Robb Zbacnik

Robert Joseph "Robb" Zbacnik^[1] is a contestant from Survivor: Thailand.

An antagonist to his Sook Jai tribemates Shii Ann Huang and Ken Stafford, Robb is best remembered for intentionally choking Clay Jordan at a Reward Challenge. Due to his temperament and tendency for hostility, his tribe tended to view him as chaotic and obnoxious. After his allies Jed Hildebrand and Stephanie Dill were eliminated, he had a moment of clarity and embarked on an apology tour for his poor behavior. Though this was appreciated, it was too little, too late. When his tribe lost immunity again, he was unanimously voted off.

Profile[]

Retrieved from CBS.com

Due to his father's employment in sales and distribution, Robert Zbacnik previously lived in Minnesota and Colorado, and attended school in California and Arizona. He graduated from Corona Del Sol High School in Tempe, Arizona. In 1999, Cosmopolitan Magazine deemed him Arizona's most eligible bachelor.

Robb is currently a bartender at a popular lounge in Scottsdale, Arizona. In his words, he's a jack-of-all-trades: he's done everything from washing dishes to digging ditches; he even spent some time modeling. He attended Mesa Community College, where he studied philosophy and psychology until he decided to take time off to spend more time with his true passion: snowboarding.

Robb describes himself as spontaneous, outgoing, courageous and fearless. He doesn't eat red meat or dairy, but enjoys sushi and eats it three to five times a week. His idea of a perfect day involves food, fun, exercise and good times spent with friends, or any day that involves snow or wakeboarding. An adventure-seeker at heart, he has also cliff jumped, sky dived and bungee jumped, among other things. He considers his father, his brother-in-law and Muhammad Ali to be his heroes. An avid poetry writer, he enjoys reading nonfiction and motivational books.

Robb is currently single and living in Scottsdale, Arizona. He has one sister, Leeann, and a two year-old nephew, Chase. His birth date is September 12, 1978.^[2]

Survivor[]

Robb was selected by Jake Billingsley as a member of Sook Jai, which consisted of mostly younger castaways. Himself and two other tribe members, Jed Hildebrand and Stephanie Dill elected to sleep on the beach rather than in the shelter, thus ostracizing them from the rest of the tribe. Robb was also known for his rivalry with tribemate Shii Ann Huang, as well as for his spontaneous behavior.

Robb became infamous for grabbing Clay Jordan, a member of Chuay Gahn, around the throat during the third Reward Challenge on Day 7 (he was not in the attack zone when he did that, thus disqualifying him), which contributed to Sook Jai losing their first challenge. Robb became angered over the ordeal, flipping Clay off and calling him a whiny baby afterwards. Upon returning to camp, Robb continued to express anger towards Clay, saying that Clay was a "whiny little punk" and a "backwoods hick", and that he wanted to spit in his face due to Clay screaming during the chokehold. He also stated, "We lost, but not to anyone better than us. We lost to a bunch of rules". This event would later be nominated for "Best Fight" during Survivor: America's Tribal Council.

After his allies Jed and Stephanie were voted out, Robb felt vulnerable. Realizing how outrageous his behavior was, he attempted to make amends with his tribemates over a Thai feast after Sook Jai won the Reward Challenge on Day 16. After Sook Jai lost the the subsequent Immunity Challenge, Robb's turnaround proved to be too little too late as he was voted out in a unanimous 5-1 decision, though he notably took his elimination well and wished his team all the best.

Episode	Tribe Affiliation	Challenge	Challenge Type	Sit-Out	Result
1	Sook Jai	Flying Your Flag	Immunity	No	Won
2		Palanquin Slalom	Reward	No	Won
2		Floating Puzzle	Immunity	No	Won
3		Pilfering Pirates	Reward	No	Lost
3		Temple Transfer	Immunity	No	Lost
4		New Tribe Member	Reward	No	Won
4		Tan-dy Gram	Immunity	No	Won
5		Survivor Auction
5		Catch of the Day	Immunity	No	Lost
6		Wicker Flicker	Reward	No	Won
6		Thai 21	Immunity	Yes	Lost
Voted Out, Day 18

Episode	Robb's Votes	Voted Against Robb
1	Sook Jai Tribe Immune
2	Sook Jai Tribe Immune
3	Shii Ann	-
4	Sook Jai Tribe Immune
5	Shii Ann	-
6	Shii Ann	Erin, Jake, Ken, Penny, Shii Ann
Voted Out, Day 18

Post-Survivor[]

Robb and Shii Ann Huang hosted MTV's Men vs. Women: Rumble in the Jungle, a preview show for Survivor: The Amazon in 2003.^[3]^[4]
On January 9, 2010, Robb attended Survivor's 10-year anniversary party.
In 2011, Robb appeared on VH1 show Saddle Ranch.^[5]

Trivia[]

Robb was on the show ElimiDate, according to his interview with Survivor Oz. Robb described it as a terrible dating show. Also during said interview, one of the people said he should go on Survivor.^[6]
Robb was the youngest contestant to compete on Thailand.
- Robb is the first man to be the youngest contestant in a season.
- Robb is the first person who was the youngest contestant in a season and not make it to the merge.
Robb's Luxury Item was a skateboard.
- According to his Survivor Oz interview, the skateboard was not his first choice. Originally, he chose pen and paper, but Jake Billingsley already brought those. His second choice was a football, but Rob Mariano had that the season prior. Annoyed, Robb jokingly asked what he was supposed to bring, sarcastically announcing it would be a skateboard. The producers then decided that would be his luxury item.^[6]
At every Tribal Council Robb went to, he voted against Shii Ann Huang.
Despite being voted out before the merge, Robb was featured on the season's DVD cover.^[7]
Robb was nominated for Survivor: America's Tribal Council in the "Sexiest Male" category, but lost to Colby Donaldson.