Robert Carlo "Rob" Mariano (also known as Boston Rob) is a contestant from Survivor: Winners at War.
After his victory in Redemption Island, Rob returned alongside his wife Amber Mariano as one of twenty winners competing in Winners at War. On the Sele tribe, he formed an alliance with fellow old-school winners Ethan Zohn, Parvati Shallow, and Danni Boatwright, though they were outnumbered by an alliance of new-school players. After a tribe switch where he joined the new Yara tribe, Rob's position worsened after he attempted to re-use his "Buddy System" strategy from Redemption Island, much to the ire of his new tribemates, and was unanimously voted out. He became a member of the jury for the first time in his Survivor career after failing to win either re-entry challenge from the Edge of Extinction, eventually placing 17th.
Profile[]
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Current residence: Pensacola, Florida
Previous seasons: Survivor: Marquesas (Season 4), Survivor: All-Stars (Season 8), Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (Season 20), Winner of Survivor: Redemption Island (Season 22), Mentor on Survivor: Island of the Idols (Season 39)
Occupation: Construction
Hobbies: Fishing, poker, ice hockey, and golf.
Pet peeves: Cry babies.
Three words to describe you: Competitive, adventurous, and consistent.
When did you first watch Survivor? From the beginning.
Do you still watch Survivor? Yes.
Who is your inspiration in life? My parents.
What does Survivor mean to you and your family? I have my family because of Survivor!
What is one way playing Survivor changed your life? I have my family because of Survivor!
As Survivor approaches Season 40 and celebrates 20 years on television, what does it mean to be a part of the legacy? It's an honor to have played this game from the very beginning and I'm grateful for everything that Survivor has brought to my life. This season is truly monumental and a celebration and I'm so proud to be a part of it!
How will you play differently than you have in your past seasons? Always got to adapt![1]
Survivor[]
Rob returned alongside Amber for a record fifth time for the show's 20th anniversary. He was placed on the Sele tribe, while Amber was on Dakal. At the season's first Reward/Immunity Challenge, Rob and Ben Driebergen beat Tony Vlachos and Wendell Holland to earn one point for Sele, but Dakal ended up winning the challenge, sending Sele to Tribal Council. Fortunately for Rob, his target was defused by Adam Klein and Denise Stapley alienating themselves from the tribe early on. Rob and Parvati Shallow discussed their past together in Heroes vs. Villains and agreed to work together this time. After finding out from Ben that Danni Boatwright was targeting him, he confronted her, but she came clean. Rob, feeling like he could trust her due to her truthfulness, talked to her about working together and brought her into an old-school alliance consisting of himself, Parvati, and Ethan Zohn.
On Day 2, Rob was approached by Ethan, who brought up Adam's idea about targeting Natalie Anderson due to her pre-existing relationship with Jeremy Collins. Rob was open to that and considered himself the swing vote. Prior to Tribal Council, Rob and Parvati talked about how shocked they were that they were not targeted despite their dangerous reputations. At Tribal Council, Rob and his allies sided with Adam and Denise, resulting in Natalie's elimination. In the following Immunity Challenge, Sele fell behind due to Jeremy struggling to get over the barrel roll, but Rob helped him get over (after nearly single-handedly assisting his other tribemates), and Sele ultimately won the challenge. Rob however voiced his concern over not being able to protect Amber while leaving the challenge. The following morning, Rob found a Fire Token in his bag, and his worries that Amber was voted out were confirmed. He believed Sandra Diaz-Twine may have been responsible for Amber's elimination.
On Day 6, Sele lost immunity due to Rob struggling in the puzzle. At camp, Danni approached Rob about voting out Parvati. He lied to her by saying yes, but then stated in a confessional that he was not going to turn on his closest ally. Rob told Ethan and Adam about Danni's plan and that he would like to get Danni out. At Tribal Council, Rob demanded everyone to empty their bags so they could see who had the Hidden Immunity Idol; everybody obliged. Danni became the third person voted out. Sele lost immunity again on Day 9. Wanting to keep Rob in the fold, Adam told Rob about the plan to blindside Parvati. Rob relayed this to Michele Fitzgerald and Parvati and talked to them about blindsiding Adam. While Rob, Parvati, and Ethan voted for Adam, the new-school players minus Adam blindsided Ethan to weaken Rob.
