Michael Skupin

Michael David "Mike" Skupin is a contestant from and.

Skupin holds the distinction of being the first ever person to be medically evacuated from the competition after he fell into the fire at camp. His wounds were too severe to be treated on location and narrowly missed out on potentially merging. He returned in Philippines with a relatively more strategic gameplay, managing to be the swing vote in almost every Tribal Council during the Merge and not having any votes against him until the end, but lost due to having only gained one Jury vote.

Australian Outback
Michael Skupin co-founded a software publishing and distribution company in 1992 where he currently serves as president. He also founded the CCA, which is a motivational speaking company. He attended Western Michigan University where he earned a bachelor of business management in 1984. His previous employment includes office equipment sales, surgical and operating room equipment sales, and a water-ski instructor. He is most proud of his wife Peni and his three children, Michael, Kalyn and Emily.

Skupin describes himself as adventurous, a thrill-seeker, and a risk taker. His favorite television shows are ESPN's SportsCenter / Primetime (to compare notes with his son) and Seinfeld while his favorite motion picture is Meet Joe Black. Although he's a big fan of Faith Hill, he listens to a variety of music including Top 40, Country, Christian and has a soft spot for Oldies. His favorite sports teams are any team from Michigan, especially the University of Michigan Wolverines. Amid his hectic schedule, Skupin finds time to hunt, barefoot water-ski and play ice hockey. He'll also play a good game of Scattegories if time permits.

Originally from Farmington Hills, Michigan, Skupin currently lives in White Lake, Michigan with his wife and three children. They have 2 Black Labradors, Thor and Simeon and lots of wild fish and wild birds. His birth date is January 29, 1962.

Philippines
Name (Age): Michael Skupin (50) Previous Season: Survivor: The Australian Outback Previous Finish: Medical Evacuation due to severe burns received after passing out into a fire from smoke inhalation. After inhaling a thick cloud of smoke, I passed out and fell forward into the fire suffering severe burns all over my body, the worst of which was on my hands. Tribe Designation: Tandang, Dangrayne Current Residence: White Lake, Mich. Occupation: Professional speaker, author and coach Personal Claim to Fame: I have seven of them that I feed everyday – my children. And, ranking 23rd on TV Guide and TV Land's List of the 100 Most Unexpected TV Moments. It’s an honor to have been there when it all started! Inspiration in Life: My dad, a true warrior who lost a battle to cancer when he was 28 and my mom who battled emphysema for 17 years and never complained. She taught me what "tough" was. Hobbies: Sports and fitness, coaching my kids and anything to do with water… in it, on it, over it, looking at it or listening to it. Pet Peeves: Negativity and pessimism. The glass is always full. 3 Words to Describe You: Adventurous, spontaneous and competitive. If You Could Have 3 Things on The Island What Would They Be and Why? 1) Animals to hunt for food. 2) An impenetrable shelter. 3) An unbreakable alliance. Reason for Being on SURVIVOR: To avenge a long-standing internal battle, wondering if I can win this game in spite of the changes and my 12 year absence. No matter what any returning player may say, you never stop thinking about going back. And: 7 cars when they turn 16, 7 college educations, 7 weddings… I want to be there for my kids at all times when they need me. Why You Think You’ll “Survive” SURVIVOR: The physical part I’m ultra prepared for. I never stop moving. The survival part won’t be an issue. I grew up in the woods. My crazy family life has prepared me exceptionally for the mental part. I’m surviving seven kids! Why You Think You Will Be the Sole SURVIVOR: There is no other returning player in the history of this game with more to prove than me. I’ll find a way to win, whatever it takes! I won’t give up… ever, ever, ever, ever!

Survivor: The Australian Outback
Michael proved useful to the Kucha in being able to carry heavy loads of things to their camp. He tried to take control of the building of their shelter on Day 1, despite Rodger having more experience in the field of construction, though it didn't seem to annoy anyone except for Debb, who voiced her resentment of him taking control. After losing the first immunity challenge, Michael participated in the unanimous vote off of Debb.

On Day 4, Michael woke up early and put rice on the fire. This upset some of his tribe because they were not hungry and considered it a waste of their limited food supply. Michael claimed he was trying to make food for the tribe before they woke up, but some thought he made the rice because he himself was hungry.

The rice turned out bad, but Mike was shocked that they not only didn't appreciate it, but they didn't like it. He claimed that his tribe was getting edgy without food, and that they weren't aware how bad it was going to get. He decided to go fishing to at least provide his tribe a full meal. Another reason for his fishing was because during Kucha's first tribal council he was singled out as the leader, a position he wished to avoid. By catching fish, he hoped to shy away from the leadership position and to focus on the one activity. By catching fish he only further put himself in a bad position though by referring to himself as the 'leader' and focusing on his accomplishments.

