S08.E11: The Reckoning

[patty1h]

Reading about the GoFundMe thing made me give Biko some really judging side-eye for risking his future on whether he can win a survival contest.  I was rooting for him to win and sympathize with his current situation but his decision making was so reckless - it's like spending your whole paycheck on lottery tickets expecting to win the big one.  It NEVER happens and smart people know that.   Now him/his friend is asking the public for $150,000!?!?.  The amount is what make me angry - it's not humble, just grabby.   I liked the guy but I won't be contributing.

Edited August 23, 2021 by patty1h

[ProfCrash]

Yeah, Biko just lost me. That is like the people who came in second on Survivor who would bitch and ask all the people who thought they should have won to chip in a dollar. Kind of creepy and slimy. 

Kids are expensive. Most of us work our butts off to provide for them. There is no good reason for Biko to not get a job and provide for his kids. Or for the kids Mom to get a job and provide for them. Betting on winning a reality show so that you can not work and provide for your kids is a long shot. Hell, it is not even a good plan. $500,000 is a lot of money but that would still not be enough to provide for many families, especially if the kids go to college. 

[diebartdie]

18 hours ago, qtpye said:

That is so tacky.

Why is he having children with no financial plan beyond winning a reality show?

It always amazes me how few men understand that they are responsible for causing their (female) lovers getting pregnant. And I guess Im further amazed how few realize how incredibly expensive that is. Now add on twinsies and hoo boy, even if he had won the half mil, that money would NOT go anywhere near as far as he seemed to think it would. ESPECIALLY with his overall lack of maturity! Y'all know he would have been buying new guitars and a stupid car and a bunch of weed (probably) and giving all his buddies stuff and before you know it, POOF, it's all gone PLUS hundreds of thousands of dollars of medical debt for those twins.

Biko was fun but sheesh...

[HurricaneVal]

Yeah.  I'm officially over Biko now.  He grew on me, for sure.  But...I'm done.

As I understand it, he found out about the pregnancy after he'd been selected for the show so it wasn't like he put in for it only because it was his one shot at financing his family's future.  I don't necessarily think that winning the show was his Plan A, I think that he just literally didn't even have any plan past "Oh, if I win this show, then everything will be OK!" that fell into his lap.  Apparently all that maturity and introspection he showed only comes with a growling stomach.  Now that he's had a few cheeseburgers, he seems back to his old self.  It doesn't matter that his friend started the Gofundme for him, Biko could have stopped it.  He's a Viking cosplay Peter Pan, and I wish his family luck with that.  They're gonna need it.

That said, have we heard anything from Biko since the finale?  Perhaps I'm judging him harshly as is my right as a shallow viewer of reality TV shows commenting snarkily on the fools who go on reality TV shows.  Has he done any interviews?  Maybe he does have real plans and the Gofundme is really just his friend's version of a money grab.  After all, Viking cosplay Peter Pans need their Lost Boy gang.  You can't run around the woods in costume clashing swords by yourself, you know.

[Yeah No]

The news about the Go Fund Me for Biko is disappointing.  What boggles me is how much effort he put into this show when it was a crap shoot at best that he'd win.  Why not put the same effort into finding something that might realistically earn him a steady income?  Unfortunately he is embodying the stereotype of the young person that seeks fame and fortune through reality show exposure.  

Also he should have known that losing that much of his weight in such a short amount of time would be as bad or worse from a health standpoint than being underweight.  Gaining a little weight in order to prevent being pulled for being underweight is fine, but he gained too much and lost too much of it too fast and that is no better.  In fact it was probably worse because his symptoms probably scared him into tapping out on his own.

[ProfCrash]

If Biko found out his girlfriend/wife/significant other was pregnant after he had applied, I can see how he would see the money as being useful. I don't think he applied to be on the show in order to provide for his kids, it wasn't his Plan A but it quickly became his focus for obvious reasons. If the info posted is correct, he didn't quit his job and see Alone as THE chance to provide for his kids but instead saw it as an opportunity after the fact. And that is fine.

And a 1 in 10 shot at half a million dollars is far better odds then playing any lottery out there, so it is not that crazy of a plan, especially if it is not your sole plan. I think it came off as Biko's main plan for caring for his kids, which I found problematic, but the explanation that he learned that he was going to be a father to twins just before coming on the show explains that.

That said, the Go Fund me page is disappointing. Past contestants seem to do well developing skills classes and the like after appearing on the show. I have not heard of other Go Fund Me Pages so there is a feeling that this is a desperate move that is bothersome. But people seem to be contributing so I guess not everyone feels that way.

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

And a 1 in 10 shot at half a million dollars is far better odds then playing any lottery out there, so it is not that crazy of a plan, especially if it is not your sole plan. I think it came off as Biko's main plan for caring for his kids, which I found problematic, but the explanation that he learned that he was going to be a father to twins just before coming on the show explains that.

