Alec Merlino

Alec Merlino is a contestant from Survivor: David vs. Goliath.

Alec made his mark early on by blindsiding his fellow Goliath Alliance member Natalia Azoqa after the Tribe Switch. After the merge, he formed a cross-tribal alliance, allowing him to work sides. However, his status as a physical threat began growing as he emerged as a force to be reckoned with in challenges. After losing an important Immunity Challenge at the final ten, he was unanimously voted out.

Profile[]

Retrieved from CBS.com

Age: 24
Hometown: San Clemente, California
Current residence: San Clemente, California
Occupation: Bartender
Hobbies: Surfing, playing guitar, and making travel videos.
Pet peeves: Terrible drivers, traffic, and people that exaggerate during a story.
Three words to describe you: Charismatic, tenacious, and humorous.
What's your personal claim to fame? Getting through college and always pushing the boundaries in life by doing things that make me uncomfortable, such as traveling solo, playing guitar, and singing for people.
Who or what is your inspiration in life? My mom and dad because they have shown me what love is and what it means to stay positive together through the tough times. My dad has been laid off a time or two, but he's always thinking of creative ways to make money and fighting to make things work. My mom is a selfless individual, a hard worker in real estate, and someone who's always positive and wants nothing but the best for those around her. They both demonstrate a tremendous amount of courage and I love them.
If you could have three things on the island what would they be and why? A picture of my loved ones to keep me motivated, a picture of my bank account statement because it's zero. And a guitar to sing "Kumbaya" by the fire.
Which Survivor contestant are you most like? I relate most to Jay, Joe, and Malcolm. All of those players are charming and likeable individuals. They were also all a dominating force during the challenges and physically fit which made them a useful asset around camp.
What's your reason for being on Survivor? I've always been a go-getter and someone who doesn't take no for an answer. I want to outwit, outplay, and outlast everyone. I want to prove to myself that I can be that likable, charming and a physical threat player. I also want to be sitting at the Final Tribal Council and win the million-dollar prize!
Why do you think you'll "survive" Survivor? I have the ability to charm people around me, both guys and girls. I can read people and understand situations better than most. My personality is endearing and I'm able to adapt in different environments. My job is to deal with all walks of life just like Survivor, and for that reason my social game is going to be unstoppable.^[2]

Survivor[]

Alec was initially placed on the Goliath tribe, where he formed an alliance with Angelina Keeley, Dan Rengering, John Hennigan, Kara Kay, and Natalia Azoqa. The tribe dominated in challenges early on, sparing the tribe from Tribal Council. After Goliath lost their first Immunity Challenge on Day 9, Alec joined the tribe in unanimously voting out Jeremy Crawford.

At the Tribe Switch the following day, Alec was switched to the Vuku tribe along with his fellow alliance members Kara and Natalia, and were joined by Davids Davie Rickenbacker and Elizabeth Olson. After Vuku lost the next Immunity Challenge, Natalia told Alec and Kara that Elizabeth needed to go, but Natalia's bossiness caused Alec to consider voting Natalia out instead. At Tribal Council, Alec whispered his intentions to Elizabeth, setting Natalia off. Regardless, Alec voted with Davie and Elizabeth, blindsiding Natalia. Back at camp, Alec defended his move to Kara, though Kara started throwing Alec under the bus the following day, with the goal of making him a target.

After the tribes merged into the Kalokalo tribe on Day 18, Alec decided to play both sides as he felt that original tribal lines would not work out. He formed a cross-tribal alliance with fellow Goliaths Alison Raybould and Mike White, and Davids Christian Hubicki, Gabby Pascuzzi, and Nick Wilson. After hearing that Elizabeth was targeting Dan, Alec informed Dan, causing him to launch a campaign against Elizabeth in return. At Tribal Council, Elizabeth was unanimously eliminated. Following the Immunity Challenge on Day 22, the Goliath alliance agreed to target Christian for being too big of a threat to win the game, leaving Alec to realize that he had no choice but to betray Christian. Hoping to remain in good graces with the cross-tribal alliance, Alec alerted Nick that Christian was the target, causing Nick to inform the rest of the Davids of the Goliaths' plan. At Tribal Council, Davie played his Hidden Immunity Idol on Christian, while Dan played an idol needlessly on Angelina, as it turned out that the Davids had split their votes, with their primary target John being sent to the jury.