On Day 6, still on his quest to provide food for the camp, Michael set out in hunt of a wild pig, generating controversy among fans. He crafted a spear with a stick and a knife, which only worried his tribe because it was their only knife and they did not want to lose it.

After Kucha won chickens in the fourth reward challenge, Michael felt threatened he might become useless as a food provider now, and decided to kill and eat the chickens as soon as possible.

In Day 17, while tending the camp fire, Skupin inhaled some smoke and passed out, accidentally falling into the fire and burning his hands. He immediately jumped into the cold Herbert River waters to ease the pain. The Survivor Medics immediately airlifted him out of the game. Before leaving, the five remaining Kuchas vowed to win to his honor (they did not).

Survivor: Philippines
Michael was put on the Tandang tribe, and right off the bat recognized fellow tribemate Lisa Whelchel as a former TV star but kept the information to himself. At the beach, he was approached by R.C. Saint-Amour to join her alliance with Abi-Maria Gomes and Pete Yurkowski. They targeted Lisa for being considered untrustworthy, despite Michael personally liking her. He later informed her that he knew who she was, and they started to develop a friendship despite being on opposite alliances.

When Abi-Maria and Pete turned against their alliance and recruited Lisa and Artis Silvester into a new majority voting bloc, Michael and R.C. were put in the minority, putting them in danger. However, Tandang continuously winning Immunity Challenges kept them safe from Tribal Council.

When when the Matsing tribe was down to 2 people, Malcolm Freberg was absorbed by Tandang and was promptly accepted by the majority alliance, but Tandang was even stronger and Michael was able to reach the Merge without facing Tribal Council.

The Tandang tribe dominated the pre-merge portion of the game and soon merged into Dangrayne where Pete, Abi-Maria, Artis, Malcolm and Lisa sided with the Kalabaw members Jeff Kent, Carter Williams and Denise Stapley (also a former Matsing tribe member and an ally of Malcolm) in order to split their votes between Jonathan Penner since Jeff Kent, although allied with Jonathan at the Kalabaw Alliance, didn't want a returning player to win and R.C. since Pete distrusted her since day 1. Meanwhile, Jonathan and R.C. who knew that they were at the bottom of the Tandang Alliance attempted to appeal to the Kalabaw Alliance in order to vote out the other Tandang members, targeting Pete, but Michael eventually shifted his vote to Jonathan who played a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating Michael's and the 4 other votes, eliminating Michael's ally R.C. after recieving 4 votes.

Without R.C., Michael becomes a target next to Jonathan. During the next Reward Challenge where he won along with Jonathan, Malcolm, Denise and Lisa, they considered themselves the heroes of the game while Artis, Abi-Maria and Pete were portrayed as the bullies of the tribe which would have meant that they would all stick together and blindside the 3. However, Lisa realized that she could have better chance of winning if she sticks with Tandang, deciding to still eliminate Jonathan. Their plan was foiled when Jonathan won the Immunity Challenge which changed the plans of the Tandang Alliance. With Michael possibly being in danger for being the only returning player not having immunity and Lisa wanting to keep Tandang intact, Lisa planned to blindside Malcolm, knowing that Malcolm has Matsing's idol, which Malcolm denied having to the Tandang Alliance. During a very intense next Tribal Council where Abi-Maria and Malcolm revealed their idols, Michael was put in the middle with Jonathan convincing to vote against Pete, while Lisa convcing to go with Pete's "Plan B", which is voting against Jeff. Michael eventually sided with Tandang, voting out Jeff after a 5-4-1 split where Kalabaw except Jonthan voting against Pete, Tandang against Jeff and Jonathan against Abi-Maria, possibly thinking that Michael will vote against Pete making Jonathan's vote useless or thinking that the others would target Abi-Maria to flush her idol.

With the returning players threat eliminated, Michael (and Lisa) was wooed by the newly solidified Kalabaw-Matsing Alliance to join them due to Tandang's treatment of the 2. Lisa still voted with Tandang in the next Tribal Council, however Michael eventually flipped on Tandang by blindsiding Artis (a plan of Denise due to Artis being the least likely receiver of Tandang's idol),

The next day, Lisa joined the new majority alliance with Michael, deciding to split their votes between Abi-Maria and Pete since they knew that Abi-Maria had Tandang's idol. With Pete and Abi-Maria neither winning immunity, they tried to sway Michael back to their side by blindsiding Malcolm (possibly using Tandang's idol to Pete as Michael is going to vote against Abi-Maria). However, Michael stayed loyal to the majority alliance, with Pete being voted out.

