Eric Hafemann is a contestant from Survivor: Edge of Extinction.
Despite maintaining a strong position during the pre-merge, Eric and his close ally Ron Clark soon became targets for being seen as ringleaders of the Kama Six alliance, which resulted in several of their tribemates revolting and blindsiding him at the second post-merge Tribal Council.
Profile[]
Retrieved from CBS.com
Age: 34
Hometown: Chicago
Current residence: Livermore, California
Occupation: Firefighter
Hobbies: Backpacking, basketball, woodworking, and pretty much anything outside.
Pet peeves: My biggest pet peeve is people taking themselves too seriously. Come on, relax people. I try to remember that 99.9 percent of the time I am NOT the smartest, coolest, most interesting, deserving, or important person in the room.
Three words to describe you: Enthusiastic, outgoing, and spontaneous.
What is your personal claim to fame? I am extremely proud of my profession. It was a lot of hard work and took some serious grit to get where I am. I'm proud of that, and what I am now a part of. Good people! I'm also very proud of being a good dad! I had one of the best fathers on the planet, so I have big shoes to fill. So far, it's going pretty good.
Who or what is your inspiration in life? The first person that comes to mind is my older son Levi. Levi is an amazing kid. A couple months before he turned two, he was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Simply put, he has some challenges that most kids don't and yet he is the most joy-filled, free-spirited, hard working kid I know. He really is a special human and I get to be his dad. How rad is that! He is all the motivation I need!
If you could have three things on the island, what would they be and why?
A picture of my family to remind me why I am playing and why I need to play so hard.
A book. Something to feed my mind and something to keep me grounded. Most likely my Bible.
A surfboard.
Which Survivor contestant are you the most like? I have to say Tony Vlachos. I don't think we are very similar people but I think we agree fundamentally on how you play the game. Tony was a grinder from start to finish. He understands that EVERY piece of the game, EVERY moment, EVERY situation has value and can be used to influence your outcome. I think most players only identify the most obvious parts of Survivor as pieces on the board when in reality, every last detail is a movable piece. It's going to be my goal to be "ON" all the time in the game. In other words, to never stop playing. I plan to work angles everywhere and with everyone... all the time. I think this is how you win, by paying attention to the details and then playing off of them. Tony did that I think, and so will I.
What's your reason for being on Survivor? My primary goal of being on the show is for the adventure of it! Adventure is something that is important to me, and something I think I will always pursue. But this adventure is a unique opportunity to practice the things I preach to my sons. The show will give me an opportunity to show them that hard work pays off and that pipe dreams are absolutely worth chasing! This show is a special platform to tell a really good story!
Why do you think you'll "survive" Survivor? I think I have a lot of skills that serve a team well. I have a strong work ethic, I'm good with my hands, I'm strong and physical, and I think I'm good at making people feel valued. Another thing I am good at is keeping/bringing people together. I think I have the gift of mediation, which will be HUGE in Survivor! Someone has to keep the alliance glue sticky... I just might be that guy.[2]
Survivor[]
Eric began the game on the Kama tribe, where he was quickly bonded with his tribe-mates and was recruited into the majority Kama Six alliance. Eric was also a key contributor to Kama going undefeated prior to the tribe switch. Eric ended up on Manu following the switch on Day 9, the only tribe with members from both original tribes. Though Eric attempted to befriend the lone outsider Wendy Diaz, her protectiveness and later release of the chickens further reinforced Wendy's status as the easy target should Manu lose. However, Victoria Baamonde approached Gavin and Eric with a plan to take out the other original Kama member Aubry while they had the opportunity. Victoria would convince Aubry to turn against the two men and attempt to pull Wendy in for the majority, while in reality the majority of votes would go to Aubry. The plan worked to perfection as Aubry was voted out and her Hidden Immunity Idol and Extra Vote were flushed.
Both Manu and Lesu (consisting of four original Manu members) lost the following Immunity Challenge and faced going to a Joint Tribal Council. Wendy pledged her loyalty to Eric and the rest of the original Kama players, and Eric reinforced the idea that Wendy was part of their tribe now that night at Tribal Council. They attempted to vote out Lauren O'Connell, but then chaos ensued after the votes came out tied 4-4 between Lauren and Wendy. In the midst of it, Eric approached David Wright and Wardog DaSilva in what turned out to be a unanimous revote against Wendy. This allowed Eric to be a part of the 8-5 Kama majority once the tribes merged following Rick Devens's return from the Edge of Extinction. Unfortunately for Eric, that majority would not last. The Kama Six's haste in blindsiding Joe right after the merge exposed some cracks within, and Eric and Ron Clark stood out as the vocal leaders. Julia Carter, Gavin, and Victoria became aware of this and with some persuading from Wardog, Eric was blindsided on Day 22 in an 8-2-2 vote.
Despite some early thoughts of raising the mast, Eric chose to stay on the Edge of Extinction, wanting to set a positive example for his sons. Eric would stay for the remainder of the Edge of Extinction's second cycle but lost in the final return challenge. He joined most of his Edge of Extinction comrades in voting for Chris Underwood to win the title of Sole Survivor by a 9-4-0 vote.
| Episode | Tribe Affiliation |
Challenge | Challenge Type | Sit-Out? | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kama | Social Network | Reward/Immunity | No | Won |
| 2 | Serpent Turf | Reward/Immunity | No | Won | |
| 3 | Losing Face | Reward | No | Lost | |
| Beyond the Wheel | Immunity | No | Won | ||
| Switched Tribes, Day 9 | |||||
| 4 | Manu | Yank Your Hank | Immunity | No | 2nd |
| 5 | True Grit | Reward | No | 2nd | |
| A Bit Dinghy | Immunity | No | Lost | ||
| Rod Screw-It | Reward | No | 2nd | ||
| In Through the Out Door | Immunity | No | Lost | ||
| Tribes Merged, Day 17 | |||||
| 6 | Vata | Audio Slave | Immunity | Lost | |
| 7 | Planks a Lot | Reward | Won | ||
| Keep on Your Toes | Immunity | Lost | |||
| Voted Out, Day 22 | |||||
| 13 | Vata | Don't Call It a Comeback | Re-entry | Lost | |
| Eliminated, Day 35 | |||||
| Episode | Eric's Votes |
Voted Against Eric |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kama Tribe Immune | |
| 2 | Kama Tribe Immune | |
| 3 | Kama Tribe Immune | |
| 4 | Manu Tribe Immune | |
| 5 | Aubry | - |
| Lauren; Wendy1 |
- | |
| 6 | Joe | - |
| 7 | Kelley | Aurora, David, Gavin, Julia, Kelley, Lauren, Victoria, Wardog |
| Voted Out, Day 22 | ||
| 8 | On Edge of Extinction | |
| 9 | ||
| 10 | ||
| 11 | ||
| 12 | ||
| 13 | ||
| Eliminated, Day 35 | ||
| Voted for Sole Survivor |
Chris | |
^1 In "It's Like the Worst Cocktail Party Ever", the vote ended with a 4-4 tie between Lauren and Wendy, forcing a revote. Eric changed his vote to Wendy on the revote.
Post-Survivor[]
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Trivia[]
- Eric lost 20 lbs. during his time on Edge of Extinction.[3]
References[]
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