CBS is back with “Survivor,” for the 800th season. Not really, but it might as well be that many (it’s only 42). The show has been around since we can remember. In all seriousness, the show is back with a new set of contestants all looking to see what they can do to win this show, and Daniel Strunk is one of them. His name is standing out above the rest mostly because his name is in the press regularly all of a sudden, and that means it’s time to learn more about him.
1. He’s From Ohio
He is a man who originally hails from Cincinnati, Ohio. However, he no longer lives in the area. He’s currently living in New Haven, Connecticut, where he works as a law clerk and associate. He’s still young at only 30, and he thinks the odds are against him on this show.
2. He’s Driven
In his own words, he describes himself as driven. He also describes himself as ebullient, and that is all he has to say about himself other than he feels he is a threat this season. He has a strategy that will help him overcome that, however.
3. He is Into Interesting Things
He’s got a lot of hobbies, and many might find them interesting hobbies for a man of 30. He loves LEGOS. He also loves movies, and he is someone who lists “keeping track of things,” as one of his hobbies. We aren’t sure we fully understand that one being that keeping track of things seems like a day-to-day situation for…everyone?
4. He is a Cancer Survivor
He doesn’t speak much of it, but we know that he was diagnosed as a teenager with leukemia, and he survived, battled, and made it through to the other side of his cancer. My mom heart breaks thinking of a child living with cancer, his parents and their terror, the fear he must have felt every single day, and I find myself tearing up thinking about the moment he found out he was cancer-free and the way that moment likely changed him – and his family – forever.
5. He is Just Like the Rest of Us
We may not understand all of his hobbies, but we do feel this one. Strunk is a man just like the rest of us in that one of his biggest pet peeves in life is an oatmeal raisin cookie. You either love them or you are instantly filled with rage after mistakenly taking a bite of a cookie you thought was filled with warm, gooey chocolate chips online to find out it is a raisin. Nothing against raisins, but there is no place for them in a cookie. Strunk knows.
6. He Has a Strong Aversion to Rudeness
When asked about his other pet peeves, he tends to be the kind of man who dislikes the rude people most of all. Those who are disruptive in a movie theater – awful – and those who won’t even debate you because they immediately ‘know’ they are right and won’t hear it – the worst – and those who talk to you even when you are wearing earbuds – the absolute worst.
7. He is a Long Time Survivor Fan
For three years after his cancer diagnosis, he underwent chemotherapy and treatment. While he was in the hospital for treatments, he watched Survivor. There might not be a man who feels stronger about this show than he does considering it has a different meaning for him.
8. He Went to Duke
He is in Connecticut now, and he was raised in Cincy, but he also spent a few years in North Carolina. This young man was a student at Duke University, which is one of the most famous universities in the south – and the rest of the country.
9. He is Private
He has social media, but he doesn’t share. He doesn’t share, well, anything. We don’t know if he is married, single, dating, or anything in between. He’s just as private as they come, and we have the distinct impression he likes to keep it that way. One thing we do find ourselves wondering, though, is whether he will do any personal revelation moments on the show as it continues to air.
10. He Filmed During Quarantine
Season 41 of this show did the same thing, and it turns out it was not something that the fans enjoyed. However, there is a chance that being able to do it a second time might make it a little better. Here’s hoping for those fans who are doing it, though.