CBS reality show “Survivor” contestant Yau-Man Chan is director of information systems for the College of Chemistry at the University of California Berkeley. Yau-Man, who survived until the final four contestants, recently talked about his adventures on the top-rated show and his experience in IT.
CBS reality show “Survivor” contestant Yau-Man Chan, a favorite of the recently concluded “Survivor: Fiji,” is director of information systems for the College of Chemistry at the University of California Berkeley. “Survivor: Fiji” pitted contestants in a variety of mental and physical challenges, the winner of which would ‘outwit, outlast and outplay’ other survivors.Yau-Man, 54, who survived until the final four contestants but was ultimately was voted off, recently talked with Senior Editor Deni Connor about his adventures on the top-rated show and his experience in IT.
How did you come about to try out for “Survivor: Fiji”?
I was one of the people recruited for the show. The [show’s producers] were getting a lot of applicants that were 20-something male, so they wanted women, some Asians, some black Americans and older people. They found me through the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association Web site, where I am the division director for the Northern California region.
What IT skills did you take and apply to “Survivor: Fiji”?
The only thing I took is the ability to analyze and problem solve. In the IT field, especially in network infrastructure and keeping the network running, when there are problems, analytical and organizational skills are important. When you play a game like Survivor, which is strategic, every time you encounter a challenge, it helps to analyze the situation and try to go at it not by brute force — because I can not compete against those young guys — but to figure out the optimum way to solve the problem.
Tell me about some of the challenges in which your analytical skills were especially helpful.
For example, in the spear-throwing challenge, I certainly don’t have the upper-body strength the other guys have to throw the spear far enough [and have it hit a target]. So I had to look at the situation analytically. I noticed when they threw the spear, none of them hit the target. I had to think about how I could do better than them. I decided to do a running start, and before I started, I found the balance point of the spear in order to make sure that it would stick when it hit the target. Thinking through the problem first before jumping in and doing it by brute force certainly helped.
There was also an experience with breaking open a wooden box. Tell me about it.
In the beginning, the very first day actually, an airplane dropped a box for the whole camp. A whole bunch of big, burly guys went and tried to break open the box. Of course, they couldn’t, because the box was made to be parachuted from a plane — so it was very well made. After they tried to break it open for about 20 minutes, I went up and took the box and dropped its corner on a rock a couple of times and the box opened up. You can take brute strength like gorillas trying to slam the box against the rock, or you can determine what is the weakest point of the rectangular object. The corner is, and that’s what worked
What is more challenging — being on “Survivor: Fiji” or being an IT manager?
Being an IT manager is certainly more challenging. I have to deal with a very complex network, especially pertaining to security issues. In security, we are always up against unknowns — we don’t know who the bad guys are. I have no idea what their motivation is in putting out viruses or attacking our databases. Whereas on “Survivor: Fiji,” I know who my opponents are; I can talk to them and deal with them, because I know who they are. In a network world, we don’t know who the bad guys are, and that is very challenging. It is getting worse, and I hope there are more tools to help us deal with this awful situation.
You gave Dreamz a car you had won in exchange for the immunity necklace if you both made it to the final four. At the Tribal Council, Dreamz reneged. Was that a mistake in hindsight?
Yes, it was certainly a mistake in that I should have put more conditions on. I was a little too trusting on that one, and he got away with the situation. There was nothing I could do about it, but I was going to keep my end of the bargain even though he didn’t. That’s how the game is played.
How has your experience on “Survivor: Fiji” affected your management of IT?
It has given me more confidence. I am more outgoing with people. At meetings I am less of the engineer and the quiet type. I take control of meetings and speak up more. I always had a problem of relating to people more openly and thoughtfully. This experience has given me the confidence to do that.
What happens after you get voted off the show?
When we get voted off, we were holed up at a lodge we affectionately called the Loser’s Lodge. Everyone has to come back to the United States at the same time; they don’t want us coming back individually. The Loser’s Lodge is not a very nice place — it’s a bungalow surrounded by tents. The good thing of course is we had a lot of food.
I imagine that hunger played a big role in “Survivor: Fiji” since you were basically plunked down on an island with nothing to eat.
We were so hungry all the time. We could go fishing but had to think about the amount of energy it took to row the boat out to fish. If we didn’t catch enough fish, we could end up being hungrier than we started out. So we ate a lot of fruits, green bananas and coconuts, because they are easy to gather.
What would you have done with the $1 million prize had you won “Survivor: Fiji?”
I would have put aside big chunks of it for my daughters’ college education, and I probably would have donated most of it to different charities and to the university.
You came in fourth. Do the runners-up receive any winnings?
This time two persons — Dreamz and Cassandra, who got no votes — tied for second; they got $100,000. I came in fourth, so I came away with about $50,000.
That’s not bad . . .
No, that’s not bad for six weeks of hunger.
