Bobby Jon Drinkard is a contestant from Survivor: Palau and Survivor: Guatemala.
He is remembered for being one of the last two remaining castaways on the Ulong tribe. At the time, Drinkard was regarded by Probst as one of the hardest working Survivors ever, and became the first person be eliminated due to losing a fire-making challenge.
Profile
Retrieved from CBS.com
Born and raised in Troy, Alabama, Bobby Jon Drinkard graduated from Charles Henderson High School, where he lettered in football. He was also a member of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) for four years. After high school, Drinkard was accepted at Troy State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Relations/Print Journalism in 2003. He was previously employed as a personal trainer, lifeguard and farmer.
In the Spring of 2003, Drinkard was voted Alabama's most eligible bachelor by Cosmopolitan Magazine. He enjoys hunting, fishing, lifting weights, running, going to concerts and reading the bible. He describes himself as determined, bold and righteous. His perfect day begins with a workout, followed by fishing and then grilling with family and friends in the evening. His father is his hero because Drinkard believes he leads by example and never complains. Drinkard is a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity.
Drinkard moved to Los Angeles in August, 2003 to pursue a modeling career. His birth date is May 10, 1977.[1]Born and raised in Troy, Alabama, Bobby Jon Drinkard graduated from Charles Henderson High School, where he lettered in football. He was also a member of the Future Farmers of American for four years. After high school, Drinkard was accepted at Troy State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Relations/Print Journalism in 2003. He was previously employed as a personal trainer, lifeguard and farmer.
In the Spring of 2003, Drinkard was voted Alabama's most eligible bachelor by Cosmopolitan Magazine. He enjoys hunting, fishing, lifting weights, running, going to concerts and reading the bible. He describes himself as determined, bold and righteous. His perfect day begins with a workout, followed by fishing and then grilling with family and friends in the evening. His father is his hero because Drinkard believes he leads by example and never complains.
Drinkard is a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity.
Currently single, Drinkard moved to Los Angeles in August, 2003 to pursue a modeling career. His birth date is May 10, 1977.[2]Survivor
Palau
Bobby Jon Drinkard was chosen by Jolanda Jones to be on the Ulong tribe. He jokingly commended her by saying "good choice". Bobby Jon then picked Stephenie LaGrossa to be on the tribe. Ulong lost the first challenge and he blamed Angie Jakusz because she was apparently the weakest member of the tribe. He campaigned to get Angie out of the tribe but most of the tribe, blamed Jolanda and she was voted out instead. At the Reward Challenge, Ulong won in a landslide. Later he realized that he judged Angie too quickly and was impressed by her performance in the next challenge. Ulong was just unlucky and lost nearly every challenge. Bobby Jon was frustrated by the losing streak and to make matters worse he was being outdone by Tom Westman. Bobby Jon was nearly voted out on day twelve, when he tied with Angie at tribal for the most votes. In the end, the tribe decided to keep him for his athleticism and work ethic. As the days passed, Stephenie formed an alliance with Bobby Jon. They promised each other they would never vote for each other but she lied to him, and at one point she did cast a vote for Bobby Jon. He also formed a budding friendship with Ibrehem Rahman. Ulong won its final Reward Challenge for a trip to lake with string-less Jellyfish. Ultimately, he and Stephenie were the last two members left from Ulong. That night at Tribal Council, because there was only two people left, a fire-making challenge was held. Stephenie's flame lit her torch first, eliminating Bobby Jon from the competition on Day 21. The duo said goodbye and Bobby Jon told Stephenie to "win this thing". Jeff said before he snuffed Bobby Jon's Torch, "The tribe definitely did not speak tonight. Nonetheless, its time for you to go."
Voting History
| Bobby Jon's Voting History | ||
|---|---|---|
| Episode | Bobby Jon's Votes |
Voted Against Bobby Jon |
| 1 | Angie | - |
| 2 | Ashlee | - |
| 3 | Kim | - |
| 4 | Kim | - |
| 5 | Angie; Ineligible |
Angie, Stephenie; -1 |
| 6 | James; James2 |
- |
| 7 | Ibrehem | - |
| 8 | No Vote | |
| Eliminated, Day 213 | ||
^1 In The Best and Worst Reward Ever, the vote ended with a 2-2 tie between Bobby Jon and Angie, forcing a revote. On the revote, Bobby Jon did not receive any votes to be eliminated.
