Author Topic: Dan Kay  (Read 5728 times)

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Offline Kogs

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Dan Kay
« on: August 27, 2008, 10:48:51 AM »


Biography
Dan Kay (32)
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Occupation: Lawyer

Dan Kay has come a long way from his blue-collar roots in Boston. Born and raised in Walpole, Massachusetts, he was very involved in athletics, especially football, skiing and track. While in high school, Dan played on a varsity football team, which had a long tradition of winning, a tradition that has helped shape his strong work-ethic. He graduated from The University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science & English and later would earn his law degree from Syracuse University College of Law where he was also a member of the Moot Court Honor Society.

Charismatic, hard working and goal oriented, most of Dan's traits were formed from the influence provided by his parents and a select few coaches and teachers. As a young boy, his father became disabled, leaving his mother to care for his family and, eventually, his ill grandmother, all while working as a full-time nurse. In addition, Dan credits his mother's work ethic and unselfish attitude for his strong desire to overcome any obstacles in his career and personal life.

Dan has practiced law in Boston for five years, which helped him to purchase several investment properties. However, dedicating so much of his time to his practice left him depressed and feeling less than fulfilled with his life. Prior to leaving for SURVIVOR, he sold off a number of investments and spent time away from his job, in an effort to focus more on himself and his friends and family. He believes this recent awareness, along with having an increased appreciation for the people in his life rather than material possessions, will help him succeed not only in his personal life, but on SURVIVOR.

Attractive, athletic, single and a lawyer, Dan is set to make a big impression on his competitors. Dan's hobbies include skiing, running, biking, weight training and cooking. Currently, he is training to compete in his first triathlon.

He is single and lives in Boston. His birthdate is June 30, 1976.


Offline Kogs

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Re: Dan Kay
« Reply #1 on: August 27, 2008, 11:30:36 AM »
« Last Edit: August 27, 2008, 01:38:58 PM by puddin »


Offline puddin

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Re: Dan Kay
« Reply #2 on: August 27, 2008, 05:42:45 PM »
........


Offline marigold

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Re: Dan Kay
« Reply #3 on: September 11, 2008, 09:39:01 PM »
.... an interesting article:

I think it’s going to help my strategy that I’m nice

Boston lawyer Dan Kay was quiet, thoughtful, intelligent, introspective—and about to be crushed and destroyed by more ruthless competitors. And by that, I mean everyone single other person, even those like listless Matty Whitmore. At least, that’s how I was left feeling after talking to him. He’s a great person, but I wasn’t quite convinced that he was ready for Survivor.

Dan was recruited while watching the Yankees play the Red Sox in a bar in April, and said that Survivor Gabon “kind of came along at the right time. By no means was I in a position to continue the career path I had a couple of months ago.” He left his job at his firm because “it’s been a life-changing year for me. … About a year ago, I had a relationship that ended—not my choice—but it really made me reevaluate who I was as a person. And I didn’t realize how depressed I became with my profession. … And I didn’t see the full effect it had on me personally.”

Dan describes himself as “a pretty emotional person, but in a constructive way. I’ve learned over the past few years to talk through things. And I think there’s an outlet for it, which is probably the point of the show; it is the camera.” He’s also introspective. When we first started talking, he mentioned being “nervous” about his strategy, “anxious to meet everybody,” and fascinated by the “surreal” experience. “I think I look cookie-cutter,” he acknowledged, but also said that he’s “a pretty complicated person.”

He’s very cautious about the effects of his words, which one would imagine is a skill that’d work well in the game, except that he might just come across as insecure, unsure, or just weak. For example, when anticipating the physical challenges ahead of him, he said, “I imagine it to be a little bit like book camp, but I don’t want to take anything away from people who’ve been through boot camp.”