During those times, Malcolm and Michael talked about being in the Final 4. Michael was then offered by Malcolm a Final 4 alliance with their alliance mates Lisa and Denise, where Michael first asked Lisa about it. Lisa hesistantly thinks about the plan, and approaches Jonathan first to make a Final 4 deal along with Carter, but Jonathan refused (saying that it is to early to make such a move) prompting Michael and Lisa to lock in the Final 4 alliance with Matsing. With Abi-Maria ended up winning the next Immunity Challenge with the help of the advantage she bought during the Survivor Auction, the six-person alliance turned on each other. Michael ended up being the swing vote between Denise and Jonathan after Lisa said to Jonathan that she will stick with her new alliance, and even after Jonathan's rallying to vote with him, Michael stuck with the Final 4 alliance voting out Jonathan.

Before the next Immunity Challenge, Michael and Lisa, with the help of a self-esteem boost from Lisa's brother Justice (who visited the island for a Loved Ones Challenge) planned to blindside Malcolm with the help of Carter. This plan however failed as Malcolm won immunity, voting out Carter over Abi-Maria for being a physical threat. Michael won the next Reward Challenge where he was allowed to select 2 people to join him, choosing his closest ally Lisa, with Malcolm as well. During the reward, Malcolm made a Final Three deal with Michael and Lisa and plotted to blindside Denise. After the next Immunity Challenge where Malcolm won immunity, Michael and Lisa soon decided to either keep Abi-Maria for being the least likely to get Jury votes or Denise in order to have more competiton against Malcolm to prevent him from getting immunity. During Tribal Council, Michael was bullied by Abi-Maria by saying that Michael is stupid and a moron. Even after Abi-Maria tried to get Michael and Lisa to her side saying that Denise or Malcolm would win over them, Michael voted with the others against Abi-Maria, voting her out..

During the Final 4, Michael thought of either voting out Malcolm or Denise, saying that defeating Malcolm would be honorable. Malcolm won the next Reward Challenge which would give him a huge advantage at the next Immunity Challenge, where they had to balance a small metal ball in between several sticks, revealing that the reward Malcolm won was a second chance in case the ball would fall. Despite Malcolm's advantage, he ended up being the first one out while Michael ended up winning the challenge. Even though Lisa and Denise decided to vote out Malcolm, Michael was still undecided who to vote out. At the next Tribal Council, Michael eventually decided to go with the women, voting out Malcolm. At the Final Tribal Council, Michael expressed to Jury being a returning player and surviving each time saying that there was always a threat of him being voted out and that he exemplified the slogan of Survivor ("Outwit, Outplay, Outlast"). The Jury, however castigated him for not really being in danger seeing that he had no votes against him ever since. Michael eventually lost against Denise, tying for first runner-up with Lisa, having only earned one Jury vote (from Carter).

Post-Survivor

 * Skupin released an autobiography entitled Fireproof.

Trivia

 * Michael is the first contestant to be medically evacuated from the show.
 * Michael's luxury item in was War paint.
 * Michael holds the record of the longest time between seasons for a returning player, spanning 11.5 years (23 seasons).
 * According to Rodger Bingham, he and Michael were considered for and  as returning players.
 * Michael was also considered for Heroes vs. Villains but wasn't picked.
 * Michael stated in his interview that it took a full year for his hands to completely heal after the fire accident in Australia.
 * Michael is one of 6 castaways (the others being Rob Mariano, Shii Ann Huang, Bobby Jon Drinkard, Russell Swan and Francesca Hogi) that returned for a second season despite not reaching the Merge/Jury phase in their original season.
 * Michael is the only returning player to never receive a vote against in all of the seasons played.
 * Both Michael and Lisa Whelchel never received a vote against them on Survivor: Philippines and tied for second place at the Final Tribal Council with one Jury vote each.
 * Carter Williams's sole Jury vote for Michael is the only time his name has ever been written down.
 * Michael and Coach Wade hold the distinction for being the only returning players to not recieve a vote in a season and be the runner-up.
 * He along with Sandra Diaz-Twine and Jenna Morasca are the only returning contestants to never be voted out.
 * He is the only non-winner to do so.
 * He is also the only male to do so.
 * Michael is the first person to appear in the season opening for his tribes in both seasons he participated in.