Byline: Théoden Janes, The Charlotte Observer, (TNS)
Earlier in February, Kenzie Petty was cleared to finally reveal the big secret she’d been keeping for months — that she had sneaked off last summer to compete in a desert-island game for a million-dollar prize.
“I wasn’t on a yoga retreat,” she announced on Instagram February 5. “I’M ON SURVIVOR!!!”
And in just over two weeks since, the red-haired, tattooed, 29-year-old hair-salon owner from Charlotte, North Carolina, already has built a following that she’s trying to appeal to with a collection of merchandise emblazoned with a nail polish emoji and the purple-colored words “Bimbo Brigade,” for sale right now on her website.
“I don’t know how it happened,” Petty says, laughing, “but yeah, that’s what the fans have decided to call themselves. So we’re running with it.”
The 46th season of Survivor premieres at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, February 28, on CBS and Paramount+.
Petty — a graduate of Porter Ridge High School in Indian Trail, North Carolina, whose last name was Veurink until she got hitched just this past September — spoke by phone recently with CharlotteFive and talked about who turned her onto Survivor
The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity. Q: I love the story about how you found your way to Survivor. Can you recap it for our readers? A: It was during the COVID quarantine. Spring 2020. I think the salon was shut down from March to July, so sometime around then. (Petty owns eXplicit Salon in Camp North End.) I was out of toilet paper, and my psychic lived two floors beneath me. So I just went to her apartment to get a roll of toilet paper. I had been doing her hair for eight years. So we have a relationship like that. … She had Survivor on the TV, and I said, “What is this?” She said, “Oh, it’s Survivor.” I had heard of it. I think my parents had watched it when I was younger. And since we had nothing else to do — the salon was closed down — I was like, alright, 40 seasons of a TV show? Let’s gooo! (Laughing.) So my psychic saw the fruition. Q: Did you really watch every season? That is a LOT of TV. A: Oh, yeah. No, I got obsessed. I was like, I love this. I can’t believe I haven’t watched this. Ever. It’s so good. Q: I think people will read this and wonder: Did you see your psychic after you knew you’d been cast but before you left for Fiji, and if so — A: Well, you aren’t allowed to tell anybody that you’ve been cast or anything. Q: No, I know that, but I was just wondering — since, you know, she’s a psychic and all — whether she knew something was up. A: Apparently, she knew. She did not believe the yoga-retreat thing when I announced it. She said, “I knew. I knew that’s what you were doing.” I was like, “Alright. Yeah.” (Laughing.) Q: OK, I know this is going to seem like I’m stereotyping you and I’m sorry. But if I had to guess, I’d guess you live in Plaza Midwood or NoDa. Am I right? A: I used to. I lived in Plaza and NoDa for eight years, but we wanted to buy a house and, you know, the prices there are ridiculous. We just bought a house down Independence a little bit. But we’re still in 28205. Q: Have you gotten most of your tattoos here in Charlotte? A: No, I don’t get tattooed in Charlotte very often. If I do, I go to All My Heart. It’s in South End. And I have gotten tattooed in NoDa. But actually, I get most of my tattoos when I travel. Q: I’m sure there are some people who look at you, see your tattoos, and right out of the gate make assumptions about you just based on all the ink. And I’d bet that even after certain people get to know you a little, they might still allow some of their assumptions and stereotypes to color their treatment of you. Whether in Survivor or in life, do you find that there are both advantages and disadvantages to being heavily tattooed? A: I think there are definitely pros and cons to everything in life, and when I made the decision to get heavily tattooed I knew I wasn’t gonna be taken as seriously at face value. I knew I would have to work harder to earn respect. So I think in life and in Survivor, those things parallel. I get underestimated a lot. And that’s OK. I do my best, and I always keep a smile on my face — always — regardless of physical appearance. Q: Speaking of getting underestimated: You said in your CBS promo, “I know I can come across as a bimbo…” Obviously, the “Bimbo Brigade” merch is meant to be fun, but in terms of the game, I assume one tactic you’d want to use is to make people