Dan’s unwillingness to be critical or hurt other people’s feelings (the polar opposite of self-described “asshole” Randy Bailey) also became clear when he talked about his family, who he’s close to. When he was growing up, his mother cared for Dan, his sister, their grandmother, and their father, who was “forced into retirement” early in his life and faced “cancer, heart disease, diabetes,” never mind a fall from a 40-foot ladder.

While Dan obviously has a lot of sympathy for his dad, he’s also aware of the impact his dad’s parenting had yet is unwilling to be critical. “And my father, who’s always pushed me to be a better student and a better person. I know it comes from a good place, but it made me a little bit neurotic, a lot self-conscious. I don’t want him to take the blame for that; I’ve had great parents, but I’ve had to overcome some mental obstacles. I’m my own worst critic, and I listen to that,” he said.

Toward the end of our conversation, I mentioned how genuine he seems and asked, “Are you too nice for this game?” He’d heard that previously, and said, “I think it’s going to help my strategy that I’m nice. But you just have to remember that it is a game, and you can’t take anything personally. They want or need the million dollars more—or just as much as I do.”

I don’t want to make too much of a conversational slip, since none of us speak flawless sentences, but it is worth noting that he defaulted to saying the other contestants want the money “more” than he does. After talking with Dan, I felt like he’s the kind of player who would sacrifice himself in the game for someone he thought was more deserving, and with the liars who tend to play this game, he could easily be swindled.

But Dan did acknowledge that his biggest challenge was “being able to trust and knowing when not to trust. That is going to mess with my mind, and that is going to be the most difficult, absolutely.” And he did have a well-developed understanding of the game. “There’s so many variables to this game that you can’t give any weight to those. The only one I can really give any weight to is keeping your emotions in check, not let everyone see any anger or frustration or dislike,” he said.

He prepared to be on the show, watching past seasons on DVD and getting ready physically. “I’ve trained my body in the past month to operate on as few calories as possible, and hopefully retain as much muscle as I can.”

When I asked about how others will perceive him, both in the game and once the show starts airing, he said, “I don’t need to prove anything to anyone. I hope that the true person that I am now comes out in the media, because I like that person, and I think that person might be able to help other people. However, if it does not, I need to be able to overcome that and remain happy and healthy, and that’s really all I can control, so we’ll see how it goes.”

Link: http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_gabon/2008_Sep_11_dan_kay

Offline marigold

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Re: Dan Kay
« Reply #4 on: October 31, 2008, 05:10:25 PM »
An interview with Dan:

Survivor: Gabon “I felt awful all the time"

What was your first impression of Africa?
Dan: It's very rural. There is nothing there but it is beautiful.

Did you prefer being on the Kota or Fang tribe?
Dan: Well, I don't like losing. But, that's a tough question. It's a tale of two evils. I think I'd have to say that I liked being on Fang better. Even though we were not winning rewards, I feel like there are better people on that tribe. When it comes down to being able to play this game I could relate to and work with the people on Fang.

How did it feel to get a letter from home after winning the reward challenge?
Dan: It was so great. I was having a difficult time relating to some of the members of the Kota tribe. I felt really lonely, and I thought about home a lot. Getting those letters from home really kept me going.

What was the hardest part of Survivor for you?
Dan: Mentally it's really tough. Physically, watching the show doesn't do it justice. I felt awful all the time. I felt like I had the flu and had no energy. Mentally the most difficult thing for me was dealing with some of the people. It blew me away that people would act the way that they acted. I really was surprised. I don't know how they weren't embarrassed with themselves.

Who's the player to watch now?
Dan: I don't think there's any one player to watch. It's anyone's game. I really believe that. But I want, Matty, Sugar or Randy to win. I think they're good people and they played the game hard.

What are you doing now?
Dan: I've been trying to eat less and workout more, so I don't gain too much weight for the finale. I'm going to go back to the practice of law.

