twice than, you know, going to Final Tribal and getting decimated. I wouldn't say they're a bitter jury, but just a jury that wouldn't have given me a chance against Aubry. So 50 felt more complete. I was like, 'Wow, this is a great storybook ending, even though I don't win." 49 felt like, "Damn, I had the game."
Men's Journal: Aubry mentioned she thought you guys had a similar story. Did you feel the same about her?
Rizo Velovic: I did. I will say, I think I was a little bit more insulated in terms of the people that had the most agency in the season with Cirie, Ozzy, and I, but ultimately I was just a floater. I had a final three with Joe and Jonathan, I had a final three with Cirie and Ozzy, I was aligned with Coach's Honor and Integrity Alliance, I was kind of everywhere. And Aubry was to an extent as well, but I think Aubry realized that we were both kind of that floater, the middle person, and good on her to realize that, because we knew that Joe and Jonathan were a part of one faction, and they would possibly split votes, so it was me and Aubry, the votes that Aubry needs to win could go to me, so I take it as a compliment. And I don't think I would have beaten her, but I'm proud to know that she said that.
Men's Journal: OK, yeah, so you were also thinking Jonathan and Joe would split votes.
Rizo Velovic: Yeah, that was kind of my hopes. I knew that Jonathan, just based on hearing what Cirie would gather from certain people, that I wouldn't get Chrissy or Stephenie. I don't think I would get Coach, but I give myself a 5 percent chance to get Coach if I talk about how much he's meant to me, but ultimately I knew the people I needed was Rick Devens, Christian, and Emily. I feel like against Joe and Jonathan, I had Dee, Tiffany, Cirie, and Aubry on lock, so like, if Jonathan had three or four jury votes, because I was not getting Ozzy, so if it was four, four deadlock votes, three votes are up in the air. I can battle for that.
Men's Journal: Ozzy and Chrissy were a little hard on you in their exit press. What is your reaction to that?
Rizo Velovic: Honestly, it's disappointing. I will say, for Chrissy, it wasn't really disappointing, because to be quite honest, Chrissy and I never really had an in-game relationship, so her perception on the island is her reality. So that's totally fine. Ozzy, I was definitely heartbroken for because Ozzy knew how well I played. If there was anyone to preach for me, it was Ozzy, and for him to call me a one-dimensional player. For him to label me as someone that had no chance at winning the game, basically telling me that I should have went to the end and lost to him sucks, because he knows how much I love Survivor and how much I want to become a legend and want to win this game. So listen, I have no hard feelings toward Ozzy. I don't think I was the reason why he lost the game, but I wish him nothing but the best.
Men's Journal: Fans said you should have told Ozzy to play his idol. Do you think that would have changed things?
Rizo Velovic: Absolutely not. I think he was so upset with Joe, Jonathan, and I–specifically me–that, and this is the thing about the Ozzy move that gets me, because a lot of the fans I got a lot of backlash for, they say, "You should have told Ozzy to play his idol, pull a Natalie Anderson." And to that I say that wouldn't have been my move. Ozzy told Aubry his entire endgame and said, "Aubry, you are going home tonight." So, if I stood up there and said, "Ozzy, play your idol," I now take away all the agency I have and credit Ozzy for getting Aubry out. And now Joe and Jonathan, who I built great rapport with, feel burned by me. So now I have to go to the end with Ozzy and Cirie and be that zero-vote finalist. I realized that I needed to go to the end with Joe and Jonathan, so I think I made the right move. I would have done it 100 out of 100 times. I have no regrets.
Men's Journal: Jonathan implied the jury was a little bitter. Did you feel like that?
Rizo Velovic: I don't know if bitter is the right word. I think it's interesting, because I think if I was up there with Joe and Jonathan, like it just was factions. We had, whether they're Honor and Integrity, that's what the online community is calling them, the Coach and Chrissy, Stephanie and Jonathan, then you had the Cirie, Ozzie and I, and then you had the Aubry, Rick Devens, Christian, and Emily. It's just Survivor 50 was factions, so naturally people are gonna vote for their friends. I really don't think the jury was bitter. I mean, that's like saying, if I made it to the end and the like, Chrissy and Jonathan, are bitter toward me. I don't think they were bitter, they just wanted their friend to win, and I think Cirie has history with Aubry, so she has history with Aubry and wants her to win. So I don't know if that really makes it bitter, but I also wasn't at the end, so I don't know.
Men's Journal: Wait, I have to ask. You just missed the family visit. Was your mom actually out there in Fiji?
Rizo Velovic: Yeah, yeah, my mom did go out there. It was heartbreaking, because, oh man, I don't want to cry. Survivor has meant so much to my family, and I thought my girlfriend was going to come out there. And then to hear that my mom came out there, and I had no idea. She didn't come see me in Ponderosa, she didn't do anything like that. I found out after Final Tribal, Aubry came up to me and says, "Hey, by the way, my mom loves your mom. I was like, why? How does that correlate to me? She's like, "Our family came out to see us at the Final Three, and I was like, "Okay, but I wasn't in the Final Three. She said, "No, the finale, people's parents came, their family came," and I was so heartbroken because you know, the first thing that I watched with my mom was HHH, which is so funny, because I really wanted to work with Chrissy, because my mom was like Chrissy, and I was Ryan Ulrich. And to know that I only said, "Mom, I'm gonna get you out there," and to know that, I was like, honestly, at this point I wanted to win. I just wanted to win fire to have that moment with my mom. I didn't get it, but I got my mom a free 24-hour trip to Fiji, which was cool. She traveled 40 hours for 24 hours at Fiji, not even to see me. So, yeah, it was hard, but she had fun.
Men's Journal: You are strategic but you also wear your emotions on your sleeve. How did you feel watching yourself on TV?
Rizo Velovic: You know, I'm so proud of myself in terms of being vulnerable. I think what Jeff says that makes Survivor so compelling is you truly get to know the people that play out there, because they give you everything, and I am a pretty in-tuned guy with my emotions, but I don't cry every day. It's just Survivor means so much to me, and the money meant so much to me, and I just wanted to give it everything. I mean, I remember in Season 49 at the Final Five with Savannah, I'm crying to her because I almost have to blindside her if I want. I was debating about the Kristina movie, I'm like, "I'm sorry, Sav, but I really want to win this game." She's like, "Rizo, why are you crying to me? Like, I wouldn't fault you," and that's just me wanting it so, so bad. I just wanted to show people, and I had no shame of me crying. I think it makes me a better person, and that's why I kind of resonated with Joe too, because Joe does the same exact thing. So I'm very proud of what I put out there.
Men's Journal: In the preseason, you said you wanted to cement your legacy. Do you feel like you did that this season?
Rizo Velovic: I honestly do, Sharon. I think out of 50 season, 751 players, for people to have returned, only four people have returned, and have never been voted out, and it's me, Joe Jonathan, and Michele Fitzgerald. That is an honor to have. I have a lot of records. I had the most public idol tribal councils I held ever, with 16 tribal councils across two seasons. I'm the third back-to-back player to make the finale. I have so many things to be proud of, and the one I'm most proud of is I've never been voted out, and I think I left a mark. I see fans come up to me and say R-I-Z-G-O-D, and I'm like, I sound like that on TV? And I just laugh, because that's who I am, and it's meant everything to me, and I'm so grateful for everything, and I do feel like I left my mark.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 12:26 PM.