Author Topic: Benjamin Wade  (Read 38726 times)

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Offline RealityFreakWill

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Benjamin Wade
« on: January 13, 2009, 12:23:26 PM »
Age: 37
Soccer Coach/Part-time Orchestra Conductor
Bolivar, MO
Tribe: Timbira


Benjamin Wade is known by many names. As the head women's soccer coach at the Southwest Baptist University in Missouri, he is called "Coach Wade," but he also goes by “Maestro” due to role as an artistic director and conductor of a California symphony orchestra. A skilled musician, Benjamin was traveling the world playing the trumpet before most kids could even spell "trumpet."

Wade sees coaching as another form of manipulation. "You have to find out what everybody wants, what everybody needs, what they think they want, what think they need and then you have to be the person that solves everything." He knows these skills will be valuable in the game of SURVIVOR.

If Benjamin was asked to wear just one hat, it would be that of "Renaissance Man." Aside from setting the world record for the longest solo kayak expedition on the ocean (an amazing 6,132 miles), Wade has also been attacked by a tiger shark, stalked by a jaguar in the Amazon and has been bitten by a piranha on his right hand. To say that he is a Type A, Alpha male, who likes to control the environment around him may just be an understatement. Coach's dominant personality will be a force to be reckoned with in the game.

Benjamin is single and currently splits his time in Bolivar, Mo, and Susanville, Calif.
« Last Edit: January 14, 2009, 01:31:10 PM by puddin »

Offline georgiapeach

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #1 on: January 14, 2009, 12:03:14 PM »
Video


« Last Edit: January 15, 2009, 06:43:57 PM by puddin »
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Offline Kiwi Jay

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #2 on: January 14, 2009, 12:05:39 PM »
He looks scary  :lol:
'We are the makers of music, and the dreamers of dreams. To roam the roads of lands remote, to travel is to live'.

Offline georgiapeach

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #3 on: January 14, 2009, 12:23:06 PM »
Here's his website complete w/ book info about the kayak trip... just to tide us over!

http://www.coachbenwade.com/
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Offline Kiwi Jay

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #4 on: January 14, 2009, 03:50:18 PM »
nickname "Coach"...How convenient lol  :lol:
'We are the makers of music, and the dreamers of dreams. To roam the roads of lands remote, to travel is to live'.


Offline Ruth

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #5 on: January 15, 2009, 11:50:41 AM »
Seems like an Ace-Marcus combination to me, with Probst saying that he "only takes the best with him, and he thinks that he himself is the best" or something to that extent. Definitely not a favourite.
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Offline Jobby

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #6 on: January 16, 2009, 04:26:53 AM »
Not a favourite, but seems like a jury AT LEAST.

Offline Tom Gauthier

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Benjamin Wade
« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2009, 04:58:12 PM »
Survivor is real - but with lifeguards for insurance purposes. Take a look at Ben Wade in his real-life adventures, like 6 months of solo exposure to deadly animals, people, and the open sea. He also found beauty, good people, and the realization of a dream. The book about his voyage from California to Colombia, South America will be out in March: A Voyage Beyond Reason. Match up the real Ben with the TV Ben!

Offline georgiapeach

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #8 on: January 24, 2009, 05:23:29 PM »
Hi Tom! And :welcome:

That's great about your book! Is Ben recovering now?

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Offline Alan

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #9 on: February 12, 2009, 07:43:28 AM »
Hmm, interesting character that the show always needs! :lol:


Offline Ruth

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #10 on: February 18, 2009, 06:37:07 AM »
I'm totally not liking him, but guess he'll go far. It'll be good if he gets blind-sided as the first jury member like Marcus. Yawn.
TAR 26: Hayley and Blair` Mike and Rochelle` Jelani and Jenny`
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Offline puddin

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #11 on: February 19, 2009, 10:37:54 AM »
"Survivor" coach out at SBU
"Survivor" coach Ben Wade has been fired as head women's soccer coach at Southwest Baptist University.

SBU athletic director Brent Good said the school bought out the remaining three months of Wade's contract because Wade did not tell Good why he left the team at mid-season to shoot the CBS reality TV show.

"He said he was going to be gone for a week," Good said this evening. "And the week went beyond that, which went beyond that, which went beyond that."

more here ...
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20090217/BLOGS11/90217028

and a follow up here...
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20090218/BLOGS11/90218037

Offline Alan

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #12 on: February 20, 2009, 03:37:14 PM »
Everyone loves to hate him! :meow:

Offline puddin

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #13 on: March 23, 2009, 06:04:25 PM »
Coach seems to think he knows best... the rest of the tribe doesn't agree. Check out Coach & the rest of the survivors on Survivor: Tocantins on CBS!

 

Offline TexasLady

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #14 on: March 23, 2009, 07:09:36 PM »
Coach seems to think he knows best... the rest of the tribe doesn't agree. Check out Coach & the rest of the survivors on Survivor: Tocantins on CBS!

He should try for a job as a weatherman on TV when his time is ended on Survivor.   :funny:

Thanks for the video puddin. I had forgotten about his comment about the weather and the cut to the tribe in their shelter waiting out the storm he said would miss them.    It was funny when it happened and it's funny to see it all over again. :snicker:
The choices we make dictate the life we lead.

