Monique Brown

 is a contestant from Survivor: Trinidad.

Profile
Name (Age): Monique Brown (39)

Current Residence: San Diego, CA

Occupation: Personal Trainer

Claim to Fame: Becoming a successful entrepreneur with my own personal training business in San Diego. The “rags to riches” story is super played out, but for me, it actually came true. Thankfully, in the age of social media, there are easier ways to build a platform than there were twenty years ago, so when Vine videos of me started going viral a few years back, things kicked off. Now, I’m getting a steady stream of clients, and funds are good. (smiles)

Inspiration in Life: My husband, James. Back when we first got together 15 years ago, he identified himself as a gay man, but over the years, he realized he was actually pansexual, and helped me on my journey to realizing who I was all along - a woman. I’m not sure where I would’ve ended up without his support, both emotionally and financially, during both my transition and in getting my personal training up off the ground, but it’s his love and support that I use to keep me going each and every day.

Hobbies: As awful as it sounds, I used to not have time out of my day for hobbies. James was definitely right in calling me too intense back then, but at the time, it pissed me off. (chuckles) Nowadays, I’ve started getting into Mahjong, funnily enough. James’ mother is a whiz at it, and she taught me the ropes pretty quickly. It’s always fun to have a little girls brunch with the other female members of the family and play, even though my mother-in-law is the only one that ever wins. (rolls her eyes playfully) She rigs it, I swear!

Pet Peeves: It annoys me to no end when people don’t meet other people at where they’re at. People aren’t going to agree, God knows I don’t agree with a lot of people, but you need to know what people’s needs are at the moment and where they’re coming from if you actually want to reach a decision. Watching people argue at each other like brick walls ad nauseum is painful to watch.

3 Words to Describe You: Ambitious, loving, & assertive

SURVIVOR Contestant you are most like: I’d say Heather Clarke from Survivor: Mauritius. She wasn’t somebody who let people walk over her or make decisions for her, and I’m not the same way, either. I believe a discussion should be had about certain things instead of leaping into them, and I’m not afraid to argue with people to be more patient and less stubborn. I also don’t back down as easily as people might expect me to.

Reason for Being on SURVIVOR: It’s time away from San Diego. I love it there, that’s where all of my family and friends live, after all, but work has eaten up so many years of my life that I just need to drop it all for a month or two and escape. Can’t a woman just get a break every once in a while? (scoffs) It’s my personal training company, so I am complaining about myself… but I just can’t make excuses, it’s not in my DNA. (shakes her head) I really hate myself sometimes, but Survivor is a good way to force myself to not work myself to death, so… yeah, I think it’ll be a good time. (chuckles)

Why you will be the Sole Survivor: I’m ambitious to the core, so the fact that a million bucks is up for grabs means that I want it. I honestly think that, as many random factors as there are in a game like Survivor, a lot of it comes down to how much you want the prize, and let me tell you, I want it bad. (smirks) I’m willing to fight tooth and nail to end up on top, and that includes doing things other castaways may consider off-limits. (shrugs) The only thing off-limits in Survivor is physical violence, so yeah, I’m pulling out all of the stops except that one to end up a millionaire by the end of the game. (laughs)