Daniel "Dan" Rengering is a contestant from Survivor: David vs. Goliath.
Dan is known for his one-sided showmance with Kara Kay, strong bonds with Christian Hubicki and John Hennigan, and his ability to locate two Hidden Immunity Idols. After coasting through the pre-merge with strong challenge performances, he ended up wasting one of his idols on Angelina Keeley shortly after the merge. At the next Tribal Council, he was blindsided when Carl Boudreaux played the Idol Nullifier, rendering Dan's second idol powerless, leaving him to get voted out in 11th place.
Profile
Retrieved from CBS.com
Age: 27
Hometown: Lake Butler, Florida
Current Residence: Gainesville, Florida
Occupation: S.W.A.T. Officer
Hobbies: Working out in the gym, running at the stadium, or running the S.W.A.T. obstacle course, playing video games, and having date nights with my daughters.
Pet peeves: I can't stand people that are lazy. Go out and get what you want! Don't complain about it and do nothing and expect it to happen. I also hate when people cut me off while I'm talking. Please let me finish what I have to say, it may be important.
Three words to describe you: Determined, athletic, and competitive.
What's your personal claim to fame? I am extremely proud of making our S.W.A.T. team. I had to work extremely hard to lose a ton of weight to be physically able to even try out, much less do well enough to make the team. I was one of the youngest and least experienced people to ever make our S.W.A.T. team.
Who or what is your inspiration in life? My hero is my stepfather, Tim. Tim met my mother shortly after my parents separated. My whole life he has always been a steady father figure and an amazing role model. He taught me the value of hard work and how to be a humble man. When I met Tim at seven years old, he had nothing. My mother and him worked diligently and started a company from nothing and now want for nothing. Don't get me wrong, they aren't billionaires, but they pretty much do what they want when they want. Tim works many long hours and long nights to provide an amazing life to our family. The best part about him is you will never hear him brag about it. There is a song written by Brad Paisley that makes me think of him and brings tears to my eyes when I hear it. It's called "He Didn't Have to Be." It talks about how his stepfather was a great father to him and he hoped that he can be half the dad that he didn't have to be. That describes how I feel about Tim.
If you could have three things on the island what would they be and why? A picture of my kids because I will miss them terribly. A Kindle with lots of books for entertainment. A hammock so I can have somewhere comfortable to sleep.
Which Survivor contestant are you most like? I feel like I can relate to Malcolm from Season 25 the most. I feel like I'm young and athletic like he is and that I could do well in the challenges, making me an asset to my team in the beginning. I also feel like I can play the game strategically like he did, helping me run deep in the game. I work in a profession that requires me to be able to talk to any type of person through all walks of life and be able to relate and convince them to do things that I may need them to do. Malcolm was such a likeable person that he was voted off because three other contestants knew they wouldn't beat him in the final vote. I feel like I'm a very likeable person. I am able to make friends and relate to people anywhere I go.
What's your reason for being on Survivor? My primary motivation for being on the show is to win. A million dollars would be a great way for me to provide a great life for my children that I wouldn't be able to do otherwise. My secondary motivation is my desire to compete. I love competing and I love winning. I haven't been able to compete at a high level since I played college football and I would love to be able to compete against other gifted men and women.
Why do you think you'll "survive" Survivor? I believe that I could be the winner for multiple reasons. I have a strong desire to win. I always want to win at absolutely everything I do. Whether it be checkers with my girls or just trying to be the first one to a call for service at work. I always want to be first. I have a strong work ethic. When I put my mind on something and decide that's what I want, I go and get it. Prime examples would be making our S.W.A.T. team. Prior to trying out, I was a very overweight guy. I decided that I wanted to be more than just a regularly everyday beat cop and I did whatever it took to do it. I changed my diet drastically, I worked out every single day, and I went to the track and ran sprints 2-3 times a week. Lastly, I'm very good with people. My career requires me to be able to talk to people all day. Everything I do at work requires interaction with people, and more importantly people who are typically either angry or distressed. I am very good at talking to people and convincing them to do things that they typically wouldn't want to do. I am quite skilled at calming people down when they are upset or angry.[2]
Survivor
Dan was initially placed on the Goliath tribe, where he immediately formed a showmance with Kara Kay. The following day, the entire tribe commenced on a search for the Hidden Immunity Idol which Dan found and later revealed to Kara and Natalia Azoqa. He hid the idol in his jacket as he believed no would think to look there, though unbeknownst to him, Jeremy Crawford looked in his jacket and found the idol and revealed the information to the rest of the tribe. After Goliath lost their first Immunity Challenge on Day 9, Dan joined the tribe in unanimously taking out Jeremy.