Offline RealityFreakWill

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #15 on: May 15, 2009, 07:38:29 AM »
Secret Scene: Coach


courtesy of CBS

Offline RealityFreakWill

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #16 on: May 15, 2009, 09:28:17 AM »
Coach: The Day After


courtesy of CBS

Offline puddin

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #17 on: May 15, 2009, 04:30:05 PM »
Watch an exclusive interview with Benjamin 'Coach' Wade, the latest eliminated contestant from Survivor Tocantins


Offline puddin

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #18 on: May 15, 2009, 04:34:23 PM »
 

“I’m Not Delusional” – RealityNewsOnline’s Exclusive Interview with Survivor: Tocantins’ Coach
by David Bloomberg -- 05/15/2009

 
Coach was a man with great entertainment value for viewers. But that was certainly not his goal going in. He wanted to be strong, loyal, and honest. Now that he’s been on TV, how does he reconcile what viewers saw with what he said? Does he change his tune on anything he said or did over the course of the show? Read on to see what Coach has to say now!

As I prepared for my interview with Coach, I expected him to be fiery and perhaps a bit defensive. I knew the questions I would be asking would challenge his moral views and his honesty. But what I found in talking to him was a very calm, almost contrite at times, Coach that we rarely saw on TV while watching Survivor.

RealityNewsOnline: Hello, Coach, and thanks for taking the time to talk to us here at RealityNewsOnline.

Coach: My pleasure.

RNO: There are questions that my readers have been begging me to ask you for weeks now. So let me start with one of the biggies. You talked about how you wanted to compete against the best. But at almost your first opportunity, you voted out Brendan. When asked about it, you said he went against you. Could you explain how these actions and statements were not contradictory?

Coach: I definitely don’t think they were contradictory. After the merge, it’s kill or be killed. If I hadn’t have taken out Brendan, I would have gone home and I wouldn’t have had the chance to take the weakest or the strongest to the end.

I didn’t want to gloat over beating a weaker opponent. That very first day I told Brendan I wanted to change the game. If he would have jumped on board, he, Tyson, and myself would have been checkmate for the final three. I was disappointed he didn’t. I didn’t want to cut Brendan, but Tyson had been telling me for days about Brendan and I kept saying I don’t want to do this. But as soon as I found out he was gunning for me, it flipped and I needed to take him out first.

RNO: If your plan was truly to take the most deserving and strongest players to the end, can you explain how that could have been a winning strategy?

Coach: Well, again it was a different strategy. As I said, I wanted to change the game. If I won along the way, it would be a bonus. It was almost a winning strategy. If Tyson would not have been eliminated, we would have been one-two. Tyson wanted to play it much differently coming in. When we got in an alliance, he played it differently [than he had originally planned]. Unfortunately, I was his downfall. He was too honest and he told J.T. and Stephen where they would end up. He was a voracious competitor who I deeply respected and admired. Obviously, the game is full of twists and turns. If something different would have happened, I think I got pretty close to fulfilling what I wanted to do.

RNO: You claimed to have never lied and to value honesty above all else. But we saw the situation with Sierra and we saw you tell quite a different story. Similarly, we saw you lie to Brendan about who was going to be voted out when Brendan was actually the target. How do you reconcile that, especially now that you’ve seen everything on TV?

Coach: With Sierra, what you see is final product. She did come up to me two days before. In a moment of complete lucidity and brilliance, she laid out the rest of the game: They’re going to pick us off. She did come up to me.

When I spoke in Tribal about my honesty, that was what I was remembering. I was very disappointed in myself. She was referring to the conversation that day. At the time, I did not think I lied. Watching the show, I think it was a gray area, and I wanted to avoid gray areas.

When it was Brendan’s turn to go out, I asked him, “What do you want to do?” He told me and I responded, “I want to go with the numbers.” I had the numbers, so it was not a lie. So I think I’m justified in saying I did not lie.

I wish I would have handled the Sierra situation better. I was not lying to stay in the game. I was still trying to be true to my alliance. I never went back on who I was going to vote off or vote for. I stayed true to my word and I’m one of the few people who can say that.

RNO: How did it feel to watch episodes over the past few weeks, including last night’s, and see that you were being taken for a ride while fully believing in your allies?

Coach: Overall it’s been a roller coaster. It’s been great and very tough. I’m human and I’ve been raked over the coals. It’s to make a brilliant character [for the show], which maybe I am and maybe I’m not. It’s been very tough to watch people you put your trust in. We’re relying on each other to survive. You build trust and you have to break that trust. It makes me sick to my stomach to watch that.

It was just so close to mapping out the rest of the game and solidify that change to the game and the culture of the game. I think I was successful, but it could have been even better. It ripped my guts out when Debbie turned against me. Last night, the whole episode was overwhelming for me. I wasn’t surprised that Stephen turned against me.

But just watching my body, it was very sad and very heroic. I’m not trying to toot my own horn, I just didn’t realize what shape my body was in. I never thought I was stronger than Brendan or faster than Tyson or smarter than Erinn. I thought I was one step back and knowing people would expect a lot from me. All I have left in this shell of a body is my mental focus. Getting myself psyched up for the game was what my strategy was all along.

RNO: Having watched yourself on TV, have you come to any realizations or conclusions about your own personality?

Coach: I’m not delusional. I’ve done everything I claimed to have done. It has tested who I am. It has been some wonderfully high times and some low times. I am who I am but I probably learned that nobody can take away that identify that I have, whether I’m a coach or I’m not or I’m fired. I had my career taken away from me, my reputation tarnished, I financially took a blow. I really came there a month ago and took a hard look. I have my character that’s been forged through trials and near death experiences and my identity in Christ. I’m a born again Christian. Neither of those can be taken from me. I just remember who I am.

