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Nicolas Joseph Caleb "Nick" Wilson[2] is the Sole Survivor of Survivor: David vs. Goliath. He would later compete on Survivor: Winners at War.

Nick's laziness around camp put him in danger of becoming the first boot, but he was given a second chance after Pat Cusack was medically evacuated prior to the first Tribal Council. Thereafter, he formed numerous alliances with both his original and post-switch tribemates, including a final three alliance with Jabeni tribemates Angelina Keeley and Mike White. After the merge, Nick and the David Alliance used numerous advantages to overcome the majority Goliath Alliance. While Nick was seen as a big threat to win in the endgame, he avoided elimination and reached the Final Tribal Council due to his alliance and ability to win the last three challenges. After a strong performance at the Final Tribal Council, Nick's social and strategic game, combined with his underdog status, won him the title of Sole Survivor over Mike and Angelina in a 7-3-0 vote.

Nick returned in Winners at War, where he found himself in a position of power pre-merge due to his alliance with Sophie Clarke, Wendell Holland, and Yul Kwon. Following the merge, Nick was targeted for being a low-level threat, but soon found himself in a comfortable spot. Together with Tony Vlachos, he consistently leveraged his swing vote position to flip between alliances. However, his duplicity caught up with him and he was blindsided at the final six. He failed to win the second re-entry duel and left the game in 7th place.

Profile

Retrieved from CBS.com

Age: 27
Hometown: Williamsburg, Kentucky
Current residence: Williamsburg, Kentucky
Occupation: Public Defender
Hobbies: Boating on the lake, four-wheeler riding, and tailgating football games and Keeneland horse races.
Pet peeves: People getting offended over every little thing and know-it-alls.
Three words to describe you: Charming, outgoing, and intelligent.
What's your personal claim to fame? Becoming a Redneck Lawyer! I am a first generation college student and the first in my family to get a bachelor degree. I am also proud of myself for being a public defender to help people instead of chasing money—especially because money and the thought of being rich motivated me in school.
Who or what is your inspiration in life? Mamaw Joan—my grandma. She is the most selfless person I've ever met. When my mom and dad got divorced she raised me and my four siblings while we stayed with my dad. She taught me life-changing lessons like the value of hard work and the importance of helping others. She also taught me how to enjoy a beer and some bluegrass music. Work hard, play hard, love hard. Her favorite quote was, "If you don't use it, you lose it!"
If you could have three things on the island, what would they be and why? A cooler, beer, and a radio. Nothing beats being outdoors and putting a few back. As great as it is at a tailgate, on the lake, or at a bonfire, I bet it would be even more enjoyable on the beaches of Fiji.
Which Survivor contestant are you most like? J.T. from Tocantins, Heroes vs. Villains, and Game Changers. I've got that Southern charm. I can be hard headed when in the heat of a competition. I'll either win or get myself sent home with a massive swing for the fences. No regrets!
What's your reason for being on Survivor? I think there are three reasons people play Survivor: adventure, money, and fame. My primary motivation is the experience and adventure! It has been my dream to play this game since I was a little kid. I want to push myself even further in life then I already have and test myself. My secondary motivation is the money. If I had a million dollars, I could pay off my student loans, which would open up my career options a little more. Money is not my primary motivation, because I anticipate I will make a million dollars in my career at some point. I do not care about fame. These days, Survivor contestants are only famous for about six months, anyways.
Why do you think you'll "survive" Survivor? I know I could be the final Survivor because I am the total package for this game, First, I am an adamant, hard-working son of a gun. I have chased my dreams my whole life and achieved those, despite humble beginnings. Second, I am a likeable, social guy. Third, I am physically fit and stronger than I look. I will do great in the challenges—tribal and individual, physical and puzzle. Fourth, I am very smart and it is hidden well behind my accent and appreciation for small town life. I will definitely be underestimated. Finally, I am a Survivor strategy expert. I am a super fan who has analyzed every season and every move. As I said, I am the Survivor total package.[3]

