Brian Heidik

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brian Heidik (born March 9, 1968) won $1,000,000 on the Thailand edition of Survivor.

Prior to being cast in Survivor, Brian was a used car salesman and actor. Some of his roles were in softcore adult films (see IMDB entry), although this didn't factor into his performance in Survivor. At this time he met actress Charmaine Heidik (while in the business she went by CC Costigan and then CC Heidik); they went on to marry as well as produce and co-star in adult films. In October 2002 he accused her of hitting him and announced plans to file for divorce. But when time came for the hearing, he failed to show up to testify against her. Many were not sure if he would show up for the live finale of Survivor: Thailand, due to the police searching for him in regards to the case against Charmaine Heidik, but he as well as Charmaine attended the finale, and soon after the Heidiks announced their reconciliation.

[edit] Survivor: Thailand

As part of the Chuay Gahn tribe, Brian was not immediately targeted due to his physical strength and his ability to provide food for the tribe. Early on in the game, he was considered a trustworthy individual, despite his used car salesman occupation being known by all. However, his status as trustworthy would soon change dramatically. When Brian's tribe lost the first and second immunity challenges, he joined the majority to vote out John Raymond and Tanya Vance. After the Grindgate incident (which you can read about here: Survivor: Thailand), Brian was worried that the rift between Ted Rogers and Ghandia Johnson would divide the tribe. So he enlisted the help of Helen Glover to side with himself, Ted and Clay Jordan to vote out Ghandia, which they did successfully in Episode 4. By doing so, he created a Final 2 alliance with Helen, despite already having one with Ted. Chuay Gahn then enjoyed two immunity wins.

When there were only 10 Survivors left, the two tribes began living on the same beach, believing they had merged into one tribe. However, this was not the case. Chuay Gahn continued their winning streak for two more episodes, dwindling the former Sook Jai members to only 3. When the tribes finally merged at 8 Survivors remaining, Brian was a strong force in keeping the Chuay Gahn alliance strong and ousting the remaining former Sook Jai members at back-to-back tribal councils. They were very successful, voting out Ken Stafford, Penny Ramsey and Jake Billingsley. At this point Brian had three Final 2 alliances, each with Helen, Ted and Clay.

At the Final 5, the survivors (all members of Chuay Gahn) were forced to turn on each other. Helen and Ted had a plan to pull over Jan Gentry and vote out Clay, whom they believed did not deserve a spot in the Final 2. When Brian heard the two had been talking, he wrongly believed this was against himself, with neither Helen or Ted having this idea in mind. After winning individual immunity, Brian, together with Jan, Helen and Clay, voted out Ted despite their Final 2 alliance. At the Final 4, Brian enjoyed another immunity win and informed Helen that Jan would be voted out. However, he went with Clay and used Jan to vote out Helen, believing she had conspired against him and she was unbeatable in the Final 2.

At the Final 3, Brian felt comfortable with his game and immunity wins, despite backstabbing two of his former tribemates. He managed to win the final immunity, and chose to vote out Jan, taking Clay into the Final 2. Jan was the only former Chuay Gahn Final 5 member Brian did not have a Final 2 alliance with. Believing Clay was more hated, Brian thought he had made the right decision. However, Brian faced a tough Jury and in particular a very angry Helen.

In the end, Brian Heidik beat out Clay Jordan in a 4-3 vote to become the Sole Survivor. He managed to gain the votes of Jake Billingsley, Ted Rogers, Helen Glover and Jan Gentry. However, many of Brian's votes came from a vote against Clay, i.e. Helen and Ted whom Brian betrayed in the game. In voting, Ted even mentioned that he was voting for "the lesser of two evils". In this way, Brian's strategy worked perfectly.

[edit] Trivia

Brian is considered by some online Survivor fans to be the "Greatest Survivor Ever." Due to Brian's seeming lack of interest in promoting subsequent series of the show, however, and his cold and calculating persona on the show, Brian was not as popular as many of the other winners.

There is also a general consensus that Survivor: Thailand was the worst of the to-date thirteen Survivor series, and its cast was the least strategically-minded, thus somewhat lessening Brian's triumph.

Despite, or perhaps due to, his status as a past winner, he was not a member of the Survivor: All-Stars cast. Rumor has it that he was not part of the cast because he wanted an appearance fee.

In 2004 Heidik began writing Survivor commentaries for the National Enquirer tabloid.

On July 5, 2006, Heidik was arrested for allegedly shooting a 12 to 16-week-old shepherd-hound mix puppy with an arrow. Heidik claims he thought the animal who had wandered into his yard was a fox or a coyote even though he was just a foot away from the animal when shooting. He has been charged with domestic battery and cruelty to animals. [1]

CC Heidik, Brian's wife, is credited as dating the star of American Carnevil, Johnny Martin Walters in the late 1990's.

Preceded by: Vecepia Towery	Survivor Winners winner Survivor: Thailand	Succeeded by: Jenna Morasca

[edit] External links

Survivors who won $1,000,000
Richard Hatch • Tina Wesson • Ethan Zohn • Vecepia Towery • Brian Heidik • Jenna Morasca • Sandra Diaz-Twine • Amber Mariano Rupert Boneham • Chris Daugherty • Tom Westman • Danni Boatwright • Aras Baskauskas