After the Tribe Switch the following day, Dan was switched to the new Tiva tribe along with fellow Goliath Alison Raybould and John Hennigan, along with former David members Christian Hubicki and Gabby Pascuzzi. While initially upset that he and Kara were separated, Dan was able to bond with Christian and John, and the three formed a "brochacho" alliance. On Day 14, Dan found the clue to the Tiva idol around camp, later finding it at Immunity Challenge the following day. Tiva would prove to be the most successful of the three tribes, never once losing immunity.
When the tribes merged into the Kalokalo tribe on Day 18, Dan reconnected with Kara and told only her about his second idol. After finding out from Kara that Elizabeth Olson was targeting him, Dan became infuriated. Although he was annoyed at Angelina Keeley, he was adamant about the seven remaining Goliaths taking control of the game. However, Angelina complicated things by telling Elizabeth that she was going home next, and it seemed like Dan was considering flipping, but the tribe instead unanimously voted out Elizabeth. Dan then went on to win a crucial Immunity Challenge on Day 22, as the Davids were trying to target him. When Davie Rickenbacker played his idol for Christian at Tribal Council, Dan put his animosity toward Angelina aside and played one of his idols on her. Unfortunately for Dan, the Davids split their votes and were still able to vote John out with three votes.
In the aftermath of the chaotic Tribal Council, Dan felt angry and excluded at how the Goliaths plotted without him. When Kara tried to console him, he lashed out on her which caused Kara to have doubts about her alliance with Dan, leading to Alison and Alec Merlino considering blindsiding him as well. However, Mike White convinced him and Kara that the Goliaths needed to take out Christian while they still had the majority. With Christian failing to win immunity, the Goliaths seemed set on voting him out at Tribal Council, until Nick Wilson used his vote steal against Alison. This gave the five Davids control of six of the eleven votes unless Dan played his idol correctly. Dan did in fact play his idol on himself, though he and the rest of his alliance were shocked to learn that an Idol Nullifier played by Carl Boudreaux on Dan negated his idol, leaving him still vulnerable and ultimately becoming the third member of the jury.
At the Final Tribal Council, Dan pointed out to Mike that he was never around when the others were setting up camp, and asked him where he was when everyone was setting up camp. He contributed to Nick's 7-3-0 victory by voting for him to win.
Voting History
| Dan's Voting History | ||
|---|---|---|
| Episode | Dan's Votes |
Voted Against Dan |
| 1 | Goliath Tribe Immune | |
| 2 | Goliath Tribe Immune | |
| 3 | Jeremy | - |
| 4 | Tiva Tribe Immune | |
| 5 | Tiva Tribe Immune | |
| 6 | Tiva Tribe Immune | |
| 7 | Elizabeth | - |
| 8 | Individual Immunity | |
| 9 | Christian | Carl, Christian, Davie, Gabby, Nick (x2)2 |
| Voted Out, Day 25 | ||
| Voted for Sole Survivor |
Nick | |
^1 In "You Get What You Give", Davie used a Hidden Immunity Idol on Christian, negating Dan's vote against him.
^2 In "Breadth-First Search", Dan used a Hidden Immunity Idol, however Carl played an Idol Nullifier on Dan, therefore nullifying his Idol.
Post-Survivor
This section is empty. You can help by adding to it.
Trivia
- Dan is the first person to play a Hidden Immunity Idol, then also have its effects negated by an Idol Nullifier.
- Dan's 28th birthday was on Day 10 of David vs. Goliath.
- Dan lost 26 lbs. during his time on David vs. Goliath.[3]
References
| Survivor: David vs. Goliath Castaways | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||
