Tai Trang

Tai Trang
Kaôh Rōng
Contestant Profile
Born	March 23, 1964 (1964-03-23)
Hometown	San Francisco, California
Occupation	Gardener
Survivor Career
Version	United States
Tribe(s)	Gondol Dara
Finish	Second Runner-Up (3/18)
Alliance(s)	Gondol Alliance Dara Women's Alliance (affiliated)
Challenge Wins	11
Votes Against	4
Days Lasted	39
Tribe(s)	Nuku ► Mana ► Nuku [[|]]
Challenge Wins	8
Votes Against	2

Tai Trang is a contestant from Survivor: Kaôh Rōng and Survivor: Game Changers.

In Kaôh Rōng, Tai was a widely-beloved personality on the island, especially in the early days of the game. His ingenuousness, sense of humor and compassion for plants and animals won him a motley array of allies, including Caleb Reynolds, Scot Pollard, and Aubry Bracco. His game took an unexpected turn when he sided with Aubry and betrayed Scot at Tribal Council by declining to form a super idol for the latter. This move earned him widespread distrust. He also struggled with a persistent inability to express himself articulately at Tribal Council, and much of his late-game strategic play was viewed as haphazard or even irrational. Though he was able to navigate to the end of the game, his erratic style was criticized by the jury and he received no votes at Final Tribal Council. Regardless, he remains a fan favorite from the season.

Profile

Retrieved from CBS.com

Kaôh Rōng Game Changers Name (Age): Tai Trang (51) Tribe Designation: Beauty Current Residence: San Francisco Occupation: Gardener Personal Claim to Fame: Being a part of the AIDS Life Cycle ride for the past 13 years. A 545-miles, 7-day camping and bicycle ride from SF to LA to benefit HIV and AIDS services. In total, I've raised over $75,000 for the LA LGBT Center and SF AIDS Foundation. I love this grueling, but fun, mental and physical challenging experience. Inspiration in Life: My parents. They worked so hard to provide for 11 of my siblings. During and after the Vietnam war, we were so poor, we had to eat plain rice with soy sauce for months. Somehow they managed to get us all on a fishing boat to escape Communism and luckily we all survived 11 days on the open ocean. In an Indonesian refugee camp, my mom made and sold one cookie at a time to earn extra money for her children. They are the ones that taught me self-reliance and my mom always reminds me "If you have health and both hands, you can never go to sleep cold or hungry." Hobbies: Planning dinner parties, cooking for friends and keeping bees. I am fascinated by the colony's social structures. I also enjoy reading and discussing fiction in our book club. Pet Peeves: Foodies, double parked cars and lazy people. 3 Words to Describe You: Energetic, resourceful and competitive. If You Could Have 3 Things on the Island What Would They Be and Why? Coffee-my life necessity, I grew up loving Vietnamese coffee since I was 3 years old; a razor- I like to shave my head and face to feel young (a survival must) and clean; "The Windup Bird Chronicle," it's a surreal Japanese fiction that would relax me. SURVIVOR Contestant You Are Most Like: Spencer, I like his positive spirit and determination to survive in given situations, and Bob Crowley, because we're both older, nice, likable players with non-threatening demeanors who work hard. Reason for Being on SURVIVOR: Definitely, the fun of testing my ability to survive in harsh conditions, pushing my body physically and mentally to the fullest. I would love to compete in challenges against younger, stronger or bigger players to prove that size and age does not matter in this game. I believe in playing a good social game, and the nice guy always can win in the end. Also, to win the million dollars! Why You Think You'll "Survive" SURVIVOR: As a gardener and fishermen, I have the outdoor skills to build shelter, climb trees, forage for food, fish and dive. I am a vegetarian but I will harvest sea life for the tribe if it keeps me in the game. I will be useful and work hard at camp. I'm physically fit and will help win challenges. Being the middle child of 11 kids, I know how to get along and be the peacemaker. I can share my childhood war stories to pass time and charm people while bringing good spirit and harmony to the tribe. Why You Think You Will Be the Sole SURVIVOR: Growing up poor and without many of life's comforts, I have the physical and mental stamina to survive in harsh environments. I'm determined and never give up till I get what I'm after. I am short and non-threatening, most people seem to like me and often are drawn to me for whatever reason. I am genuinely nice and will treat everyone well (but don't cross me, not even once). I will do whatever it takes to become the Sole Survivor. Even though it'll be difficult and devastating to betray my alliance, my ultimate goal is to win. I want to be a winner that everyone thinks is a little odd, but endearing, who plays a smart and interesting game with some spicy drama. Age: 52 Hometown: San Francisco, CA Previously played on: Season 32: Brain Vs. Brawn Vs. Beauty, 2nd Runner-up How have you changed since the last time you played? After playing and watching my season unfold, I am more aware and appreciative of how complex Survivor is. I see my pitfalls and how I can improve. It's a delicate balance of being true to oneself and developing trust and friendships, while at the same time knowing who I think I can beat at the end. I hope I have not become jaded or less trustful now. Each game is unique with its own dynamics and I just need to be open and see where it takes me. I need the knowledge from my past season, but not baggage. Survivor is so great and winning is my ultimate goal. What skills do you bring to Survivor that will make you a useful member of the group and what skills have you been learning since you last played? I have proven that I work hard and am helpful around camp. I can start a fire and keep it going. I am resourceful and can forage and fish for food. I am loyal, a nice guy, and get along well with everyone. I am pretty positive and can keep thing light and bring harmony to camp. I am small, but strong and would be good in team challenges. Since the last time I played, I have been taking yoga to focus my mind and strengthen my core. I am also trying to improve my lousy hand and eye coordination by playing in a Bocce ball league. What are you most proud of from the last time? Blindsiding Scot [and] Jason, and sending Scot home. I am proud that I broke away from their alliance to have a voice and played my own game. Deciding on my own destiny resulted in making the Final 3. And, yes, I am so happy to have saved Mark, the chicken. I worked really hard foraging for food so others didn't eat him. I am also proud to bring awareness to how we humans need to take care of our environment and have compassion for other living things. What, if anything, do you most regret? I regret not managing the Jury better and not being able to articulate, own, and defend all that I accomplished during the game. I regret spending so much time and energy providing for camp which took me away from the game play. Toward the end, I was completely depleted which affected how I played and performed at the final Tribal. How will you play differently this time? I am much more confident about the game now. I know I have a lot to offer and I can get along with everyone; now it's time to create strong relationships. It's good to have friends in both an alliance and on the Jury. I will be much more observant and aware of my position within the rest of the tribe. I need to be more flexible and fluid in this ever-changing game of strategy, focusing on the bigger picture of winning the game rather than personal friendships. Most of all, I would like to be myself, take risks, and have fun hanging with all these big Survivor legends.

