MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA — When the 46th season of the CBS reality show “Survivor” premieres on Wednesday, one of the hardy participants will be a native of this seaside town.
“I am a huge fan of the show,” said 26-year-old Charlie Davis. “So, to call myself a contestant now is a dream come true. Of course, it’s a little scary as well – ‘Survivor’ is a very hard game.”
This season brings Davis and his 17 fellow castaways to the Fiji islands, where they are divided into three tribes of six, “all with the same ultimate goal: to outwit, outplay and outlast,” according to CBS Entertainment. “And in the end, only one will remain to claim the title of Sole Survivor and win the $1 million prize.”
Davis is known for his cross-country running, surfing and is working toward becoming an attorney. He attended Manchester Essex Regional High School, graduated Harvard University in 2020 and is studying law at Boston College, where he has served as a staff writer for the Boston College Law Review. He expects to graduate law school in May.
Davis said his experience running helped him prepare for the show.
“Running is all about mental toughness and physical fitness, so I believed going into ‘Survivor’ that those skills would help a lot,” he said. “The biggest challenge in ‘Survivor’ is just that the game is a total beast. It pushes you to your limits physically, emotionally, mentally, socially — everything.”
The challenges of “Survivor,” he said, included attending to his personal safety during the show’s production. He did not divulge the results of the competition.
“You have the starving and the rough conditions, and the challenges are brutal too,” Davis said.
“A couple of seasons ago, a contestant was (medically transported) on day one because he hit his head during a challenge.”
His mother, Elizabeth Pollard Davis of Manchester, posted on Facebook that she has “no idea” if her son was voted off the island first, last or anything in between.
“We will be watching it all unfold like everyone else,” she wrote. “As his Mom, though, I can give you few tidbits: First, Charlie has always been super into anything competition or strategy related.
“I can truthfully say, to my dismay, that I have been unable to beat him in any strategy game since he was in first grade, so it is no wonder he was attracted to the ultimate real-life strategy game of ‘Survivor’.”
Davis lives in Brighton and is in his third year at Boston College Law School.
He is currently training for the Boston Marathon on April 15.
“I am running for the Boston Marathon this year and raising money for Casa Myrna,” Davis said. “Casa Myrna operates domestic violence shelters, offers trainings and provides support to domestic abuse victims in Massachusetts.”
As of Thursday, Davis had raised $3,034 toward his goal of $10,000. Donations to Davis’ campaign for Casa Myrna Vazquez Inc. may be made at https://bit.ly/49oIlJY.
Davis is the second Cape Ann resident to compete on the show.
James “Jimmy T.” Tarantino competed on the show’s 21st season in 2010 in Nicaragua. He “outlasted, outwitted and outplayed” former NFL coach Jimmy Johnson, the “Jimmy J” to Gloucester’s “Jimmy T.”, before being voted off the show in the fourth episode.
Stephen Hagan may be contacted at 978-675-2708, or shagan@gloucestertimes.com.