Surviving Richard

Major Speakers brought Survivor superstar Richard Hatch to campus this Wednesday, presumably to talk about his new book and his theories of personal happiness. But we're Recess-we've got better things to uncover from the thinner, happier man who once called himself a "fat naked fag" as a term of endearment. Recess Editor Jonas Blank sat down with Richard before his speech to talk about nudity, politics and, of course, being a "fat naked fag."

You've actually been in our magazine a couple of times this year.

Probably naked.

That was, in fact, the first thing I was curious about. How does it feel to be naked on the cover of a book that's going to be out there for millions of people?

Completely comfortable. It's just such a non-issue for me, I think that's why it's become an issue for people. It wasn't part of my strategy. It was just me, on the island.

So public, private-it doesn't make a difference?

It's not even a question, really. It's not a sexual thing, it's more of a relaxed kind of thing.

You've obviously lost a lot of weight. But being on a desert island can make anybody slim down. For the average TV-watching slob, how does the Richard Hatch diet compare to say, Richard Simmons?

Nope. I don't think that really played any role in what I was doing. I recognized that I had a shot at it-I thought I could easily handle the survival stuff and I was well-qualified to handle the social aspect of it-what the show is really about. They were looking for personalities, and I just thought through how I wanted to approach it.... If I were as outwardly cocky to the participants as I was to the camera, my ass would have been gone in a second. I played the role they wanted me to play.

"Fat naked fag" was a strong way to characterize your homosexuality.

Fat naked fag came from a camping trip that my two friends Tom and Valerie and I went on in Canada, a two week trip in the September before I went to the island. And I was naked a whole lot and they weren't. We came to some cliff or something and they had climbed down first and I came down after them. And Tom looked up, and got a view he didn't necessarily want to see. And he pointed and he laughed like hell and he said, "Hey, get a load of this fat naked fag!" And we said, hey, why don't we have a calendar-Fat Naked Fag Barbecue! Fat Naked Fag Goes Fishing! We laughed the whole rest of the trip, thinking of the scenarios we'd create with this calendar. So I told that episode to Sean on the show, and then in the live episode on the day of the last show, he brought it up.

Did being gay have any effect on the way people treated you?

I think it prepared me for what I needed to do on the island. Growing in a society where people talk about "fags" and "queers" and use those terms mean-spiritedly, you have to decide whether you give a shit what somebody else thinks.... I just don't care what people think.

Umm.... where was I going with that?

I've gone from Matt Lauer to Regis to Jonas today.

Now that you're a millionaire, whose tax plan do you prefer?

I'm utterly apolitical-I have no idea what either of their tax plans are.

Do you know which one would be more likely to be voted off the island?

Well by me, it would be George Bush... his position on homosexuality makes me think he isn't somebody I'd be interested in living with.

Want to speculate on which candidate would look better naked?

I think Bush would look better naked. I spent some time alone with him and his wife at the Regis show. He's really really bright and more personable and aware than I figured.... I like him.

So he works that nice guy thing pretty well?

I don't think he's working it. I think I'm really perceptive and I think that's who he is. But I think that Bush is attractive. You're the cutest interviewer I've had today.

Thanks! That's good news.

You've got Matt [Lauer] beat, and that's a damn cute guy.