Joshua Jon "Josh" Wilder, DPM[2] is a contestant from Survivor 44.
Unaware of his position on the bottom of Soka, Josh's lucky break came when he received a Hidden Immunity Idol at the summit before being switched to the Tika tribe. There, his idol saved him for his first Tribal Council, while a quit on the rival Ratu tribe allowed Josh to skip a second Tribal Council and reunite with his supposed Soka allies. Wary of his possible possession of an idol, the newly convened tribe came together to split the vote and eliminate Josh.
Profile[]
Retrieved from Parade.com
Age: 34
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
Current Residence: Atlanta, Ga.
Occupation: Surgical Podiatrist
3 Words to Describe You: Adventurous, charismatic, ambitious
Why do you want to be part of SURVIVOR? I want to be a part of SURVIVOR to prove to myself, and any other little gay Black boy or girl that you can do ANYTHING you put your mind to. Growing up with a medical condition, I was always told by numerous people and doctors that I couldn't or wouldn't be able to do things like other people. I called bull crap and have completely astounded doctors with what I have achieved both professionally and personally. Never let anyone tell you that you can't do something.
What's one life experience you feel has prepared you for the game? I feel as if your life experiences will help get you further in the game. As a physician, I meet a variety of new people on a daily basis. This will help my social game as I must get that individual to trust my diagnosis, explanation, and treatment plan in 20 minutes during an office visit.
Which previous player do you identify with the most? Who do you think you will play most like? I identify most with Jeremy. I will play most like Davie. He had a great social game and was a beast at challenges.
What will you value in an alliance partner? I will value an alliance partner's complete honesty and trustworthiness. Without these two characteristics, do you truly have an alliance?
Favorite Hobbies: Obstacle course races, traveling, tending to my houseplants
Pet Peeves: Those who mispronounce salmon. Unnecessary rudeness. People who walk slow in front of me.
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? Graduating at the top of my class after undergoing a total gastrectomy during my first year of medical school
What is something we would never know from looking at you? One would never know that I was born with a congenital deformity called Prune Belly Syndrome. This required me to have a kidney transplant at nine years old. I am on life-long immunosuppressant medication which inadvertently caused me to develop stomach cancer when I was 25. I had to have a complete stomach removal because of this and relearn how to eat. I'm doing great and am cancer-free.
Who in your life is your biggest inspiration and why? Besides my mom, who helped me find who I was in the world, I would say my deceased kidney donor, Kristen Reagle. She died at the age of 15 from a drunk driver and her grandma donated all of her organs. I was a near perfect match and received her kidney. I live every day for her and would not be here without her.
Why will you be the Sole Survivor? I will be the Sole Survivor because adversity and survival have been my life. I wasn't supposed to live past age five. I survived a kidney transplant. I beat cancer. I grew up a gay Black man in Ohio. I also know how to communicate with many different people to establish trust and alliances to further my game play. Lastly I am a very athletic individual which has only come from the hard work and dedication to being healthy due to my illness. This means I can take any negative situation and flip it into a positive endeavor. This is required to outlast all the trials and tribulations of the game.[3]
Survivor[]
Josh started the game as a quiet presence on the Soka tribe. On Day 7, after Soka lost their first Immunity Challenge, Frannie Marin tried to go after Josh as she found him to be cagey; however, at Tribal Council, it was Claire Rafson who was unanimously voted out for her lack of contributions during the challenges. With Claire gone, Josh believed to be in the middle of two alliances, Danny Massa and Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt and Matt Blankinship and Frannie, not knowing the four agreed to work together to target Josh next. On Day 8, Josh was sent to the Summit, where he was given a Hidden Immunity Idol that was good until all the surviving castaways were living together on one beach. While also learning that he was forced to switch tribes, transferring Josh to the Tika tribe.
Upon his arrival at Tika, Sarah Wade asked Josh if he is a surgeon due to an earlier comment about needing to have steady hands. Josh told his new tribe that he is a personal trainer, which led to their distrust of him. On Day 9, after losing the Immunity Challenge, Yam Yam Arocho wanted to vote out Josh, with Carolyn Wiger being the decoy vote. However, Carolyn didn't like the idea of being the decoy vote, so she and Josh contemplated blindsiding Sarah while using his idol. At Tribal Council, Josh played his idol on himself to negate two votes, joining Carolyn to send Sarah home. After Josh learned that Yam Yam voted for him, this led to tension between the two, who would later boned due to their respective coming out stories. On Day 11, after Tika lost the Immunity Challenge again, Josh wanted to discuss Yam Yam to vote out Carolyn, while Carolyn wanted to vote out Josh after hearing from Brandon Cottom and Danny that they wanted to add Josh to their "strong guys" alliance. Furthermore, Josh told both of them he had another idol he found in the birdcage, which both figured was a lie. However, before heading to Tribal Council, Jeff Probst arrived at their camp, revealing that Matthew Grinstead-Mayle decided to quit due to injury, thus sparing Tika from Tribal.
On Day 12, all three tribes received Tree Mail to convene at Ratu's beach, when the individual phase of the game commenced. Josh continued to lie, saying he had another idol, with some questioning the validity of his claim. On Day 13, at the Immunity Challenge, Josh's team failed to Earn the Merge, sending them to Tribal. Upon Tribal, Josh tried to recruit allies to vote out Yam Yam; however, Josh, who was considered to be a big threat was voted out, leaving the game in 12th place as the final pre-juror.
| Episode | Tribe Affiliation |
Challenge | Challenge Type | Sit-Out? | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soka | Crate Wide Open | Reward | No | Won |
| Paradise Lost | Immunity | No | 1st | ||
| 2 | A Bridge You Must Cross | Reward/Immunity | No | 2nd | |
| 3 | Box Car Blues | Reward/Immunity | No | Lost | |
| 4 | Air Raid | Reward | No | 1st | |
| Switched Tribes, Day 8 | |||||
| 4 | Tika | Leap of Faith | Immunity | No | Lost |
| 5 | EOC | Reward/Immunity | No | Lost | |
| Tribes Disbanded, Day 12 | |||||
| 6 | None | No Quarter | Reward/Immunity | Lost | |
| Voted Out, Day 13 | |||||
Post-Survivor[]
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Trivia[]
- Josh is the first male to be voted out in the Earn the Merge phase.
References[]
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