It’s only fitting that Survivor‘s most unorthodox season provided its most unorthodox winner. Salesman Chris Underwood got his torch snuffed on Day 8, but proceeded to live his days in island purgatory on the titular “Edge of Extinction.” He still resided there coming into Wednesday night’s finale. But by the end of the three hours, he had re-entered the game, played a hidden immunity idol, took out the game’s biggest threat, and claimed victory despite playing only 13 days total.

Chris entered the season wanting to play a “perfect game.” Despite getting thrown for a loop with the introduction of returning players on his tribe, his challenge prowess kept him on that path. But Dan “Wardog” DaSilva redirected his path, getting the numbers together to blindside one of his tightest allies. Limp and defeated, Chris was surprised to find a second life via the Edge of Extinction, a secret island lacking in resources but plentiful in personality. He would ultimately spend 27 days on its shores, bonding with the eliminated players, pontificating on his choices, and working on his fishing to become a master of the pole. Though he missed out on the first opportunity to re-enter the game, he continued his tenure, hopeful the second time would be the charm.

Indeed it was. On Day 35, Chris was able to beat out ten other hopefuls, including Survivor veterans and challenge beasts alike. Alive again at the final six, he received an idol as commemoration, but it would only become active if he survived the upcoming round. Utilizing the bonds from his first stint in the game, as well as information from the Edge, he convinced Lauren O’Connell to use her long-held idol on him. That move and his own idol got him to the final Immunity Challenge, where he clinched an automatic spot in the finals with a win. But Chris was looking ahead to Day 39 and the threat that loomed in another returnee: Rick Devens. Wanting to put a nail in his coffin, Chris did the unthinkable. He gave up immunity to put himself in the fire making challenge, making headlines by competing against the newscaster. It was a move of testicular fortitude that paid off in a win, finally sending Rick out after many days of being targeted. After a tough final Tribal Council, Chris was able to get the win over Gavin Whitson and Julie Rosenberg, as nine jury members found his story inspiring for the million dollar prize.

After his official crowning as Survivor’s newest champion, Chris talks with Parade about what he felt his chances were going in and coming out of final Tribal Council, his strategy on the Edge, and how imperfections can make someone a better Survivor player.

We’re talking a little more than 12 hours after you were officially declared the winner. How are you feeling right now?

You probably know I’m feeling right now with having a newborn: Not a lot of sleep going on. There was a lot of celebration last night. I’m still ecstatic, and it’s still setting in. I’m still processing everything and trying to get through a lot of fun text messages. (Laughs.)

How sure were you of your victory once the final Tribal Council ended?

I felt about 60% confident coming out of that final Tribal. I had no idea what was going to happen going in. But on the other side, I felt the momentum start to shift a little bit on the jury. So I thought, “Okay, I’ve got at least six to eight votes.” And it ended up being right around there with nine out of thirteen. I wasn’t sure, though. When you have Wardog on your season, you can’t really be sure whether he’s telling you something, or trying to pull your leg. (In a Wardog impression) “Oh, I gotcha! I voted for Gavin.” (Laughs.) It was good that my gut was right.

That final Tribal really did seem up in the air. What did you make of how it all went down?

I knew I really had to articulate why I did what I did so it didn’t come off as “fluky” gameplay. I had to relay that it was strategic effectively, and I had to do that better than Julie and Gavin. They were either going to excel or sink their own ships. The previous four or five days, it was my job to lessen their endgame while elevating my own. The final Tribal was another opportunity to do that. I had my work cut out for me; it had to be a pretty flawless final speech. I knew I had to take some heat and survive through it, and it turns out I did.

You spoke about using sales tactics like the “negative reverse” with Lauren. Was there anything you utilized when making this million dollar pitch to the jury?

I wasn’t really working over the jury; I was pretty straightforward with them. There was one time where people were starting to criticize the theme. I said, “If I don’t deserve to be here, then are we seeing that this theme and all the energy that has been put into this by production is a waste? Is that the implication here?” It was leading the witness a little bit. Then Wardog came in and said, “The theme’s not on trial, these three are.” So I did use that. Another tactic was to act like Columbo, dummying up to get information. It’s always better for someone to tell you something than for you to tell them the same thing. That’s part of why I wasn’t as threatening as soon as I got back. I was pandering to Rick, Julie, and Lauren’s gameplay so they could use me as a vote because I wasn’t very strategic. But it was a way to extract information from what they said.

Was there ever any conversation out on the Edge about voting for the returnee if they made the finals, considering the experience you all went through?

