Adam Klein blogs about winning Survivor and what comes after

Photo by Araya Diaz/Getty Images for Stand Up To Cancer
Photo by Araya Diaz/Getty Images for Stand Up To Cancer

Considering he won a Millennial season, Survivor winner Adam Klein has written a blog post about how the dream doesn’t die after accomplishing it.

Survivor seasons are so much better when they shine regardless of how much they spotlight the eventual winner. Outside of obvious case examples of dominance like Boston Rob in Redemption Island or Cochran in Caramoan, the seasons that feature a group of possible winners makes it much more enjoyable on the path to reaching the end.

That’s why I was a fan of Adam Klein’s win in Millennials vs. Gen X; he was someone who had an up-and-down journey in the season. His emotional journey fearing for his then-ailing mother (who shortly passed away after filming) eventually resulting in a unanimous 10-0-0 win brought out the humanity in a player conflicted by chasing their dream with a lot on their mind.

Adam Klein is a superfan that has dreamed of playing Survivor since he was a kid, as he explained in a blog post he wrote this past weekend. From playing in “Survivor: Kings Canyon” with friends in 2004 to winning the real thing 12 years later, he visualized his destiny and made it a reality, all at the age of 25.

It’s the next dream after that Adam writes about driving him, as the show has offered up so many opportunities to continue to pursue his passions. Some of them including motivational speaking; others include streaming online poker live from Saint Kitts with a bunch of other up-and-coming regs.

What I like about Adam Klein is that he recognizes that winning Survivor is as much an opportunity as it is a title and ownership of bragging rights among the community of superfans. Winning a million dollars all at once doesn’t guarantee long-term success, as even multi-million-dollar athletes go broke shortly after retirement.

It’s the pursuit of the next dream that has me wondering what it would be like if Adam Klein won Survivor a second time. Only one other player has done that, but few know as much about the show and have gone as far as he has to prove that superfans have layers of complexity to them. Whatever he decides to do, it will be interesting to see how far his drive alone takes him.