Link: http://www.intouchweekly.com/2008/10/survivor_gaboni_felt_awful_all.php


Offline marigold

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Re: Dan Kay
« Reply #5 on: October 31, 2008, 06:39:30 PM »
An interview with Dan:

Exclusive: Dan Kay dishes about his 'Survival: Gabon' ouster

Dan Kay, a 32-year-old lawyer from Walpole, MA, was seemingly living the high life when a tribal shuffle left him as a well-feed member of the Kota tribe that had been consistantly demolishing his former Fang tribemates in Survivor: Gabon's challenges.

However, 21 days into his stay on Survivor: Gabon, Kay's inability to bond with his new Kota tribemates and the rift it caused caused him to become one of two castaways -- and the eighth overall -- to be eliminated from Survivor: Gabon during Thursday's broadcast of the show on CBS.

On Friday, Dan talked with Reality TV World about why he didn't believe tribemates assurances that he wasn't about to be voted out, what had led him to become so worried about his survival on the Kota tribe, and why he ultimately preferred his losing tribemates on Fang. 

Reality TV World:  Given that [Marcus Lehman] had come right out and told you that you weren't going home before last night's Tribal Council session, were you surprised that you were the one voted off?

Dan: No, absolutely not! I did not believe him for a second. Part of what led to me being voted off is that I never trusted Marcus.

There was a point in the show prior where I made a speech. I said "We can have a big alliance." Well that was more Marcus talking through me.

When we first switched up tribes, Marcus was really concerned that the old Fang members were going to be loyal to old Fang and -- being [that there were] four Kota [tribe members] -- why wouldn't they just take us out? We spent hours upon hours making him feel comfortable, addressing his needs. Then I would say "Well how can I trust you? There's four of you," and he would say "I don't know what to tell you," and that was the end of it.

Marcus made me nervous from the beginning and I never trusted him, so even though he told me that he was going to vote for [Susie Smith], there was no way I believed that. I did not believe that at all. I didn't fully fight because I wanted to remain political in case there was a chance he was being truthful, but I didn't believe him.
 
Reality TV World:  How did you react [when you heard] the comment he made where he called you a "bumbling idiot" after his conversation with you on last night's show?

Dan: Well I think that goes to Marcus. I think it shows a level of maturity that is nonexistent, and it shows a level of arrogance and, you know, he's been hanging out with [Corinne Kaplan] too long and talking like that. So, whatever, it's fine. He's younger than I am so I'm okay with that.

If there's people I identify as bad people, and those bad people like me, well then I'm doing something wrong. I'm not saying they're bad, but I'm just saying in my opinion that people I identify that I don't like.
 
Reality TV World:  Speaking of Corinne, were you aware that she and her alliance were worried that you had found the Immunity Idol?

Dan: No. That I was not aware of actually, so that was surprising to me. I thought that was a dead issue at that point.
 
Reality TV World:  After you were voted out, Jeff made a comment that seemed to imply that the split 4-3 vote meant your tribe was divided about who to send home, but from watching at home it seemed like they just decided to split the vote so that Susie would still be going home even if you did have the idol and played it.  Why do you think it was a 4-3 vote?

Dan: (Laughs) I'm gonna make you watch.

Do I think the tribe is divided? Remember there was a clip last week where they were saying "I think it's gonna be Dan. I was gonna vote for you," and [Randy Bailey] says that Susie's "gone too far in this game?" That should tell you my answer, because I do. I think at this point everybody's sort of getting on each others nerves.

And it's sort of like when you just asked [Ace Gordon] something about [if he was] aware that he had a conflicting personality with some of the other members, and it's like, I've heard everybody talk poorly about someone else. I've heard [Charlie Herschel's] name come up, I've hear [Robert "Bob" Crowley's] name come up, and you know Corinne was always coming over to me saying "I can't take Bob anymore" or "I can't take Susie anymore."

So, yeah. It doesn't matter your personality, no one is liked by everybody, and no one is probably liked by more than five people (Laughs). It's just the way it works.

And even if you are, you're there isolated with them 24-hours a day, seven-days a week, so you're gonna get on each others nerves.
 
