Survivor birthday: Nick Maiorano (Kaoh Rong) turns 33

Pulling off the rare Survivor archetype of smug, sarcastic, better-than-you player who knew how awful they sounded, Nick Maiorano turns 33 years old today.

Player: Nick Maiorano
Occupation: Life Coach / Personal Trainer
Hometown: Redondo Beach, CA
Season: Survivor Koah Rong
Tribes: Gondol (Yellow Buff), Chan Loh (Blue Buff), Dara (Black Buff)
Finished: 10/18

In the WWE, some wrestlers go out and perform shows playing a character designed to get the audience booing them and cheering for their demise. The intentional attempt to draw ire from the crowd is a “heel” character, one that’s been pulled off by many Survivor players from seasons past. To be able to come off as snide, condescending and sarcastically smug with a self-antagonist edge is rare, though, and it’s the perfect combination of descriptors for Nick Maiorano.

It was hard getting to know him for the first few episodes of Survivor Kaoh Rong, as he’s tied with Michele for the record of longest time reaching Tribal Council for the first time. A big part of that is that Nick had the confidence of an entire tribe at all times, making sure to pat himself on the back whenever possible.

Seriously, the very first confessional of the season has Nick saying, “My life has definitely been easier because I’m better looking than most people. And that sounds terrible, it sounds awful, but it’s the truth. My looks will definitely help me. 39 days and a million bucks in my pocket at the end.”

The problem for viewers is that Nick was often right. He knew that he could draw Debbie in with her schoolgirl-crush-like charm, he knew who to align with early and he rose to the occasion in challenges to keep his tribe winning immunity. Most importantly, Nick knew what he had to do, even if it wasn’t nice or PC to play the way he did. You’ve got to respect that, in certain ways.

We at Surviving Tribal would like to wish Nick Maiorano a very happy 33rd birthday!