Ryan Shoulders Shoves Off

Being thin may be the all rage here at home, but as produce clerk, Ryan Shoulders found out -- it can be a major liability in the Pearl Islands. He visited The Early Show to talk about it.

After six treacherous days and nights, Survivor: Pearl Islands lost its second castaway. On night six, the Morgan tribe made their second straight heartbreaking journey to Tribal Council, where they sent home Ryan Shoulders, the 23-year-old produce clerk from Clarksville, Tenn., in a 5-2 vote.

Despite his determination, Ryan was seen as the tribe's weakest link, thus causing him to be let go. Upon leaving Tribal Council, Ryan summed up his experience, "I think I lost this game in the first five minutes because I didn't make friends with the right people."

Ryan says he believes his tribemate Andrew "had it in for me before the game even started. When we were on the ship in the beginning, he asked me to hold the moneybag. When he jumped in the water, I asked him if he wanted me to throw to him. Well, he just blew up and started yelling at me. I got a bad feeling right away."

He does not know if Andrew formed an alliance right away. "But it was like a fraternity out there," he explains, "and I was the outsider. I tried to become friends with people, but they didn't want to talk to me. I wasn't part of the 'in-crowd.'"

As for Osten, who told a few people he wanted to be voted off so he could go home, Ryan said no one had to talk him into staying. "Nobody changed his mind," says Ryan. "They loved Osten, he was their guy. There was no way Andrew was going to let him leave."

Does he think he was treated unfairly because he's thin? "Yes, I do believe that. I don't have the build of the other men, so people automatically assumed I was a wimp. I couldn't overcome that viewpoint."

Did the mosquitoes bother him? "That was the best part of the whole experience," he says. "I was relishing the rough conditions. I was waiting for the pain. I'm not joking."

This batch of Survivor contestants was not allowed to bring luxury items to the game. But had they been allowed, Ryan says he would have brought his guitar: "I'm a musician and I was going to write a bunch of songs."

And so what's next for Ryan? What is he going to do with his life now? "Not much at the moment, but this is the perfect opportunity to focus on my music and start up a band."

Osten came to Ryan and told him that he was ready to go, Ryan told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.

"He said he was done," said Ryan. "His body was spent. He was ready to go. His game was over."

But, even while Ryan knew that Osten had told the whole tribe that he wanted to be voted off, he knew something else: No one was going to vote Osten off the island.

As for Andrew, Harry pointed out that he is supposed to be the tribe's leader and "your tribe stinks!"

Ryan's response: "I'm glad some other people have seen it."

On Thursday night's episode, it appeared that Ryan had his big chance to make up for his perceived lack of enthusiasm in the first challenge. The activity involved diving for treasure, and Ryan was the first one in the water. Plus, he said, he is usually a strong swimmer.

"As soon as I darted into the water, the goggles just come flying off my face, so I lose all of my momentum," he recalled. "I swim out there, try to put the goggles on so I can go down. It's not working… It was rough. And the whole time, you know, I knew I needed that challenge."

Drake tribe won the challenge. As part of their reward, they were allowed to take Morgan's tarp, which basically meant that they lost the roof of their shelter.

"The only commodity we had was our tarp. That was our pride and joy… And then just to kick us in the rear end after we lost two challenges already. That was horrendous!"

Ryan still works at a grocery store near his home, but he says he is not attracting too much attention. "Not a heck of a whole lot," he told Harry. "I hear people are talking about me to other people, but hardly anybody comes to say hi to me. A few people, though. It's kind of cool."