A Terry Fox Secondary graduate is a castaway in the 45th season of Survivor.
Kaleb Gebrewold, who was in the class of 2012 and was part of the BC AAA senior boys' provincial championship team that year, is on the CBS reality television program that premieres with a 90-minute special on Wednesday, Sept. 27.
The 29-year-old from Port Coquitlam is the first contestant from B.C. to appear on the show, hoping to win $1 million USD and the title of "Sole Survivor" in Fiji with Emmy Award-winning host Jeff Probst.
In Season 44, Kane Fritzler was the first Survivor contestant from Saskatchewan while Season 39 featured retired NHL player Tom Laidlaw of Brampton, Ont.
More Ontario-born Survivors joined in for the 41st and 42 seasons: Shantel Smith, Erika Casupanan, Maryanna Oketch and Omar Zaheer. Casupanan, a Niagara Falls resident, won her season while Oketch clinched the grand prize the following year.
Gebrewold did not return a request for comment from the Tri-City News; however, in his Survivor profile, the software salesman who attended Simon Fraser University (SFU) described himself as "charismatic, opportunistic and a golden retriever."
Asked why he signed up for the experience, he wrote, "I remember laughing with my mom at the pathetic, crying Survivors on TV. She'd always say she couldn't wait to watch me out there, so it'll be meaningful to close that chapter.
"Also, $1 million USD goes even further in Canada," he said.
Gebrewold said his background in lifeguarding with the City of Port Coquitlam and at SFU, as well as his business acumen and extensive travelling, has prepared him for the high-profile role in the South Pacific.
And he believes his street skills will make him the "Sole Survivor" this season.
"I've never been qualified for anything I've done, so why not me?" he asked.
"Whether getting my first job at 13 [by] lying and saying I was 16, to slinging pizzas, starting a painting biz having never picked up a brush, or working in software sales, I've never had the 'resume' but I always figure it out and bring my entire personality, and I expect the best in Survivor."
The 45th season of Survivor kicks off Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. ET.
