Ryan Ulrich

Ryan Ulrich is a contestant from.

Ryan started off in an extremely strong position, forming the initial Yawa tribe majority with ally Devon Pinto, and discovering the Super Idol on day 1 which he later gifted to Chrissy Hofbeck. The latter resulted in him and Chrissy aligning after the Tribe Switch. After joining the Solewa majority alliance come the Merge, Ryan appeared to keep a low profile. However, he was eventually relegated to the minority with Chrissy and he even wasted a Hidden Immunity Idol, but both managed to get back in the majority after Ben Driebergen became the main target. After managing to reach the Final Tribal Council, Ryan's game was put under scrutiny for his general lack of work ethic or strategic conversation outside of his core alliance. Ultimately, he could not salvage his reputation and lost to Ben in a 5-2-1 vote, finishing in 3rd place with only one vote to win.

Profile
Retrieved from CBS.com

Age: 23 Hometown: North Arlington, N.J. Current residence: North Arlington, N.J. Occupation: Bellhop Hobbies: Watching sports, karaoke, and playing harmonica. Pet peeves: Smoking, political correctness, and people who lack passion. Three words to describe you: Witty, ambitious, and approachable. What's your personal claim to fame? I've worked a lot of jobs, but I am most proud of my internships with both houses of Congress, and the British Consulate. I also aspire to attend law school. Who or what is your inspiration in life? New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is my inspiration in life. His toughness is admirable, as he has never missed a game in his entire NFL career. He has a humble demeanor, and always takes responsibility if the team loses. Even though he has won two Super Bowls, he is continually critiqued, yet always acts with grace and humility. Eli has honestly provided me with some of the best moments of my life, so take that for what it's worth. If you could have three things on the island, what would they be and why? First I would bring a sports visor which will block out the sun as well as allow the top of my head to get an Island breeze, a McDonald's Shamrock Shake because they are seasonal so any opportunity I have to get one, I have to take, and a podium so I could give press conferences to pretend people care about what I have to say. Survivor contestant you're most like: Todd Herzog, on, he had tremendous social skills and charisma; he was incredibly well-spoken and he was relatable enough to build bonds that lasted until the end. Similar to Todd, I think some of my abilities are underestimated by others. What's your reason for being on Survivor: I love the game. I have wanted to play this game since I was six years old. It's much more than a game to me, it's a passion, I obsess over it. Life does not give you many opportunities to test yourself like Survivor is designed to. Why do you think you'll "survive" Survivor? I feel like I can get along with a variety of different people because I have knowledge of different topics. Without question, I am there to win and I will use relationships to get to the end yet I will do it in a way that ensures I'm liked enough to get votes.

Survivor
Ryan started on Yawa. During the marooning he found a secret advantage on the ship. At camp, he read the advantage which turned out to be a super idol, allowing him to use it after the votes are read at the very first Tribal Council, but if his tribe doesn't lose the first immunity challenge he would have to give the idol to someone on the losing tribe. On Day 2, he aligned with Devon Pinto and told him about the idol. Yawa won the first immunity challenge while Levu lost. Ryan gave the idol to Chrissy Hofbeck though she did not use it. Yawa lost immunity on Day 6. At Tribal Council, Ryan joined the majority in voting out Simone Nguyen for her weakness in challenges. Yawa lost again. He talked to Devon about keeping Patrick Bolton, but Devon wanted Patrick out. At tribal council, he contributed to Patrick's elimination.

Ryan along with Ali Elliott were switched to Soko when the Tribe Switch occurred. On Soko, he told Chrissy that he gave her the idol which caused them to form a bond. When Soko lost immunity on Day 14, Ali and Roark Luskin targeted Chrissy, while Chrissy and JP Hilsabeck targeted Roark with Ryan being the swing vote. Ryan sided with Chrissy, blindsiding Roark and shocking Ali. Returning from Tribal Council, Ali confronted Ryan and the two got into an argument. Soko won the next reward challenge thanks to JP, but this concerned Ryan because he believe JP could be a physical threat down the road. Soko lost immunity again. At camp, Ryan made amends with Ali and considered targeting JP for being a physical threat. He discussed this with Chrissy. Ultimately, Ryan and Chrissy spared JP and blindsided Ali.

