SURVIVOR Host: There are lots of great questions, so let's get begin! If you're just joining us, we're chatting live with Survivor Ryan Aiken. We'll get to as many of your questions as we can. Let's get started! Hey Ryan!
Ryan: How's everybody doing? Happy Valentine's Day!

ZuT_aLoRs: How does it feel to be the first executed?
Ryan: It really didn't feel as bad as I thought it would. I went into the game, I pretty much gave it my all, and after the Challenge it was pretty much I knew the heat was on myself and Dan. I guess my confidence with my fellow tribemates wasn't as strong as it was before the Challenge. Plus, our egos were blown out of the water. But yesterday was my birthday, and I'm making do. All it all, it was a wonderful experience with no regrets.

Lauren: Ryan, do you think your actions in trying to swing the votes to Roger affected the other's opinion of you and made them vote for you instead?
Ryan: No, not at all. The battle lines were drawn the first day we got to camp. The first night sitting around the fire, getting acquainted, Roger said to me in not so many words, "I don't like you." He basically pulled my punk card in front of seven people, and I knew it would come down to me and him. I knew eventually no matter where in the game we were, it would come down to us. I had a strong relationship with Matt and Dave early. Dave was my hometown boy from Ellicott City. We had a great bond, and we were on the down-low. People in the tribe didn't know how close we were. EC for live! [laughs] We hit it off from day one. We didn't speak of it again until after we lost the Challenge and I felt my credibility was shot because of the balance beam.

ScottSisk: Ryan, what part of being in the Amazon did you underestimate the most?
Ryan: The quality of the water and food supply before the game even started. What no one knew was how sick I was during survival training. During the three days on the island, I was having violent diarrhea and puking, and no one knew. I hid it from everyone. The only person I told was Dave, and he didn't tell anyone.

amazon_goddess: Ryan, how many times have you tried out for SURVIVIOR before getting picked?
Ryan: I've never tried out before for SURVIVOR. I sent in my tape just for fun and out of about 70,000 applicants, I was chosen.

bizzle: What was on your audition tape?
Ryan: If you want to see what's on the audition tape, you can go to Saturn dealerships and CBS.com. You can see that I come out of the trunk of my car, introduce myself. Push-ups with no shirt on, talking about myself, what I do, and my strategy. Looking at myself, being really arrogant. The final thing I did was come out of a porta-potty joking about how I was going to miss that on the island. It was cheap! [laughs]

MDSurvivorFan: Ryan, you were definitely this season's SURVIVOR hottie! Do you have a Valentine?
Ryan: No, I don't have a Valentine, I'm always looking for one. That's the money shot! [laughs] Are you offering?

ScottSisk: Ryan, why do you think Dan told Jeff that your tribe has caught lots of fish?
Ryan: It was mostly to psych our opponents out. It was all in fun. We were playing on them and they were playing on us. It was all for jokes. And the joke didn't work. [laughs] We lost.

Tick: Ryan, after seeing last night's show, what do you think of the women's tribe now?
Ryan: I never agree with a battle of the sexes. I would have loved to have been the only guy on the all-girl tribe, 'cuz I would love them and I would hope they'd love me. I'd play nice.

kitkit: What do you think about the girls not building a shelter, but washing buffs instead?
Ryan: The women had a different outlook in the game than we did. The men had more of a gung ho, let's build a shelter, I'm a man hear me roar type of thing, and the women wanted to build more personal relationships. The situation is when guys are together, a guy knows all he wants to know about another guy within five minutes. But when it's an all guys vs. a young, attractive girl's tribe, you really want to hear what the girl has to say more than some guy. [laughs]

RichsSecondCousin: Ryan, why didn't you just carry that loser Daniel across the damn beam?
Ryan: He was too heavy. CBS was very kind, 'cuz they could have done the 90-minute premiere just on us crossing the balance beam. It goes to show you that even in the physical challenges, it's mostly mental. Dan's a really good guy; he's got a lot going for him. He just didn't have it mentally that day. Him not having his s*** together never came at a worse time. But all in all, if we'd won that Challenge and the next one, etc. until we actually lost one, I don't think any alliances would have been any different. Maybe I'd have had a better chance to know Rob, maybe I could've leaned on Dave harder. But Butch and Roger had it out for the youngest guy, and he knew the grass was very green for me if I made it to the women's tribe, and it was a very green field.

ScottSisk: Ryan, what was your reaction to finding out that one of the female Survivors was deaf?
Ryan: I think for her as a person, it's a really good accomplishment to make it so far. I know what it's like to go through to get cast on this show. It's very hard, and I give her kudos.

DrorYitzchak: Ryan, Tamabaqui seemed to be full of lots of male heterosexual banter. Did you all take into account that any of the men might be gay?
Ryan: That really wasn't an issue. It wasn't about testosterone. It was just about boys being boys. And nobody wants to back down from another male they've never met. Everybody had a quarrel at one time or another; some were just more hidden than others.

Dragon: What do you think about the game and the new twist? If you could choose one person to come with you on an island, who would it be and why?
Ryan: I think the game and the new twist for TV is very good, but for Ryan, it was a nightmare. It was a meat market. And I'd pick Calista Flockhart to come with me on an island, 'cuz she's hot. My brother's telling me Brooke Burke. I dunno, we'll take both of 'em.

blgmlke98: Hey, did you guys ever catch any fish while you where there?
Ryan: Butch was the expert fisherman. He did not catch a cold! We caught nothing. It was so bad, the fish didn't even take the bait.

westcoast2: Ryan, were you hitting on Julie Chen on the EARLY SHOW today? You kept slouching down so that your legs were totally on top of hers by the end of the interview.
Ryan: Yes! Yes, I was! That's the way it went down. That's how it went down! I had a lot of fun on the interview.