Rick Devens Reveals the 'Survivor 50' Wardrobe Secret He's Hiding From the Cast (Exclusive)
If you see a man sprinting through the Fijian jungle with his "pants on fire," don't be alarmed. It’s just Rick Devens doing his thing. When the former Georgia news anchor, 41, last played in Survivor Season 38's Edge of Extinction, he was a one-man show and a single fire-making challenge away from the million dollars.
But this time, Devens arrives with a chip on his shoulder after being a last-minute addition to the cast. After the "crushing" experience of being told he was an alternate, he’s feeling loose, a little dangerous, and ready to "cause hell."
"It’s totally loosened me up," Devens told Men’s Journal on set in Fiji before the game began. "When you think you’re not coming out at all, it’s like, 'Yeah, well, dang, I wish I’d just gone out there and caused hell.'"
He added, "Survivor is a gift, and I think you have to take advantage of what it gives you. I got so much out of it last time, and I think there's something I can maybe get out of it this time. But I also want to bring the same Devens back. I’m going to be causing some mischief."
That mischief is already in the works. Because while players are sizing each other up at Ponderosa, Devens is obsessing over his wardrobe. He’s already thought through a potential fake advantage hidden in plain sight: a pocket square that he plans to keep secret. It’s the first seed in his plan to be an "Agent of Chaos."
Below, Devens further breaks down his "pocket square" plan, his "News Team" aspirations with Season 49 winner Savannah Louie, why he’s terrified of Dee Valladares, and his dream scenario of working alongside a certain robotics professor.
Men’s Journal: So was this an easy yes for you?
Rick Devens: Come on. Don't be silly. I wanted to come back. I thought it would be a lot quicker than this. You know, they were going to stop having returnees, so I really wanted to come back. It was a no-brainer. I was actually an alternate. I’m not disappointed or upset to tell you; I was a late addition. I thought I was in, and then they asked if I’d be an alternate, and I said yes. And it was crushing. And then I got on late. So I've got a little bit of a chip on my shoulder.
Men’s Journal: I mean, that’s not necessarily bad for your game though, right?
Rick Devens: It’s not bad. Honestly, it’s totally loosened me up, because there was so much pressure to come out and do well, and obviously that’s what I’m going to do. But then when you think you’re not coming out at all, it’s like, yeah, well, dang, I wish I’d just gone out there and caused hell. So now I’m a little bit ready to just come out. I think it’s worked out really well. I think I could have been a big threat if I’d come back early because I’m fresh on everyone’s mind. And now there’s so many other people fresh on people’s minds. There’s some giant, literally giant people here.
Men’s Journal: I haven’t seen Jonathan [Young] yet, but I’ve heard—
Rick Devens: Oh my god, his arm is literally the size of my leg. I’m not joking. He’s a specimen. But no, I agree. I think it’s the perfect timing. Come back for 50, try to win the biggest season with the biggest cast. I can deal with that.
Men’s Journal: Do you feel like you have unfinished business?
Rick Devens: Totally. I totally feel like I have unfinished business because I was that fire-making away from winning the season. No doubt about it. It went better than I ever could have imagined in that sense anyway, so I’m totally at peace with how that played out. But there’s one thing I have left to do, and that’s come out and win the whole game. That being said, I have a lot of other things I want to do just for fun.
I’ll let you in on something I haven’t told anyone yet. I get a pocket square as part of my wardrobe because it came with the tie I asked for. On the one side, it’s this dog pattern, same as my tie. But on the other side, it’s totally just a weird pattern. I’m like, "Oh, thank you for giving me this, obviously, advantage wrapped up." So there might not be any real advantages in the whole game, but I’ve already got plans for no one ever knowing I have a pocket square, except wardrobe.
Men’s Journal: Are you worried about people perceiving you as sneaky and idol hunting? Are you going to play it cool for a bit?
Rick Devens: Sharon, you’ve read my mind. That’s exactly right. I think the one thing people know—I won four challenges, but the egos here and the challenge beasts here, they’re not worried about that at all. A lot of people here probably didn’t even watch my season. But I do think I’m going to be thought of as sneaky, idly. So I just have to not be Tony [Vlachos] in his second time—screaming llama and running off. It’s like, "Be chill." You’re right in the middle. There’s a lot of big targets. Just find your place in the game. But I will find my place to cause some trouble.
Men’s Journal: Is it nice that you’re just sitting in the middle of the new school and old school groups or?
Rick Devens: I think there is definitely that, which hangs over new school versus old school. It's scary that the new schools literally have two casts. That’s a lot. They all know each other from the watch party era, which wasn’t even a thing in 38. And all the old school folks know each other because they played together usually. In one sense, I’m less connected, and that’s not great early. But also, all those different groups are going to need that one person connected. I’m intentionally putting off a super not-threatening vibe. Looking at the birds, amazed by the geckos at Ponderosa. I got a little less seasick than I even put on this morning. I’m really trying to put a vibe of non-threatening out there, but I do think they’ll have their eyes on me for idols. I’m not necessarily buying into the new school, old school thing; I’ll go with whoever I vibe with.
Men’s Journal: Who are you looking at aligning with?