With the cross-tribal alliance no more, Alec, Alison, and Kara held a discussion to regroup upon returning to camp, making Dan feel left out. The next morning, Kara talked to Alison and Alec about blindsiding Dan next, which they agreed upon. Alec would then go on to beat Dan to win the next Immunity Challenge. At Tribal Council, after Nick announced that he would steal Alison's vote, Alec and Kara switched their votes to Angelina in an attempt to keep Alison safe, but Dan was blindsided regardless.

At the next Reward Challenge, Alec led his team to victory, but not without causing Carl Boudreaux to worry about Alec's challenge prowess and start a campaign to vote him out. On Day 26, Alec ended up losing the Immunity Challenge to Christian after lasting over five and a half hours before dropping out. Ultimately, Alec was voted out in a unanimous 9-1 vote and became the fourth member of the jury.

At the Final Tribal Council, Alec was one of the seven jurors that voted for Nick to win.

Episode	Tribe Affiliation	Challenge	Challenge Type	Sit-Out?	Result
1	Goliath	Open	Reward	Yes	Lost
1		Matchbox 25	Immunity	No	Won
2		Another Brick in the Wall	Reward/Immunity	No	Won
3		Tangled Up in Blue	Reward/Immunity	No	Lost
Switched Tribes, Day 10
4	Vuku	Blind Barrow	Reward/Immunity	No	Lost
5		Ball-istic Missiles	Reward	No	1st
5		A Bridge You Must Cross	Immunity	No	1st
6		Carry On	Reward	No	Lost
6		Dishwalla	Immunity	No	2nd
Tribes Merged, Day 18
7	Kalokalo	Ring Leader	Immunity		Lost
8		Raise the Roof	Reward		Won
8		Don't Buoy Me Love	Immunity		Lost
9		All Mixed Up	Reward	No	Won
9		Roll Away the Dew	Immunity		Won
10		Back in Slack	Reward		Won
10		Uncomfortably Numb	Immunity	No	Lost
Voted Out, Day 28

Episode	Alec's Votes	Voted Against Alec
1	Goliath Tribe Immune
2	Goliath Tribe Immune
3	Jeremy	-
4	Natalia	-
5	Vuku Tribe Immune
6	Vuku Tribe Immune
7	Elizabeth	-
8	~~Christian~~¹	-
9	Angelina	Individual Immunity
10	Carl	Alison, Angelina, Carl, Christian, Davie, Gabby, Kara, Mike, Nick
Voted Out, Day 28
Voted for Sole Survivor	Nick

^1 In "You Get What You Give", Davie used a Hidden Immunity Idol on Christian, negating Alec's vote against him.

Post-Survivor[]

Alec is currently dating fellow Goliath tribemate Kara Kay.^[3]
- A week after filming ended, Alec posted a picture of himself embracing Kara on social media, heavily implying their participation on the show and alliance. This was a direct violation of the contestant's Non-Disclosure Agreement. As punishment, Alec was fined $5 million, uninvited to the David vs. Goliath finale and reunion show and his appearance fees were withheld.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]
Alec, along with nineteen other former Survivor, Australian Survivor, Survivor South Africa, and Survivor New Zealand contestants, competed in the second Survivor-themed mini-competition of Sequester on June 20, 2020. He was eliminated in the seventh round, finishing in 14th place.^[8]
Alec portrayed Hutch in HBO's The White Lotus, a comedy miniseries written and directed by his tribemate Mike.^[9]

Trivia[]

Alec is the youngest member of the original Goliath tribe and the youngest man to compete on David vs. Goliath.
Alec is the third contestant to be banned from attending the Reunion Show, following Brandon Hantz in Caramoan and Vytas Baskauskas in Cambodia and followed by Dan Spilo in Island of the Idols.
- Alec is the first contestant to be banned from the Reunion Show of the first season he competed on, as Brandon and Vytas were returnees in the seasons in which they were banned.
Alec lost 9 lbs. during his time on David vs. Goliath.^[10]