Alec Merlino

{{Contestant
| image        = S37 Alec Merlino.jpg
| birthdate    = {{Birth date and age|1993|10|15|mf=y}}<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo9RwJgg1QB/?taken-by=alec.merlino</ref>
| hometown     = San Clemente, California
| occupation   = Bartender
| version      = [[Survivor (U.S.)|United States]]
| season       = {{S2|37}}
| tribes       = {{tribeicon|goliath}}<br />{{tribeicon4|vuku}}<br />{{tribeicon|kalokalo}}
| place        = 10/20
| alliances    = [[Goliath Alliance]]
| challenges   = 9
| votesagainst = 9
| days         = 28
}}
'''Alec Merlino''' is a contestant from {{S|37}}.

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<br />
'''Hometown:''' San Clemente, California<br />
'''Current residence:''' San Clemente, California<br />
'''Occupation:''' Bartender<br />
'''Hobbies:''' Surfing, playing guitar, and making travel videos.<br />
'''Pet peeves:''' Terrible drivers, traffic, and people that exaggerate during a story.<br />
'''Three words to describe you:''' Charismatic, tenacious, and humorous.<br />
'''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.<br />
'''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.<br />
'''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.<br />
'''Which ''Survivor'' contestant are you most like?''' I relate most to [[Jay Starrett|Jay]], [[Joe Anglim|Joe]], and [[Malcolm Freberg|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.<br />
'''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!<br />
'''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.<ref>https://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/cast/215975/</ref>

==Survivor==
Alec was initially placed on the [[Goliath]] tribe, where he formed an [[Goliath Alliance|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 [[merge]]d 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 Vote|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 [[Extra Vote#Vote Steal|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. 
===Voting History===
{| class="wikitable article-table" style="margin:auto; text-align:center; font-size:8pt; line-height:18px;" align="center"
! colspan="3" |Alec's Voting History
|-
! Episode
! Alec's<br />Votes
! Voted Against<br />Alec
|-
| [[Appearances Are Deceiving|1]]
| {{immunity|goliath}}
|-
| [[The Chicken Has Flown the Coop|2]]
| {{immunity|goliath}}
|-
| [[I Am Goliath Strong|3]]
| {{tribebox3|goliath|Jeremy}}
| {{tribebox3|goliath|-}}
|-
| [[Time to Bring About the Charmpocalypse|4]]
| {{tribebox3|vuku|Natalia}}
| {{tribebox3|vuku|-}}
|-
| [[Jackets and Eggs|5]]
| {{immunity|vuku}}
|-
| [[Aren't Brochachos Just Adorable?|6]]
| {{immunity|vuku}}
|-
| [[There's Gonna Be Tears Shed|7]]
| {{tribebox3|kalokalo|Elizabeth}}
| {{tribebox3|kalokalo|-}}
|-
| [[You Get What You Give|8]]
| {{tribebox3|kalokalo|<s>Christian</s>}}{{sup|[[#endnote Idol|<font color=black>1</font>]]}}
| {{tribebox3|kalokalo|-}}
|-
| [[Breadth-First Search|9]]
| {{tribebox3|kalokalo|Angelina}}
| {{tribebox3|kalokalo|''Individual Immunity''}}
|-
| [[Tribal Lines Are Blurred|10]]
| {{tribebox3|kalokalo|Carl}}
| {{tribebox3|kalokalo|Alison, Angelina, Carl,<br />Christian, Davie, Gabby,<br />Kara, Mike, Nick}}
|-
| {{finish|vote|28}}
|-
| Voted for<br />Sole Survivor
| colspan="2" {{tribebox3|kalokalo|Nick}}
|}
{{refbegin}}<br />{{note|Idol|<small>1</small>}}<small> In {{Ep|3708}}, Davie used a Hidden Immunity Idol on Christian, negating Alec's vote against him.</small><br />{{refend}}

==Post-Survivor==
* A week after filming ended, Alec posted a picture of himself and fellow tribemate [[Kara Kay]] together on Instagram with the caption, "F*** it", a direct violation of the contestant's [[Survivor Rulebook|non-disclosure agreement]]. Shortly after, TMZ reported that Alec was uninvited to the {{S2|37}} finale and [[Reunion (David vs. Goliath)|reunion show]] and his appearance fees were withheld.<ref>http://www.tmz.com/2018/05/15/survivor-season-37-contestants-out-themselves-5-million-dollar-nda/</ref><ref>http://www.tmz.com/2018/05/17/survivor-contestant-punished-breaking-nda-contract-spoiler/</ref><ref>http://robhasawebsite.com/survivor-exit-interviews-latest-players-out-from-david-vs-goliath-11-29-18survivor-exit-interview-2018-david-goliath-alec-merlino-and-carl-boudreaux/</ref>
* Alec is currently dating Kara.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/survivor/comments/a8uskx/</ref>
* Alec, along with nineteen other former ''{{dab|Survivor|U.S.}}'', ''[[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.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNMcwCWh1Bg</ref>

==Trivia==
* Alec is the youngest male contestant to compete on {{S2|37}} and also the youngest member of the original [[Jabeni|Goliath]] tribe.
* Alec is the third contestant to be banned from attending the [[Reunion Show]], following [[Brandon Hantz]] in {{S2|26}} and [[Vytas Baskauskas]] in {{S2|31}} and followed by [[Dan Spilo]] in {{S2|39}}.
** Alec is the first contestant to be banned from the Reunion Show of the first season he competed on, as Brandon and Vytas were [[Returning Players|returnees]] in the seasons in which they were banned.
* Alec lost 9 lbs. during his time on ''David vs. Goliath''.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SER2K43Pfo</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{S37castaways}}