Ethan Zohn | |
---|---|
Born | November 12, 1973 |
Occupation(s) | Motivational speaker, soccer player, television personality |
Television | Survivor: Africa (Winner) Survivor: All-Stars The Amazing Race 19 Survivor: Winners at War |
Spouse | Lisa Heywood (m. 2016) |
Partner | Jenna Morasca (2003–2013) |
Website | www |
Ethan Zohn (born November 12, 1973) is an American motivational speaker, former professional soccer player, and reality television series contestant who won Survivor: Africa , the third season of the reality TV series Survivor . He went on to compete in Survivor: All-Stars and Survivor: Winners at War , where he placed 11th and 18th, respectively.
After winning Survivor: Africa, Zohn co-founded Grassroot Soccer, which uses soccer to raise money and awareness to fight HIV/AIDS. [1] In 2010, he ranked 14th in USL Second Division's Top 15 of the Decade list as one of the most influential players of the United Soccer League Second Division in the previous decade. [2]
Zohn was a soccer goalkeeper at Lexington High School and Vassar College, and played professionally for the Hawaii Tsunami and Cape Cod Crusaders of the United Soccer Leagues and in Zimbabwe for Highlanders F.C. [3] He donated some of his winnings from Survivor to starting Grassroot Soccer, an organization whose goal is to "mobilize the global soccer community to combat the AIDS epidemic in Africa". [4] Shortly after winning Survivor Africa, Ethan was hired by ESPN to serve as a sideline reporter for the US National Team's matches in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. [5]
In 2005, Zohn began to co-host the Metro Soccer Report (later renamed MSG Soccer Report) on the MSG Network, a weekly show dedicated to New York Red Bulls (formerly MetroStars) of Major League Soccer. In 2006, Zohn began hosting FC Fox on the Fox Soccer Channel. [6]
For his combined humanitarian efforts to spread HIV education throughout Africa via soccer teams for youth and young adults, Zohn received the Courage of Conscience Award from The Peace Abbey in Sherborn, Massachusetts. [7]
As part of the Boran tribe, Zohn did not become an immediate target in the game; he was seen as a strong player who could potentially help to win many tribal immunities. When his tribe lost two back-to-back immunity challenges, he joined the majority to vote off Diane Ogden and Jessie Camacho in episodes one and two. Over the next few days, Ethan would form a long-term alliance with Lex Van den Berghe and Tom Buchanan from his Boran tribe.
But a twist in episode five saw both of Zohn's alliance members and Kelly Goldsmith switch from Boran to the Samburu tribe, leaving Ethan alone with fellow Boran members Kim Johnson and Clarence Black. Two of the new Boran members from the Samburu tribe, Teresa Cooper and Frank Garrison, had an old misunderstanding with another former Samburu member, Silas Gaither. So, by consensus, after Zohn's tribe lost the immunity challenge Gaither was voted out. Both of Zohn's alliance members Buchanan and Van den Berghe remained safe on the Samburu tribe, carrying all three into the merge.
Zohn's alliance soon began to control the game, with other members Johnson and Goldsmith. They immediately targeted Black due to his physical strength, among other events that had occurred earlier in the game, and he was voted out. But Van den Berghe had received another vote at tribal council, a vote he believed had come from Goldsmith, but which actually came from Cooper. This led Van den Berghe on a witch-hunt against Goldsmith which almost led to the demise of Zohn's alliance when Goldsmith possessed the power with the other four ex-Samburu members, Cooper, Garrison, Kim Powers and Brandon Quinton. But at the last minute, Quinton switched his vote, saving Van den Berghe, and voting out Goldsmith. But this move came back to haunt Quinton when Zohn's alliance saw him as untrustworthy and voted him out at the next tribal council.
