Even after a racially-inspired outburst, the vote was close and Braden became the first HG evicted from Big Brother 11 thanks to HoH Jessie's tiebreaking vote.  If I could toot my own horn for a bit, I foresaw Braden being the first person out in my Pre-Season Predictions.  I also predicted Jeff and Jordan to have a showmance and the two primary alliances would be Jeff, Jordan, Laura, Casey and Michele vs. Russell, Ronnie, Lydia and Kevin.  So I'm feeling pretty darn good about my psychic abilities right now.

I spoke to Braden about his short time in the house, and the calm, cool surfer seemed even more relaxed to be out.  He talked about Chima's breakdown during her speech, Ronnie's betrayal, his feud with Kevin and Lydia, his plans for life after Big Brother, and who he thinks will win.

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-Braden and the other HGs were as shocked by Chima's outburst during the pre-vote speech, but he didn't seem very surprised.  He said that she was quite unstable in the house and often had mood swings.

-Given Ronnie's overall deception, Braden isn't sure what side he'll come down on as HoH, but he does think Ronnie won't last long as he'll let the power go to his head.  Ronnie played the game to hard the first week, and as HoH, Braden thinks those chickens will come home to roost.

-He also thinks Lydia and Kevin are in similar danger because they aligned themselves with the jocks and started playing the game too quickly.

-The two people Braden thinks have the best chance of winning are Casey and Jeff. He sees both of them as great speakers who are also physically strong, putting them in great positions.

-Braden's calm and relaxed vibe wasn't an act, it was just him setting the groundwork for a future strategy.  He wanted to be nice and get along with everyone for the first week, but sadly, that strategy went out the window after he was backdoored.

-Now that he's out of the house, Braden was excited to sleep on a real bed instead of the air mattress he used in the Big Brother house.  He's also excited because next week is his mother's birthday, and he'll be able to be there for it now.

-For the rest of the summer, Braden's big plans include doing some modeling in Europe and some surfing in Bali.  He's an experienced world traveler, having been to more than 30 countries, which probably means he was on the wrong CBS reality show (paging The Amazing Race, please cast Braden for the next season).

-Braden also has a clothing and jewelry line he's putting the finishing touches on and he plans to direct and produce a film in the next nine months.  Basically, getting evicted first from Big Brother 11 was the best thing that could've happened to Braden.

-Interview conducted by John Kubicek
(Image courtesy of CBS)