User blog comment:Midnight Bandit/Season 1 Submissions!/@comment-32574574-20171220111447

Name (Age): Ruben Cantu (51)

Current Residence: Jasper, TX

Occupations: Physical Education Teacher

Hobbies: Listening to Music, Spending Time with my boyfriend, and playing chess.

Pet Peeves: ​I'm very intolerant of bullies and those who just want to pick on those who are defenseless. I never allowed it to happen in my class, and I'm not going to let anyone pick on someone for their race, gender, or sexual orientation.

3 Words to Describe You: Brave, Fatherly, and Optimistic

Reason for Being on SURVIVOR: ​As much as I like teaching the high school I've worked at, I would prefer to retire in a couple years. I also want to prove that us "older" folks (50+), can play just as hard as the younger folks.

Confessional: "I've been a fan of the show since 2009 and I've been auditioning since 2011 to get on ​Survivor​. With that being said, it's pretty obvious of the excitement I'm feeling right now. I teach physical education and have taught it in high school for over 15 years. It's a fun job because all my students are different in their own ways, and regardless of how physically strong they are, the majority of them usually walk out of the class happy that they got to be a part of my class. I knew I've been gay for as long as I can remember, but I tend to keep it quiet because I know homophobia still exists. My current boyfriend, Tommy is a wonderful human being. He's kind of the feminine one of the two of us, (​chuckling) but I'm happy I can be there for him. I think my social skills will definitely help me out, because I'm a fairly optimistic person, and I'll always want to cheer anybody up if they feel upset. My leadership skills might also come into play because I was a Boy Scout (Ranking: Eagle Scout) as a child, and being a physical education teacher, I participate in physical activity on a daily basis. All in all, I think I have a good shot of winning, but I'm not going to be definite and say 'Oh yeah! I'm gonna win this thing!', because I think it will matter upon the game and how everyone performs." - Ruben's audition (20 December 2017)

Strategy/Gameplay: Ruben is physical and social, but he is not the most strategic tool in the shed. He does knows when he should keep his mouth shut (e.g. if a fight breaks out in camp) and when he should let his voice be heard (e.g. if people need help at camp). Many people like to talk to Ruben because of his down-to-earth personality, but Ruben can be very trusting. Ruben does not know if he will win, but he is confident he will not be voted out earlier on as the tribes need the stronger people to prevail as a team. Ruben openly admits he can be trusting, and according to him, Tommy is the "brains" of the relationship. Ruben will not tell the tribe that he is gay, because he knows that the people in the game are from different walks of life, and he knows that some people might not be comfortable with having a gay man as an ally.

Predicted Placement: ​Ruben is a hard-worker, and he could possibly emerge as the leader of the camp, however, his hard work could lead to him over-working himself and possibly getting medically evacuated. Ruben is very trustworthy, but he is also too trusting, which can be a problem in the game. His strategic ineptitude could lead to his downfall. There is also a possibility that he could win the game, if he plays his cards right. I don't believe Ruben will be going early as he is a very strong competitor for his age, and he is easily liked amongst everyone he meets.

Other Important Information: Ruben was born on February 16, 1966, and he is Hispanic-American. He is 6"2 and he is 199 lbs.; Ruben's biggest mistake was not telling his father that he was gay before he died in 1992 of lung cancer (his father was an avid smoker). Ruben is agnostic.