'Survivor' Season 41: Erika Casupanan reveals her plans on how to navigate undercover
To survive on 'Survivor', it definitely helps to have a tribe that you can rely on. And while teamwork certainly makes the dream work, being able to handle the competition on your own is just as important. Making the right alliances is vital, and it is important to remember that first impressions can be somewhat deceiving.
Back with Season 41, 18 new castaways find themselves in Fiji, ready to take on grueling challenges that are sure to put their minds and body to the ultimate test. With Jeff Probst returning to host the show, this season promises game-changing twists. Are you looking to meet the new castaways? Let's a take a look at 'Survivor' Erika Casupanan today.
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Who is Erika Casupanan?
Erika is a 32-year-old from Niagara Falls, Ontario who currently resides in Toronto, Ontario. She is a Communications Manager with Kijiji, an online classifieds site in Canada. She describes herself as "A strategy-first communicator who addresses business challenges with customer empathy" and "consults senior leadership with bravery and candour" as per her LinkedIn bio. Her hobbies include traveling, boxing and fitness and following pop culture, as she promotes herself as fun, fearless and empathetic.
Her pet peeves include ignorance and men in ill-fitting jeans. Erika's hero is her grandmother. "My grandma. She lived with my family growing up and I have a tattoo inspired by her. She [was] strong willed, so chic, sweet, yet opinionated and caring. She had my back 100% of the time." she explained. "During her final days in the hospital she was still so high-maintenance and always made the nurses put on her pearls and diamonds" she added.
Casupanan plans to use leverage her looks
This season, the show has three tribes, Luvu, Ua, and Yase and Casupanan is a part of the Luvu tribe, along with Heather Aldret, Danny McCray, Naseer Muttalif, Deshawn Radden and Sydney Segal. Standing at 5'0", Casupanan often appears younger than she really is. This leads to people making their own assumptions, only to find out that they are not true. "People are always surprised by how smart and articulate I am. I'm quite smart and figure things out quickly," she explained.
"I'm also quick-witted and those who get it are pleasantly surprised. Those who don't, have no clue what they're missing. People also don't believe I'm 5-feet tall because my vibes make me seem 5'3". she added. In a conversation with Parade, she mentioned that people often assume she's a minor and not a threat.
But on the show, this feels like it could be an added edge. "I look quite young. There are times where I'm at the airport by myself, and I get asked if I'm an unaccompanied minor. I have purple hair. I spent some free time yesterday doing my nails. I think that people around here think that I am not an issue and not a threat at all," she said. "But I'm hoping that when I come in and become friends with everyone, people will think that I'm an easy ally.
And that's exactly where I want to be. I want to be seen as an ally, someone people can work with, but not someone they see as a threat. I think that that's my best bet of being able to navigate undercover" she explained, dishing out details of her game plan.
Catch the premiere of 'Survivor' Season 41 on September 22 at 8/7c on CBS, the CBS app and Paramount+