Zach Wurtenberger

Zachary Jacob "Zach" Wurtenberger^[2] is a contestant from Survivor 42.

A superfan of the show, Zach initially connected with his younger Ika tribemates and Romeo Escobar. He then became wary of Tori Meehan's behavior, which created a rift between the two. Zach blamed himself for losing the puzzle in the Day 3 Immunity Challenge, giving his tribemates a reason to vote him out. After his Shot in the Dark failed, Zach became the second person to leave Survivor 42.

Profile[]

Retrieved from CBS.com

Age: 22
Hometown: Weston, FL
Current Residence: St. Louis, MO
Occupation: Student
Favorite Hobbies: Social strategy games, sketch comedy writing and running
3 Words to Describe You: Clever, competitive and storyteller
Pet Peeve: People who don't tip. I used to deliver pizza, so it's a pretty big deal for me. My biggest one is when the bill is like $19.95, and the customer handed me a $20 smiling and said, "Keep the change". Oh, really? I get to keep your nickel? Wow, thank you so much!
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? At the moment, there's a bunch of academic stuff, like getting into Washington University and winning the Tournament of Champions (the biggest tournament of the year in debate). But for personal accomplishments, I'm really proud of this one sketch I wrote for our spring comedy show, titled "Skate Park" There was no trophy or award or anything, but I worked extremely hard on it, and it absolutely killed. It was really rewarding.
What is something we would never know from looking at you? I think that a lot of people would assume because I'm young, that I'm naïve or that I have no life experience. That couldn't be further from the truth. I am a hustler. I've worked hard for my grades, my scores and competitive success. I wanted to go to a top-tier school, so I worked hard to get in. I have worked hard for what I have, and I'm proud of it.
Who is your hero and why? My parents. They've supported me in every way imaginable and I'm so unbelievably lucky to have them. When I was going through tough times, they were always there for me, and I just want to be able to repay them some day. And for non-family hero, Ethan Zohn. He was the first Jewish person I ever saw on TV, which was so insanely cool for 5-year-old me. And beyond that, he's just such an inspirational person.
Which past Survivor will you play the game most like? Todd Herzog. He played a brilliant game in China, where he controlled every single vote from the shadows. We're in a period of Survivor now where the tallest tree is the first one cut; just look at Edge of Extinction's boot order. You need to build a resume, but you can't let anyone realize how extensive your resume is until it's too late. Todd managed to keep his threat-level low while subtly manipulating every facet of the game and revealed everything at Final Tribal Council. I'd also love to mix that with Jeremy's meat shield strategy, so that I'm never the first one targeted if things go awry.
Why do you believe you can be the Sole Survivor? I love all of the core skills that you need to win the game. I'm extremely personable and make friends easily. I'm super intelligent and strategic, with a vast knowledge of the game. I'm athletic enough to not be a liability, but not enough to be a threat. And most importantly, I am willing to work harder than anyone to win. In speech and debate, I competed against hundreds of students from around the country every weekend. These people were just as smart as me, just as well-spoken and just as talented. But I beat them because I worked harder and because I wanted it more. And the same will be true for Survivor.^[3]

Survivor[]

Beginning the game on Ika, Zach's love of Survivor initially endeared him to his tribemates, particularly Romeo Escobar on account of their similar personalities and stature. On Day 2, Zach and the rest of Ika grew suspicious of Tori Meehan, who went out looking for taro leaves. Believing her to be searching for a Hidden Immunity Idol, Drea Wheeler brought up the idea of voting Tori out. Zach would then disclose Drea's intentions to Tori, causing her to be wary of her position in the game.

Following a grueling Immunity Challenge loss on Day 3, Zach took responsibility for failing at the puzzle portion. This caused Swati Goel to suggest voting out Zach for costing Ika the challenge. Although Zach and Romeo wanted Tori gone for her suspicious behavior, the tribe eventually settled on eliminating Zach. He would not leave his fate in the hands of his tribemates though, as Zach took the risk of the Shot in the Dark die at Tribal Council in a last-ditch effort to save himself. The scroll he selected read "not safe", and Zach became the first player in Survivor history officially voted out unanimously when a formal vote was held, leaving the game in a 5-0 vote.

Episode	Tribe Affiliation	Challenge	Challenge Type	Sit-Out?	Result
1	Ika	Marooning	Reward	No	Won
1	Ika	Forty Two	Immunity	No	Lost
Voted Out, Day 3

Episode	Zach's Votes	Voted Against Zach
1	Ineligible¹	Drea, Rocksroy, Romeo, Swati, Tori
Voted Out, Day 3

^1 In "Feels Like a Rollercoaster", Zach used his Shot in the Dark die, making him ineligible to vote at Tribal Council.

Post-Survivor[]

After the show, Zach established a friendship with Maryanne. In fact, during the airing of Survivor 42, Zach and Maryanne jokingly changed their respective Twitter display names to "Zach Oketch" and "Maryanne Wurtenberger" after Maryanne admitted about crushing on him in "Good and Guilty".^[4]
Zach, who happened to be visiting Maryanne at the time, made a cameo appearance in her exit interview for Rob Has a Podcast.^[5]
On April 22, 2023, Zach uploaded a video on YouTube where he compiled what could have been the original cast of Survivor 41 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic where some cast members were retained in the final roster, but he and some others were recast in future seasons.^[6]

Trivia[]

Zach was originally cast for Survivor 41 before production was suspended due to the outbreak of COVID-19.^[7]
Zach is the youngest man to compete on Survivor 42.
Zach referenced Survivor Wiki during his final words.
Zach is the second Survivor (U.S.) contestant to be truly voted out unanimously (excluding players voted out at final three in seasons with Final Twos), with himself not casting a vote for anyone, following Jeff Varner in Game Changers. He is the first to do so in a regular vote.
Zach is the first man to be voted out first but not be eliminated first.
After the season, Zach confirmed that he and Maryanne had previously interacted with each other on the Survivor Reddit forum before being cast on the show.^[8]
Zach brought a picture book as his luxury item.^[9]
Zach's younger brother Cory competed on the twenty-fifth season of CBS's Big Brother with Cirie Fields.^[10]