Anthony Vlachos (born September 10, 1973) is an American police officer, best known for competing on the

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

competition series ''

Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: Actual survivors * *Last survivors of historical events Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Found ...

'', of which he is the second person to win two seasons. He won the show's 28th season, '' Survivor: Cagayan'', as well as the 40th season, '' Survivor: Winners at War''. He also competed in the 34th season, '' Survivor: Game Changers'', where he was the second person voted out. As a ''Survivor'' player, he was noted for his strategic, dominant gameplay, with which he was able to manipulate other contestants while avoiding being voted against at Tribal Council, as well as his humor. Vlachos is also known for his long-lasting "Cops R' Us" partnership with fellow contestant and police officer

Sarah Lacina Sarah Lacina (born July 9, 1984) is an American police officer best known for competing on the American reality show '' Survivor''. She came in 11th place and was the first jury member in the show's 28th season, '' Survivor: Cagayan'', in 2014. ...

, who won ''Game Changers'', the two participating in the same three seasons they appeared on. In February 2015, following Vlachos' first season on the show, ''Survivor'' host

Jeff Probst Jeff Probst (; born November 4, 1961) is an American reality show host and executive producer. He is best known as the Emmy Award-winning host of the U.S. version of the reality television show '' Survivor'' since 2000. He was also the host of ' ...

published a list of his "Top 10 Survivor Winners of All Time," ranking Vlachos fourth, stating that he had "never seen anyone play with that much energy and juggle that many balls at once, and pull it all off." Upon winning the 40th season and its accompanying $2 million prize, Vlachos became the first man to win ''Survivor'' twice (and second person altogether after

Sandra Diaz-Twine Sandra Diaz-Twine (born July 30, 1974) is an American television personality who became known for her appearances on the reality game show '' Survivor''. She won the first two seasons she appeared on, '' Survivor: Pearl Islands'' and '' Survivor ...

). He has won the most money from ''Survivor'' among all contestants, totaling just over $3 million across his three seasons. Martin Holmes of

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

called Vlachos the "King of ''Survivor''".

Personal life

Vlachos was born on September 10, 1973, the son of Greek immigrants. He grew up in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark. He began bodybuilding when he was 20, an activity with which he says he was "obsessed". He began working out in his basement with plastic weights filled with sand, and graduated to iron weights in about a year. In 2000, Vlachos became a Jersey City police officer. On February 5, 2014, he saved a 69-year-old man who had a heart attack on his lawn in nine inches of snow. In 2007, Vlachos began dating a fellow police officer named Marissa Ann. They dated for approximately three years before he proposed to her on July 24, 2010. They married on June 2, 2012, and their daughter, Anastasia Marie, was born on February 16, 2013, five months before Vlachos left to film '' Survivor: Cagayan''. Two months after arriving home, Vlachos and Marissa discovered she was two months pregnant with their second child, a son they named Constantine Anthony, who was born on June 9, 2014. As of 2019, Vlachos is a resident of Allendale, New Jersey.

''Survivor''

''Cagayan''

Vlachos was cast on the 28th season of the

show ''

'', Survivor: Cagayan. The theme of the season was "Brawn vs. Brains vs. Beauty", with participants split into three tribes based on these features. Vlachos was cast on the Aparri "brawn" tribe. Before the first tribal swap, Aparri dominated the immunity challenges and did not go to tribal council. During this time, Vlachos formed an alliance, dubbed "Cops-R-Us", with fellow police officer

. Despite this alliance, Vlachos lied to Lacina about his profession, claiming he was a construction worker. Vlachos also became close with Trish Hegarty and was wary of the popularity of former NBA All-Star Clifford Robinson. Vlachos was able to find the Aparri tribe's hidden immunity idol with help of the clue he found in the reward they received after winning a challenge. At the final tribal council, the jury ultimately chose him as the winner with a vote of 8-1, beating martial arts instructor Woo Hwang.

Aftermath

In March 2020, Briana Kranich, writing for

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...

, ranked '' Survivor: Cagayan'' the best season of ''

.'' In a 2015 interview, host

listed Vlachos as one of his top 10 favorite ''Survivor'' winners ever, and one of his top 6 favorite male winners, commenting, "I like Tony because he's unlike any winner we've ever had. He's the Tasmanian Devil. He played an incredibly reckless game, but he was so gifted that he could make a mistake and recover because he was lapping you so that he was able to actually catch back up and fix his mistake. It's almost like he had his own time machine. I've never seen anyone play with that much energy and juggle that many balls at once, and pull it all off." In 2016, Vlachos became a part of the ''Survivor Hall of Fame'', along with

Tina Wesson Tina Marie Wesson (born December 26, 1960) is an American nurse, motivational speaker, and reality TV personality who won $1,000,000 as the winner of the second season of '' Survivor'', on '' Survivor: The Australian Outback'' in 2001. Wesson re ...

and

Rupert Boneham Rupert Frederick Boneham (; born January 27, 1964) is an American mentor for troubled teens, who became known to reality television audiences in 2003 as a contestant on '' Survivor: Pearl Islands'' where he placed eighth. He later appeared on the ...

''Game Changers''

At the end of the reunion show for the 33rd season, '' Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X'', Vlachos was confirmed to be a participant in the 34th season: '' Survivor: Game Changers''. Vlachos' strategy for this series was wildly unpredictable, beginning his search for idols immediately after arriving at the beach in full view of his tribemates, framing others by planting an idol in someone else's belongings, and feigning an intimate personal bond with multiple tribe members. Dalton Ross, writing for ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'', called this strategy "one of the most aggressive games ever." However, when he informed Diaz-Twine about his spy bunker, she informed other tribe members, and ultimately campaigned to have him voted out. Despite this, Vlachos later stated in an interview with CBS that because she was voted out after him, the two of them became friends during the considerable time they spent on the pre-jury trip to Vietnam. In a January 2020 interview, he stated that losing ''Game Changers'' helped prepare him for ''Winners at War''.

''Winners at War''

During the promotional trailer for the season during the reunion show for the 39th season, '' Survivor: Island of the Idols'', Vlachos was confirmed to be a participant in the 40th season: '' Survivor: Winners at War''. Vlachos started on the Dakal tribe. Vlachos adapted his style to approach the season with a gameplay distinct from his ''Cagayan'' strategy, which involved an alliance with fellow police officer Sarah Lacina, surveillance from a

spy nest A hunting blind (US), hide or machan is a concealment device or shelter for hunters or gamekeepers, designed to reduce the chance of detection by animals. There are different types of blinds for different situations, such as deer blinds and d ...

and orchestrating attacks upon lower-threat targets. At the final tribal council, he garnered 12 of the 16 jury votes to win the season.Benutty, John; Dixon, Marucs James (May 13, 2020)
"'Survivor’ 40 finale recap: Who won ‘Winners at War’ — Ben, Denise, Michele, Sarah, Tony or Edge of Extinction returnee?"
GoldDerby.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

"Tony Vlachos"
'' Survivor: Cagayan''. CBS. * Longeretta, Emily (May 21, 2014)
"'Survivor: Cagayan' Recap: (Spoiler) Wins It All After Dramatic Finale"
Hollywood Life. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vlachos, Tony Survivor (American TV series) winners 1973 births Living people People from Allendale, New Jersey People from Jersey City, New Jersey American police officers American people of Greek descent