The second thing is that I feel I’ve been blessed a lot of the time in life. I have that fine line between confidence and what people see as arrogance. It was actually humbling. I don’t want to be perceived as arrogant. Being a coach and a conductor, you can never be wrong in the moment, you have to put on this personality that says you know what’s right and this is the direction you have to go. That is the tack I took on Survivor.

RNO: Since you mentioned your religious beliefs, I’ve been wondering: does the Hebrew tattoo on your left arm say?

Coach: I have two different ones. The first is Psalm 23:4. I had that tattooed when I had the growth on the back of my head. That one says, “Yeah though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.” The other is Genesis 49, the prophecy of the tribe of Benjamin. It says, “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning he devours his prey. In the evening he divides his plunder.” I love that verse because it speaks of my character in life. I can be ravenous but I want to be generous.

They didn’t show this, but every single challenge, I was the one encouraging people. I spent one on one time with people, trying to make sure they were okay and share in that victory we were having every day. I tried to seize that moment and share in my experiences. I knew it would be very easy for me to go into the game and say I just work with soccer players and teach music, but I said I’m a big time kayakker, I have a world record, this and that. I told everybody who I was and what I’d done. It could have backfired but didn’t. Maybe it did because people thought I was crazy or delusional. But I played as strong and with as much integrity as I could the whole way through.

RNO: Why is it that none of your various stories or exploits appear in print or on the web anywhere except from you, yourself?

Coach: That might change. That’s all I’m going to say about that. I think you can find them on the web if you want to. When I actually broke the record in Honduras. I’m not going to go into all that. I didn’t set out to take these trips for world records or other people. I took the first trip to get closer to God. The media wanted to sensationalize it and came up with the world record. The Guinness book says the longest solo kayak trip is 326.98miles – I could do that in three days. I’m working on that.

I didn’t set out that way. I set out to do things that would put me closer to God. I really got burned out that first trip because the media distracted me from my true intention. I started getting consumed by the media. I had to be humbled many times by God and reminded as to what my purpose was.

When I came back, I experienced the same thing as Tom Hanks in Castaway and didn’t feel like I was part of society. Everybody wanted to hear my story but they couldn’t relate. They weren’t there when I truly needed them. I thought, “You know what, I didn’t do it for you guys,” and I became very introverted. I didn’t make friends and was very closed off and continued to take those trips. I could have documented it and made a bigger deal, but that wasn’t my intention.

RNO: There are so many more questions I and readers would like to ask you, but I’ve been told we only have time for one more. So I’ll open the floor for you: Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about your time on Survivor?

Coach: I think my exit interview said it best, I left the game with my head held high. I hope I had a small impact on people watching. I’ve spoken all over the world for the last 13 years and never asked for a dime. I want people to see me and think, “I want to be a better person because of him and a more honest person.” (Quiet laugh.) I’m not sure that’s going to come out. I love changing people lives. So I hope in some small way besides entertainment value, they can look at my true purpose and core values and my loyalty. In this game, you cannot question my loyalty.

RNO: Thanks again, Coach!



   

David Bloomberg is the Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com.


http://www.realitynewsonline.com/cgi-bin/ae.pl?mode=4&article=article8918.art&page=1




 

Offline puddin

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #19 on: May 15, 2009, 04:38:58 PM »
Exclusive Interview: Coach Benjamin Wade, from 'Survivor: Tocantins'
Friday, May 15, 2009
             
The most talked about, most controversial castaway on Survivor: Tocantins was undoubtedly Coach Benjamin Wade.  The soccer coach, the symphony conductor, the teller of tall tales, the meditation guru, The Dragon Slayer.  Love him or hate him, Ben Wade made for good TV, and he will be a Survivor contestant we remember for years to come, which is a rare feat.  We had the great pleasure of speaking with Coach earlier today, as he discussed his persona, the media's portrayal of him, and whether or not he's ever posted comments on BuddyTV.

Hey, this is Oscar Dahl from BuddyTV and I'm here with the infamous Coach Benjamin Wade. Coach, how are you doing?


I'm awesome, how are you doing?


I'm pretty good.  Before we start, I have to clear one thing up.  Have you been posting comments on our website, sir?

Posting comments on your website?  I'll tell you this.  I have not posted one comment on any.  I've had friends say, "Hey man, somebody thinks that I'm you..."  So, no, definitely I have never posted any comment on any website, especially not yours.  I did get on your website because I looked at 250 something pictures you had of me, so I liked that. Posting comments is against the contract and no, I'm not doing it.


Overall, having watched the entire season, how do you feel about your portrayal on the show?  Is it what you expected it to be?

You know, I went down there not to win the game, but to change it. And I went down there to make this character that was just larger than life, and I think that I succeeded on all accounts.  As far as the portrayal, it was a two-dimensional character that you guys are seeing.  You're seeing the intense, driven, wanting to take charge Coach that ruffles a lot of feathers, but what you didn't see was the encouraging, hopefully the inspiring, the one-on-one time that I had.  I talked to Taj about her child before the auction.  It was like a week before the auction and she cried on my shoulder and it was a beautiful time.  I taught Debbie how to meditate.  You don't see that part, you don't see me clapping at every challenge, trying to push the team and one of the things that you don't see is the fact that, in Mid-October, I weighed 205 pounds.  You can physically see that at the end of the game I'm 149 pounds, that's almost 60 pounds, the most pounds that anybody has lost and why did that happen? Because I gave my food away to everyone else so they would have enough energy to go about their business.

