Yau-Man Chan

Yau-Man Chan is a contestant from and.

One of the series most popular contestants, Chan is regarded as one of the modern pioneers of Survivor by utilizing his skills in physics to complete tasks that stronger contestants would not be able to accomplish. He is known for being betrayed by Dreamz Herd, becoming a part of the Survivor Car Curse.

Fiji
Originally from Malaysian Borneo, Yau-Man Chan attended All Saints Secondary School in Kota Kinabalu. He moved to the U.S. where he received a Bachelor of Science degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He went on to receive his Master of Science degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Yau-Man Chan is the Chief Technology Officer for the College of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. In this position, he manages and runs the information systems infrastructure for administrative, research and teaching units of the college. This includes setting up networks, computers and managing business database systems. He previously worked designing electronic circuits for scientific instruments to collect data. He's also been a housepainter, cook and dishwasher.

Chan enjoys playing table tennis, bicycling, woodworking and reading. He is a member of the USA Table Tennis Association. He describes himself as intellectual and contemplative. He considers himself a natural leader, a good organizer, very skilled with his hands, very resourceful and feels he possesses a keen intellect.

Chan currently resides in Martinez, California with his wife of 24 years, Jennifer. They have two children, Penelope and Ione. They also have a dog, Tucker, and two rabbits, Ruby and Cupid. His birth date is August 26, 1952.

Survivor: Fiji
Yau-Man originally started on the Ravu tribe, which didn't win any challenges. He didn't have to worry, as he joined Earl Cole in making the Syndicate Alliance. At the tribe switch Yau-Man switched to Moto which won the all the remaining Immunity Challenges except a reward challenge. At the merge he joins with his alliance in picking off the remaining loyal Four Horsemen members. Yau-Man then wins the 2008 Ford Super Duty at a reward challenge. Then he madea deal with Dreamz Herd saying that if he gives Dreamz the car Dreamz has to give Yau-Man the Final Four Immunity Necklace, if Dreamz wins it, and Dreamz agrees to the deal. Dreamz didn't want to commit and noted that the deal only applies at the final four. Using this, Stacy Kimball convinced Boo Bernis and Cassandra Franklin to vote out Yau-Man. However, this was averted because Yau plays his Hidden Immunity Idol at Tribal Council, sending Stacy home. He then wins the next immunity keeping him safe to the Final Four. At the Final Four immunity challenge it comes down to Yau and Dreamz, with the latter winning. At Tribal though Dreamz betrays Yau-Man and doesn't give him immunity as he knows that if he does he will be sent home, which sends Yau home.

At the Final Tribal Council, Yau-Man shows no ill-will toward Dreamz for the betrayal. He simply asks why Earl voted him out. Earl said it was because he knew that Yau-Man would win. Satisfied, Yau-Man votes for his ally Earl to win.

Survivor: Micronesia
Yau-Man returned as one of ten returning contestants who competed against ten Survivor "superfans" who gave him the most tremendous response of his return. At the first individual Immunity Challenge, where the castaways were to locate an individual Immunity Idol (one per tribe) that would only be effective the first time they go to Tribal Council. Villain Jon Dalton found one of the two idols, but mistakenly picked the Fans' Immunity Idol. Yau-man caught him, and rushed to their boat and accidentally slammed Dalton at the hull of the boat, to the latter's chagrin.

Yau-Man formed an alliance with Eliza Orlins, Jonathan Penner and Ami Cusack to usurp a budding "Couples Alliance" made by Amanda Kimmel, Ozzy Lusth, James Clement and Parvati Shallow. While both voting blocs were vying for Jon and Cirie Fields' votes, all plans were put on hold when Jon suddenly decided that he wanted to go home to be with his expectant girlfriend; and after winning the next Immunity Challenge.

In I Should Be Carried on the Chariot-Type Thing!, both alliances again battled for Cirie's crucial swing vote, but Cirie eventually joined Parvati's alliance on the condition that Yau-Man would be the first eliminated despite the alliance's desire to eliminate Eliza (for her weak challenge performances) because she made an argument that if Yau-Man went to Exile Island once, he would definitely find the Hidden Immunity Idol. Parvati's alliance agreed, sending Yau-Man home in a 6-2-1 vote.

Post-Survivor

 * Chan was asked to return in the the 20th season special, Heroes vs. Villains; however, he had to decline due to insufficient leave. Eliza Orlins stated that Chan was asked back to compete in Blood vs. Water, but he turned it down.
 * On January 9, 2010, Yau-Man attended Survivor's 10-year anniversary party.

Trivia

 * Yau-Man was the oldest Asian-American contestant on Fiji and the oldest one overall in Micronesia.
 * Yau-Man was the only original Ravu member to win Individual Immunity.
 * Yau-Man outlasted all the other Asian-Americans on Fiji
 * Yau-Man is the only representative of Fiji to return for another season.
 * He was the second asian contestant to compete multiple times after Shii Ann Huang, and Brenda Lowe would later become the third. Coincidentally, they are the first and currently only people to represent their original season.
 * The three, along with Malcolm Freberg are the only contestants to be the sole representatives of a season.
 * Yau-Man is the only male Asian-American contestant to return for another season.
 * Yau-Man is the first contestant to send himself to Exile Island.
 * Yau-Man is also the first player to make and plant a fake Hidden Immunity Idol after finding a real one. His fake idol was never found, though.
 * Yau-Man is the first player to save himself from certain elimination by playing a Hidden Immunity Idol. In the Fiji episode I Wanna See If I Can Make A Deal, four votes were cast against Yau-Man (which were nullified) and two for Stacy Kimball, who wound up going home as a result. It is assumed that Gary Hogeboom's playing of his idol in Guatemala saved him, but it is not certain since, under the rules of the game then, the idol was played before the vote, and the user was immune.
 * Yau-Man is the fourth player to find the Hidden Immunity Idol.
 * Yau-Man was asked to compete on, but due work obligations, he was forced to decline.
 * For placing fourth on Survivor: Fiji, Chan won $60,000.
 * Yau-Man is the first Asian American male to return.
 * Several segments showed Yau-Man using his left hand dominantly.
 * Yau-Man is the first male castaway to have a dash within his name followed by Jean-Robert Bellande of Survivor: China.
 * Yau-Man was offered a slot on Blood vs. Water, but he turned the offer down.
 * Yau-Man is the only Survivor returnee to compete in seasons with an odd number of contestants and an even number of contestants.