Survivor winner Wendell Holland reps hometown Philly in new interview
Home is where the heart is, and the city of Philadelphia is at the core of what makes up Survivor Ghost Island winner Wendell Holland.
Though Survivor coverage isn’t of national interest anymore (it hasn’t been like that for close to a decade), local television still likes to rep their local representatives on reality television. I saw it throughout Survivor Ghost Island’s early pre-season coverage, especially with Donathan Hurley in the very rural areas of East Kentucky. People like to see their local boy or girl to win it all.
Though 20 players represented their hometowns proud in Ghost Island, only Philly’s own Wendell Holland managed to pull off the million-dollar win. There’s a great deal of local pride in the city of brotherly love already, but Wendell Holland has been a big proponent of speaking truth to the power of Philadelphia as its first winner.
He was recently interviewed by MyNEWPhilly on YouTube, talking about his love for where he grew up and how much the community means to him. He also unveils what’s inside his island-tested burlap sack he brought out to Survivor Ghost Island, some complications involving the swim trunks and just how much weight he lost on the island.
Related Story: Survivor: Ranking 35 seasons
A minor part of the Ponderosa videos is that the contestants first get a health checkup from Dr. Joe, in which they weigh themselves. Wendell Holland won, so he never had that revealed, so it’s surprising to hear that he lost 26 pounds when he didn’t seem like he was carrying that much extra weight in the first place. That’s a testament to the full 39-day experience!
After later revealing the kind of food he had to eat (including snails and a hermit crab claw that tasted like sand), he whipped out a two-piece pyramid puzzle similar to one of the final Immunity Challenges. He later demonstrated his basket-sinking abilities to showcase his efforts in an earlier tribal challenge.
Next: Survivor Winners: Ranking 35 Sole Survivors By Season
It may not be the most hard-hitting post-win Survivor content, but I love it due to the fact it’s a guy living it up in his environment outside of the game while showing civic pride. It’s a look you don’t see all too often.