Zohn, Van den Berghe, Buchanan, and Johnson regained control of the game, outing previous Samburu members Garrison, Powers and Cooper in the next three tribal councils, carrying them into the final four. At the next immunity challenge, Johnson, the next target to be voted out, won immunity, leading to the alliance having to resort to voting one of their own out, despite the fact that the challenge contained some controversy. At any rate, Zohn joined Van den Berghe and Johnson in voting out Buchanan, carrying them into the Final Three.
At the final three immunity challenge, older tribe member Johnson outlasted the two young, fit men to win immunity in an endurance challenge. With Johnson holding the power to choose who she would sit next to in the Final Two, she chose Zohn.
In the end, Zohn beat out Johnson in a 5–2 vote to become the Sole Survivor, gaining the votes of Goldsmith, Garrison, Cooper, Buchanan, and Van den Berghe. [8]
Zohn was invited to participate in Survivor: All-Stars , which he gladly accepted. Originally part of the Saboga tribe, Zohn was immediately targeted as a previous winner, along with Survivor: The Australian Outback winner Tina Wesson. When Saboga lost immunity, the rest of the tribe decided to vote out Wesson first, needing Zohn's strength to win future challenges. When Saboga lost immunity once again, Zohn was spared once more over physical liability Rudy Boesch, who had hurt his ankle previously.
In Episode 5, Zohn and the rest of the Saboga tribe were disbanded after losing a challenge. Zohn and Jerri Manthey joined the Mogo Mogo tribe, while Jenna Lewis and Rupert Boneham joined Chapera. Later in that episode, Zohn joined the rest of his new tribe to vote out Survivor: Borneo winner Richard Hatch.
In Episode 7, Zohn was on the outs when the alliance of Manthey, Lex Van den Berghe, and Shii Ann Huang left him out in their decision to vote out Colby Donaldson. Zohn was shocked at the decision, feeling betrayed by old Survivor: Africa alliance member Van den Berghe.
In Episode 8, Mogo Mogo lost immunity once again, and Zohn, the last former winner, was the sixth person voted out in 11th place, and the eighth person eliminated overall, by a vote of 4–1. He was the most successful of the four previous winners who competed on All-Stars, lasting longer than Wesson, Hatch, and Jenna Morasca, who quit the game on day 9 to be with her ailing mother. [9]
Zohn returned as a contestant on the fortieth season of Survivor, Survivor: Winners at War , where he was a member of the Sele tribe. Along with All-Stars castmate Amber Mariano, Zohn broke Kelly Wiglesworth's record for the longest gap between seasons. He was placed on the Sele tribe, where he joined an alliance of "Old-School" players formed by Rob Mariano and Parvati Shallow. Zohn was targeted by Jeremy Collins and Michele Fitzgerald shortly after as a ploy to weaken Mariano and Shallow, and he was the 4th person voted out. Zohn remained at the Edge of Extinction for the remaining duration of the season, during which he openly spoke out about his health issues and his drive to never give up. He was defeated by Tyson Apostol and Natalie Anderson respectively at the two Edge return challenges and became a permanent member of the jury on day 35. He later voted for Anderson to win the season, although she finished second to Tony Vlachos.
In 2022, the Jewish Journal named Zohn one of "The Top 10 Jewish Reality TV Stars of All Time." [10]
Zohn was a contestant on a February 28, 2005, episode of Fear Factor , in which he competed against other reality TV competition winners, including his then-girlfriend Jenna Morasca, who was the winner of Survivor: The Amazon . He finished second, losing to former Bachelorette winner Ryan Sutter. [11] Later that year, he appeared on Kill Reality , which followed various reality television personalities as they filmed a horror movie called The Scorned . [12]
In October 2006 Zohn appeared on an episode of the VH1 series Celebrity Paranormal Project. [13] He and his team investigated alleged paranormal activity at the Warson Asylum for the Criminally Insane.
