Survivor birthday: Stephen Fishbach (Tocantins, Cambodia) turns 39

A student of the Survivor game who had the right amount of self-awareness to not flounder in his superfan archetype, Stephen Fishbach turns 39 today.

Player: Stephen Fishbach
Occupation: Corporate Consultant
Hometown: New York City, NY
Seasons: Survivor Tocantins, Cambodia
Tribes: Jalapao (Red Buff), Forza (Green Buff) in Tocantins, Bayon (Magenta Buff), Orkun (Orange Buff) in Cambodia
Finished: 2/16 in Tocantins, 9/20 in Cambodia

The legacy of Stephen Fishbach in Survivor is a complex one, especially evolving the more times his good friend J.T. goes out and plays the game without him. While the two of them were thick as thieves playing Tocantins, circumnavigating a field of players that included both Coach Wade and Tyson Apostol during a time both were on the bottom of power, Stephen as the affable superfan really shined during Survivor Cambodia.

While the two games played completely different, Stephen perceiving himself to be the weak link allowed for his best inner paranoia to run amock. That’s where the heart of his character shines through, too, as he was voted on by the fans to compete for a second chance at winning the game because he’s such a lovable underdog. It was hard not to feel for the guy as he braved the Cambodian monsoon season, fighting off the unending rain and cold.

Even though the audience loves Fishbach (well, most of the audience), it doesn’t mean that production doesn’t like to mess with their edits, especially if it makes them look comically clueless (even if that’s not the case). Highlighting his bad aim at Immunity Challenges is one thing, but to show Stephen struggle with cutting down pieces of wood for the fire as Andrew Savage turns into a lumberjack is a bit too much.

It’s been a few seasons since we’ve seen Stephen Fishbach on television, but that doesn’t mean he’s left the Survivor community. He continues to offer up killer commentary about each episode roughly 15 minutes after it airs alongside Rob Cesternino for Survivor Know-It-Alls on Rob Has A Podcast, and even visits locations around the world in order to hold meet-ups with the RHAP community. Plus, his recaps for PEOPLE will make you want to learn who wins his Fishy each week.

Next: Survivor: Ranking 34 seasons

We at Surviving Tribal would like to wish Stephen Fishbach a very happy 39th birthday!