At least playing the lottery doesn't put you at risk of potentially long term life impacting medical conditions, illness, even death.  Doing this show is a huge health risk.  The time he was out there he wasn't earning any money which would offset any money wasted on playing the lottery.  It also took him away from finding a real job or training for one, and playing the lottery wouldn't do that either.  So I'm having a hard time not seeing this as a crazy plan plus his only plan to support himself, kids or no kids.  Unless he's suddenly gotten productive or committed to finding a career or he had a "plan B" going into this I can't see it as anything else.  At least other contestants have had lives and sources of income they could go back to but it's like he was looking to this to give him a life and income he didn't already have going into it.  I would think he would start a monetized YouTube business on survival capitalizing on his new found fame instead of relying on Go Fund Me income.

 

Edited August 25, 2021 by Yeah No

[ProfCrash]

The report was that Biko found out about the pregnancy after he had been selected to be on the show. The sonogram he had was an early stage of pregnancy sonogram. I get the impression that he was home in time for the birth but I am not fully clear on that. Either way, she was carrying the twins while he was on the show. He didn't apply to be on the show to support the kids but learned of the kids after he had been selected. His mantra of using the winnings to provide for the kids was something that came up because he had just learned that he was going to be a Dad.

Should he have not done the show after learning about the pregnancy or continued on with the show hoping that he would win the prize money?

We know that people who appear on these shows are paid a stipend for participating, so he was being paid when he was out there. He did not win the prize money but he did not necessarily lose anything by participating. I wouldn't be surprised if the stipend he made for appearing on the show was larger then the paycheck he received from the job that he quit, it didn't sound like a job that paid a lot.

I don't like the Go Fund Me page, I think it is tacky. I don't think he participated in the show to provide for his kids, as in I don't think he quit a job in order to risk winning a reality TV show to pay for having kids. I think he focus for staying shifted once he knew he was going to be a dad. And I think he really doesn't like working the types of jobs that he quit to be on the show. We have no clue if he is working right now or not but I get wanting to win money so you can pursue a dream.

[diebartdie]

https://thecinemaholic.com/where-is-alone-season-8-runner-up-biko-wright-now/

[Melina22]

10 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

That said, the Go Fund me page is disappointing. Past contestants seem to do well developing skills classes and the like after appearing on the show. 

Yes, there's a man right in my area, Wayne Russell, who was on season 1 and actually didn't last long, I forget why. I just checked and he has a really nice current outdoor survival website, and his Alone experience is highlighted. Just being on the show is a huge sign of credibility, let alone surviving weeks of brutal conditions. That would be a great path to take towards a satisfying job that I could see Biko taking. (Although you need some capital to get set up.) 

[rmontro]

On 8/25/2021 at 10:39 AM, ProfCrash said:

I don't like the Go Fund Me page, I think it is tacky. I don't think he participated in the show to provide for his kids, as in I don't think he quit a job in order to risk winning a reality TV show to pay for having kids. I think he focus for staying shifted once he knew he was going to be a dad. And I think he really doesn't like working the types of jobs that he quit to be on the show. We have no clue if he is working right now or not but I get wanting to win money so you can pursue a dream.

Diebartdie's link says he is a vocalist in a metal band and a folk band.  If others have tried to leverage their 15 minutes of fame on Alone to start survival schools, maybe he's trying to use it to further his musical career.  It's possible someone who saw the show might come out to see him as an attraction, although some who heard him sing on the show might also be encouraged to stay away lol.

I've noticed there is an attitude among some younger people that working normal jobs is for schmucks - that you're only "working to make someone else rich".  I think Biko even said those exact words in an episode.  Also because of the cost of living increase, they don't think it's worth it.  It's said this is the first generation to see their standard of living decrease.  Plus there is resentment against baby boomers because there is a perception that they had it better, and used up resources without leaving things for the next generation.  For some, their answer is to check out of society.  I could see Biko fitting into that sort of mindset.

[madmax]

5 hours ago, rmontro said:

I've noticed there is an attitude among some younger people that working normal jobs is for schmucks - that you're only "working to make someone else rich".  I think Biko even said those exact words in an episode.  Also because of the cost of living increase, they don't think it's worth it.  It's said this is the first generation to see their standard of living decrease.  Plus there is resentment against baby boomers because there is a perception that they had it better, and used up resources without leaving things for the next generation.  For some, their answer is to check out of society.  I could see Biko fitting into that sort of mindset.

More power to him if that's how he feels.  Dunno how he's gonna take care of two kids without a job, tho.  Many people work jobs they really don't like to take care of family.  If he can't suck it up and get a job that isn't (not so great) singer in a metal and/or folk band...

This was probably my least favorite season, even more so than the "Alone" season where they weren't really alone.  I can only hope that next season, if there is one, is better.

[dranelittle]

Nam was nothing. Millions of men in WW2 didn't see their families for FOUR years, not just one.

[TaraS1]

I just binged my way through this season and came to read all the past comments.  Even though I thought Biko was kind of lazy by Alone standards, he grew on me as the season went on.  But now finding out he has a GoFundMe (that's up to $77,000)? Ugh.  Online panhandling is one of my greatest pet peeves of all time.