As Survivor 48 continues, we’re getting the chance to learn more and more about the season’s players as individuals which is allowing us to connect with players on a different level. One perfect example of this is Civa’s David Kline who is proving to be way more than just the season’s eye candy.
Early in the third episode, David opened up about his personal goal in joining the show, telling his tribemates about his desire to win the $1 million in order to help him and his girlfriend achieve their dream of starting a family and giving them the foundation they need to build their dream together. We got to see a more vulnerable side of David than we’ve seen all season as he opened up about his current living arrangement and how life-changing the prize could be in helping him move out of the trailer parked in front of his dad’s house and help his girlfriend achieve her dream of becoming a mom.
It was a moment that reminded viewers you never should judge a person by their appearance alone as you never know the hardships they face in their own lives or what obstacles they’ve had to overcome to become the person they are today. It seems only fitting that David’s personal story in the game coincides with David dedicating the episode to someone special in his life who knows a thing or two about perseverance.
During the third Immunity Challenge of the season, the players had to navigate an obstacle course while blindfolded as one member of their tribe helped to serve as their eyes in the challenge helping to guide them through the challenge. The moment is one that hit home for David and gave him the chance to experience what it is like to navigate a challenge without your vision and gave him a true appreciation for just how for granted we sometimes take things in life.
“Cal is the son of my best friend of over 30 years Mike Tepper and his extraordinary wife Katy Tepper. He has Senior Loken Syndrome, a degenerative eye disease that affects the cilia in the eyes and kidneys. Cal is one of 24 worldwide and one of three in the US. To date he is the youngest, known, impacted," David wrote in a sweet post on Instagram honoring Cal.
"He is an incredible kid and I couldn't help but think about him during this challenge. Just to experience even for a moment what it was like to live without sight was one of the most humbling moments I will ever have, but also just as inspiring! I can't wait to see him conquer life no doubt with the help of his incredible family and support system.”
Honestly, we love to see this side of David! It's so easy to see a muscular competitor in the game and write them off as so many reality TV shows love to frame these contestants as cliches and "bro" types. This is an edit it was looking as though Survivor was going to try spinning up in the early episodes when we saw David talking about his physique, but it's nice to see the show is actually allowing fans to get to see there is more than. meets the eye when it comes to David. It's also great to see David opening up on social media as he did in dedicating episode 3 to Cal and using his platform to spread awareness of Cal's story.