Reality TV World:  Last night, Randy and the rest of his new Kota allies said they didn't think they could trust you to remain loyal to them after the tribes merged.  Was that accurate -- had you planned on flipping over to the Fang side once the merge occurred?

Dan: I was hoping that Marcus would have a conversation with me addressing my needs and addressing my concerns. Had he done that than I would have respected him a lot more and I would have trusted and been loyal to him. But I felt he was a little bit selfish in that respect and so I absolutely would have, at the very least, voted out Corinne because I was sick of listening to her.
 
Reality TV World:  All viewers had seen for the first six episodes was what a great guy Bob was then suddenly last night we saw Marcus and the rest of his "onion alliance" talking about how Randy had managed to replace him as the fourth member of their core alliance.  Do you have any idea how that happened?

Dan: Yeah I think it's sort of what I just said. Bob tells these long, drawn out stories and they can be boring. He can at times -- and listen I like Bob and I think we all have our faults on this show, I am by no means better than anyone on this show -- but Bob can talk down to you. And because he's a teacher and has been a teacher for a very long time, that can be difficult to deal with when, again, you're with them constantly. And so I think they haven't necessarily had times in the episodes to show that.

And as much as Randy might be a mean guy, where people are saying "Oh, Corinne's making fun of people but Randy is too. What make's Corinne's mean and Randy not?" Randy's just the kind of guy that, you know, you wanna give a hug to the guy. He wasn't loved enough or something. He means it in good fun, where Corinne comes across as more genuine in her insults.
 
Reality TV World:  Were you surprised that Randy was able to work his way into Marcus, Charlie, and Corinne's alliance?

Dan: A little bit, to be honest with you, because when I first met him -- and he laughed about this, I've told him this -- I said that he was the type of guy that I'd see on [NBC's] Dateline because he's a little bit off. So I definitely thought that he wouldn't necessarily get in that group.

But now that I think about it, and I use this analogy and I hate to use this analogy, you know how alcoholics have to have another alcohol with them and are always like "Come on, let's go get a beer and skip this and skip that" -- that's sort of like Corinne, she needs to feel better by having someone else [who's] mean along with her.

So I saw Randy being brought down to her level. But what it ultimately did was create an ally, and that's something that I had a difficult time doing.

Reality TV World:  Last night, there were even some people on the other tribe who mentioned that your Kota tribemates had been finding you irritating.  Had you really not noticed that was happening?

Dan: I feel that I'm a pretty intuitive person, and yeah I could kind of tell. And that's fine.

I feel like I took myself out of that mix -- like Corinne and Marcus -- I think I could have made more of an effort to relate to them where they would have found me less irritating. But I was so taken back by their personalities that I just couldn't do it anymore.

Reality TV World:  Is that what that "I'm a really sensitive person" conversation with Corinne and Marcus was trying to address or were you trying to accomplish something else with that?

Dan: Yeah. Well.... At that point... At that point was when Marcus wasn't addressing, he was saying "You guys make me nervous" and we would try and make him feel relaxed and good so that he wouldn't be panicked every day, and yet he wouldn't make any of us feel comfortable and that made me more increasingly nervous. So I was trying to address my concern by saying "Hey, you guys aren't the only ones here. We have concerns too. I have concerns about trusting you guys." So that's really what I was doing, but after a while listening to Corinne I was done with it. I just wanted to get to the merge and talk to the people that I related to better.

Reality TV World:  How were you cast on Survivor?

Dan: I was found while watching a Red Sox-Yankees game. It was the very last week of April or the first week of May and I was in a bar having lunch with my best friend and they just came up to me and said "Hey, have you heard of Survivor?" and they sort of talked to me and said "I like your story, would you like to come out to California?"

So I went out to California and then a few weeks later I was on a plane going out to Africa. It's kind of a neat story.

Link: http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/exclusive-dan-kay-dishes-about-his-survival-gabon-ouster-7955.php