People were very lethargic, people didn't have energy and I took two hour walks every day and really essentially only ate a couple of small bowls in the morning and a couple at night and people begged me to eat, but I wanted them to have more and I think it was a very noble approach that I took.  I'm not patting myself on the back, but if stuff like that would have been shown, great.  But when I look  back on the season I think that the producers did a fantastic job of taking this person, seeing that they were hated, then just really beefed up the part that people hated, the stories, the this the that, and they created a phenomenal Dragon Slayer villain that people will remember for a long time.
 

You're talking about yourself like it was a character.  Did you go into the season with the idea that you were going to play a certain part?  How much of it was genuine?

Well, I want to say - "How much of it was genuine?"  Well, it was all genuine, except for some of the meditation and also the Dragon Slayer. Obviously, I don't call myself The Dragon Slayer in real life, and so that's the part I was talking about. When I went down there, you know - I am a showman, the Coach, and I conduct a symphony for a living and I love being in the limelight. I like talking to people. I like having a captive audience, and Survivor was a way for me to go out there and be as eccentric as possible, and for people to love it or hate it, but to definitely encourage it, so that part for me was fun.  But I think that I have a lot of different sides to my personality, like I mentioned earlier.  The inspiring part, the motivational part, the jerk that wants to get things done. If I were to say to the tribe, "You guys were awesome today. Tyson, you did great.  Debbie, you did great.  But, you know, dang it, we've got to win."  That's the Coach in me, so if they only show "You guys, dang it, we've got to win," people will be like "Jerk."  But they didn't see me giving my food away, clapping for people, encouraging them, so you've got to know that there are two sides to that coin.  No, it wasn't a total character fabrication.  I wanted to show the more eccentric parts of my personality.


Well, let's say that you and me were having a beer off-camera - what kind of Coach would we see?

It would kind of depend on what you're going through in your life. I'm there for a lot of people and if you were going through a tough time in your marriage, or in your personal life, with your personal growth, I'd try to reaffirm you and I'd try to talk about the parts that you can improve or give yourself confidence or whatever. If you were going through a time where I thought you were going out with somebody that was killing your personality or even just friends were unhealthy in your life I'd probably kick your ass and say "Look dude, this is unhealthy for you."  I'm doing that with my cousin right now and so I'm like "You know, look ,stop it."  So, I would probably be like that, or if you just wanted to have fun, laugh, have a good time, not talk about anything serious, then that would be me as well.  I'm just really like an everyday guy, but I happen to relate and l like to listen to people and I like to help people.  That's what drives me. If you look at the last fifteen years of my life, I've been a public speaker at all different types of schools and rotary clubs and I speak and I never ask a dime for it.  But, it's like I want to go out there and somehow, some way change and help and inspire somebody along the way.


Going into the game, did you expect that the media take you as such a divisive figure?

Well, the media is going to take me however I am portrayed. I understand how they did it.  It's their job to sensationalize everything.  I think that Nietzsche said one time, very succinctly, he said "What is the most humane thing? It is to spare a man shame." Obviously, that's something the media did not do, they were not humane, but in the next sentence Nietzsche says "What does not destroy me makes me stronger."  And I'd say definitely that this experience has humbled me, it's made me take a look at my life, the confidence versus arrogance.  And it's allowed me to be stronger, and I've really been humbled and I really cherish experience and the media is a big part of that, and you guys only report on what you see.  So, I don't hold any grudges against anybody, in the game, out of the game, or in real life.


What surprised you the most about the other castaways while watching the season from home?

Probably just the continual amount of back-biting and loyalties betrayed and you get to see the full picture there.  I think a lot of things were surprising to me and it was gut-wrenching when Debbie turned on me. I know she was getting a lot of influence from J.T. and Stephen to do that and it was perhaps the plan, I'm not really sure, but that was gut-wrenching.  It was tough to watch.


Quick last question - you have any big plans for the future?

Haha.  I'll let you guys know.  I think there will be opportunities for a lot of different things.  I'm focusing on my symphony for right now, writing music.  I've got a couple of college job offers that are going to be on the table, and maybe some things are going to happen in Hollywood.  So, I'm open for anything, I'm just praying about it and contemplating what the next chapter in my life is going to be.


All right, Coach, I appreciate you taking the time.

Awesome, thanks man.


Below you will find the written transcript as well as the full mp3 audio of the interview.
http://www.buddytv.com/articles/survivor/exclusive-interview-coach-benj-28721.aspx


Offline puddin

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #20 on: May 15, 2009, 04:41:30 PM »
Ben “Coach” Wade: “It’s hurt me; I’m human” and “I’m not really like that in real life"