In 2008 Zohn hosted Earth Tripping, a six-episode TV series, in which he demonstrated how to be "an earth-friendly traveler", and shows viewers "how to employ new, natural and environmentally conscious methods when they travel". [14] During the series Zohn visited New York City, Mexico City, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Santiago, Chile, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. [15]
In 2011, Zohn and his longtime girlfriend and fellow Survivor winner Jenna Morasca participated in the 19th season of The Amazing Race . [16] They were one of the two teams eliminated in the double-elimination leg, and finished 10th for the season after two legs.
Zohn appeared in the 11th episode of the Discovery Channel show PitchMen , in which he presented the EZ Crunch Bowl, a cereal bowl he designed to in which the cereal is kept in the shallow end and the milk in the deeper end in order to keep the cereal "crunchy" and not soggy. The bowl was picked by the show's co-stars, Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan, for manufacturing and marketing by Telebrands. The EZ Crunch Bowl was sent to Telebrands product engineers for improvement before being made available to the public. [17]
Zohn has co-hosted Outside Today on the cable TV network Outside Television . [18]
In 2024, he appeared as a guest on the Dropout series Dirty Laundry with fellow Survivor contestants Natalie Bolton, Cirie Fields, and Parvati Shallow. [19]
Zohn is Jewish. [8] His father died from cancer when he was 14 years old. [20]
On April 30, 2002, Zohn called into the Howard Stern Show and shared he was working as a motivational speaker, often in Jewish venues where he shared how Judaism helped him achieve success. He also revealed he had gone on five dates with Jennifer Love Hewitt after meeting her back stage at the Live With Regis and Kelly show, and the two were regularly in touch by telephone (at the time). [21]
Zohn began dating fellow Survivor champion Jenna Morasca after her victory on Survivor: The Amazon in 2003. They both lived in Manhattan. [18] [22] In an interview on Rob Has a Podcast , it was revealed that Zohn and Morasca were considered to return in Survivor: South Pacific , after applying for The Amazing Race . The couple declined the offer, saying they were not interested in competing against each other. [23] In February 2013, Zohn and Morasca confirmed that they had amicably ended their relationship. [24] On July 21, 2015, Zohn announced his engagement to New York City interior designer Lisa Heywood. [25] They were married on July 16, 2016, in North Bennington, Vermont, in a Jewish ceremony. [26] Zohn and his wife advocate a paleo diet that is high in meat and vegetables. [27]
On April 30, 2009, Zohn was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer called CD20-positive Hodgkin's lymphoma. He started chemotherapy in May 2009. [28] On September 14, 2009, he disclosed that after three months of intensive chemotherapy, his cancer returned. He underwent a new treatment, including a stem-cell transplant, to battle the rare form of Hodgkin's disease. [29] Zohn received a "clean CT scan" in late April 2010 and remained in remission for nearly 20 months. [30] In September 2011, Zohn confirmed that the cancer had returned in his chest. [31] In early March 2013, Zohn announced via The Jeff Probst Show that he was cancer-free due to two rounds of stem cell transplants that he received from his brother. [32]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2001–02 | Survivor: Africa | Contestant | Winner |
2004 | Survivor: All-Stars | Contestant | Eliminated; 11th place |
2005 | Fear Factor | Contestant | Eliminated; 2nd place |
2005 | Kill Reality | Himself | |
2006 | Celebrity Paranormal Project | Himself | Episode: "Pearl" |
2009 | PitchMen | Himself | Episode: "Crunch Time" |
2011 | The Amazing Race 19 | Contestant | Eliminated; 10th place (with Jenna Morasca) |
2020 | Survivor: Winners at War | Contestant | Eliminated; 18th place |
2024 | Dirty Laundry | Contestant | Episode: "Who Was Part of a Ritual to Ward Off Evil Spirits?" |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | The Scorned | Murry |
Survivor: Africa is the third season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season was filmed from July 11, 2001, to August 18, 2001, in Kenya's Shaba National Reserve, and was aired weekly from October 11, 2001, until the live finale on January 10, 2002. Ethan Zohn was named Sole Survivor over Kim Johnson by a jury vote of 5–2, and won the $1,000,000 grand prize. The season featured a cast of 16 participants split between two tribes, Boran and Samburu. Three of the cast, Zohn, Lex van den Berghe, and Tom Buchanan all returned for future seasons. The season received more criticism than previous seasons due to the harsh living conditions of the African desert and the small amount of food for participants.
