User blog comment:MightyUke416/MightyUke416's Season 5 Castaway Applications/@comment-27391152-20160529055721

Name (Age): Kye Dowling (27)

Tribe Designation: TBD

Current Residence: Palm Springs, California

Occupation: Personal Trainer

Personal Claim to Fame: Obviously, coming out as transgender has to take the cake. At first, people took it pretty hard. My parents were in pure shock when I came out, and nobody really knew how to handle it. But, you know, with time people began to accept me for who I truly am, and it's great that I've got so many people's support. It was such a relief to know that my family wasn't going to hold any resentment towards me for my decision, and I don't regret my choice for a second.

Inspiration in Life: My parents. They were the biggest reason why I didn't come out for twenty-two years, because honestly, I was just afraid that they would disown me or something. But once I had enough courage to tell them, their reaction was far better than I expected, even paying for some of my surgery. I wouldn't be the man I am today if weren't for them.

Hobbies: Hitting the gym, surfing, going to amusement parks and watching horror movies.

Pet Peeves: Transphobics, stereotypes, people that can't hold a conversation and people that treat life as a joke.

SURVIVOR Contestant You Are Most Like: Aras Baskauskas because I think we're both good at being able to take control of big group of people. I feel as though I have pretty good powers of persuasion, and I admire how Aras managed to keep such a dysfunctional group together.

Reason for Being on SURVIVOR: I'm out here to do two things. Mainly, I want to make the transgender community well-known by everyone, and I want people to see that we are no different from them. I hope to represent our community in the best possible light and show people that I'm more than just a trans-male. The other, and less important, thing I want to do is of course, win the million dollars, which would completely change my life.

Why You Think You’ll “Survive” SURVIVOR: If I survived high school, I can survive pretty much anything. The other girls ostracised me from their little cliques, and I was forced to fight on my own. But those experiences have allowed me to grow as a person, and I'm ready to test myself against everything Survivor has to throw at me.

Why You Think You Will Be the Sole SURVIVOR: I'm going to show people that you don't need to lie and manipulate people to win this game. I plan on playing an honest and straight-up game, and I think that will be enough to get me the money. I think I can use my charm to get some people on my side, and hopefully my social strength will allow me to make it all the way to the end.