Travis "Bubba" Sampson is a contestant from Survivor: Vanuatu.
One of the members of the Fat Five alliance, Travis, and fellow alliance member Rory Freeman, was sent to the all-female Yasur tribe after a tribe switch. Although the girls were originally voting for Rory at the next Tribal Council, Travis's messages to Chris Daugherty at the Immunity Challenge caused the girls to swiftly eliminate him.
Profile[]
Retrieved from CBS.com
Age: 33
Occupation: Loss Prevention
Home Town: Blountville, TN
Travis "Bubba" Sampson was born and raised in Blountville, Tennessee, where he spent a lot of time working on his grandfather's farm. As a child, Sampson spent a lot of his time with his grandfather, watching wrestling and The Price Is Right. He attended Sullivan Central High School, where he played football all four years. He then attended three years of college at Northeast State Technical Community College in Blountville. He obtained employment at a sales plant and eagerly pursued a career in wrestling on the side. Sampson was granted a tryout match with the National Championship Wrestling (NCW) in Cornelia, Georgia. NCW became the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) when Sampson began doing shows for the World Championship Wrestling and then with World Wrestling Entertainment. He was known to the wrestling community as "Romeo Bliss."
Two years after Sampson was married, he decided to retire from wrestling to make his family his priority. In 2002, Sampson attended Walter State Police Academy, where he received a certificate of basic law enforcement in officer education. He currently lives in Johnson City, Tennessee, with his wife, Jennifer and their four boys, Aaron, 11; Erick, 8; Trevor, 7 and Gabriel, 2 ½.
Sampson currently works in loss prevention at Wal-Mart and also coaches football at the Johnson City Boys and Girls Club. He describes himself as aggressive, persistent and outspoken and enjoys critiquing other people's flaws, showing off when weight training and playing video games. He says his proudest accomplishment is his four sons. His wife is his hero because she went through 38 months of pain to bring them all into this world. He is a member of the NRA, Civil War Historical Society and Police Benevolent Association and is very active with his church.
Travis believes he will bring his leadership, aggressiveness and inventiveness to Survivor: Vanuatu, and his primary reason for participating is to live a life that isn't so ordinary. He believes that he could be the Sole Survivor because he has "learned how to adapt to different people and different situations. I can schmooze anybody, become their best friend then take their butt... and vote them off."
Sampson's birth date is February 19, 1971.[1]
Survivor[]
Travis became a member of the Fat Five alliance on the original Lopevi consisting of himself, Lea Masters, Rory Freeman, Chad Crittenden, and Chris Daugherty. Together, the five of them saved Chris from being voted out after he lost the first Immunity Challenge, ousting Brook Geraghty. Systematically, the older guys maintained their control, taking out John Palyok and Brady Finta at Lopevi's next two Tribal Council visits.
On Day 11, the two tribes shuffled, and Travis became a member of the new Yasur tribe. Realizing the men on the new Lopevi had a number's advantage over the women, Travis attempted to warn former tribemate Chris to throw the Immunity Challenge, whispering "Chris, think about the merge" to him. Unknowingly, Travis's new tribemate Ami Cusack overheard him. The new Yasur lost the Immunity Challenge, putting Travis on the chopping block due to his plotting. Eliza Orlins attempted to save Travis by arguing the possibility of Yasur going on a losing streak without the men. Nevertheless, Travis was voted out in a unanimous 6-1 vote for his attempted plotting with the other tribe.
| Episode | Tribe Affiliation |
Challenge | Challenge Type | Sit-Out? | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lopevi | Fire Starter | Reward/Immunity | No | Lost |
| 2 | By the Numbers | Reward | No | Lost | |
| Four on the Floor | Immunity | No | Won | ||
| 3 | Great Escape Run | Reward1 | No | Won | |
| Immunity | No | Lost | |||
| 4 | Remembrance | Reward | No | Lost | |
| Tribal Tiles | Immunity | No | Lost | ||
| Switched Tribes, Day 11 | |||||
| 5 | Yasur | Dive Masters | Reward | Yes | Lost |
| Outwit, Outplay, Outrig | Immunity | No | Lost | ||
| Voted Out, Day 12 | |||||
| Notes: ^1 Both tribes were sent to Tribal Council. The tribe that won the Reward Challenge earned the right to compete in an individual Immunity Challenge.
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Post-Survivor[]
- Travis attended the 10th anniversary of Survivor along with all of his Vanuatu cast mates.
- In September 2021, Travis contracted COVID-19 and had to be ventilated.[2]
Trivia[]
- During the game, Travis wore a T-shirt with the face of Bob Barker.
- Travis is the only player who switched tribes to be voted off pre-merge in Vanuatu.
References[]
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