Age: 35
Hometown: Highland, CA
Current Residence: Chicago, IL
Occupation: Neurosurgeon
Hobbies: Traveling, snowboarding, eating
3 Words to Describe You: Determined, passionate, stubborn
Pet Peeve: My pet peeves revolve around people's incompetence, laziness and lack of self-awareness. When you work an insane number of hours in a week, you just can't tolerate pure ineptness.
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of?
Hands down I'm most proud of becoming a neurosurgeon that focuses on treating the brain cancer that claimed my father's life. No one in my family is in healthcare and no one in my family has left our area in Southern California. Becoming a physician, let alone a neurosurgeon, just wasn't something that was done in my community and was not something that seemed achievable as a kid.
What is something we would never know from looking at you?
Despite a confident exterior, I still have and process a lot of emotional baggage. As with all neurosurgeons, I have a "trail of tears" that I have to cope with on a routine basis.
Who is your hero and why?
My mom is my hero. She raised me and my sister herself after my father passed. She has sacrificed so much and worked so hard so that I could shoot for my dreams. She never pressured me to do or be anything; she just wanted me to be the best that I could be.
Which past Survivor will you play the game most like?
I would play with a similar aggressive nature as Russell Hantz. He was aggressive, but his social assimilation needed work. Todd Herzog had a brilliant social game. He did in final tribal what Russell couldn’t. I know how to pander to people and make them feel valuable even if I don’t believe it. I would dominate in final tribal. Natalie Anderson also had a brilliant social game, she made big moves and covered her tracks perfectly. Kelley Wentworth was aggressive and had an uncanny ability to read her surroundings, and so do I. Cirie Fields is the master of this game. If she was a little more athletic, she would dominate. Her social ability and her social awareness is amazing. She relates to people and makes them feel comfortable. She's calm and doesn't appear to be overly aggressive.
Why do you believe you can win Survivor?
I will be the sole Survivor because I possess an ideal balance of charm, wit, athleticism and grit. Neurosurgery training has prepared me to push myself physically and emotionally beyond what is normal. As a neurosurgeon I have to be charming, relatable and able to connect with my patients, who place their identity and lives literally in my hands. I know how to be cool under stress. In neurosurgery the stakes are incredibly high and the only person I can trust to get the job done is myself. In Survivor, you always have to assume that people are trying to screw you over. I am extremely athletic and work out twice a day. However, I am not a "jock" or "golden boy" like Joey Amazing, Malcolm or Ozzy, who will always be targets because of their persona. I can also be extremely eloquent and persuasive--my final tribal council will rival the likes of Todd Herzog's.