Rafe Judkins
Encyclopedia
Rafe Lee Judkins was a contestant on the 11th season
of Survivor, which took place in Guatemala
. He is a working TV writer with credits on shows such as My Own Worst Enemy
and Chuck
.
Judkins was born in Salt Lake City, Utah in a large Mormon
family that is said to include 60 first cousins. Rafe's childhood involved him spending time painting rocks and taking apart machines. This was probably because of his mother being an artist and father being an inventor. He spent 14 years in Sewickley Academy after moving to Pittsburgh
, Pennsylvania
at the age of five. His time was spent towards teaching English and science to inner city middle school students. He graduated in 2001 and was selected as the member of the senior class most likely to be on Survivor. Rafe helped create Survivor simulation games for such websites as Survivor Central.
Judkins moved to Providence
, Rhode Island
, sometime after graduating from the Academy to attend Brown University
. His main focus during this time was in biology
and anthropology
. He also managed the Brown Outdoor Leadership Training (BOLT) program, which is used to give students exposure to wilderness situations with small groups of people. He also founded a cooking class for students which is run by Brown's head catering chef.
His love for travel and adventure is extensive and began early. At 22 years old, he has been to all 50 states and 14 different countries. He also has lived in Sydney
, Australia
for seven months.
Judkins currently resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his mother, father and brother, Landon. He is openly
gay
.
in the fall of 2005 and was part of the Yaxha (blue buffs on show) tribe. Rafe had an early alliance with Gary Hogeboom
, Stephenie LaGrossa
, Morgan McDevitt and Brianna Varela but back-to-back immunity losses caused the departure of McDevitt and Valera. As of the fourth episode, Rafe had been switched to the Nakum (yellow buffs) tribe along with three other Yaxha members (Jamie, Stephenie, and Lydia). They managed to persuade a Nakum member (Judd) to vote with them, thus giving them a 5-3 majority on Nakum. In episode five, they won the immunity challenge. In episode six, both teams had to vote a member out, but Rafe won individual immunity. As the reward, he was not in danger of being eliminated, he had the opportunity to watch the other tribe during their Tribal Council, and he was allowed to give individual immunity to a player on the other team. He chose Gary Hogeboom
. In episode seven, Rafe, with Stephenie, had to solve a puzzle in order to win tribal immunity. They finished the puzzle in the nick of time, thus helping their tribe go into the merge with a majority.
In episode eight, the teams merged into the Xhakum (red buffs) tribe; Rafe and Lydia worked on the team flag. Rafe's alliance expanded to include Cindy, and although Rafe was tempted to vote out Jamie due to Jamie taunting the tribe members who were in the voting minority, ultimately his alliance voted out challenge threat Brandon. In episode nine, Rafe continued to be frustrated with Jamie, and nearly beat him in an immunity challenge centered on navigating across bridges. In episode ten, Rafe won his second individual immunity in a challenge in which he had to climb through various hurdles and ropes. To his surprise, Rafe began to think he would be seen as a challenge threat. Jamie offered Rafe a final 3 alliance with Judd, but Rafe, increasingly upset by Jamie's paranoia, convinced alliance partners Stephenie and Lydia that it was the right time to vote Jamie out. Afterwards, he worked with Stephenie and Lydia to overthrow Judd, giving Danni a second chance at the game.
Rafe's main alliance was with Stephenie, and his plan was to eliminate every player he felt would lose to her in the final 2, thus ensuring she would take him if she won the final immunity. He wanted another partner who would take him to the final 2, and this was Danni. As a result, after winning the a complicated maze/puzzle immunity challenge, he engineered Lydia's departure, in spite of her being no threat for the upcoming endurance challenge. At that challenge, Rafe lost his concentration and was eliminated. Danni then beat Stephenie. After he saw a sobbing Stephenie, he told Danni that any promises that she had made to him were no longer existent and that she could take Steph to the final 2 if Danni wanted to. Due to her belief that she might not beat Rafe in front of the jury, Danni took Steph to the final 2; although Rafe felt she made a good strategic move, he was bothered by her decision as he had hoped she would take him based on their bond, not on a promise she had made. While on the jury, Rafe cast the sole vote for Stephenie. Rafe did not hold a lasting grudge against Danni - he attended a Kansas City Chiefs
game with her and she listed him as one of the people she had remained friends with after the show ended.
