August
27, 2009: Three weeks before the premiere, CBS finally
releases the cast on their official web site. Here's Russell's
bio from there:
"Russell Hantz (36)
Hometown: Dayton, Texas
Occupation: Oil Company Owner
Russell Hantz’s personality speaks for
itself when he proudly displays a missing tooth that he refuses to fix! This
married father of four is visually memorable. Standing tall at only 5’6”,
he is built like a brick house with a bald head. At 200 pounds of pure muscle,
Russell’s solid
figure and sharp tongue has helped him carve out a multi-million dollar business
in the oil-tanking industry.
A huge SURVIVOR fan, this self-made man built his
business from scratch by working hard, speaking his mind and stepping on anyone
who got in his way. Russell won’t apologize for his style of game play either saying, “I’m
not going out there to make friends. I’m just not doing it. But everybody
is going to think I’m their best friend, because I’m just such
a lovable character.”
Russell can’t wait to get in the competition and show “these morons
how it’s done” and he “plans to play the game dirtier, smarter
and more cunning than anyone can imagine.” It is those skills that have
allowed him to achieve his biggest accomplishment in life and that is being
able to provide for his family.
Russell is married with four children and currently
resides in Dayton, Texas. His birth date is October 10th."
August
24, 2009: First Survivor: Samoa ads begin
to air on CBS, and Russell is given a featured speaking role,
saying (apparently unironically) "I can control how they think."
Russell, in-game mind control
Russell, second from left (with hat)
Russell, ready for first IC (in underwear)
Russell, the human tanker
Shortly after the ad airs, Sucks poster Jacare15 identifies
Russell, saying: "Bigguy who controls how people think last name
is Hantz. He was recruited James Clement style--aka friends with
Boo."
Rapidly, both smokeitgood and SEGScapegoat find
his MySpace page, which identifies him as Russell Hantz, 36,
of Dayton, Texas. For good measure, Polonium also finds his wife
Melanie's MySpace, as well.
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