Orange County residents Shauhin Davari and David Kinne join the ranks of "Survivor" contestants in season 48.
“Survivor” is chock full of life lessons. It’s damn near a philosophy, if you ask Shauhin Davari.
The Orange Coast College professor and former attorney is one of two new Orange County-based competitors on season 48 of the long-running CBS reality TV show. He says he became obsessed with the show during the pandemic and it led to a profound realization.
“I was meant to help young people change their lives,” says Davari, who resides in Costa Mesa. “To think critically about the world, think critically about their own ideas, to help them learn how to change their minds. So when it comes to why I found ‘Survivor’ so fascinating, it’s essentially what happens in the game.”
Davari, an assistant professor of communication studies at Orange Coast College, quickly found what almost amounted to a lesson plan.
“The whole point is all these people have competing interests,” he says. “They are all obviously self-interested, yet they have to work together and they have to try and get what they want to happen, which requires a ton of interpersonal communication – which I teach, debate – which I teach, and acting – which I teach.”
In 2021, Davari’s father died and mother had three back surgeries, limiting her mobility, which allowed her to ‘fall in love’ with the show, he says. He later put together a “Survivor”-themed family vacation that included show elements like challenges, tribal councils and in the end, his mom won. Because of it, “I made her a promise I would go play ‘Survivor’ myself,” he says. “It’s important to keep your promises to your mom.”
One of the other new competitors is stuntman and outdoorsman David Kinne of Buena Park, who remembers how a white-water rafting trip when he was 12 changed his life. He loved the idea of one day doing it for a summer job, put it on his to-do list and years later, made it real. His journey to “Survivor” was similar.
“I’ve always been chasing the dream of not only traveling, but experiencing life,” Kinne says. “I remember watching ‘Survivor’ when I was really young and thinking, ‘I could do that.’ It was always something I wanted to do, and had in the back of my mind. This year, I came to a point in my life where it just seemed like a perfect fit. This is me. I have to do this. I needed the challenge.”
Davari could see himself being on the show, and also didn’t want to set a double standard with himself and his students.
“I love a test,” Davari says. “I love to challenge myself, and I think challenging yourself and doing hard things is the way to learn what you’re capable of. More than you thought possible. I push my students to think that’s possible for themselves and that there’s more out there for them. To not think or prove that for myself is not living consistently with how I am as a coach.”
But both found the casting process to have its own unique challenges.
“They want to make sure they bring the best of the best out there to the island,” says Kinne, who has worked as a stunt performer for the Walt Disney Company and for Universal Studios Japan. “People who are going to be not only entertaining, but have a good story to tell. The process was not only rigorous, but exciting. I just ate it all up.”
Davari agrees. “It’s super intense. Lots of different steps,” but he says “the key is pretty simple. Let them get to know you. They’re seeing what you are gonna be like out there – show us who you are or are you gonna hide that?”
By the time shooting had started, both say they were mentally sharper for what was to come.
“I’ve been through casting calls, this was different. This is just me,” Kinne says. “I think everybody goes through a bit of an imposter syndrome. But I had to remind myself I’m not only good enough, but good enough to win. I think the show really focuses on the social game. I don’t know if there is anybody there who’s as experienced dealing with such a diverse group of people. That’s what ‘Survivor’ is all about. To be able to assimilate not only in your tribe, but in general. Holding your tongue when you have to, being charming when you have to, being strategic when you have to and balancing all these things out.”
For Davari, it was his third audition. But he thinks he might have just become more interesting in that time. The three-minute audition tape was especially valuable.
“You’re forced to summarize who you are, what your perspective is, where your perspective comes from, and a story you want to tell in three minutes. It was better than therapy,” Davari says. “It was another opportunity to examine who I want to be. You rarely get opportunities in life to do that.”
When he stepped foot on the sand, Davari thinks he was “probably more secure” with “a clearer definition of who I am. I also developed an understanding of what would be good game play. I think they also saw growth. It’s weird to say it, but I think they thought, ‘OK, this person has gone through something and now he can talk about it.’”
And of course, both are pretty positive about their chances to succeed.
“Every different archetype has won the game,” Davari says. “It’s not a physical game, per se. It’s hard. It’s just hard. You’re not given any food to start with. You don’t have a place to sleep that’s comfortable. Then you add in the fact people you know (you) can’t trust. You know have to lie to you. Definitely a difficult game. And if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be fun to watch.”
What each of them takes away from their experience on the show is quite different. For Kinne, who obtained an associate’s degree in theater from Golden West College in Huntington Beach, it’s one of the last big things on a to-do list of adventures for a single man. After this, he’s looking mostly to settle down.
“To me, I want to start a family. That’s my ultimate dream,” Kinne says.
For Davari, it’s providing a healthy supply of material for his classes. In addition to teaching communication studies, he also serves as director of the award-winning forensics (speech and debate) team at OCC.
“I’ve already been doing a bunch of ‘Survivor’ stuff in my classes. We watch clips for public speaking. I want to do a small group communication class that’s all ‘Survivor’-based. I love running game design. It’s a very cool thing for me, so ‘Survivor’ will always (hold) a special place in my heart. It’s such a good allegory for life. You want things to get done and you have to figure out how to go do that. Sometimes that might be with people you don’t like or sometimes it might be in a way that needs to be clever. What a great lesson for people.”