Rick Devens: It’s so funny, and I’ve been telling this to everybody, but I just dream of [Christian] Hubicki—Dr. Hubicki—being my David Wright. I could see it. I hope he sees it, because he might not want to work with me at all. I don’t know him; we have friends in common—Stephen Fishbach is a friend we have in common—but I’ve never talked to him on the phone or met him in real life. But he’s so analytical and thinks of the game in such a different way than I do. Use me, Christian, to pop off in Tribal and to do these things, and I’ll use you to kind of look three steps ahead while I’m playing with my pants on fire. That’s kind of my dream.
Men’s Journal: He has two people with him from his season here. Thoughts on that?
Rick Devens: He does, which also makes him a bigger target than me, which is another reason. No one’s going to look at the two of us and be like, "Dang, that Rick is smart," maybe not without Christian there.
Men’s Journal: Anyone else?
Rick Devens: I’d like to get with the other lunatics. Agent of chaos. It could be fun "In the Hands of the Fans" to just watch the Qs, Coaches, Angelinas, and Devenses go nuts. My mind would be blown. I feel like I vibe with Kyle [Fraser]. Coming in, my instinct was to get him out right away, but if I’m next to Kyle, they’re going to vote Kyle out. So maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Q [Burdette]’s the one I get nothing from. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he hated me based on vibes. I’m the guy making eye contact and smiling, and he’s just locked in. But he’s my son’s favorite. So I can go up to him and honestly say, "Q, my son wants us to play together. I know you’re crazy, but I’m into it." I want to be the guy people come to when they want to have fun.
Men’s Journal: What about the old school players? Colby [Donaldson], Ozzy [Lusth], Jenna [Lewis-Doughtery], Cirie [Fields], etc?
Rick Devens: Not giving me much. I’ve never interacted with Cirie at all. Big fan, obviously, but very wary of her. How many chances do you get? I’d rather get a fifth-time player out than a second-time player. Enough already—go to Traitors or Big Brother.
Men’s Journal: Devens is trying to rile up the fans this season...
Rick Devens: I’m sorry guys! Those fans will hate me anyway. But [Benjamin] Coach [Wade] could be a lot of fun because that dude’s authentic. Stephen Fishbach told me we might vibe. Ozzy seems like someone I might get along with. Colby seems like a bit of a curmudgeon, but I’m okay. He just grunts at stuff to the point where I’m like, "That’s bold of you to react." Jenna is someone I can see myself playing with big time. I would love to get with all the moms.
Men’s Journal: Any thoughts about the winners?
Rick Devens: I definitely don’t want them to win the whole thing. But at the same time, maybe you want to sit next to one of them in the end and they don’t want to give Kyle a second million dollars or Dee [Valladares] a second million. I was the co-host of the On Fire podcast for Dee’s season, so I paid real close attention. She probably saw that, but she scares the hell out of me. I don’t trust her in a great Survivor player sort of way. I’m kind of terrified of Dee. And my other co-host, Charlie [Davis]. He scares me as someone who's really good.
Men’s Journal: What are we thinking about the Season 49 people?
Rick Devens: I don't know anything about RizGod other than the preview. I’m kind of into RizGod. I love hanging out with young people. I assume RizGod is the monster inside of him. If he is, I want to play with a monster. Then Savannah—Georgia reporter. I love to get the Channel 4 news team together, but she works in Atlanta and she’s young, which means she’s a much better reporter than I am. That’s intimidating. It means she’s probably pretty tough and cutthroat. You have to battle to get the big stories in a newsroom like that. I bet she’s tough, and I bet she cuts people. I’m wary of her, but I also think it’d be really fun to blow the conch shell and title it "News Team, Assemble."
Men’s Journal: How was your after-game experience, and are you playing the same game this time?
Rick Devens: I do want [fans] to see a little bit of a different side. I’d like to be more involved with the alliances. I made myself a target early last time. Our whole theme back then was as soon as a threat put their head up, chop it off. And I put my head up too quick. I do want to play differently. I want to build those relationships better. I might have to go a little deeper. Survivor is a gift, and I think you have to take advantage of what it gives you. I got so much out of it last time, and I think there's something I can maybe get out of it this time. But I also want to bring the same Devens back. I’m going to be causing some mischief.
Men’s Journal: What do you think about the fans voting on things like rice?
Rick Devens: Not at all. I think I can suffer better than a lot of people. If there’s rice, awesome. If there’s not, I’m fine. I got body fat. What do you guys got?
Men’s Journal: What about journeys?
Rick Devens: I would probably try to avoid journeys unless I was nervous or super confident. Because I am who I am, I don’t want to give them reason to say, "I bet Devens has an advantage."
Men’s Journal: What does your family think about you coming back?
Rick Devens: My wife is relieved because she saw how being an alternate just sucked the life out of me. It’s embarrassing how much I wanted this. Truly embarrassing. But they’re psyched. My kids are super psyched. Juliet is 7 and Jack is 11. Juju is like my publicist. She’ll be like, "This is my dad, he was on Survivor." I’m like, "Juju, stop...keep going."
Men’s Journal: If you don't win, what do you want to take out of this experience?
Rick Devens: Just to be a part of 50 is huge. But what I really want... I want to put my stamp on the season. I want there to be at least that moment where it’s like, "Devens was here." I’d rather have that than get to the end without a stamp. I’m not going to be that dude where you’re sitting there going, "Why didn’t that guy do anything?" I feel like you owe something to the fans and to the players who didn’t make it. I would hate for Jesse [Lopez] and Carolyn [Wiger] and T-Bird [Cooper] to be at home going, "Devens wasted a spot." Nope. I’m going to take advantage of it. I got y’all.
The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.