Hometown: Williamsburg, Kentucky
Current residence: Williamsburg, Kentucky
Previous season: Winner of Survivor: David vs. Goliath (Season 37)
Occupation: Attorney
Hobbies: Fantasy baseball, hiking, riding four-wheelers (off-road vehicles), fishing, boating on the lake, tailgating at football games and horse races, and anything outdoors!
Pet peeves: Know-it-alls, closed-mindedness, judgmental people, unwarranted outrage, or to sum it all in one word: Twitter.
Three words to describe you: Charming, cunning, and cheeky.
When did you first watch Survivor? Season 1 finale.
Do you still watch Survivor? Every Wednesday! I am even considering starting a Survivor podcast.
Who is your inspiration in life? Sandra, because I want to be the next two-time winner.
What does Survivor mean to you and your family? Survivor has helped me through hard times. For example, it was a great escape from the stresses of law school. And on a more serious note, I specifically remember when my mom had recently passed away, I was moved by Rodney grieving the loss of his sister on Season 30. I bawled my eyes out. It was a much-needed therapeutic experience.

My family has always watched Survivor and tried to watch it together when we could. When my dad came to Fiji for the family visit, it was a monumental experience that strengthened our relationship. Because of that moment, we are still closer to this day.
What is one way playing Survivor changed your life? It made me realize what is important in life. I don't have to focus my career on making money. I can focus my life on my family and my career on helping people.
As Survivor approaches Season 40 and celebrates 20 years on television, what does it mean to be a part of the legacy? It is a dream come true for me to be a part of the 20-year celebration of Survivor. Only two years ago, I was daydreaming about how I could ever even get the opportunity to be cast on the show. Now, I am the winner of one of Survivor's greatest seasons, and I am placed in the same category as the legends I used to look up to! It is a great honor. I am a Survivor legend! How amazing! What a blessing!

How will you play differently than you did in your past season? When I won David vs. Goliath, I never received a single vote against me. I was able to disguise my strategic ability and knowledge of the game under my country accent and chill demeanor. I was able to fly under the radar and build one-on-one relationships with nearly every single player in the game. This time, if I don't receive a single vote the entire game, I will take it as an insult! Everyone has seen how brilliantly I play Survivor. These legends won't fall for alliance names and my Kentucky charm as easily as a cast of complete strangers did. I won't be able to hide behind bigger threats. So this time, I'm going to be even more aggressive. In short, I am going to have as much fun as possible in the beginning. This is my dream come true and I want to take it all in. Then, I am going to TURN IT ON. No player will be safe from the Kentucky Nick sneaky ninja assassin blindside! This game is where legends are made![4]

Survivor

David vs. Goliath

Nick was initially placed on the David tribe. Early on, Nick was more interested in forming alliances than working at camp, but unbeknownst to him, Carl Boudreaux became irritated with Nick's laziness and began gunning for him should David lose the first challenge. Although David did indeed lose the first Immunity Challenge on Day 3, Tribal Council was cancelled due to Pat Cusack being medically evacuated, thus sparing Nick. The following morning, Nick regrouped and formed an alliance with Christian Hubicki. When David again lost immunity, both he and Christian found themselves as the swing votes for the impeding Tribal Council. Despite Nick wanting Lyrsa Torres out, he eventually joined Christian in voting out Jessica Peet. Upon returning to camp, both Nick and Christian told Davie Rickenbacker that Gabby Pascuzzi was responsible for Jessica's elimination, leading to Nick plotting with Davie and Bi Nguyen about taking out Gabby. However, David won the next Immunity Challenge, putting any plans on hold. 

During the Tribe Switch on Day 10, Nick and Lyrsa were switched to the new Jabeni tribe, where they were outnumbered three to two by the original Goliaths. After Jabeni lost immunity on Day 15, Natalie Cole tried to force Nick into giving her his jacket on behalf of Angelina Keeley, earning Nick's ire. Both he and Lyrsa then tried to convince Mike White to turn against Natalie, who had been rubbing her original Goliath tribemates the wrong way with her abrasive personality. At Tribal Council, Mike sided with Nick and Lyrsa, voting out Natalie. When Jabeni lost immunity again, Nick and Mike contemplated on which of Angelina or Lyrsa to take out. Eventually, Nick joined Angelina and Mike in sending Lyrsa home. 