This morning, I talked to Survivor Tocantins biggest character, Ben Wade, known on the show as Coach. He was by far the most entertaining and controversial player, and I was glad to finally be able to talk with him and challenge him on what we saw. He was friendly and even occasionally humble as he both defended himself and discussed his behavior.
Ben said that his “confidence perceived as arrogance was kind of my way to psyche myself up. I’m not really like that in real life and I can certainly laugh at myself,” adding that, “I don’t mind laughing at myself.” He said that it was difficult to watch others talk about him. “Watching the season and seeing people talk about me reminds me of the Chronicles of Narnia, where … [Lucy] can actually hear what other people are thinking about her, and it just totally devastates her. But we know human nature and we know people are going to talk about you, especially when prompted every day by the producers to try to milk that.”
Regarding the way the show brilliantly edited him, Ben said, “I came back thinking, ‘Okay, I played with honor and integrity, I played like a noble warrior, I had some great philosophies coming in, I played different than a lot of characters have played, and I did stay true to my word. I never went against someone I had an alliance with.” So when he watched, he said he thought, “what’s this all about?” But Ben was ultimately okay with it because “it’s probably going to be boring and I wouldn’t get a lot of air time if I would have just been portrayed as a noble warrior. Instead, I created a character that was truly larger than life. It has been tough, but I also think it’s made me a better man, as far as, I know who I am. It’s been an up and down road. It’s hurt me; I’m human,” he said, and then quoted Nietzsche.
I asked him about his claim that he “created a character,” pointing out that if he was not really himself and not authentic, that’d be contrary to his stated claim of being honest and living with integrity. Here’s what he said: “I love your questions. Your articles sometimes have a negative spin toward me, but I think you’re very smart and I like the questions you ask. This is a great question, and I’ll say this: What you saw was one side of my personality that the editors wanted to portray. As far as who I am, that’s one part of it. I am the coach, I am the person that can’t be wrong, even though in real life, of course I can admit when I’m wrong.”
Ben added that we didn’t see him “encouraging everybody” and “giving away my food and eating a minimal amount in the morning and at night so the tribe is strong.” The character was the “dragon slayer,” and he said he thought, “that stuff, let’s ham it up for the camera a little bit.” As to his meditation (I almost typed “medication”) and other mockable moments, he said that’s “based on fact but definitely enlarged.”
As to his other documented lies, Ben disputed them, of course. Addressing Jeff Probst’s claim that Coach told the capture story during casting, he said, “I apologize, Jeff Probst, but you lied, I didn’t tell that story in casting,” saying instead that he summarized it (“I was captured by indigenous people in the Amazon”), adding that Probst’s “attack on my character was a little bit chicken **** because he was just trying to stir up the pot.” Ben said it takes more than 30 minutes to tell the story and that he knows who has heard it, and when he started telling that action hero movie story to his tribemates, “I knew that I would face ridicule” but “there was something in me that I knew that I had to.”
We had only about 12 minutes, which isn’t exactly enough time to go through each disputed claim, but it’s clear to me that Ben believes everything he says is accurate. I started with his initial claim that he wanted to change the game forever by keeping the strong and getting rid of the weak, even though he sometimes did the opposite. He said he came “so close,” and he said, “I know that I had an impact on this game.” I challenged that, pointing out the way things turned out, and Ben said that will become clear during Sunday’s finale, but “we can agree to disagree on this.”
Speaking of the finale, I asked him about the player responsible for voting him out, and Ben called Stephen “a brilliant man” and said, “I respect his mind,” but also said, “I always thought Stephen was sketchy; I don’t want to say that in a negative way.” Coach said that Stephen’s vote “could have been a smart move, and it could not have been. Who’s to say?” Had he stayed, “I don’t think I would have been that much of a factor in physical challenges, because my body was broken at that point, but you never know.”
Anyway, Ben’s claim about holding the record for the longest solo kayaking expedition seems to get the most attention, especially once the editor of Canoe & Kayak magazine insisted that Ben does not hold that record. Here’s what Ben told me: The editor of “Canoe & Kayak, he was not on Paul Caffyn’s supposed 9,000 mile trip. Paul Caffyn is dead, he can’t apply for the Guinness Book of World Records. The current record, by the way, is 245 miles, I think if you guys would have done your research, you would have seen that. I am applying for that record. I didn’t take the trip to do a world record; I did it for myself to get closer to God. It was the media that sensationalized that. As far as breaking the world’s record, did I break 245 miles? Yes. Is it documented? Yes. Nobody can question that.” He added that “Paul Caffyn was a glory hog and he wanted to submit his articles to Canoe & Kayak; I didn’t do that because that’s not what my trip was about.”
There’s are the contradictions that bother me: Ben keeps repeating the claim—he did in our initial conversation—but then claims it was the media’s fault; he says he did the trip “to get closer to God” and that attention isn’t what he cares about but he’s applying for the record. Later, having apparently looked it up, he said the record was 326.28 miles, and he said, “I hope you guys will now eat your words if, in fact, it turns out to be a quote Guinness Book World Record. I never said it was a quote Guinness Book World Record, I said it was a world record. I can debate this stuff all day.”
The biggest lie he told during the show came when Coach and Debbie insisted Sierra had approached them about an alliance, even though we saw it happen the other way around. Coach told me, “I’ll quote you: It’s what we saw, it’s not necessarily the real thing.” He said that Sierra approached him a few days earlier about an alliance. Complimenting her, he said “she was absolutely brilliant, a rare moment of brilliance for Sierra when she laid out the whole game.”
But Ben also acknowledged how it looked on TV. “When I watched the show and saw that become a gray area—whether it was because of editing, or because I was referring to that conversation two days before—it disappointed me. And I was disappointed in myself. I’m not perfect; I’m human. And I was grieved by the fact that it was construed that I lied about something.” He said it was “completely blown out of proportion” and that “in my mind, I didn’t [lie] at the time, but watching the episode,” it suggested otherwise.
Ben said that being on the show and dealing with people’s reactions, never mind being fired from his job, has “been a tough road for me, but now that everything’s said and done, I’m very glad I did it. I think it’s made me a better man, and it’s allowed me to look at myself—even though it’s a negative edit, a villain edit—from other people’s eyes, and I think that’s always good … because it makes you a better person.”

http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_tocantins/2009_May_15_ben_wade_interview

Offline Snooky

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #21 on: May 15, 2009, 05:53:29 PM »
Coach was truly unforgetable!

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #22 on: May 15, 2009, 10:34:07 PM »
Survivor Exit Interivew: Coach
Posted by LilHil at 2:37PM |  Comment!