^2 In Jellyfish 'n Chips, the vote ended with a 2-2 tie between Ibrehem and James, forcing a revote. Bobby Jon did not change his vote on the revote.
^3In Neanderthal Man, there was a fire-making challenge instead of a vote at Tribal Council between Bobby Jon and Stephenie. Bobby Jon lost the challenge and was eliminated from the game.
Guatemala
Bobby Jon was placed on the Nakúm tribe initially. After the opening eleven mile hike, he felt very weak and had a hard time moving his legs. In addition, his eyes rolled back in his head while he was resting. Margaret Bobonich took care of him until he regained his health. Nakúm only lost one Immunity Challenge before the tribal swap, where Bobby Jon and tribemates Danni Boatwright, Blake Towsley, and Brandon Bellinger were swapped to Yaxhá. The former Nakúm members held the majority over the former Yaxhá members, but lost it when Bobby Jon and Danni voted against Blake for his obnoxious behavior at camp concerning his frat stories.
Bobby Jon, Danni, and Brandon voted with Gary Hogeboom to eliminated former Yaxhá members Brian Corridan and Amy O'Hara, narrowly missing being eliminated. Some of his tribemates believed that he didn't deserve a second chance, since they were all on their first one.
Bobby Jon then merged into the new Xhakúm tribe, where he was down in numbers and was targeted for being a huge physical threat. Brandon was voted out, securing Bobby Jon's spot on the jury. After losing the next Immunity Challenge, Bobby Jon was made the first jury member.
At Final Tribal Council, he voted for his ally Danni to win.
Voting History
| Bobby Jon's Voting History | ||
|---|---|---|
| Episode | Bobby Jon 's Votes |
Voted Against Bobby Jon |
| 1 | Jim | - |
| 2 | Nakúm Tribe Immune | |
| 3 | Nakúm Tribe Immune | |
| 4 | Yaxhá Tribe Immune | |
| 5 | Blake | - |
| 6 | Brian | Brian |
| 7 | Amy | Amy |
| 8 | Jamie | - |
| 9 | Stephenie | Cindy, Jamie, Judd, Lydia, Rafe, Stephenie |
| Voted Out, Day 24 | ||
| Voted For Sole Survivor |
Danni | |
Post Survivor
- Bobby Jon currently hosts an Alabama TV show called On the Job.[3]
- On January 9, 2010, Bobby Jon attended Survivor's 10-year anniversary party.
- Bobby Jon is married to Hayley Cofer and they have one daughter named Vivian.[4]
Trivia
- Bobby Jon and his Ulong tribemates James Miller and Ibrehem Rahman are the first Survivor contestants from the state of Alabama.
- Bobby Jon is the only contestant to be eliminated from a tribe of 2 remaining castaways.
- Bobby Jon is one of seven castaways to be eliminated without being voted out, medically evacuated, or quitting. The others are Rupert Boneham, Paschal English, Jonathan Libby, Wanda Shirk, Katie Collins and Jessica Lewis.
- Bobby Jon is the only castaway to outlast more than half of the other castaways in a season, but be eliminated before the jury stage.
- Bobby Jon was the lowest ranking contestant from Palau to return and the only returning player from Palau to never become a finalist, as Tom Westman won the season and Stephenie LaGrossa was in the final two in Guatemala.
- Bobby Jon was the first person who was eliminated before the merge of their original season and return for a second season.
- Bobby Jon is one of fourteen castaways (the others being Rob Mariano, Shii Ann Huang, Russell Swan, Michael Skupin, Francesca Hogi, Colton Cumbie, Monica Culpepper, Jeff Varner, Kimmi Kappenberg, Andrew Savage, Kelley Wentworth, Caleb Reynolds, and Michaela Bradshaw) that returned for a second season despite not reaching the jury stage in their original season.
- Bobby Jon is one of eight castaways to compete in back-to-back seasons (the others are Rupert Boneham, Stephenie LaGrossa, Amanda Kimmel, James Clement, Russell Hantz, Malcolm Freberg, and Michaela Bradshaw).
- He is the only contestant to play back-to-back within the first 20 seasons of Survivor and not return for a third season.
References
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