S43 Jesse Lopez

[Whimsy]

I got all cast info from Parade.com

Age: 30
Hometown: Venice, Calif.
Current Residence: Durham, N.C.
Occupation: Political Science Ph.D.

Jesse Lopez has lived a life rooted in pivots. The 30-year-old went from being a gang member in juvenile hall to turning his life around, now a homeowner and a proud father of two. He fell in love with Survivor when he studied voting behavior as part of his Ph.D. in Political Science. And he hopes he's able to turn those book smarts into beach smarts, even if it means breaking through an unfriendly first impression.

Favorite Hobbies: Playing chess with my son. Dancing with my daughter. Binge-watching shows with my wife after the chess player and dancer fall asleep.

3 Words to Describe You: Aware, ambitious, unbreakable

Pet Peeve(s): Quitters, people who complain about things but aren’t willing to change, and personalized license plates.

What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? The family I’ve built with my wife. Every day I get to watch my kids actually be kids and grow at their own pace. That’s something that I never had and always wanted. It doesn’t matter what else I’ve done or end up doing; building a family with my wife takes the cake.

What is something we would never know from looking at you? I do research at Duke. You don’t look at me and see a scholar. As Biggie says though, “I’m sicker than your average.”

Who is your hero and why? My wife. She’s been with me every step of the way and had to make the same sacrifices as me to get here. She juggles the weight of both kids, my stresses, as well as her own, and still manages to maintain her composure. She’s got no fear and has always pushed me to do better. I could go on forever, but at the end of the day I just want to make her proud.

Which past Survivor will you play the game most like? I’m basically Spencer or Christian (David vs. Goliath) if they got jumped into a gang at 15. I’m definitely bringing an academic mindset to the game because I’ve spent more hours thinking about how people vote than Sandra and Boston Rob combined. At the same time, I wasn’t raised in an ivory tower and have been around the block enough to know there is stuff textbooks can’t teach you about real people and life.

Why do you believe you can be the Sole Survivor? I’ve researched voting behavior for years. I don’t care if I’m out there with someone who never missed an episode of SURVIVOR, or someone who played 3 times already, they ain’t gonna hold a candle to me strategically. But I’m also not an academic by nature and have gone from being a gang member to dealing with Harvard-level researchers on a daily basis -- so I can adapt to any environment and build relationships with anyone.

[cherrypj]

On 9/12/2022 at 11:00 AM, Whimsy said:

I’ve spent more hours thinking about how people vote than Sandra and Boston Rob combined

I'm not so sure about that! But I'm still interested in seeing how this guy does. 

[SummerDreams]

I get first boot vibes

[awaken]

I like him. Hope he does well. But those who feel they have strategy all figured out usually go early. 

[LadyChatts]

Okay, I don’t like Jesse but I saw this tweet from his account where he prefers the movie Halloweentown over Hocus Pocus, and now I have to root for him just a smidge for that alone.  

Obviously I’m in the 1% that was not having a Hocus Pocus 2 watch party the minute it hit Disney+.

Edited October 1, 2022 by LadyChatts

[peachmangosteen]

I love both but Halloweentown is underrated so I appreciate him shouting it out lol.