Video links:
- Mike's official CBS bio page for Survivor: Redemption Island
- Mike's pre-game interview with EW's Dalton Ross
- Mike's CBS pre-game interview (on YouTube)
Other links:
Collection of images from the pre-game and circa Ep1-era footage provided with the cast release videos:
Vidcap gallery: Click on thumbnails to expand; use arrow keys to navigate between large pics.
TV Guide Channel preview:
"Mike came to play, and I could see Mike winning this game. He's likeable enough that if he gets to the end, yeah, I'd give him the money."
CBS cast assessment video:
"Mike is Captain America, good looking guy, very nice guy to talk to. He's definitely a strategy player. What are the rules again? How can I exploit them? This is a game, and that's a guy after my heart, because that's how I approach Survivor as well. This isn't about friends, this is about a million dollars. Mike could definitely make it far, and Mike has the social skills to win."
Vidcap gallery: Click on thumbnails to expand; use arrow keys to navigate between large pics.
From his EW photo caption:
"This former solider who saw action in Iraq has the best preparation possible for the rollercoaster ride that is Survivor. 'In warfare you see the absolute best in humanity and you see the absolute worst in humanity. It's a complete dichotomy of sorts. It's 15 minutes of chaos followed by a month of sheer and utter boredom.' Mike actually applied with a former girlfriend for The Amazing Race, but when she backed out, he ended up on Survivor instead. He counts Rupert as his favorite contestant ever and Russell as his least fave: 'The dude was very watchable, however he just needed to go. I don't know why those tribes kept him in the game.'"
From his official CBS bio page:
"Personal Claim to Fame: Bringing all my Marines home after my first deployment to Iraq.
Inspiration in Life: My grandfather. He was a B-17 Navigator during World War II and spent two years in a POW Camp.
Survivor Contestant You Are Most Like: Rudy. Nobody was intimidated by him, so he wasn't voted out early and he had the ability to tough it out.
Reason for being on Survivor: Winning the competition and earning the million dollar prize.
Why you think you'll survive Survivor: The mental toughness I've developed from serving in the Marines and playing college football at the US Naval Academy.
Why you think you will be the sole Survivor: I like to think outside of the box, and I am socially aware and strong athletically."
Sucks posters pageantsurvivorfan and Dictatorship got the ball rolling by noticing that several non-Maine/-pageant people seemed to be mutual facebook friends with previously spoiled Survivor 22 contestant Ashley Underwood, including Matt Elrod, Mike Chiesl and Natalie Tenerelli.
Basic biographical info, largely lifted from Mike's LinkedIn profile
- Upon graduating from the Naval Academy in 2002, he entered the Marines as a Communications Informations Systems Officer. Retired from the Marines in 2007, as a captain.
- Co-founded Trident Realty with Dan Chapman, a fellow Naval Academy grad/Marine captain. Allegedly since 2006, according to LinkedIn.
As is now required for male Survivor contestants, Mike played Division I NCAA football in college. He was a linebacker at the Naval Academy. (Navy listed him as second-string middle linebacker, 6' 3", 238 lbs. as a senior in August, 2001).
Here's an excerpt from a re-printed (on some site apparently owned by CBS) article, originally from The Sporting News. Written by Dave Kindred, shortly after 9/11 (you had to be there):
"Just before noon, linebackers Mike Chiesl and Dan Ryno led Navy onto the field in an all-out sprint. They carried high an American flag. No one had ever done that for a Navy game. But never before had there been a September 11, 2001.
At dinner Friday night, Chiesl and Ryno had seen the flag in a corner of a hotel lobby. Permission, sir, to liberate the flag. Granted.
'We wanted to do that for the Naval Academy' Chiesl said. 'And we were doing it for all of America.'
He's a Texan, a big one, and he stood tall. His eyes were those of a happy young man with journeys to make. When he smiled, he was as handsome as a flag seen by the dawn's early light."