Survivor: The Amazon is the sixth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season was filmed from November 11, 2002, through December 15, 2002, in the Amazon and premiered on February 13, 2003. Hosted by Jeff Probst, it consisted of the usual 39 days of gameplay with 16 competitors.
Survivor: All-Stars is the eighth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. It was filmed from November 3, 2003, through December 11, 2003, and premiered on February 1, 2004, after Super Bowl XXXVIII. It was filmed on the Pearl Islands of Panama, also the location of the previous season. Hosted by Jeff Probst, it consisted of the usual 39 days of gameplay with, for the first time, 18 returning competitors from the seven previous seasons instead of the usual 16 new contestants, and three tribes instead of the usual two.
Jenna Morasca is an American actress, former swimsuit model, professional wrestler and American reality TV contestant who was the million-dollar grand prize winner of Survivor: The Amazon in 2003. In 2009, she worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Richard Holman Hatch Jr. is an American reality television contestant. In 2000, he became the first Survivor winner (Borneo) in its debut season, originally broadcast on CBS. He subsequently competed in All-Stars season of Survivor, the fourth celebrity edition of Celebrity Apprentice, and season 17 of The Biggest Loser. He was convicted with three counts related to attempted tax evasion and fraudulent tax return in January 2006. He served fifty-one months in prison and then, after failing to amend his 2000 and 2001 tax returns, an additional nine months in prison.
Amber Mariano is an American television personality and winner of Survivor: All-Stars with its $1,000,000 prize, after appearing as a contestant on one of its predecessors, Survivor: The Australian Outback, where she placed 6th. Later, she was a participant in the 40th season, Survivor: Winners at War, where she placed 20th, being the second voted out and the first member of the jury. She is married to fellow Survivor contestant of Survivor: Marquesas, Survivor: All-Stars, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, Survivor: Winners at War and winner of Survivor: Redemption Island, Rob Mariano, with whom she appeared on The Amazing Race twice, where they placed 2nd and 8th. The two have four daughters together.
Jerri Manthey is an American actress and television personality. She is perhaps best remembered as a polarizing figure from Survivor, on which she was a three-time contestant: she placed 8th on Survivor: The Australian Outback, she came 10th on Survivor: All-Stars, and was eliminated at the Final Four on Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains.
Rupert Frederick Boneham is an American mentor for troubled teens who became known to reality television audiences in 2003 as a contestant on Survivor: Pearl Islands. He later appeared on the All Stars, Heroes vs. Villains, and Blood vs. Water seasons of Survivor, placing fourth, sixth, and 20th, respectively. He was ultimately a fan favorite among Survivor viewers, who voted him a million-dollar winner on Survivor: America's Tribal Council, a special episode of Survivor: All-Stars. The prize was awarded after a nationwide popular vote in which Boneham received 85% of the votes cast. Boneham and his wife Laura later competed on the 31st season of The Amazing Race and were the second team eliminated.
Susan Hawk is a truck driver best known for participating in Survivor: Borneo (2000) and Survivor: All-Stars (2004). She appeared in other television shows.
Robert Carlo Mariano, known by the nickname Boston Rob, is an American television personality, known for appearing in the CBS reality show Survivor. He placed tenth in the show's fourth season Survivor: Marquesas, finished as the runner-up to his eventual wife Amber Brkich in the show's eighth season Survivor: All-Stars, came in 13th place in the show's 20th season Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, won the show's 22nd season Survivor: Redemption Island, returned for the show's 39th season Survivor: Island of the Idols as a mentor for the new players alongside Sandra Diaz-Twine, and came in 17th place in the show's 40th season Survivor: Winners at War. Mariano is the first contestant to appear on Survivor six times, and play five times. He also competed on The Amazing Race twice alongside his wife, where they placed second and eighth.
