Travis Long reveals what went wrong in his strategy, who he thinks is going home next, how he tried to blow up Frenchie’s game and more in his exclusive interview with AfterBuzz TV!
Our favorite Hawaiian surfer dude is out of the Big Brother house, but lucky for us, he’s giving us the inside scoop.
Travis Long was voted out by his Big Brother castmates in Thursday night’s episode under Head of Household Brandon “Frenchie” French’s nomination. Find out who else he blames for his eviction, who he thinks is going home next and more in AfterBuzz TV’s exclusive interview with Travis below!
AFTERBUZZ: What was your impression of Frenchie’s strategy?
TRAVIS: “I think it was really, really shoddy. I think he played way too much with his heart when he should have with his head. And I think that led to him making a lot of promises that were–or will be–completely empty, and people will come to that realization soon enough and that’s going to totally torch his game.”
AFTERBUZZ: He said that he was watching everyone like a hawk. Were you aware of him behind doors eavesdropping and listening in on everyone?
TRAVIS: “No, not really honestly. Is it surprising? Not in the slightest. I think that’s the mojo that guy has about him. You know, he kind of bodes that he’s a really transparent fella that walks around being completely honest with everyone and, sure enough, he wasn’t with me. So it is my expectation that he won’t be with others and that he would carry out shenanigans, like listening to people talking behind doors. So I mean, that makes sense.”
AFTERBUZZ: Julie said right before the eviction that you tried to blow up his game. How did you do that?
TRAVIS: “I kind of had two choices: I could tell people individually, or I could make a big spicy splash and absolutely blast him off to space just in my pre-eviction speech in front of everyone. I chose the former because I’m just not a vengeful person, really. I didn’t want to ruin the games of any of my confidantes that were working with him by totally torching him and kind of ruining whatever structure they’re formulating. So instead I wanted to give it to individual players kind of as cards up their sleeves and as information to use when they wanted and when it would be productive and beneficial to them, rather than me making that decision for them.”
AFTERBUZZ: You went to Frenchie and said that you could serve as a shield. Did you think that you stood a chance of staying in the house, or were you surprised with the result?
TRAVIS: “I thought it was a 50/50 shot. My understanding was that there was already some sort of early structure of a plan and an alliance forming and with that, I knew I would be completely ruining those plans. And so it was kind of a one-man show against the objectives of multiple; usually the multiple come out on top, and I knew it was kind of a long shot but that the actions and the ideas that I would bring to Frenchie such as being a shield were totally real for him, and so I thought he would gun for it a little harder than he probably did.”
AFTERBUZZ: Do you fault anyone in your eviction, aside from Frenchie?
TRAVIS: “I mean, I love the guy with my whole heart; he was the showmance that didn’t quite get to be yet, but Derek X, the poor kid just can’t keep his mouth shut really about any of the objectives and ideas we had. I mean, we’re going to be best buddies and kick it after the game, but as far as aligning myself closely with him during the game, probably a huge mistake. And ultimately his winning of the veto and switching of Kyland off the block resulted in me being put on.
AFTERBUZZ: If you had a second chance, would you do anything differently?
TRAVIS: “I really wouldn’t because when it comes down to it the nature of the game is being really sneaky and kind of lying, stealing and cheating your way through, and my personality just doesn’t really align with that as much as I thought it did. I guess I don’t have as much savagery in my bones as I initially anticipated going into the game, because when it came down to it, I fell too deeply in love with some of the bonds I made. I thought being homies with people would kind of take priority over strategizing with people and then I’d just be kind of swooped in with the connections I made and with the connections they make, and that wasn’t the case.
AFTERBUZZ: How was your strategy going in different from how things actually went once you got in the house?