Last night marked the end of an era in Survivor: Tocantins as Coach Wade was sent packing. Indeed, the warrior has fallen, the dragonslayer has been slayed! I talked to Coach earlier today and he gave me more than an earful about his thoughts on the way he was precieved by his fellow tribemates, his glorious time on Exile Island and his pick for the big winner. It's a lengthy read so settle in for some serious Coach Wade wisdom...

Hilary: I enjoyed the episode last night..it was quite a turn of events.

Coach: It was epic, it was heroic and I loved every second of it.

Hilary: So did you feel people were respectful of your life experiences, which you shared with the tribe?

Coach: I thought it was kind of hit or miss. You don't see the interaction between myself and JT and Stephen. I closed myself off to a lot of people like Erinn and Taj, so I understand their ridicule. I think that unless you've been there and done that, like one POW talking to me, I wouldnt understand, but him talking to another POW, they would understand each other. That's why Survivor is such a big communuty because we understand what we've been through. I knew when I told that story about the Amazon that people were going to ridicule me and there was a big part of me that didn't want to tell it, but I felt that it needed to be told. Whether it touches somebody somehow and makes them a better person or inspires somebody. I love motivational speaking, I've been doing it for the last thirteen years and never asked a dime for it so if I can have an influence on somebody positively, that makes it all worth it. Down there, I definintely think the producers tried to sow seeds of doubt in everyone's mind, which I'm not really supposed to talk about, but when I told that story people were silent and it took a lot out of me to tell it. I've only told it to three groups of people and it ripped my guts out to tell it. It was a very traumatic time in my life. I still get chocked up just thinking about. It was very tough but for people not to understand and respect it, I understand because if you told me the story I'd say "that's crazy, this is mordern society that doesn't happen," but then my response to that- and I'll shut up in a second and let you ask the next quesiton - if you were dropped off in the top of the Amazon with no radio, no one following, no firearems, what do you think is going to happen? You're going to shake hands with the natives, pet the crocodiles and let the phiranna tickle your belly on the way down? No, you put yourself on the front lines and things are going to happen.

And that's just the beginning! Make the jump for more Coach!


Hilary: So your poem last night, I liked it, I thought it was very...

Coach: I did think it was very appropo and I was very happy that they put it in there. I'm a music conductor and I create music and I love writing music and there's that part of my mind that people don't see. That's why I came in kinda calling myself "the Renassiance Man" I'm not trying to say I'm better than anybody because I don't think I am, in fact it's the contrary, but I love creating things. There's that creative part of my mind. You've got the trumpet player, the conductor, the soccor coach, the jock, the sensitive person. I'm probably more sensitive than anyone else out there...I've have...well enough of the that, but I love creating things so as I was sitting there just thinking about the game and reflecting on it while I was sitting there meditiating I thought this would be good and I like analogies. Of course, I ran with the dragonslayer and I don't really think I'm the dragonslayer and all that kind of dleusional stuff but I thought what a great analogy because we are in battlefield and I love making analogies like that, so anyway I just wrote it in my mind so at tribial I was like Jeff I need to say this and thank god I was able to because if I hadn't told that little poem then it wouldn't have gotten out there. I thought it was very appropro, we're all going to battle and we all hope someone out there will remember our names.

Hilary: Do you feel that it was truly heard and understood by the other members of the tribe?

Coach: Yea, I know you got all the eye rolls and all that kind of stuff but I've been told by every peson that was there, "wow, that was actually good." Everyone thought I would be pontificating about my own greatness or whatever and they were really surprised at that. Even the biggest naysayers, the biggest eye rollers, the biggest gaggers, they've all told me "wow, that was actually good."

Hilary: So have you remained friends with any of your tribemates?

Coach: Nah, we've talked very briefly and they wanted to tell me they liked the poem but for the most part we don't have any contact with anybody.

Hilary: There were a couple of times there when Jeff sort of nudged you about your stories and the poem. How do you feel about the way he treated you?

Coach: I love Jeff.He's very intuiative. Actually I think we're a lot alike. You know what he wanted to do every tribal was get people on their heels. You what you don't at tribal, he would ask me a question and try to box me in and I'd knock it out of the park. And he'd look at me like "ok, this is an unusual postion" and then he'd say "ok, so Candace, tell me about the challenge yesterday," and totally change subjects. So I think that he and I both liked coming to tribal and verbally sparring with each other. Did he insult me? Yea, that's his job. Did he cast doubt as to the validatity of my testimony? Yea, that's his job. Did it suck when he did it? Yea, but you know what, he's out there pumping up the dragonslayer every chance that he can and I'm like "ok I think this guy is the man." I had a really good repoire with him and it's his job to make it sensational and to ferret out the truth and cause dispersion and doubt on everybody. So he was just doing his job, I've got no problems with it.

Hilary: You seem to have a lot of wisdom. Do you feel like you were you able to reach and effect any of your fellow tribemates?

Coach: I definintely think so. I think that Tyson came into the game wanting to lie and cheat and steal at all costs and I really think that because of my influence on him that he changed the game. Once we merged, unfortunately it was Tyson's downfall. I'm not saying Tyson he played completely honest but he told Stephen and JT exactly their place in the game. Had he not done that it would have been he and I in the final two. You know I took Erinn under my wing at one time, I meditated with Debbie, I brought Taj to tears talking about her son. I really think that I did influence people out there. So yes, definitely.

Hilary: You made an statement last night which was interesting to me as a woman, about how women percieve things differently than men...

