Brendan Synnott is a contestant from Survivor: Tocantins.
Described as "the dragon" that must be slain by Coach Wade, Brendan was sent to Exile Island consistently with Taj Johnson-George, thus forming the secretive cross-tribal Exile Alliance. Despite its secretiveness, the alliance fell from power once Taj picked up on his shiftiness, prompting her to join her Jalapao Three allies in splitting the vote between him and his "bride" Sierra Reed, eventually eliminating him with a Hidden Immunity Idol in his possession.
Profile[]
Retrieved from CBS.com
Brendan Synnott (30)
Hometown: New York, N.Y.
Occupation: Entrepreneur
Brendan Synnott is all about playing the game. Whether it is in front of a classroom teaching entrepreneurial success or taking part in outdoor extreme adventures, he knows how to read the odds.
Raised by a single mom in Connecticut, Brendan pulled himself up by the bootstraps to be the co-founder and CEO of Bear Naked, a natural food brand that was recently acquired by a major corporation. Despite his financial success, he is not all about the money.
Success to him, however, is about more than simply creating, building and selling a thriving business; it's about hard work, passion, fun and surrounding yourself with the best people.
Synnott has always wanted to combine his love of the outdoors with his skills as a leader. In school, he played both football and baseball, and still stays active as much as possible. He loves to compete and says it's a driving force, even in business. It will especially be a driving force on Survivor.
Brendan is single and currently resides in Vail, Colo. His birth date is Sept. 28.[1]
Survivor[]
Brendan started his adventure n the Timbira tribe. When asked about who was the weakest person in the tribe, Brendan voted Erinn Lobdell as the weakest. The rest of the tribe viewed Sierra Reed as the weakest for her illness. Instead of eliminating her, she was given a free ride to the camp. Everyone else had to walk for hours in the hot sun. When they arrived late at night, Sierra had built the shelter. At the challenge, Brendan and Erinn completed the puzzle to win immunity and flint. Because he didn't think she was the weakest, Sierra trusted Brendan enough to tell him about a special Hidden Immunity Idol for Timbira's first Tribal Council. They were forced to abandon the search when Debbie Beebe stumbled upon them. They lied, saying they were making a bonfire pit. At the challenge, despite winning the first two points, Jalapao won immunity and fishing gear. Brendan was exiled and had to choose someone from the winning tribe. Brendan chose Taj Johnson-George to join him. After a while, Brendan and Taj decided to form and Exile Alliance. At Tribal Council, Erinn viewed Brendan as the leader. Candace Smith was voted out unanimously because she targeted Coach Wade.
Jalapao started a winning streak. Brendan was exiled and he brought Taj with him. While in Exile, they decided to bring in Sierra and Stephen Fishbach into the alliance. Coach and Tyson Apostol wanted to blindside Erinn for being Candace's friend. However, Jerry Sims had stomach pains and he struggled in the Immunity Challenge. No one could ignore Jerry's illness and he was unanimously voted out. Brendan tried to tell Sierra about the alliance, but he was unable to do so. Sierra was exiled with Taj. Their winning streak ended when Jalapao won the next Reward Challenge. Brendan was sent to Exile Island again and selected Stephen to join him, during which they discussed strategy. Meanwhile, Coach and Tyson deemed Brendan untrustworthy because he was building relationships with Jalapao. Timbira won the next Reward Challenge, giving them a wonderful picnic next to water creek. Joe Dowdle picked Erinn to join him in Exile in order to charm her. Timbira won immunity, keeping Brendan safe. Brendan grew annoyed with Coach and his stories, calling him "The Biggest fraud in the game."
The next Tree Mail implied a Reward Challenge. Instead, the tribes merged at the merged feast. Brendan felt he should lay low and Taj would see that. However, this worried Taj and made her question her trust in him. Unbeknownst to Brendan, Coach and Tyson decided to align with Stephen and J.T. Thomas to eliminate him and Sierra. All strategizing was put on hold because Joe was medically evacuated due to a knee infection. At the Reward Challenge, Brendan was teamed with Debbie and J.T. After a very close game, Brendan won it for his team. Brendan convinced J.T. to exiled Stephen. The next day, the trio was taken on a river rafting trip and had a picnic lunch afterword. Tyson won immunity again, causing Brendan to target Coach. At Tribal Council, Brendan admitted to having the idol. Brendan was expecting Coach to go, but the Jalapao Three joined Coach in his Split Vote plan. Brendan was blindsided in a 4-3-2 vote, becoming the first member of the jury.
At Final Tribal Council, Brendan started by congratulating the finalists and saying how he enjoyed watching them play the game. Brendan first asked Stephen about his argument about the growth in the game. He said that there isn't a game where you win by growing the most or working the hardest. Stephen responded by saying that Survivor is maybe one of those games and relies on outwitting others. Brendan thought Stephen was saying he was handicapped, which the latter denied. Stephen said he persevered and is leaving the game with many survival skills he learned. Brendan then asked J.T. is growth relevant in deciding the Sole Survivor. J.T. said it was irrelevant, that he outplayed Stephen. In the end, Brendan gave his jury vote to J.T., who would win in a unanimous vote.
| Episode | Tribe Affiliation |
Challenge | Challenge Type | Sit-Out? | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timbira | A River, Run Through It | Reward/Immunity | No | Won |
| 2 | Basket Brawl | Reward/Immunity | No | Lost | |
| 3 | Blind Leading the Blind | Reward | No | Lost | |
| A Crate Idea | Immunity | No | Lost | ||
| 4 | Shoulder the Load | Reward | No | Lost | |
| Try-Any-Angle | Immunity | No | Won | ||
| 5 | Dizziness as Usual | Reward | No | Lost | |
| Water Mortar | Immunity | No | Won | ||
| 7 | When Pigs Fly | Reward | No | Won | |
| Sandstone Shootout | Immunity | No | Won | ||
| Tribes Merged, Day 19 | |||||
| 8 | Forza | Get a Grip | Immunity | Lost | |
| 9 | Rock Block | Reward | Won | ||
| Rope-a-Dope | Immunity | Lost | |||
| Voted Out, Day 24 | |||||
Post-Survivor[]
- On January 9, 2010, Brendan attended Survivor's 10-year anniversary party.
Trivia[]
- Brendan was recruited to be on Survivor when he received a phone call about competing.[2]
- Brendan is the "Dragon" who inspired his rival, Coach Wade, to become the "Dragon Slayer".
- Brendan lost 6 lbs. during his time in Tocantins.[3]
- Brendan is the only man who made the jury phase in Tocantins to not return for a future season.
References[]
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