John Broward "Brad" Culpepper is a contestant from Survivor: Blood vs. Water and Survivor: Game Changers.
A former NFL player and husband of Survivor: One World contestant Monica Culpepper, he was known for his poor leadership over the Tadhana tribe, which cost them four straight Immunity Challenges. He continued to anger many contestants by voting off them or their loved ones, particularly Candice Cody and Marissa Peterson. His alliance would later betray him by blindsiding him during a tie vote. He was eliminated in 15th place after losing the duel to Laura Morett and John Cody.
Returning for Survivor: Game Changers, Brad played a more patient, collaborative game. He formed early connections with Tai Trang, Troyzan Robertson and Sierra Dawn Thomas, and he played an influential role in blindsiding Malcolm Freberg at a Joint Tribal Council. He was in a comfortable position at the start of the merge. However, after Sarah Lacina flipped, Brad was left in the minority. Even so, his dominance in Immunity Challenges allowed him to make it to the Final Tribal Council. His failure to create bonds with people outside of his alliance, combined with his increasingly prickly attitude in the late stages of the game, caused him to lose the title of Sole Survivor to Sarah in a 7-3-0 vote, leaving him as the runner-up.
Profile
Retrieved from CBS.com
Name (Age): Brad Culpepper (44) Age: 47 Hometown: Tampa, FL |
Survivor
Blood vs. Water
Brad Culpepper came with his wife, returning player Monica Culpepper, for Survivor: Blood vs. Water. However, it was announced by host Jeff Probst on Day 1 that it would be Returning Players vs. Loved Ones, separating the married couple. Brad was placed on the Tadhana tribe. In the First Impressions vote, Brad got a vote from Marissa Peterson. However, Laura Boneham was voted out from Tadhana. Rupert Boneham switched with Laura B., transferring her to Galang and him to Redemption Island. Brad immediately gathered the five guys on the tribe, Caleb Bankston, Hayden Moss, John Cody, Vytas Baskauskas, and himself to form a majority alliance. Tadhana initially had the lead at the first Immunity Challenge of the season. The lead was then lost by Katie Collins and Ciera Eastin during the puzzle portion. Gervase Peterson's gloating after the challenge angered Brad causing him to turn the vote against Gervase's niece, Marissa, who was unanimously voted out at the first Tribal Council.
After Tadhana again lost the Immunity Challenge on Day 6, the alliance decided to target Rachel Foulger in order to bait her boyfriend, returning player Tyson Apostol, into switching with her. Although John wanted the weaker Ciera gone, Rachel was voted out in a 5-2-1 vote. At the next duel, Brad was confronted by a very angry Tyson and Marissa; Tyson was angry with Brad for voting out Rachel and knew very well why Brad had her voted her out. Marissa was angry with Brad for voting out strong people over the weak, but after he told her that was how the game goes, she snapped and shouted, "F*** you, Brad Culpepper", which promoted her uncle, Gervase, to warn her to tone it down. Colton Cumbie decided to quit and Rachel was eliminated from the game. Candice Cody, who had finished first in both duels, gave her husband, John, a clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol both times, with John subsequently sharing the clues with Brad. Tadhana had an early lead at the next Immunity Challenge, but lost yet again, and it was decided that Ciera would go for being useless to the tribe. However, Brad realized that John would listen to Candice if she returned from Redemption Island. This prompted Brad to turn the tribe against John. Despite having reservations, John was blindsided in a unanimous vote.
At the next duel, Brad again came under fire from both Candice and Marissa for voting out John. John came in first, while Marissa was permanently eliminated from the game. Candice told John to give the clue to Monica, though Brad told his wife to burn the clue, to which she complied. Brad thought about voting out Caleb to avoid the heat at the arena, as Caleb's loved one, Colton, had already quit. Brad was unaware that he was actually at the bottom of his own alliance. Tadhana lost once again due to Ciera's poor performance at the puzzle. Brad talked to the girls about voting Caleb out. However, Brad's alliance was tipped off when he failed to appear for a strategy session. At Tribal Council, Brad said that getting rid of someone without a loved one would be a good idea. This caused Caleb to vote against Brad, forcing a tie. In the revote, Vytas voted against Brad, sending him off to Redemption Island in a 3-1 vote.