Survivor

Kaôh Rōng

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Voting History

Tai's Voting History
Episode	Tai's Votes	Voted Against Tai
1	Gondol Tribe Immune
2	Gondol Tribe Immune
3	Gondol Tribe Immune
4	Gondol Tribe Immune
5	Anna	-
6	Peter	-
7	No Tribal Council
8	Jason	Individual Immunity
9	Cydney	-
10	Scot	Julia, Michele
11	Julia	Jason, Julia
12	Michele + Michele	-
13	No Tribal Council
14	Cydney	-
Jury Votes for Tai	-
Second Runner-Up, Day 39

^1 In Now's the Time to Start Scheming, Tai used an Extra Vote advantage, allowing him to vote twice at Tribal Council.

Game Changers

Voting History

Tai's Voting History
Episode	Tai's Votes	Voted Against Tai
1	Nuku Tribe Immune
2	Nuku Tribe Immune
3	Caleb	-
4	Malcolm	-
5	Mana Tribe Immune
6	Sandra	Jeff, Sandra
7	Jeff	-
8	Hali	-
9	Ozzy	Individual Immunity
10	Andrea	-
11	Maku Maku	Maku Maku

Post-Survivor

• Tai attended Caleb Reynolds's wedding to Ashley Jay on April 30, 2016.

Trivia

Statistics of Tai Trang
Longevity
Seasons competed:	2
Days lasted:	39
Challenge Wins
Tribal wins:	6
Individual wins:	5
Total wins:	11
Tribal Council
Total votes received:	4
Exile Island
Times sent to Exile Island:	N/A
Redemption Island
Duels won:	N/A
Days spent on Redemption Island:	N/A

• Tai is the second LGBT Asian-American to play Survivor. The first was Brad Virata from Cook Islands.
• Tai is the highest ranking male contestant of Kaôh Rōng.
• Tai currently ties with Julia Sokolowski for the record of the most consecutive Reward Challenges won, either by tribal and/or individual, with 8.
• Tai is the first castaway to use an Extra Vote and not be voted out at the same Tribal Council.
• Australian pop singer Sia personally gave Tai $50,000 and also gave away another $50,000 to an animal charity of Tai's choice at the Kaôh Rōng Reunion Show as she is a fan of the show and Tai is her favorite castaway of this season because of their mutual love for animals.
• Tai is the third LGBT contestant, after Richard Hatch and Todd Herzog, to reach the Final Tribal Council.
  • Out of the three, Tai is the only one not to win.
• During a Reward Challenge when Tai's tribe won a reward of chickens, Tai kept one of them and named it Mark. Mark, named after Mark Burnett, stayed with Tai until the Final Tribal Council when he let it go.
• Tai revealed that his favorite Survivor moment was when the final 4 women in Survivor: Micronesia convinced Erik Reichenbach to give his immunity necklace to Natalie Bolton, complimenting the big move as well as sympathizing with Erik.
• Tai is the first person to find multiple Hidden Immunity Idols in one episode.

References

Survivor: Kaôh Rōng Castaways
Alecia To Tang	Anna Gondol	Aubry Chan Loh	Caleb Gondol	Cydney To Tang	Darnell To Tang	Debbie Chan Loh	Jason To Tang	Jennifer To Tang
Joe Chan Loh	Julia Gondol	Liz Chan Loh	Michele Gondol	Neal Chan Loh	Nick Gondol	Peter Chan Loh	Scot To Tang	Tai Gondol

Survivor: Game Changers Castaways
Andrea Nuku	Aubry Mana	Brad Nuku	Caleb Mana	Ciera Mana	Cirie Nuku	Debbie Nuku	Hali Mana	J.T. Nuku	Jeff Mana
Malcolm Mana	Michaela Mana	Ozzy Nuku	Sandra Mana	Sarah Nuku	Sierra Nuku	Tai Nuku	Tony Mana	Troyzan Mana	Zeke Nuku