Rafe earned $85,000 (before taxes) and won the most immunity challenges of the season (4). He plans to move to Hollywood with his partner, Stephen, and become a screenwriter.
. After that, he and Lauren were hired on the third season of Chuck
and have been there ever since. Their episodes have included Chuck Versus the Tic Tac
, Chuck Versus the Honeymooners
, Chuck Versus the First Fight
, and Chuck Versus the Push Mix
Survivor: Guatemala
Survivor: Guatemala — The Maya Empire, commonly referred to as Survivor: Guatemala, is the eleventh season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season was filmed in the Yaxhá-Nakúm-Naranjo National Park near the more popular Tikal National Park, located in...
of Survivor, which took place in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
. He is a working TV writer with credits on shows such as My Own Worst Enemy
My Own Worst Enemy (TV series)
My Own Worst Enemy is an American television drama that aired on NBC in 2008. It premiered on October 13 and ended on December 15 after 9 episodes. The series was produced by Universal Media Studios. Jason Smilovic was the executive producer; David Semel was the director and executive producer...
and Chuck
Chuck (TV series)
Chuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central...
.
Judkins was born in Salt Lake City, Utah in a large Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
family that is said to include 60 first cousins. Rafe's childhood involved him spending time painting rocks and taking apart machines. This was probably because of his mother being an artist and father being an inventor. He spent 14 years in Sewickley Academy after moving to Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
at the age of five. His time was spent towards teaching English and science to inner city middle school students. He graduated in 2001 and was selected as the member of the senior class most likely to be on Survivor. Rafe helped create Survivor simulation games for such websites as Survivor Central.
Judkins moved to Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, sometime after graduating from the Academy to attend Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
. His main focus during this time was in biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
and anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
. He also managed the Brown Outdoor Leadership Training (BOLT) program, which is used to give students exposure to wilderness situations with small groups of people. He also founded a cooking class for students which is run by Brown's head catering chef.
His love for travel and adventure is extensive and began early. At 22 years old, he has been to all 50 states and 14 different countries. He also has lived in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
for seven months.
Judkins currently resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his mother, father and brother, Landon. He is openly
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
.
Survivor
Rafe Judkins participated in Survivor: GuatemalaSurvivor: Guatemala
Survivor: Guatemala — The Maya Empire, commonly referred to as Survivor: Guatemala, is the eleventh season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season was filmed in the Yaxhá-Nakúm-Naranjo National Park near the more popular Tikal National Park, located in...
in the fall of 2005 and was part of the Yaxha (blue buffs on show) tribe. Rafe had an early alliance with Gary Hogeboom
Gary Hogeboom
Gary Keith Hogeboom is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League and a contestant on the CBS reality TV show Survivor: Guatemala.-Career:...
, Stephenie LaGrossa
Stephenie LaGrossa
Stephenie LaGrossa was a contestant in Survivor: Palau, Survivor: Guatemala, and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. She was one of the most popular players ever to play the game, with her popularity peaking at 97%...
, Morgan McDevitt and Brianna Varela but back-to-back immunity losses caused the departure of McDevitt and Valera. As of the fourth episode, Rafe had been switched to the Nakum (yellow buffs) tribe along with three other Yaxha members (Jamie, Stephenie, and Lydia). They managed to persuade a Nakum member (Judd) to vote with them, thus giving them a 5-3 majority on Nakum. In episode five, they won the immunity challenge. In episode six, both teams had to vote a member out, but Rafe won individual immunity. As the reward, he was not in danger of being eliminated, he had the opportunity to watch the other tribe during their Tribal Council, and he was allowed to give individual immunity to a player on the other team. He chose Gary Hogeboom
Gary Hogeboom
Gary Keith Hogeboom is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League and a contestant on the CBS reality TV show Survivor: Guatemala.-Career:...
. In episode seven, Rafe, with Stephenie, had to solve a puzzle in order to win tribal immunity. They finished the puzzle in the nick of time, thus helping their tribe go into the merge with a majority.
