Robert Voets/CBS Entertainment The cast of "Survivor 42."
Season 42 of “Survivor” kicked off on Wednesday, March 9, with a two-hour premiere. Host Jeff Probst welcomed 18 new castaways who will face off in the hopes of winning the million-dollar prize. One of those castaways is 29-year-old Jonathan Young.
According to his CBS bio, Jonathan is a beach service company owner who enjoys “working out, spearfishing, and surfing.” Jonathan spoke to Parade in February 2022 about all things “Survivor.”
Jonathan Wants to Cause Trouble
Jonathan told Parade that he wanted to play a two-faced game. The Alabama native told the outlet that he planned to be helpful to his fellow castaways in order to keep the target off his back, but behind the scenes, he would be causing “chaos.”
“So the front end, everybody will see a guy who wants to serve. I want to help. I want to do what I can to provide for my tribe,” he said. “Going into it, I know that I’m going to be the bigger player. I know that everybody’s going to think I’m a physical threat. It’s obvious. I have to use that. And the only way that I can use it is to go, ‘Hey, I’ll use it to help you. This isn’t just for me. It’s for us. We’re a tribe. We’re sticking together.’
“But on the back end is the chaos. I didn’t come here to change everybody’s diapers,” he continued. “I came here to change the game. And the cool part of this is I’m going to cause every bit of trouble that I can if I think it’ll help me get further in the game.”
Jonathan on ‘Survivor’ Preparation
Like many “Survivor” veterans, Jonathan dreamed of being on the show for years.
He told Parade that his interest in the show began when he was 14 years old after competing on a TV show called “Endurance,” which he described as a “dumbed-down version” of “Survivor.” After he returned from filming “Endurance,” he knew he wanted to be a “Survivor” castaway one day.
“When I got home, I immediately was like, ‘I want to do Survivor. I want to do the real thing. I want to see how hard it is. I want the challenge,'” he told Parade.
Jonathan went on to say that his upbringing prepared him for the show.
“I’ve been raised on the beach,” he told the publication. “I mean, I make my money off the beach. I’ve trained pretty much for this moment. I spearfish all the time. I’ve swam at the University of Alabama. And once I knew that I was getting on ‘Survivor,’ I changed the way that I worked and worked out. I changed everything to morph around the game.”
Xander Hasting Congratulates ‘Survivor 42’ Cast
“Survivor 41” alum Xander Hastings congratulated the season 42 cast in a March 10 Instagram post.
The 21-year-old shared a screenshot of himself on the show alongside the caption, “no, but you can have this season 42 premiere. This looks like a great cast I’m so stoked to see how it plays out. Good luck 42, congrats to all y’all on the adventure of a lifetime🤙.”
Xander made it to the finale on season 41, but he lost the Sole Survivor title to communications manager Erika Casupanan.
“Survivor” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern time on CBS.
Comments
‘Survivor 42’ Contestant Wants to Cause ‘Chaos’