Cassidy Clark

Cassidy Clark is a contestant from Survivor 43.

Setting out to play like a fox, Cassidy's attempt to fly under the radar was thwarted by frequent campaigns against her, notably by Geo Bustamante and Ryan Medrano on her starting Coco tribe. However, her keen social awareness allowed her to stay in the majority following the merge. Entering the end-game, Cassidy's relationship with her long-time ally Karla Cruz Godoy quickly deteriorated, forcing her to join a new alliance; combined with a victory at the Final Immunity Challenge, this allowed her to cruise to the Final Three. At the Final Tribal Council, the jury soured on Cassidy's decision not to put herself in the fire-making challenge against Jesse Lopez. Failing to win their respect, Cassidy finished as runner-up to Mike Gabler in a 7-1-0 vote.

Profile[]

Retrieved from Parade.com

Age: 26
Hometown: Plano, Texas
Current Residence: Austin, Texas
Occupation: Designer
Favorite Hobbies: Fashion design and most forms of art, thrifting your grandparent's old clothes and knick knacks, skating, boxing and underwater exploring.
3 Words to Describe You: Groovy, charismatic, and creative.
Pet Peeve(s): Narrow-minded, judgmental people. Also, people who have no reverence for Mother Nature and all her beautiful beings!
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? I've fought through many painful experiences and never let it break me or hold me back for long. I have a fighting spirit and will always be proud of my perseverance. But I am also very proud of showing my designs in a fashion show!
What is something we would never know from looking at you? I've always carried a deep spiritual wonder and appreciation for life, nature and all of its many beautiful complexities. I can manifest and create anything when I surrender fully to the moment and find acceptance in it. Maintaining that flow throughout the game will not always be easy, but it is a top priority.
Who is your hero and why? I know it sounds cliché but my mom is freaking incredible! She has faced so much adversity and never allowed it to break her spirit. She is a legend in my eyes and the ultimate "survivor" to "thriver."
Which past Survivor will you play the game most like? I've always admired Kim Spradlin's game, she was a low-key assassin! I loved seeing a good triple-threat win; she played a very strong social, strategic and physical game. She "puppeted" her alliance through the entire game while keeping the target off her back.
Why do you believe you can be the Sole Survivor? I think I've got the sweet spot in all the right places. I'm physically fit and competitive, I will be an asset to my tribe but my slighter stature will make me appear non-threatening. I am intuitive and an out-of-the-box thinker. My clever and witty nature will allow me to maneuver and adapt throughout the unexpected twists in the game. I have the ability to manipulate and persuade others, and while I don't abuse that in my everyday life, all bets are off in SURVIVOR. My life experiences, optimistic charm, and open-minded outlook will allow me to connect deeply with others, disarm them and form strong alliances and friendships. But I can use my logic to stay detached enough to always make the best decision for my game. When the rubber meets the road, I'll do whatever it takes to play in a powerful way. People won't see me coming and that's exactly what I'm counting on.^[2]

Survivor[]

Cassidy started the game on the Coco tribe, where she formed a close bond with the women (Karla Cruz Godoy and Lindsay Carmine) and James Jones. The four formed an alliance. While Coco faced no adversity for the first week of the game, winning three immunity challenges, Baka and Vesi helped each other win the Day 9 Immunity Challenge to even out the tribes and send Coco to Tribal Council. While Cassidy's strategy was initially to lay low, tribemates Geo Bustamante and Ryan Medrano caught on and began targeting her for this reason. However, the four were unwilling to let her go, and while the vote was initially shaping up to be on Geo, Lindsay's paranoia and unpredictability led to her being ousted from the alliance in a 4-1-1 vote, with Geo voting against Cassidy, and Lindsay voting against Geo. When Coco lost the following Immunity Challenge as well, Geo and Ryan continued their campaign against Cassidy, and while they were convinced she would be going home, her alliance rescued her in a close 3-2 vote, sending Geo packing.

With 13 contestants remaining, the Earn the Merge twist began. While Karla and Ryan were on the winning team, Cassidy and James weren't so fortunate. Cassidy's attempts to fly under the radar were further foiled by Elie Scott, who wanted Baka and Vesi to link up as they did before the merge and split the vote against Cassidy and James. However, the seeds of mistrust planted against Elie by Baka outsider Mike Gabler at the merge feast resulted in Vesi wanting to align with Coco. The Coco Alliance pulled Ryan in, while Karla seized on the cracks in Baka to pull in Sami Layadi. With the core of Vesi (Cody Assenmacher, Dwight Moore, and Jesse Lopez) on board, Elie's attempts to take charge were thwarted in a 7-2-1-1 vote, though Cassidy received a stray vote by outsider Noelle Lambert.