When the tribes merged into the Kalokalo tribe on Day 18, Nick became a part of a cross-tribal alliance with Christian and Gabby, along with Goliaths Mike, Alec Merlino, and Alison Raybould. At the first post-merge Tribal Council, he joined the rest of the tribe in unanimously eliminating Elizabeth Olson. The following morning, Nick and Davie found a clue to an advantage. With Carl and Davie's help, Nick was able to find the advantage, which turned out to be a Vote Steal. With the David Alliance down in numbers at the following Tribal Council, Davie played his Hidden Immunity Idol on Christian, and Nick, Christian, and Davie were able to blindside John Hennigan by splitting the minority vote and flushing one of Dan Rengering's idols. Still down in numbers to the opposing Goliath Alliance, Nick used his advantage at the next Tribal Council on Day 25 to steal Alison's vote. Carl then used his Idol Nullifier in tandem with Nick's Vote Steal to nullify Dan's second idol, sending Dan to the jury.

Nick and Davie woke up early the next morning to search for a new idol, with Nick finding a clue saying that the idol was on the other side of the island and that he would have to wait until dark to find it. That night, Nick snuck off to find the idol, and successfully claimed it for himself. Feeling confident, he then took the offer to sit out of the next Immunity Challenge, along with Angelina and Carl. At Tribal Council, he joined the rest of the tribe in unanimously voting out Alec for being a physical threat. With the David Alliance now in the majority, Carl led the charge to eliminate Alison next. Although Nick was on board with the plan, Gabby became irritated with Carl's approach. At the next Tribal Council, both Christian and Gabby betrayed the David Alliance and joined Alison, Mike, and Kara Kay in blindsiding Carl.

Upon returning from Tribal Council, Nick was upset with Christian over Carl's blindside and declared that his alliance with Christian was over. The following morning Nick met his father Jim at the family visit. Nick and Angelina won the subsequent Reward Challenge, choosing Davie and Mike to join them. During the reward, they voiced their intentions to reach the final four together. Following the Immunity Challenge, Nick agreed with Gabby about blindsiding Christian, but then he, Angelina, and Mike came up with a plan to put two votes on Gabby in case Christian played his idol. At Tribal Council, Christian played the idol on himself, and Gabby was instead sent to the jury.

After Gabby's elimination, Nick made a fake idol and "found" it under the raft in front of Angelina, Christian, and Mike so that they would not search for a real one. However, Davie was leery of Nick's ruse and told Christian that Nick possibly had two idols and that he planned to blindside Nick. Leading up to the next Tribal Council, Nick realized that Alison was a physical threat. He revealed to Davie that his raft idol was fake, and Davie agreed to vote against Alison with him. However, Mike pulled Nick aside and told him that Davie had targeted him earlier, before trying to get Nick on board with voting out Christian before Davie. At Tribal Council, Davie played an idol on himself, prompting Nick to play his fake idol to get a read on his tribemates' reactions. He then played his real idol on himself, but received no votes, and Christian was voted out.

Nick won his first individual immunity on Day 36, and chose to share the reward with Angelina and Mike. On the reward, Nick and Mike helped Angelina find an idol for herself before Nick and Angelina agreed to target Alison next. At Tribal Council however, Nick was shocked when the former Goliath Alliance banded together to blindside Davie. An angry Nick confronted Angelina and Mike over Davie's blindside, and worked to ensure that Alison would go home next. After Nick won the next Immunity Challenge, however, he and Kara considered taking out Mike instead for being a threat. However, he and Kara eventually sided with Angelina and Mike to send Alison to the jury. Nick then won the Final Immunity Challenge on Day 38. He then voiced his intention to take Angelina to the end, prompting Kara and Mike to practice making fire. Mike ultimately beat Kara to join Nick and Angelina in the Final Three.

At the Final Tribal Council, Nick was commended for his social and strategic acumen, as well as his immunity wins, but was criticized for his game peaking too early. In the end, Nick's strategic moves, strong social game, and underdog status were preferred over Mike's late strategic dominance and Angelina's selfish gameplay, and he was awarded the title of Sole Survivor over Mike and Angelina in a 7-3-0 vote.

