He hit the ground running and never looked back, as true to the parkour life as possible. Today, Frosti Fresh (Frosti Zernow of Survivor China) turns 30.
Player: Frosti Fresh (Michael Zernow)
Occupation: Parkour/Freerunner Athlete
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Seasons: Survivor China
Tribes: Zhan Hu (Yellow Buff), Fei Long (Red Buff), Hae Da Fung (Black Buff)
Finished: 8th out of 16, 3rd member of the jury
The Fei Long Final Three of Survivor China showed one of the most strategic core alliances in what is considered the “Old School” era. Todd Herzog and Amanda Kimmel, scheming from almost the beginning, formulated a game plan and stuck to it. However, once tribes swapped players and freerunner/parkour athlete Frosti Zernow (now goes by Frosti Fresh) joined Fei Long, he changed the game in a major way.
Frosti Fresh just so happened to see Todd finding the tribe’s hidden immunity idol, suddenly placing him in the Fei Long alliance as a new member. The knowledge he had in his back pocket kept him safe as a target over the next few tribals and helped to keep him in the game longer after the merge.
Frosti Fresh was the youngest player in Survivor history, at the time, competing when he was just 20 years old. His youthful exuberance gelled well with fellow castaways, including Courtney Yates. While nothing significant, he did manage to get fairly close with her as the season went along, as the two did find each other attractive.
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However, as he was playing the game with an open heart, Courtney had closed hers off. She knew that Frosti Fresh would be targeted as the next to be eliminated after her arch nemesis, Jean-Robert, was sent to the jury. Despite promising she would give him a head’s up if he was on the chopping block, he went home with a tribal unanimous vote.
Frosti Fresh was an earnest player competing in an era where winning challenges and being well liked was enough to win Survivor China, let alone other seasons. He’s gone on to use his athletic skills in a commercially successful way, appearing in commercials and partnering with marketing teams for interesting campaigns.
His final tribal council vote may have been impacted by Courtney’s lack of courtesy, which may have presented the first tie in Survivor history. While he may not have made a lasting impact on the show, his heartwarming earnest behavior played a part in weaving one of the greatest casts Survivor has ever seen.
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We wish you a happy 30th birthday, Frosti Fresh!