Candice was delighted to have Brad on Redemption Island referring to it as "the sweetest voice I ever wanted to hear on Redemption Island" so she could beat him. However, this was not the case. While John came in first place, Brad beat out Candice for second place, eliminating her from the competition. John gave Monica another clue, which she promptly burned. Tadhana won the next challenge. Galang unanimously voted out Ciera's mother, Laura Morett, with the purpose of sending Brad home and securing Monica's loyalty. Laura M. would fulfill her purpose as she and John beat out Brad for first and second place respectively, eliminating him from the game.
Voting History
Brad's Voting History | ||
---|---|---|
Episode | Brad's Votes |
Voted Against Brad |
1 | Laura B. | Marissa |
Marissa | - | |
2 | Rachel | - |
3 | John | - |
4 | Ciera; Ineligible |
Caleb, Ciera, Katie; Caleb, Katie, Vytas1 |
Voted Out, Day 10 | ||
5 | On Redemption Island | |
6 | ||
Eliminated, Day 14 |
^1 In One Armed Dude and Three Moms, the vote ended with a 3-3 tie between Brad and Ciera, forcing a revote. Vytas changed his vote to Brad on the revote, sending him to Redemption Island.
Game Changers
“ | We've all changed the game, so to win this game, you gotta go big or go home. | ” |
—Brad |
Brad started on Nuku. He aligned with Sierra Dawn Thomas on Day 1. Nuku won the first two challenges. He was switched to Mana after the Tribe Switch occurred. After Mana lost immunity, Caleb Reynolds was the target for being an outsider and his relationship with Tai Trang. Brad convinced Tai that it would be in his best interest to vote out Caleb. Caleb was unanimously voted out. Tavua won immunity on Day 11. However, the losing tribes (Nuku and Mana) had to go to a Joint Tribal Council, and vote out one member. At Tribal Council, JT Thomas told him that Sierra was the target. Then Brad convinced Tai to play his Hidden Immunity Idol on Sierra which resulted in Malcolm Freberg's elimination. After Mana lost the next Reward Challenge, Brad's tribemate Debbie Wanner called Brad a dictator and lashed out at him.
He remained on Mana after the second tribe switch. He managed to pull in Troyzan Robertson into his alliance. Mana lost the Reward Challenge. At camp, Brad discussed his newfound empathy towards the experiences of his wife Monica, which later prompted Aubry Bracco and Cirie Fields to approach Brad about aligning.
Brad made it to the merge. At the feast, Jeff said two people had to volunteer to sit out. Brad and Tai volunteered. While their tribemates feasted, Brad and Tai reconnected and affirmed their alliance, with Brad targeting Hali Ford and Michaela Bradshaw, outsiders from the third Mana tribe. Hali was blindsided at the merge Tribal Council. On Day 26, Brad's ally Sarah Lacina flipped and blindsided Debbie, thus leaving Brad in the minority.
On Day 30, Brad met Monica at the Loved Ones Challenge. Brad managed to win immunity. However, Sierra was voted out at Tribal Council. Despite losing immunity on Day 33, Brad was spared as the majority decided to target Andrea Boehlke. Andrea was blindsided at Tribal Council, though Brad received two votes. Brad managed to win the next Immunity Challenge. Brad, Troyan, and Sarah managed to blindside Michaela at Tribal Council with the help of Sarah's Vote Steal Advantage.
After the chaotic Tribal Council, Tai felt as if he had lost all his allies; in an attempt to regroup, he told Brad about his two Hidden Immunity Idols. Brad still felt betrayed after Tai eliminated Brad's closest ally, Sierra, and tried to strongarm Tai into giving him one of his Hidden Immunity Idols, with the intention of eliminating Tai with five players remaining. On Day 36, Brad won his third Immunity Challenge. He chose to share the reward with Sarah and Troyzan. During their feast, they conspired to split the votes between Aubry and Tai in case of Tai's Hidden Immunity Idols. Brad voted for Aubry at Tribal Council, but after a series of Hidden Immunity Idols and Sarah's Legacy Advantage were played, Cirie, the only non immune person left, was eliminated by default.
Brad won his 4th Immunity Challenge on Day 37. Both Brad and Troyzan targeted Aubry. Aubry was unanimously voted out at Tribal Council. Brad won the Final Immunity Challenge which was also his 5th Immunity Challenge win. He believed he had won the game, and he wanted Tai out for constantly betraying him. Brad got his way as Tai was unanimously voted out.
At the Final Tribal Council, Ozzy Lusth and Debbie commended Brad for his challenge dominance, and Ozzy told Brad he was his champion, but Michaela and Andrea questioned his lack of social game, Cirie told him she believed Sierra was the brains behind their alliance, and Tai criticized him for his condescending attitude. Brad received votes from Debbie, Ozzy, and Sierra which enabled him to become the runner-up. He defeated Troyzan who came in third place with zero votes, but lost to Sarah who won with seven votes.