Voting History

Nick's Voting History
Episode Nick's
Votes
Voted Against
Nick
1 No Tribal Council
2 Jessica -
3 David Tribe Immune
4 Jabeni Tribe Immune
5 Natalie -
6 Lyrsa -
7 Elizabeth -
8 John -
9 Dan+
Dan1
-
10 Alec -
Alison -
11 Christian2 -
12 Christian -3
13 Alison Individual Immunity
Alison Individual Immunity
Jury Votes
for Nick
Alec, Carl, Dan, Davie,
Elizabeth, Gabby, John
Sole Survivor, Day 39

^1 In "Breadth-First Search", Nick used a Vote Steal advantage on Alison, allowing him to cast an additional vote in Alison's place.
^2 In "So Smart They're Dumb", Christian used a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating Nick's vote against him.
^3 In "Are You Feeling Lucky?", Nick used a Hidden Immunity Idol, but did not negate any votes against him.

Winners at War

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Voting History

Nick's Voting History
Episode Nick's
Votes
Voted Against
Nick
1 Dakal Tribe Immune
Amber Amber
2 Dakal Tribe Immune
3 Dakal Tribe Immune
4 Kim Tyson
5 Sele Tribe Immune
6 Parvati -
7 Yul -
8 Adam -
9 Adam Denise, Sarah
10 Tyson -
11 Sophie -
12 Kim -
13 Jeremy Individual Immunity
Denise Ben, Denise,
Sarah, Tony
Voted Out, Day 34
14 On Edge of Extinction
Eliminated, Day 35
Voted for
Sole Survivor
Tony

Post-Survivor

  • On January 14, 2019, Nick received the key to the city of Williamsburg, Kentucky and was given his own day, "Nick Wilson Day" on January 16.[5]
  • On February 27, 2019, Nick became engaged to Grisel Vilchez.[6]

Trivia

References

Preceded by
Ghost Island
S36 wendell t
Wendell Holland
Sole Survivor
Titleholder

David vs. Goliath
S37 nick t
Nick Wilson
Succeeded by
Edge of Extinction
S38 chris t
Chris Underwood
Survivor: David vs. Goliath Castaways
 Alec
Goliath
S37 alec t
 Alison
Goliath
S37 alison t
 Angelina
Goliath
S37 angelina t
 Bi
David
S37 bi t
 Carl
David
S37 carl t
 Christian
David
S37 christian t
 Dan
Goliath
S37 dan t
 Davie
David
S37 davie t
 Elizabeth
David
S37 elizabeth t
 Gabby
David
S37 gabby t
 Jeremy
Goliath
S37 jeremy t
 Jessica
David
S37 jessica t
 John
Goliath
S37 john t
 Kara
Goliath
S37 kara t
 Lyrsa
David
S37 lyrsa t
 Mike
Goliath
S37 mike t
 Natalia
Goliath
S37 natalia t
 Natalie
Goliath
S37 natalie t
 Nick
David
S37 nick t
 Pat
David
S37 pat t
Survivor: Winners at War Castaways
 Adam
Sele
S40 adam t
 Amber
Dakal
S40 amber t
 Ben
Sele
S40 ben t
 Danni
Sele
S40 danni t
 Denise
Sele
S40 denise t
 Ethan
Sele
S40 ethan t
 Jeremy
Sele
S40 jeremy t
 Kim
Dakal
S40 kim t
 Michele
Sele
S40 michele t
 Natalie
Sele
S40 natalie t
 Nick
Dakal
S40 nick t
 Parvati
Sele
S40 parvati t
 Rob
Sele
S40 rob t
 Sandra
Dakal
S40 sandra t
 Sarah
Dakal
S40 sarah t
 Sophie
Dakal
S40 sophie t
 Tony
Dakal
S40 tony t
 Tyson
Dakal
S40 tyson t
 Wendell
Dakal
S40 wendell t
 Yul
Dakal
S40 yul t
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