underestimate your ability to outwit them? A: Yeah, I think there’s multiple different strategies going into Survivor, and that was just one of mine. Q: In the same video, you mentioned that a lot of your life has been spent serving other people, and that “this is my time.” Can you talk about that a little more? A: Of course. So I don’t typically put myself first in most things in life. I definitely always put others in front of me, whether it be my family, or the people who work for me, or my clients. I live to serve, and I love that. It’s very fulfilling and gratifying to me. Because I am not an inherently selfish person at all. I don’t do anything selfishly. Before I make any decision in life, I’m like, OK. How is this gonna affect X, Y, Z? And I have a lot of plates that I’m constantly juggling, with the business, with my family. But Survivor — there was no one to serve except for myself, going into it, and that was so exhilarating and exciting. It was a chance to just do whatever I wanted and not worry about the consequences, or not think about who’s gonna need me in an hour, or how this is going to affect anyone other than me. It was just a chance to really shoot my shot, for myself, and do something completely independent and selfish. With Survivor, I was going away for five weeks possibly. That’s a very selfish decision — and I did it, and didn’t think twice about it. I had a lot of support, and it was just really, really satisfying. Q: Outwardly, you really seem to exude confidence. But did you feel nervous, or insecure at all, going into the experience? A: I think it’s hard to explain the feeling, because you’re feeling everything. You’re feeling nervous, you’re feeling excited. But I knew that I’m a very secure person, and I knew I love Survivor. I was grateful to just be there. I was excited to soak in everything that Survivor was going to give me, regardless of what that looked like. I was just so ready to soak in the experience 110% that by the time the game had started, my nerves had kind of gone away. I was just ready to have the adventure of a lifetime. Q: What was the prospect that intimidated you the most, going into the game? A: I think what intimidated me the most was the idea of possibly having to back-stab people I had made connections with, because I am such a people person. I love people. I love getting to know them. So I was like, whatever. I’ll starve. That’s fine. (Laughing.) This is what I thought before. Turns out it’s tough. But I was more apprehensive that I was gonna let my giant heart get in the way. Q: Speaking of starving, I heard in an interview that you practiced fasting a little bit beforehand. A: I was doing intermittent fasting. Then I kind of quit eating a week beforehand, so that I would be in a more ketosis state before the whole thing started. (Editor’s note: Ketosis, basically, is a metabolic adaptation achieved through a strict diet that purportedly allows the body to survive in a period of famine.) I don’t know. Take that advice as you will. I was just crazy. (Laughing.) I thought, This’ll be a good idea! I was just trying whatever I could to be prepared. Q: You also prepped for the show by tanning, I heard. At Palm Beach Tan? A: Yeah, at Park Road. Loved it. Q: Um, was that worthwhile prep? A: I think so. I looked great. (Laughing.) Q: And then the other thing you did was tackle the obstacle courses at Ninja Nation gym in Huntersville, is that right? A: Yeah, my husband took me. It was cute. There was a kids birthday party going on. But I definitely am glad I went. Q: Your husband — meant to ask about him. You just recently married, right? A: We got married two months after I got home. We had to move our wedding for filming. We both own businesses in Camp North End. (Her husband, Jackson Petty, is one of the owners of Tent Studios.) So we got married in our backyard and had our reception at his business in Camp North End. Q: Do you see yourselves staying in Charlotte forever? A: Oh yeah, we love Charlotte. It’s a magical little place to be. Q: Are you ready to be a celebrity in your hometown? A: Absolutely. I love attention, baby. I’m a Leo sun/moon. Let’s goooo! (Laughing.) Q: Have you been practicing signing your autograph? A: (Laughing.) No, I have not. I’ve got this new last name and everything. We’ll figure it out, though. I’m a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girlie. ©2024 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. 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