Leif Manson

Leif Manson is a contestant from.

He is known for being the first contestant with dwarfism to play Survivor.

Profile
Name (Age): Leif Manson (27) Tribe Designation: Manono, Tikiano Current Residence: San Diego, Calif. Occupation: Phlebotomist Personal Claim to Fame: Smoking the best turkey, roasts, and meats for big family events. Also, meeting and working with Billy Barty and Mickey Rooney in the same day. Inspiration in Life: My daughter, who I want to provide the best life for. My closest family and friends, who have been there for me when I fall, and pushed me higher when I succeed. My father-in-law, because he is a perfect role-model. Not only is he brilliant, selfless, dependable, but he is also patient and always willing to give great advice. Hobbies: Paintballing, snowboarding and weight-lifting. Pet Peeves: Being taken advantage of and back-stabbers. 3 Words to Describe You: Agile, adventurous and perseverant. SURVIVOR Contestant You Are Most Like: Fabio, because his wit and skills were misjudged and underestimated but he outplayed them all in the end. Reason for Being on SURVIVOR: To build my own self-confidence and to become more knowledgeable on what to “survive” truly means. Why You Think You’ll “Survive” SURVIVOR: I am knowledgeable about the wilderness; I can tell direction without a compass regardless of day or night. I can fish and build fire without using modern tools. I’m definitely a handy man and very physically fit and strong. Why You Think You Will Be the Sole SURVIVOR: Because I am beyond willing, ready, and able to “outwit, outplay, and outlast” all the others.

Survivor: One World
Despite the obvious height discrepancy between him and the other contestants, Leif was at no disadvantage in challenges or camp life. The only time anyone ever mentioned his height in a bad way was in Bum-Puzzled when Michael Jefferson listed Leif along with Colton Cumbie and Tarzan Smith as the weaker players of Manono, saying that he was weak due to him being short. Leif joined Colton's misfit alliance along with Jonas Otsuji, Troy Robertson (better known as Troyzan), and Tarzan (Greg) and played a part in Matt Quinlan's blindside. In Bum-Puzzled, Leif told Bill Posley that he was his alliance's next target which upset Colton, Tarzan, and Troyzan and then because of Leif's betrayal, Manono decided to forfeit immunity to go to Tribal Council. It was assumed that since Leif was the reason for this happening and that Leif would've been voted off at that Tribal Council, but ultimately Colton got what he wanted (he wanted Bill out due to him disliking Bill) and the tribe voted off Bill instead.

Leif stayed on the Manono tribe with Colton, Tarzan, and Jonas, and stayed in an alliance with Colton after the swap, voting off Monica Culpepper with his alliance in A Bunch of Idiots. In Thanks for the Souvenir, after Colton's evacuation, the Manono tribe prepared for Tribal Council on Day 17, where Jonas and Christina Cha wanted to vote off Alicia Rosa, while Tarzan and Alicia wanted to vote off Christina, making Leif the swing vote. But since Jeff announced that no one was going to be voted off that night and that tribes were merged, Leif didn't have to decide.

During his time post merge, Leif didn't have any strong alliance and only agreed with the vote once, in Just Annihilate Them, when Michael was voted off. The closest Leif came to winning immunity was in Go Out with a Bang, when he and Chelsea Meissner were the last ones left, but Leif dropped out for three cheeseburgers, fries, and a beer, and shared a burger with Chelsea afterwards. On Day 27, with Troyzan immune, Leif and Tarzan were targets. Troyzan told Leif, Tarzan, Christina, and Alicia that they would eventually be voted off by the foursome of Sabrina Thompson, Kim Spradlin, Kat Edorsson, and Chelsea, unless they voted with Troyzan against Kim. Leif was on board with Troyzan's plan but unfortunately Tarzan, Alicia, and Christina didn't follow it, and Leif was voted off by a vote of 4-3-2 (Tarzan got 3 votes, Kim got 2). Leif finished in 9th place and as the 4th member of the Jury. Leif, along with his ally Troyzan, voted for Sabrina to win although Kim would be crowned Sole Survivor by a 7-2-0 vote.

Trivia

 * Leif is the first "little person" (a person with dwarfism) to play Survivor.
 * During his time on, Leif slept in the box that Manono received during the episode 2 Do-It-Yourself Reward Challenge.
 * In Thanks for the Souvenir, Leif revealed that he had his appendix taken out at the age of 15.
 * Leif is one of 10 contestants to be voted out by a plurality (i.e. less than half of the total counted votes). The others are: Gretchen Cordy, Bobby Mason, Brendan Synnott, Jill Behm, Francesca Hogi, Christine Shields Markoski, Elyse Umemoto, Andrea Boehlke and Kelley Wentworth.
 * Leif and Troyzan Robertson were the only two people to vote against Kim Spradlin.
 * Furthermore, they were the only two Jury members to not vote for her at the Final Tribal Council.
 * Leif has both his nipples pierced.
 * The only other two contestants in survivor history with nipple piercings are Sean Kenniff and Lex van den Berghe.