Survivor 43: 10 Things You Need to Know About Mike Gabler

Gabler shocked the Survivor world when he won Season 34, and die-hard Survivor fans should know these fun facts about him and his season.

Survivor 43 made big news when the winner was announced. Mike Gabler, who was down for most of the season and didn't make any big moves, won with a 7-1-0 vote. For most of the season, Gabler kept a low profile, only to explain his game-winning strategy at The Last Horde.

In an interview with Parade, Gabler talks about things like his game plan, life on the island, and his historic decision to donate all his money. Any Survivor fan should learn about the newest winner in the show's history by reading some interesting tidbits about Gabler.

He Is A Superfan

In today's world of reality TV, viewers never know how much a contestant cares about the show they're on. In many cases, producers recruit people who have no idea what the show is about.

This is not the case with Gabler. Even though he's a big shot, and sometimes people think he doesn't know what he's doing, Gabler watches every season. He knows exactly what to do to win. He never made any flashy moves because he knew those types of moves would make His goal is number one, which doesn't help his low-key game.

He Wanted To Play Like Sandra

There is no doubt that Sandra is one of Survivor's greatest players. She is the first person to win the title twice.

Sandra is one of the sneakiest players of all time and a good guy who shaped her game. Gabler used Sandra's famous method known as the "everyone but me" strategy. Since Gabler has many different alliances and routes to the ending, he uses this technique. He doesn't care who goes when, because he always has different plans, so he can call the stereo whenever he wants.

He Has The Record For Fastest Fire

The fire-making contest has been going on for a while now. It puts matters in the hands of each contestant as they can take themselves to the final Tribal Council after Final 5. Not even a game. Gabler is so good, he broke the old fire record. The new record for starting a fire is about 4 1/2 minutes after Gabler Won the final tribal council. This is one of, if not the most impressively challenging performances of the season.

Gabler entered Survivor 43 at the age of 52 and was the oldest contestant in his season. It was the first time the season's oldest drifter won.

He Is The Only Oldest Contestants In A Season To Win

There are other older contestants who have found success, such as Rudy Boesch from the first season. Or an older winner like Bob from Gabon who isn't the oldest of their season. Gabler's maturity has been evident throughout the season, as he never lets himself look too far, which is why he wins.

A person's final performance on the Tribal Council can determine their chances of winning, even if one puts up a good match. It's hard to articulate 26-day moves and strategies, but Gabler did it.

He Was Confident He Was Going To Win After Final Tribal Council

Gabler did not want to be a zero-vote finalist. He coherently explained his strategy of becoming an "Alligabler" to the jury. Based on how the jury reacted to what he had to say, he could tell they respected his game. He was so confident that he was surprised that James voted for Cassidy. He wants to get all the votes and get a perfect race.

The biggest move of the season is when Jesse uses Cody's idol to get him out. Gabler believes the move would not have happened if it hadn't been for a conversation.

He Takes Some Credit For Jesse's Big Move On Cody

One day, Gabler talks to Cassidy and Jesse by the fire, and basically tells them that it's hard to tell their game apart from their closest allies, Karla and Cody. Gabler believes it was this conversation that led Jesse to betray his number one ally in the Big 6. This conversation is featured in episode 12, "Telenovela".

Many times, former contestants on one CBS reality show will try their luck on another reality show. Gabler wants to be one of these people and joins Sami in The Drive.

He Wants To Do The Amazing Race With Sami

Sami and Gabler are close from the start of the season as they are both in the Baka tribe. Unfortunately, in the last 7 games, Sami was exposed as a slipper, so he was the next target. One of Gabler's best moves was not sticking his neck out for Sami, because it's already set in stone. The two have a great relationship, and it's a fun father-son relationship that works well in The Drive.

Survivor is not a walk in the park, as not eating well or sleeping well for about a month can take a toll on a person. Gabler called the first few days on the island the toughest.

He Thought The First Few Days Were The Toughest

In his interview with Parade, he mentioned many of the obstacles that made the first few days the hardest. For starters, the body isn't used to running without food, so that's when it starts to break down. Also, the bugs are bad for the first week because that's when the sugar levels in the victims' blood are at their highest. Gabler said he was bitten by bugs on top of bug bites. Combined with sunburn and Gabler's aging, it was responsible for severe physical fatigue, but he never gave up.

Gabler only earned immunity once in Survivor 43. That's the Eve 6 challenge, and the first challenge of the merged portion of the game.

He Did Not Think He Could Win The Eve 6 Challenge

In the final stage of the challenge, Gabler had to put 20% of his body weight in the bucket. he cites how For the first few minutes, he didn't think he could last much longer. However, when he started calling out people who inspired him, he thought he could carry that weight all day. This moment is one of the most emotional and emotional of the entire season.

After Gabler was crowned the winner, he made a historic move in a reunion performance with the victims. He vowed to donate the entire winnings to charity.

He Knew He Wanted To Donate The Money Before He Went On The Show

Gabler stated in an interview that before he was on the show, he knew he wanted to do something historic. He sees all the horrible things in the world and hopes that some good news will come out. He's showing his real soles, and how the bonus means little to him because the veteran needs it more than he does. Fans also liked that he didn't mention his plans to do so in an attempt to sway votes in The Last Horde.

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