TRAVIS: “So initially I wanted to kind of create this perception of myself as this just ditzy surfer guy that hangs out in the sand all day and doesn’t have a unique thought in his head. And the idea behind that was because–not to toot my own horn too much–but I have a charisma and confidence about me, as well as just kind of my build, that would probably put an early target on my back just by looking at me without any information beyond that. And that was spooky, so I wanted to downplay myself. That ended up totally torching me in the first episode when I got picked last for teams, and the reasoning behind that being I think Whitney said something like, ‘That’s not a very good pitch of yourself. You don’t sound very valuable.’ And I was like, well damn, now I’ve got to totally switch up and provide some value, and then hopefully that would translate to some worth and some utilization of myself in an alliance.”
“And so I kind of went to the other side where I pitched the successful businesses I’m involved in, the fact that I graduated from a prestigious business school a year early, I’ve authored a book. I’ve done things that I thought would provide value in terms of intellect that people could use from me. And it was always about getting that equilibrium because then I think it tipped too much where people were like, ‘Okay, well maybe he is a threat. This sounds like a guy that would be good to get out early on.’ So it was always about that middle boundary I needed to lock in that I couldn’t quite get.”
AFTERBUZZ: Yeah. It’s interesting, a lot of people said in their intro packages that their strategy was to play dumb and Frenchie was actually one of those people.
TRAVIS: “That’s hilarious because I think the guy already is playing dumb just in his daily. personal life. So I don’t know what downplaying he was doing, but I mean, maybe we’ll see he’s like a chemistry professor on his farm or something.”
AFTERBUZZ: Who do you think is playing the best game right now and why?
TRAVIS: “Kyland is probably playing the smoothest game. One, he’s a stone cold fox. He’s a great human to just look at. He’s beautiful. And his charisma and his social game is the same way. It’s beautiful, it’s elegant. And I think he is in a unique position with that that no one else is, and that if kind of the preschool antics come out and the girls form a little alliance with the girls and the guys go with the guys, I think he’s the only one well positioned to kind of have an ear with both sides. I think he’s played a hell of a social game with all of the girls in there, as well as all of the guys. And I think everyone else, probably in some form or another, is lacking in that. And so he’s closest to nailing that down and I think he’ll have the greatest chance of having a best knowledge transfer between whatever alliance is formed cross-house.”
AFTERBUZZ: Who do you think is going to get evicted next?
TRAVIS: “It’s my assumption that the surfer’s curse will live on and the other guy that looks closest like that, Mr. Christian, will probably be thrown up there. And not just because of that, but also because I think it is the objective of Frenchie–and he still has a hell of a sway in the house and kind of still a leadership role–and I think it’d be easy for Kyland to pin that on him and say, ‘Well, I just kind of want to go with the objectives of Frenchie, what he was trying to carry out in his first week of Head of Household-ship and put that guy up.’
AFTERBUZZ: Who are you rooting for to win right now?
TRAVIS: “I think it’s honestly between Brent, Derek X–bless his heart, there’s no way that guy gets very far just with his loud mouth, but sure, I love the guy so I’ll throw him out there and maybe he’ll buy me a beer or something after this if he does win–and Kyland. Kyland was a part of my team. I watched him play a very strategic game and talk himself in and out of situations well. And I think Brent; I think he could use the money. He has a heart of gold. I could see any of them putting it up and I’d be really happy for them.”
AFTERBUZZ: I’m sure there are some twists to come. If you could see any twist introduced in the house right now, what would you want to see?
TRAVIS: “I guess a battle back of some sort would be easy for me to throw out, given my current position. That would be great. I would love to see some punishments coming in hot as well. You know, I would have loved to see someone rocking the costumes, although that’s not an insane twist in terms of actual strategic gameplay. In terms of strategy, I would like to see the continuation of a lot more people being safe, kind of like this first week allowed with Xavier being safe through the selection of Christian and his safety winning the wildcard comp. I think that ante needs to be upped a little bit because that would breed some difficulty in the current alliances being formed where someone would have to go up inside of the alliance and that would just be spicy.”
To watch Travis’ castmates battle it out in the Big Brother house, you can tune in Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