Coach: I try to coucil a lot of my players and assistant coaches on relationships so I do like to study human behavior. Sometimes what men think is a pebble - for instance when a woman asks "how does my hair look?" say "it's alright" and they hear, "it doesn't look good." And You think it's a pebble but the time the ripple effect gets to them it's like a boulder was dropped in and the waves are washing over them. They're ticked off and you don't even know why, SO I made that analogy because I think women do have intuition. My pebble was "hey Erinn, you did great," but she heard "oh no, Coach is going to do it dragonslayer style and he's one-upping me." That's what I was referring to. Of course talking about women's intuition, you know I made that comment originally saying that Erinn knows she's going to get voted out, but as soon as it left my mouth, I thought "uh oh, that means they could have intuition about me. I coud say I was being really brilliant and predicting my own demise, but I can't pull your leg about that. As soon as I said that it was like uh oh, she might have intuition and I'm going home.

Hilary: Who should we have our eye on now?

Coach: I think all of them. It's such a game and the excitement...You don't have the dragonslayer anymore, you don't have me to hate on now. You've got these people who are just going to go at each other's throats. And of course you know when it gets down to the final four, it's any man or woman's game. I think I'd like to see Stephen win because he is such a warrior and never complained about anything...

Hilary: The wizard!

Coach: Yes, the wizard. The wizard really turned into a man out there.


Hilary: Finally, ff you had it to do over again, would you change your agenda going to Exile island?

Coach: My time on Exile was the most beautiful, heroic, sad, self-anaylzing point of the whole show and it was beautiful and I loved it and I cherish that experience. I acutally think it made me stronger in the challenge. Contrary to what the others said I was not using it to make an excuse. I don't have to make an excuse for myself. I can tell you right now what was I dissapointed in most with throughout the whole show - it wasn't the editing, it wasn't anything else, it was me not being better at the challenges. Thinking that I'm a twenty-five year old man who's the world record Kayak holder and actually I'm not anymore. I'm a thirty-seven year old coach with a bad back and seven concussions. So I don't make any excuses on my performance. I was disappointed in myself. And coming back from Exile, I think I had such intense mental focus that I actually did better. I definintely would not change anything about that experience.
http://tvblog.ugo.com/tv/survivor-exit-interivew-coach

Offline RealityFreakWill

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #23 on: May 16, 2009, 02:32:20 AM »
'Survivor: Tocantins'' Coach Says: 'I Am Who I Am'

Benjamin "Coach" Wade is one of the most controversial characters in "Survivor" history. Despite tall tales and an interesting life philosophy that rubbed many of his fellow castaways the wrong way, he made it to the final five. But last Thursday, after failing to win the Immunity Challenge, the tribe spoke and Coach had his torch snuffed out.

ET: In watching the show back, do you think you were portrayed accurately?

Coach Wade: I think that a small part of my personality was portrayed. I am a coach; I am intense; I am a motivator, but what you didn't see was my sensitive side. You didn't see me weeping for Tyson because he was a fallen noble warrior. You didn't see me bringing Taj to tears, getting her to emotionally connect with being out there. You didn't see me doing meditation with Debbie. You didn't see my dropping almost 60 pounds from start to finish, because I gave away my food, so everybody could have a lot and I would have none. You didn't see that part of it. I am a very sensitive individual, but it made for great television. I think they did a fantastic job that I became almost larger than the show for this season. In this show, it became one of the most talked about things: Who is this lunatic? Who is this delusional guy? Who is this crazy guy? Which I am not.

ET: What about all the stories you told? Do you think people believed those?

Coach Wade: I don't. If you told me those stories, I would be, "There has certainly got to be something in there that is off." I knew it when I told it. I have been through many different circumstances that have caused me to be who I am, many life-and-death situations. That has made me me. I have to be true to myself by telling people that story. One of my main passions is to be a public speaker, and I have spoken in at least 20 places a year in the last 10-15 years after being a professional kayaker. My stories touch a lot of lives. If there is somebody out there who changes, who becomes motivated, who will look at their life and say, "I need to make something better of myself," then that is the reason for telling them. I have been through hell and back and I knew telling those stories [that] I would be ridiculed, but I have to be true to myself.

ET: You seem to be a polarizing character. Jeff Probst was a fan of yours. He would say, "You haven't seen anything yet from Coach." But people seem to either love you or hate you. Do you have any understanding of that?

Coach Wade: Leonard Bernstein once said: "To achieve greatness, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time." I think not quite enough time sums up my heroic exit. Going through Exile Island and doing it that way, I couldn't have scripted it any better. I know people love to hate me, they hate to love me, they love to love me and they hate to hate me. That is okay, because I am who I am. Nobody out there can shake me. They have tried to sensationalize many different parts of who I am, but they can't touch the person who is a man of God, a Christian, and who has his character forged like an iron in the fire. I am polarizing.

ET: After Debbie was blindsided at Tribal Council, did you have an idea that your alliance was crumbling and you might be in trouble?

Coach Wade: I knew I was in trouble when Tyson was gone. They tried to make it easier for me to swallow by telling me that Tyson had lied to them, but I knew when Tyson left -- I felt that he and I could have been one and two -- I knew that I was on borrowed time after that. You definitely saw me more subdued. You also saw me going to Stephen and J.T. saying, "I don't want to cram this down your throat about this." I let them voice it and they turned their words around. I knew after Tyson left, and especially after Debbie left, I knew I was on borrowed time.

ET: In the Immunity Challenge, when it came down to you and J.T., did you suspect if you didn't win, you were going home?