Robert Kristopher Cesternino is an American reality television contestant and podcast host, known for his appearances on Survivor: The Amazon (2003) and Survivor: All-Stars (2004). In 2010, he launched Rob Has a Podcast, a platform to discuss and analyze reality television, most notably Survivor, Big Brother, and The Amazing Race. In 2014, Cesternino and Hollywood Reporter journalist Josh Wigler launched Post Show Recaps, a companion platform that covers scripted television.
Colby Donaldson is an American television personality. He became the runner-up of Survivor: The Australian Outback (2001). He then competed on two more Survivor seasons, Survivor: All-Stars (2004) and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (2010). He has also hosted reality competition shows, such as Top Shot, Top Guns, The Butcher and Alone, all on the History network.
Kill Reality is a 2005 series which ran on E! Entertainment television about the all-stars of reality television making a horror movie called The Scorned. During the filming of the movie the cast lived together in a house that quickly turned into the real house of horrors. The series ended when, on the final episode, Jonny Fairplay was removed from the house for defecating on Trish Schneider's bed while she was sleeping in it.
Danni Boatwright Wiegmann is an American actress, TV host, sports journalist, model and beauty queen who won $1,000,000 on Survivor: Guatemala, the eleventh season of the reality television show Survivor, and finished in 19th place in the show's 40th season Survivor: Winners at War.
Yul Julius Kwon is an American television host and former government official, lawyer, and management consultant based in California. He first gained national recognition and popularity as the winner of the reality TV show Survivor: Cook Islands in 2006. He appeared again in Survivor: Winners at War, where he placed 14th. Kwon hosted the 2012 four-part TV series America Revealed on PBS as well as LinkAsia on Link TV.
Survivor: Blood vs. Water is the 27th season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season filmed in May–June 2013 and premiered on Wednesday, September 18, 2013, featuring returning castaways and their loved ones competing against each other. It was the third consecutive season, and the ninth season overall, to feature returning contestants. As with the previous two seasons, the season was filmed in the Philippines and this was the third season filmed in the country, but this time at Palaui Island, Cagayan. Tyson Apostol was named the Sole Survivor in the season finale on December 15, 2013, defeating runners-up Monica Culpepper and Gervase Peterson in a 7–1–0 vote.
Michele Fitzgerald is an American business development manager best known for competing on the reality competition show Survivor. She was voted the winner of the show's 32nd season, Survivor: Kaôh Rōng, on May 18, 2016. Michele also competed on the show's 40th season, Survivor: Winners at War where she became the 2nd runner-up.
Survivor: Game Changers — Mamanuca Islands is the 34th season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, featuring 20 returning castaways. The season premiered on March 8, 2017, with a two-hour airing, marking the series' 500th episode, and ended on May 24, 2017.
Survivor: Winners at War is the 40th season of the American competitive reality television series Survivor. This season, filmed in May and June 2019, is the eighth consecutive season to be filmed in Fiji. Celebrating the show's twentieth anniversary milestone, the season featured twenty returning winners from past Survivor seasons competing for a US$2 million prize. It was won by Tony Vlachos by a 12–4–0 vote over Natalie Anderson and Michele Fitzgerald, becoming the second two-time winner in Survivor. The season aired on CBS in the United States from February 12, 2020, to May 13, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the usual live finale for the winner reveal was replaced by a live teleconference between host Jeff Probst, situated in his garage, and the finalists in their respective homes.
Kelly Goldsmith is an American marketing researcher who specializes in consumer behavior and a former reality television contestant. She is currently the E. Bronson Ingram Chair and Professor of marketing at the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University.