At the Live Reunion Show, Brad apologized to Tai for the way he treated him. Jeff polled the jury on who they would have voted for if Tai was in the Final Three instead of Sarah, and the result ended in a 5-5 tie between Brad and Tai, then Jeff said if that happened, the rules state that the finalist out of the running which would be Troyzan in this case would become a juror and select the winner. Troyzan stated he would have vote for Brad so it appeared that Brad would have won in that scenario.
Voting History
Brad's Voting History | ||
---|---|---|
Episode | Brad's Votes |
Voted Against Brad |
1 | Nuku Tribe Immune | |
Nuku Tribe Immune | ||
2 | Caleb | - |
3 | Malcolm | - |
4 | Mana Tribe Immune | |
5 | Mana Tribe Immune | |
6 | Mana Tribe Immune | |
7 | Hali | - |
Ozzy | - | |
8 | Andrea | - |
9 | Tai | - |
10 | Andrea | Individual Immunity |
11 | Andrea | Andrea, Aubry |
Michaela | Individual Immunity | |
12 | Individual Immunity | |
Aubry | Individual Immunity | |
Tai | Individual Immunity | |
Jury Votes for Brad |
Debbie, Ozzy, Sierra | |
Runner-Up, Day 39 |
^1 In No Good Deed Goes Unpunished, Tai used a Hidden Immunity Idol on Aubry, negating Brad's vote against her.
Post-Survivor
- Brad was sued for "fraud and deceit" by the insurance company that paid him in workers' compensation for his 89 percent disability rating two years previous from his appearance in Survivor. According to the lawsuit, Brad told doctors of "low back pain and stiffness which is almost always present," and said he had "quite a bit of difficulty getting into or out of the bath and performing heavy activities around his home" while during his time in Blood vs. Water, he was shown "paddling a canoe, diving under water repeatedly, retrieving large crates and stacking them on the shore".[3]
“ | I was on pain medication, and I had a back procedure right before that. Just because I chose to do things that are contra [sic] to my body, doesn't mean I'm not in pain, and doesn't mean I'm not impaired. This whole lawsuit is ludicrous. I've worked too hard in my life to have this as a headline. | ” |
—Brad Culpepper about the lawsuit |
Trivia
- Brad and Monica Culpepper initially applied for The Amazing Race, but its casting producers suggested they apply for Survivor instead. Monica explained that CBS was more interested with her than with her husband.[4]
- Brad is the fourth former NFL player to compete on Survivor, following Gary Hogeboom, Steve Wright, and Grant Mattos. He would be followed by Tyler Fredrickson and Alan Ball.
- Brad was first approached to be on Survivor: One World.[5]
- Brad is the oldest male member of Tadhana.
- Both Brad and Monica lasted 14 days on their first season and were the runners-up of their second seasons.
- Brad was one of 32 contestants eligible to be selected to compete on Survivor: Cambodia,[6] but was not chosen to be on the final cast. This makes him the only player from Survivor: Blood vs. Water to be on the ballot for Cambodia but not compete.
- Brad has the tribe sigils of Tadhana and Galang tattooed on his body.[7]
- He is the fourth contestant to have Survivor related tattoos, following Gervase Peterson, Gary Stritesky, and Russell Hantz.
- Brad and Troyzan Robertson are the only two players from the Cambodia Second Chance ballot who were not voted on, but still competed on a later season.
- Brad is the sixth castaway to win five Individual Immunity Challenges in a single season, following Colby Donaldson, Tom Westman, Terry Deitz, Ozzy Lusth, and Mike Holloway.
- Of the six, Brad is the only one to achieve this feat in a season with returning players.
References
- ↑ http://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/cast/214729/
- ↑ http://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/cast/215594/
- ↑ http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/89-percent-disability-rating-nfl-star-shines-survivor/story?id=28557340
- ↑ Deggans, Eric (May 10, 2013). "Tampa Bay 'Survivor' Contestants Reminisce about Experiences". Tampa Bay Times. http://www.tampabay.com/features/media/tampa-bay-survivor-contestants-reminisce-about-experiences/2119492. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
- ↑ http://survivoroz.wordpress.com/2014/01/14/brad-culpepper-interview/
- ↑ http://www.ew.com/gallery/survivor-second-chance-contenders/2182883_brad-culpepper
- ↑ https://youtu.be/d-eye5Myxlc?t=57s/
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