In anticipation of Survivor 51 premiering tonight, I will briefly explain my passion for one of my favorite shows.

My love for Survivor can be broken up into three parts: the early years, the COVID years, and the rebirth. Maybe I like to think in these terms due to one of my other passions, Ancient Egypt, as it can be broken up into the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and New Kingdom. Not to get too far off topic, but now that I think about it, Survivor and Ancient Egypt share other similarities. A band of people coming together to form their own society, hunters and gatherers, competition, all looking to outwit, outplay, and ultimately, outlast.

In the early years, I watched Survivor with my family as a young, impressionable kid. Like we did with other shows, sitting down to watch “our show” after dinner was highly anticipated. For that time, we were all together in the living room enjoying something in common. I was fascinated by the adventure of Survivor, even though I was miserable any time we would go camping ourselves. After I went off to college, I did not keep up with any shows for a long time.

Then COVID hit. There are many stories of people rediscovering past interests or starting new hobbies during our time in quarantine, and I was no exception. After working in my studio apartment all day, was itching to find something to take my mind off the current state of the world. That manifested in my re-commitment to running and falling in love with Survivor all over again. I binge watched season after season of the same seasons that I had already watched as a kid. It was comforting in a time that was truly uncomfortable. After COVID, I started a new job, moved cities, and no longer had the time to binge watch old Survivor seasons.

Then I met my wife, who was a fresh slate, having not seen Survivor. I’m not sure how it came up - probably me asking, “have you seen this?” while looking through the infinite options for our next show to watch. There is something special about sharing something you care about with some one else. Once you have explored a topic as much as you can, the next step for fulfillment is giving back that knowledge to others. And I think you get even more joy than when you discovered it yourself. My wife may not be obsessed with Survivor like I am, but she graciously indulges my rants about anything and everything Survivor.

My all-time favorite season is the original, Survivor: Borneo. It was of course the first season that I watched, but I also think it was the only season that had everything that I love most about Survivor. It was truly a season about 16 strangers coming together in a hostile environment to form their own society, with the added twist that you have to vote someone out every few days. The focus of that first season was on the experiment. Strategy, socializing, competition, and camp life were all necessary components. These days, camp life is an afterthought and being competitive frowned upon.

My favorite castaway will forever be Boston Rob. I’ll never forget his line that “fear keeps people loyal.” His winning season is a masterclass. Not to mention how he turned his showmance into a life long wife and kids.

I have applied to be on Survivor and will again in the future. So, here’s my pitch on how I would fare:

If you know me, you know I am not exactly a social butterfly. But, I think I could work this to my advantage. The benefits of my more relaxed, calm exterior is that I am easy to talk to and confide in. I can be trusted since I’m not everyone’s best friend. And I prefer to listen and not interject unless necessary, letting others get their ideas across and be heard. The downside to my personality is that sometimes people do not like that they cannot get a read on me and fear what I am thinking. The people inside my circle know the true me but anyone outside of that might feel threatened. This would be on me to expand my circle behind what I am used to. I think my strategic chops would be my greatest strength. I might not be the most adept around camp but it would not be due to lack of effort. Competitions would be a strength, my background in triathlon should help with the physical challenges on water or land.

I don’t want to give too much away for when I inevitably get cast on the show. For now, the tribe has spoken.