10 Things Vytas Wants You To Know Following His Second Chance Send-Off

Vytas reflects on his short-lived second chance run

It still burns to watch his torch get snuffed first, but Second Chance castaway Vytas Baskauskas has an outlook on the game that's nothing short of radiant. Vytas' fresh perspective on the experience is eye-opening, spiritual, and raw—and what he has to say may have you looking at this guy a whole lot differently.

We were able to catch up with Vytas and he shared 10 insights about his experience on Survivor Cambodia. Read on!

1. What would you have done differently looking back at your Second Chance run?

Vytas: "Once I heard my name getting thrown out—and it was getting thrown out a lot—I probably should have tried to play harder early on. There were people I should have aligned with that I didn't put that much energy into getting to know. I shouldn’t have been comfortable in my alliance."

"It's, like, ultimately no one can be trusted, but you have to trust some people early on. I wanted to play with Jeff Varner and he said he was with us, but my intuition was telling me otherwise... [I was right], he wasn't."

2. You said last time your mistake was your lack of self-awareness. Would you say the same went for

this season or no?
Vytas: "This time it wasn’t necessarily lack of self-awareness. My mistake was more a lack of malleability. My game plan was to lay low, but as soon as somebody gunned for me, I really should have switched my game plan up. I think I was stuck in laying low and not over-strategizing... I wanted to play an old-school game."

3. Who would you have aligned with if you stayed?

Vytas: "I would have added Peih-Gee Law into the mix and Abi-Maria Gomes, even though she annoyed people. I would have made her feel safe. I shouldn't have trusted Spencer Bledsoe and Jeff... It was only three days with so much happening. And, at that first vote, people come from a lot of fear."

4. Why do you think the group saw you as a threat and decided you had to go first?

Vytas: "On Second Chance, you can't really make a first impression twice. So people have an opinion of me and thought I was a threat, and Shirin Oskooi made sure to convey that opinion to every single person she could. She was gunning for me and did good job rallying the troops... she got me."

5. If you had to equate your Survivor mentality to one yoga move, what would it be and why?

Vytas: "Probably a deep twisting pose, because the game just sort of twisted itself around on me before I could really get out of it. It was tough. That final twist that happened when we left the challenge and went straight to Tribal Council... that was the last twist that really got me."

6. In terms of votes, Abi-Maria wasn't far behind you at Tribal. Do you think she's a threat?

Vytas: "That’s the thing—she's not that big of a threat. She's a threat to 'Camp Harmony,' and I think people minimize that. She can be obnoxious and annoying, but people are more intimidated by a different type of threat... like a physical and strategic threat, like me, which is why I went home."

7. What does Survivor mean to you?

Vytas: "I just love the game. I was a fan for a really long time before I ever got the opportunity. I had 16 ex-Survivors at my house last night for a big premiere party... It’s a great adventure that's given me a lot of great memories."

8. Which castaway could you see winning the title this second time around?

Vytas: "I have no idea. I don’t know what happened after I got voted out. My tribe, Ta Keo, I think will struggle. Voting me out was a mistake. I'm rooting for Terry Deitz on my tribe. It seems like Jeremy Collins was kind of controlling the alliance thing over there. I hope my girl Ciera Eastin does great."

9. How would you compare your first day on your second season to the first day on your first season?

Vytas: "The first season [Blood vs. Water] was a slow build, and was about creating first impressions. None of us knew much about each other. This second time, we all knew who each other was, so it was all about hitting the ground running. When we hit that beach, we were all so happy. We were all hugging each other, and were so happy to be there. It's tough to get voted out right after that."

10. Any final thoughts on the game, your strategy, or what you'll do next?

Vytas: "I'm going to get back to raising my son and teaching yoga. I hope people aren’t put off by the 'creepy yoga guy' that I came off as and hope they still will try yoga. I believe in the power of yoga. I like seeing people find health and well-being in their body."

"I'm grateful to the fans for voting me on and for Survivor for having me back. I'm not a great All-star, but I'm an All-Star, nonetheless. I wish the best for everyone else out there... no hard feelings for sure."

Watch an all-new episode of Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance on Wednesday at 8/7c.