With the final 12 officially merged into the Gaia tribe, a sizeable target had emerged on the backs of the Coco Alliance due to James acquiring the Knowledge Is Power advantage, and Ryan's status as a physical threat. While a plan had emerged to oust Ryan and flush James' advantage via a split vote, Cody and Jesse grew weary of Noelle as a social threat, and thus came up with a plan to take advantage of the split vote to cut her closest friend, Dwight. Despite him voting with them, the Coco Alliance and Sami were on board, blindsiding Dwight in a 7-3-2 vote. At the next Tribal Council, the ever-shifting alliances decided the best move would be a simple vote against perpetual outsider Jeanine Zheng, although Cassidy voted alongside her against her rival Ryan.

Day 17 saw the tribe split up into two teams of 5. Placed on the red team with Cody, Gabler, Jesse, and Ryan, which initially seemed to be a bad draw for her as the only woman, and only Coco member. Luckily for her, the red ream walked into Tribal Council to see James on the jury. Seeing Cassidy as weaker physically and in the game, the red team unanimously voted out Ryan, ending his and Cassidy's rivalry. During the following round, the Coco Alliance then set their sights on Noelle, seeing her as a jury threat due to her story and move to blindside James. Cassidy won individual immunity, ensuring Noelle would be the next to go, and she was taken out in a 5-2-1 vote. Due to voting against Karla at the previous vote, and the alliance being unsure about his loyalty, Sami was unanimously voted out next.

While Cassidy and Karla were closely aligned throughout the game, Cassidy correctly assumed Karla had plans to vote her out. When confronted, Karla faked crying. This confrontation drove a wedge between the two, and so Cassidy started focusing on getting to the end without Karla, and Karla did the same. After winning immunity, Cassidy was let in on Jesse's plan to oust Cody for being a jury threat, which was successful in not only taking out Cody, but also flushing Karla's idol. Heading into the final days, Owen shared his Day 24 reward with Cassidy, solidifying an alliance to the Final Three, to which they were planning to take Gabler. Cassidy then approached Karla to explain to her that she wanted to vote her out that night, and while Karla threatened her with the promise of souring the jury on Cassidy, it wasn't enough to save her. With Karla gone, Cassidy set her sights on taking out Jesse. After winning immunity, he tried to get her to give up immunity and take him on at the Fire-Making Challenge, which she refused, opting to send Gabler to fire against Jesse. Gabler managed to defeat Jesse, ending up in the Final Tribal Council with Cassidy and Owen.

At Final Tribal Council, Cassidy tried to argue that she had her finger on the pulse during the entire season, and while the jury commended her challenge prowess, her main argument was challenged by the "Ride or Die" alliance, who brought up that she would have been voted out at the Double Elimination had the blue team not voted out James. In the end, Cassidy only received James' vote to win, losing to Gabler in a 7-1-0 vote.

Post-Survivor[]

• After her season, Cassidy tried to buy her torch, which had been auctioned for charity. However, the collector who bought it demanded an exorbitant price, causing her to back out. As a result, later contestants were given their torches as souvenirs for free after their season had aired.
• In the spring of 2023, Cassidy competed on CBS's The Challenge: USA 2.^[3] She was placed on the Blue Team. She was eliminated from the show in the thirteenth episode, finishing in 10th place (5th out of the 12 female Challengers).

Trivia[]

• Cassidy was initially cast for Survivor 41 but was cut when filming was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[4]
• The merged tribe was named after Cassidy's cat.^[5]
• Cassidy is the highest-placing member of Coco and the highest-placing woman on Survivor 43.

References[]

Survivor 43 Castaways
Cassidy Coco	Cody Vesi	Dwight Vesi	Elie Baka	Gabler Baka	Geo Coco	James Coco	Jeanine Baka	Jesse Vesi
Justine Vesi	Karla Coco	Lindsay Coco	Morriah Baka	Nneka Vesi	Noelle Vesi	Owen Baka	Ryan Coco	Sami Baka