Gary Stritesky (also known as Papa Smurf) is a contestant from Survivor: Fiji.
The only applicant on his season, Gary was a well-liked figure on his tribe. He chose to quit the game after he suffered an allergic reaction to bug bites, thus making him the lowest-placing member of Moto.
Profile[]
Retrieved from CBS.com
Born and raised in Silver Lake, Minnesota, Gary Stritesky attended Silver Lake High School where he participated in football, basketball, track and baseball. He then attended St. Cloud State University and also trained at Brooks Barber School which ignited a 14-year career as a barber. He also participated in a real estate program at Anoka-Ramsey Community College.
Stritesky currently works as a school bus driver and carpenter. He recently built a six-unit townhome complex for senior citizens in Silver Lake, Minnesota. He was previously in the military, stationed in Vietnam for eight months in 1971. He has also worked as a taxi cab driver and landscaper. In 1990, Stritesky spent a year living in Melbourne, Australia, with his family during his wife's teacher exchange program. In 2002, they returned to Perth, Australia, for another year as a result of his wife's second teacher exchange program.
Stritesky has competed in multiple inline skate marathons. He also enjoys biking, canoeing and coaching. He spent many years coaching his children's soccer, baseball, basketball and football teams. At least once a year, Stritesky travels to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, taking part in portaging, canoeing, fishing and enjoying the solitude of the northern Minnesota lakes. He has biked in many areas of Minnesota, including leading a scout group to camp and family trips. He also participated in a cross-country biking adventure while in Australia.
Stritesky currently resides in Ramsey, Minnesota with his wife of 34 years, Diane. They have four children, Aaron, Alison, Leah and Kara and two grandchildren. His pet bulldog, Dobber, recently passed away. They have since adopted Harley and Blaze, two miniature dachshunds, and just returned their pet snapping turtle, Snappy, to the wilderness. Stritesky's birth date is September 16, 1951.[1]
Survivor[]
After Sylvia Kwan divided the tribes on Day 3, Gary joined Moto. The tribe would ultimately win the season's first challenge, giving Moto the right to stay at the luxurious original camp the nineteen contestants had built. The Moto tribe dominated the challenges, allowing Gary to be immune for the first three Tribal Councils. However, Gary's health deteriorated after bug bites caused him to have an allergic reaction. This came to a head on Day 10, leading the Survivor Medical Team to check on him. While they ultimately concluded that Gary was safe to continue, he felt it was best to quit the game for his health. He finished in 16th place.
| Episode | Tribe Affiliation |
Challenge | Challenge Type | Sit-Out? | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moto | Chariots of Mire | Reward/Immunity | No | Won |
| 2 | Supply Ships | Reward/Immunity | No | Won | |
| 3 | Slip, Slide & Score | Reward | No | Won | |
| U Pick, I Chews | Immunity | No | Won | ||
| 4 | By the Numbers | Reward | Yes | Won | |
| Quit, Day 10 | |||||
Post-Survivor[]
- Gary got a tattoo of the Survivor: Fiji logo on his arm, which he revealed at the Reunion Show.
- On January 9, 2010, Gary attended Survivor's 10-year anniversary party.
Trivia[]
- Gary is the oldest contestant to compete on Fiji.
- Gary is the only Fiji contestant to apply for the show, as the other contestants, including Mellisa McNulty, were recruited.
- Gary is the first contestant to reside in Minnesota during filming.
- Gary is the first contestant to quit the game due to a medical reason. He was later followed by Dana Lambert in Philippines, Bi Nguyen in David vs. Goliath, and Matthew Grinstead-Mayle in Survivor 44.
- Gary is the third of eight castaways to never attend Tribal Council. The first two were Jonathan Libby and Wanda Shirk, and they were followed by Kourtney Moon, Dana Lambert, Pat Cusack, Jackson Fox, and Randen Montalvo.
References[]
| Survivor: Fiji Castaways | ||||||||||||||||||||
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