Standish913.com has been blessed to do an exclusive interview with...
"TIYANA HALLUMS"!
Let's get into some exclusive questions...
STANDISH913: What are three things you loved about growing up in Hawaii
- Oh my goodness, where do I begin? 1) The ocean. Growing up connected to the land meant everything to me and actually helped me a lot when it came to Survivor. Almost every day after school (when I didn't have practice) my best friends and I would go to the beach and spend hours there. 2) The food. Being born and raised in Hawaii we obviously have our core Hawaiian culture, but we have a melting pot of ethnicities meaning BOMB food. 3) The people. My family and friends mean everything to me. I actually made majority of my best friends in kindergarten. I went to a school where you had to be part Hawaiian to be admitted and that's where I created some incredible relationships.
STANDISH913: What is your favorite food from Hawaii?
- This might be the hardest question ever. But my favorite food, that I have basically every other day, has to be this Superman roll from Ninja sushi. Or if we're going the Hawaiian route, it'll have to be poi with lomi salmon.
STANDISH913: What was your game plan going into the show?
- My game plan was to lean on my social skills. I take a lot of pleasure in getting to know people and making others feel seen and accepted for who they truly are. So, I basically wanted to make it super hard for people to vote me out by pulling on their heart strings. I can totally elaborate more about this on the podcast!
STANDISH913: Since being on Survivor, do you still want to be a pilot?
- I definitely still want to be a pilot! I love being in aviation and becoming a pilot would be the perfect way to create stability and allow me the time and finances to create my dream life. I love traveling, giving my family the benefits to travel and I love connecting with people - the pilot life would give me all of that and more!
STANDISH913: What did you hate the most about being away from basic necessities?
- I think the biggest adjustment was not having my family and friends to rely on. I've camped before, so being out in nature or being dirty/salty wasn't a huge adjustment. And of course, starvation was a completely new learning curve - discovering how my body functioned mentally and physically without the correct nutrition.
STANDISH913: How did it make you feel when TK called you out for smiling after losing a challenge?
- If you asked me this question in the moment, I was on FIRE. The rage I felt was insane! Especially after being a part of teams my whole life, I know the quickest way to kill morale is to point the finger and refuse accountability. But after further consideration and talking with TK, this whole debacle was just two athletes clashing. He didn't know I was a D1 athlete, so he had no idea I was so competitive and I learned that smiling through things helped me to see the lesson in losses faster than being super pissed about it.
STANDISH913: How was managing your personal relationships in life after being on Survivor?
- After Survivor I kind of dove even deeper into my personal relationships. Being away from everyone helped me to realize just how lucky I am to have the people I have in my corner supporting and loving me the way that they do. I also am now more picky about who I share my energy with because I know what I bring to relationships too. Survivor also helped me to slow down in the best way. Beforehand I was constantly looking for the next big thing or challenge but because of Survivor I realized how important it is to stay present and truly enjoy the now.
STANDISH913: Were you confident you were going to make the merge?
- I was incredibly confident to make the merge. I was confident in the relationships I made even in that short time on the merge beach. I was over working with Tuku and felt like things were off so I was so excited for a breath of fresh air with the new contestants but then the twists, as we saw, kind of screwed me. I knew that I could be a valued number and gain the trust of the newcomers.
STANDISH913: What was the hardest challenge in your opinion?
- By far, the hardest challenge was the first challenge with the boat tipping over 3 times. Everyone wants to prove their worth, it's our first challenge as a tribe, no one wants to be the first one voted out, no one knows how to communicate with each other - the pressure is almost unbearable.
STANDISH913: If you could have had one item from home that you weren't allowed, what would you have brought?
- Such a good question.. I'd say it'd have to be my journal. Journaling is how I process when life gets overwhelming in the real world and it would've been freaking AWESOME to have that there to process the highs and lows of the game, write out next moves I wanted to make, work through every little scenario/step, list the pros and cons of working with every single person, etc. That would've been game changing for sure.
STANDISH913: Do you still have your Survivor bluff?
- They're actually gonna send over our buff and torch soon! They wanted to clean and pack it nicely for us. I just have to figure out a good place to put it!
STANDISH913: What was the scariest part of the whole experience for you?
- The scariest part of the whole experience, other than the spiders/going to the bathroom in the dark with only the moonlight, was probably playing as my authentic self. I didn't choose to play a character and maybe I should've, but I was completely myself and I was so thankful to the producers and editors who showed the full me as much as they could. They created a safe space for me to be my true self and I am forever grateful for their impact in my life.
STANDISH913: What was your first thought after being blindsided?
- I couldn't even believe it. It was a complete out of body experience. I couldn't believe I went home over a twist. Like there was nothing I could've done differently (other than win the challenge) to stay. You can't win Survivor by yourself and I didn't have close alliance members that wanted to make moves or have my back. Because I'm such an intense competitor, my immediate thought was that I felt like I let my community down, I disappointed my friends and family.. just all of the worst deprecating thoughts you could possibly think of. Utter disbelief.
STANDISH913: If you could have dinner with 3 people dead or alive, who would they be?
- Drew Afualo, Michelle Obama and Zendaya - I can elaborate on all of these people easily lol
STANDISH913: What are your social links?
- Instagram: @tiyanakhallums
- Tiktok: @tiyanakhallums
- Podcast: Tiyana Talks (coming soon in 2025) a rebrand of my current podcast The Fearless Fulfillment Podcast
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