On Day 11, as Adam attempted to perform damage control after being left out of the previous vote, he stonewalled Rob and Parvati when they asked him what the plan was. Regardless, Rob lied that Adam was scheming with him once again, making Jeremy and Michele lose trust and consider voting Adam off next. However, Rob and Michele pulled a come-from-behind victory in the Immunity Challenge, thus keeping Sele from Tribal Council. A tribe switch then occurred on Day 12 . Rob was moved to the new Yara tribe along with Ben and Adam, and were joined by original Dakal members Sarah Lacina and Sophie Clarke. At camp, Rob attempted to find an idol, but failed to find it. After Yara lost immunity on Day 14, Rob, Adam, and Ben agreed to settle their differences and use their numerical advantage to take out Sarah, due to Sophie being needed for her strength in challenges. Rob enforced the "Buddy System" so that Sophie and Sarah had no chance to plot, though this earned him the ire of the rest of the tribe, who did not like that Rob had to be in total control. At Tribal Council, Ben and Adam sided with Sophie and Sarah and blindsided Rob for being too big of a threat. After leaving Tribal Council, Rob bequeathed his Fire Tokens to Parvati and headed to the Edge of Extinction, where he reunited with Amber.
Rob managed to find three tokens during a task on the Edge of Extinction. On Day 19, Rob and the other inhabitants of the Edge competed in the re-entry challenge. Amber gave him her Fire Token, allowing him to purchase one advantage in the challenge and one Hidden Immunity Idol for use if he re-entered the game. Rob took the initial lead; however, Tyson Apostol and Natalie reached the final phase of the challenge shortly after him. Ultimately, Tyson narrowly beat Rob by getting his ball in the hole first. Rob returned to the Edge to await another chance to return to the game.
Rob spent another 15 days on the Edge of Extinction, but attended every Tribal Council as a member of the jury, making this the first time Rob has ever been on a jury in his Survivor career. During one effort task, he fell on one of the rocks, injuring his elbow as a result, which caused the other players to pass him. However, Rob pushed to complete the challenge despite having lost his chance at receiving Fire Tokens, as he refused to quit.
On Day 35, Rob alongside the other Edge of Extinction inhabitants competed in the second and final re-entry challenge. While Rob reached the final part of the challenge quickly without any advantage, he ultimately lost, resulting in his permanent elimination. He was the fourth member of the jury, making this the first time he would be voting for someone to win as a member of the jury.
At the Final Tribal Council, Rob asked Natalie why she isolated the others during her time on the Edge and did not compete against Tony in the fire-making challenge. At the voting booth, he said that Natalie nearly played a perfect game, but fell short because she didn't succeed in eliminating Tony. He cast his vote for Tony to win the title of Sole Survivor, which he did in a 12-4-0 vote, making him the show's second ever two time winner after Sandra.
| Episode | Tribe Affiliation |
Challenge | Challenge Type | Sit-Out? | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sele | Marooning | Reward/Immunity | No | Lost |
| Blue Lagoon Bustle | Immunity | No | Won | ||
| 2 | Draggin' the Dragon | Reward/Immunity | No | Lost | |
| 3 | Along the Watch Tower | Reward/Immunity | No | Lost | |
| 4 | Beyond the Wheel | Reward/Immunity | No | Won | |
| Switched Tribes, Day 12 | |||||
| 5 | Yara | Block in a Hard Place | Immunity | No | Lost |
| Voted Out, Day 14 | |||||
| 8 | Yara | Back in the Saddle | Re-entry | Lost | |
| 14 | Don't Call It a Comeback | Re-entry | Lost | ||
| Eliminated, Day 35 | |||||
Trivia[]
References[]
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