Ryan made it to the merge where he joined The Round Table alliance which controlled the first few merge votes. He managed to find a Hidden Immunity Idol without getting caught, despite the confrontation that ensued between Cole and Chrissy who were both looking for an idol. He told this to Devon and Ben Driebergen. On Night 29, the trio of Ryan, Chrissy, and JP voted for Mike Zahalsky, but his allies Ben, Lauren Rimmer, Ashley Nolan, and Devon sided with the outsiders Mike and Joe Mena and blindsided JP shocking Ryan and Chrissy. Sometime after Tribal Council, Ryan tried to make amends with Devon, but he was unable to do so. The next day Ryan unsuccessfully tried to sway Mike to his side. Chrissy won immunity on Day 30. At camp, Ben tried to convince Ryan to play his idol. At Tribal Council, Ryan and Chrissy voted for Ashley, Ryan played his idol but it was unneeded as it only negated two votes and Joe was voted out.

The next day, Ryan met his dad Steve at the loved ones challenge. Chrissy won the Loved Ones Challenge and chose to share the reward with Mike, Ryan, and Ashley. Ashley won immunity. At camp, Ben talked to Mike about voting for Lauren. During Tribal Council, Ryan whispered to Mike that Lauren had to go, but Mike convinced him to vote for Ben. Chrissy walked over to Ryan to say she was on board with voting out Lauren. She refused when Mike and Ryan asked her to vote out Ben. Ryan joined the majority (including Chrissy) in voting for Ben, but Ben played his idol, and his sole vote blindsided Lauren.

Devon and Chrissy won the next reward challenge, and chose to share the reward with Ryan. On the trip the three made a Final Three deal. At Tribal Council, Ben played his idol before the votes were cast forcing the five to turn on each other, which resulted in Ryan joining the majority in unanimously voting out Ashley. On Day 37, Chrissy won immunity and shared the reward with Devon and Mike leaving Ryan with Ben at camp. Chrissy later told Ryan she was using her super idol which was powerless to prevent Ben from looking for an idol. Devon told Ryan he was feeling uneasy about Ben acting defeated and considered throwing a stray vote at Mike, but Ryan tried to convince him not to do it. At Tribal Council, Ryan voted for Ben, but Ben played his idol which negated the 3 votes cast against him, resulting in a 1-1-0 tie between Mike and Devon. In the revote Ryan and Chrissy voted for Mike which resulted in his elimination. Chrissy won the Final Immunity Challenge. She told Ryan and Devon that since she won immunity she had to save one person at Tribal Council and force the other two to compete in the fire making challenge, and she told Ryan she was saving him. At Tribal Council, she saved Ryan, but Devon lost to Ben in the challenge resulting in Devon becoming the final member of the jury.

At the Final Tribal Council, Ryan was accused of his lack of social and strategic conversations, and work around camp. Even Ben and Chrissy accused him of not doing work around camp. He argued that many of the strategic and social moves such as finding the super idol, using the super idol to align with Chrissy, using Devon for his social game and connections, and forming the big alliance at the start of the merge were his moves. He also argued that he didn't have any outdoor experience, but he still received criticism for not putting in any effort. When Chrissy pointed out her relationship with Devon, Ryan argued that he was the reason she had a relationship with Devon. The only person who voted for him was Devon. He finished in third place, losing to runner-up Chrissy who got two votes, and Ben who won with five votes.

Voting History
In Playing with the Devil, the vote ended with a 4-4 tie between Desi and Joe, forcing a revote. Ryan did not change his vote on the revote. In Buy One, Get One Free, Ryan used a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating 2 votes against him. In Not Going to Roll Over and Die, Ben used a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating Ryan's vote against him. In Million Dollar Night, Ben used a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating Ryan's vote against him. Also, the vote ended with a 1-1-0 tie between Devon and Mike, forcing a revote. Ryan voted for Mike on the revote.

Trivia

 * Ryan is highest ranking member of the original Yawa tribe.
 * Ryan is the third castaway to received a jury vote and finish in third place, following Amanda Kimmel in and Missy Payne in.
 * Ryan is the first male to achieve this feat.


 * Ryan is the first male castaway to only receive uncounted votes over the course of a season and not win, negating the only votes against him with with a Hidden Immunity Idol. He is the second castaway overall to achieve this feat, following Amanda Kimmel in Micronesia.