Coach Wade: The way that J.T. was acting up there, I thought, "This guy wants me to lose." And then he said that and what else can I say, "J.T. I trust you implicitly?" I think by me saying that, it shamed him into not voting for me. I think he would have liked to see me in the final three. That was definitely a one-of-a-kind Immunity Challenge, and I am glad it went down the way it did. It was a great ending, I think.

ET: You also seemed a little concerned about the possibility of going to Exile Island.

Coach Wade: I know it has come up that maybe I couldn't start a fire, but on day four, it was soaked outside and nobody could get the fire started. Brendan, Jerry, everybody tried to start the fire. If you ask for the tape, you'll see I started it on the first or second time. I had a fear of my body and being away from the game, but I had no idea what Exile was like. Once I knew what it was like, I should have raised my hand from the beginning. It was a beautiful, primal, eccentric place that I actually thrived at. I did have some apprehension -- not that I was worried about surviving. Like I said, I could do another 10 days out there, if I had to. I think it was a beautiful time that I had and I am glad that I went.

ET: You have had a few different careers, what are you going to return to? And has this game opened any new doors for you?

Coach Wade: I definitely think it is going to open new doors for me. That is one of the reasons I wanted to go on the show. I am definitely interested in opportunities. I will sift through it and sort through it and pray through it. I do have a full-time job with the Susanville Symphony that I conduct in Northern California. I have a couple of coaching jobs on the table. It is a time of limbo for me, but it has been a good time of spiritual growth and personal growth.

http://www.etonline.com/news/2009/05/74291/index.html



Offline RealityFreakWill

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Re: Benjamin Wade
« Reply #24 on: May 16, 2009, 02:43:38 AM »
Survivor: Coach Talks Blindsides, Weightloss & Nietzsche

Arguably one of the most entertaining people to ever be cast on Survivor, Benjamin “Coach” Wade, 37, was the 12th person eliminated from the game Thursday night. The Susanville, Calif.-based college soccer coach/symphony conductor/warrior eagerly talked to PEOPLE about his dramatic weight loss, character assassination, losing his day job and Nietzsche. – Carrie Bell

Were you blindsided last night?
I really didn’t think I was going to get voted off. But there was a moment when we were casting the votes where I looked into the fire and a voice in my head said, “You’re going home tonight. Are you cool with that?” It was a conversation in my mind. I’m not crazier than they make me out to be, I promise! I was leaning on my staff as Jeff read the names and thought, “Yeah it’s time. I’m ready.”

You told a lot of wild tales by the campfire. So level with us — are you speaking truth or are you pathological liar?
I am probably the most misunderstood person in America right now. I can guarantee you two things: I’m not delusional or crazy. My reputation and my character have been assassinated … It has been a difficult road. I’m human and some of this stuff has cut me to the quick. But I remember two things to get through it: One, I am a child of God and no one can take that away. And I’ve got the character that has been forged by these triumphant victories and devastating losses.

You wanted to keep the strongest players in the game. Why did Brendan not qualify for the Warrior Alliance?
Duk Koo Kim wrote on his lampshade ‘kill or be killed’ the night before he was killed in the ring by Boom Boom Mancini, and that’s what happened with Brendan. The very first day I went up to him and said, “Let’s change this game together. I know you are going to be strong.” He brushed me off and said, “We don’t need a coach out here.”

You had your jacket over your shoulder for every vote. Did this ritual mean anything?
I needed to do something to make tribal my own. I wanted to put my stamp on it, so I started wearing my feather in my hair and doing the jacket thing. I think I am the only person to ever recite poetry at tribal as well.

You lost a lot of weight. How is your health now?
I dropped almost 60 lbs. by trying to play nobly. I started the game at 205. At the end, I was basically a skeleton and weighed 149. My body was cannibalizing itself and eating its muscle. Taj lost the second most amount of weight but she did it because she wanted to get skinny for her man. I wasn’t trying to get skinny for anyone. People were begging me to eat, but I needed to play this way. The asthma was kicking my butt down there. I was speaking like an 80-year-old man. My back gives me problems still. It tightens up … but I am getting back to normal.

How has the reaction been since you’ve been back?
They say don’t read the blogs and I can see why. But why should I care what they say? It hurts because I’m human, but I don’t have one friend in my life that blogs. Nietzsche says, “What is the greatest form of humanity? To spare another man’s shame.” Obviously, these bloggers need to take a page out of Nietzche’s book. But the public reaction has been phenomenal. I’ve had easily a couple thousand people wanting photos and autographs from me and everybody has told me I was the only reason to watch Survivor this year.

We understand you lost your coaching gig at Southwest Baptist University because you went on Survivor. Tell us what happened and your future professional plans.
When CBS first called me to do it, I told them no and that I couldn’t leave my girls. I went to my boss and told her I turned them down and she ordered me to go. When I came back, I realized she hadn’t told her boss, the athletic director, and she lost face and had to either fire me or her. She chose me. I was the scapegoat. My short-term goal is to be in PEOPLE magazine because I have a great story to tell. I pray about the long-term goals. I have a couple of coaching opportunities I am considering. I did call my symphony and asked if they could pay me full-time. They said yes, so I moved back to Northern California. I want to go to 20 different countries in the next 20 years to write 20 symphonies based on the culture and the historical instruments. As far as Hollywood, I think I am going to get people coming at me with offers. I don’t want to be a reality junkie but I would absolutely want my own show.

http://tvwatch.people.com/2009/05/15/survivor-coach-talks-blindsides-weightloss-nietzsche/