It was something that came up, but it was actually shot down pretty handily. You think about some of the personalities on the jury; it’s pretty studded with some smart people. They wanted someone good strategically. Multiple people said, “You don’t have a shot to win.” (Laughs.) So I knew if I did get in, it would have to be perfect. Locked in and executed pretty flawlessly. Going into that final Tribal, even after beating everyone in the returnee challenge, having Lauren misplay her idol, winning the final immunity, and beating Rick, I still wasn’t sure if I was going to win or not. It was that difficult. When I started to articulate why I did what I did, I started to feel the respect was being reciprocated. That was when I began to feel more confident that I made the right decisions.

Coming back into the game, you were able to utilize information from the jurors to your advantage. One example came when you convinced Lauren to play her idol on you after telling her that Kelley wanted her to play it correctly and that Victoria was the biggest jury threat. How much were you embellishing those claims?

I was definitely dressing them up. There’s truth to them, but they were coming from an obvious place. If Lauren still has an idol on Day 35, the only thing she can do to boost her resume is to play it correctly. I knew she was tight with Kelley and listened to her; she trusted her more than anyone in the game. So instead of saying, “Play it on me, it’s the obvious decision,” I was like, “Here’s what Kelley told me to tell you. And I know you trust her more than anybody in this whole game.” I was able to put a twist on it.

You spoke about still playing the game while technically outside of the game on the Edge of Extinction. Can you elaborate on that?

It’s pretty simple. When someone’s hungry and doesn’t have a lot of sleep, alleviate their pain there, and make their experience more enjoyable. Then the things that happened underneath the surface level will turn out in your favor. There was a lot of social gameplay going on. Yes, there were bonds. But when you’re legitimately struggling, having a difficult time, and you help someone else because they’re going through the same thing, it’s reciprocated. We were all suffering together. I made it my goal to alleviate some of that suffering as best as I could by fishing and getting rice.

Then I would have legitimate conversations. You saw I asked Gavin what his dream is, but I was asking jury members that all the time. I didn’t think I was going to get in. I was trying to be the best person I could be to people who were suffering. Getting back in, that became important. If I came back, I knew the path I had to take was strategic. But those social elements are why our cast was so close because we had an experience like no one else. We didn’t get to drink beer and hide away in our rooms at Ponderosa. We had to live together and come to terms with our experience while still being in the game. Victoria was spot on when she wanted to get me out immediately. If I had a tremendous advantage, it was that I had experiences with the jury. She knew that; she was a smart player.

You sacrificed your immunity at the final four to take on Rick in the fire-making challenge, something that you had been thinking of since Domenick Abbate brought it up in the Ghost Island finale. What led you to pull the trigger ultimately?

I probably made that decision weeks before that happened. I had a lot of time to think about my game and If I came back in, what I would need to do for my path to becoming the Sole Survivor. Taking off the necklace and then taking the top competitor to fire was something I decided ahead of time. The only way to boost my resume was to make the only move I could think of the second-to-last day of the game. That day, teaching Gavin and Julie to make fire was actually me practicing making fire with their tools, since the other three had flint and I didn’t.

You spoke several times this season about how you came in wanting to play “the perfect game,” only to get blindsided. What was the process like to reconcile your imperfections?

What we do under pressure is really a mental game; it affects how we perform. In the first challenge to get back in the game at the merge, I was nervous. I was at the very top of the snake, about to drop the ball into the obstacle. But the nerves hit me; I was shaky, and the ball dropped. I had let go out of the outcome from the game to be totally at peace. I felt like the free throw shooter at the end of the game who is down by two and had to hit them all to win. I had to let go of control and be okay with the outcome, saying, “I’m okay with whatever happens. I’m going to try my best to win this thing. But if I don’t, I’m okay with that.” And that paved the path for me to calm my nerves down.

I knew that Eric and Joe put a lot of pressure on themselves to win that challenge to get back. So if I did the opposite, I would have a better shot at winning. When under pressure, you need to separate the outcome with the present. You have to put one foot in front of the other instead of thinking about what happens when you make it to the end. If you do that, there’s a good chance you’re never going to get there. It was almost an out-of-body experience during that challenge. I remember smiling halfway through, thinking, “I’m good with either a cheeseburger or getting back into this game. I’m happy right now.” And saying that, I calmed down and sunk both balls, even though I was behind.

In light of the unconventional way you won, is there anything you hope your performance was able to show future players about how to take on the game?

Two things. The first is you can never come in thinking you have a strategy that’s going to work. (Laughs.) Things change so rapidly, and you never know what twist production’s going to throw at you. Survivor is ever-changing, so it’s important to be adaptable. Second, take the game one day at a time. Figure out the people you’re playing with as best you can, but also know it’s really, really hard to win. Play your heart out, but know you can even take a necklace off and beat someone at fire-making, but if you make a mistake at the end, it’s sometimes not even enough. Be okay with the experience; enjoy your time. It’s way more important for you to get what you want out of it than to put all your eggs in one basket because there’s only going to be one winner.