In episode eight, the teams merged into the Xhakum (red buffs) tribe; Rafe and Lydia worked on the team flag. Rafe's alliance expanded to include Cindy, and although Rafe was tempted to vote out Jamie due to Jamie taunting the tribe members who were in the voting minority, ultimately his alliance voted out challenge threat Brandon. In episode nine, Rafe continued to be frustrated with Jamie, and nearly beat him in an immunity challenge centered on navigating across bridges. In episode ten, Rafe won his second individual immunity in a challenge in which he had to climb through various hurdles and ropes. To his surprise, Rafe began to think he would be seen as a challenge threat. Jamie offered Rafe a final 3 alliance with Judd, but Rafe, increasingly upset by Jamie's paranoia, convinced alliance partners Stephenie and Lydia that it was the right time to vote Jamie out. Afterwards, he worked with Stephenie and Lydia to overthrow Judd, giving Danni a second chance at the game.
Rafe's main alliance was with Stephenie, and his plan was to eliminate every player he felt would lose to her in the final 2, thus ensuring she would take him if she won the final immunity. He wanted another partner who would take him to the final 2, and this was Danni. As a result, after winning the a complicated maze/puzzle immunity challenge, he engineered Lydia's departure, in spite of her being no threat for the upcoming endurance challenge. At that challenge, Rafe lost his concentration and was eliminated. Danni then beat Stephenie. After he saw a sobbing Stephenie, he told Danni that any promises that she had made to him were no longer existent and that she could take Steph to the final 2 if Danni wanted to. Due to her belief that she might not beat Rafe in front of the jury, Danni took Steph to the final 2; although Rafe felt she made a good strategic move, he was bothered by her decision as he had hoped she would take him based on their bond, not on a promise she had made. While on the jury, Rafe cast the sole vote for Stephenie. Rafe did not hold a lasting grudge against Danni - he attended a Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
game with her and she listed him as one of the people she had remained friends with after the show ended.
Rafe earned $85,000 (before taxes) and won the most immunity challenges of the season (4). He plans to move to Hollywood with his partner, Stephen, and become a screenwriter.
Television Career after Survivor
After Survivor, Judkins moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in screenwriting. With his writing partner and best friend, Lauren LeFranc, he was staffed on the short-lived Christian Slater drama, My Own Worst EnemyMy Own Worst Enemy (TV series)
My Own Worst Enemy is an American television drama that aired on NBC in 2008. It premiered on October 13 and ended on December 15 after 9 episodes. The series was produced by Universal Media Studios. Jason Smilovic was the executive producer; David Semel was the director and executive producer...
. After that, he and Lauren were hired on the third season of Chuck
Chuck (TV series)
Chuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central...
and have been there ever since. Their episodes have included Chuck Versus the Tic Tac
Chuck Versus the Tic Tac
"Chuck Versus the Tic Tac" is the tenth episode of the third season of the television series Chuck, airing on March 15, 2010. When Casey's former commanding officer returns, Chuck and Sarah take it upon themselves to clear his name when he is arrested for treason...
, Chuck Versus the Honeymooners
Chuck Versus the Honeymooners
"Chuck Versus the Honeymooners" is the 14th episode of the third season of Chuck. It originally aired on April 26, 2010. When Chuck and Sarah go AWOL after the death of Daniel Shaw, Beckman sends the newly-reinstated Casey and Morgan to bring them back...
, Chuck Versus the First Fight
Chuck Versus the First Fight
"Chuck Versus the First Fight" is the seventh episode of the fourth season of Chuck. It originally aired November 1, 2010. In the wake of his first fight with Sarah, Chuck Bartowski embarks on a rogue mission to prove his mother's innocence, ultimately colliding with her MI6 handler, Gregory...
, and Chuck Versus the Push Mix
Chuck Versus the Push Mix
"Chuck Versus the Push Mix" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of Chuck. It originally aired on January 31, 2011. Much like "Chuck Versus the Other Guy" in the third season, this episode was intended to be the fourth season finale before an additional eleven episodes were ordered...