Mike Holloway
Born: July 25, 1976
Hometown: North Richland Hills, Texas Occupation: Oil Driller Seasons: Worlds Apart Placing: Winner (Worlds Apart) Tribes: Escameca; Merica Total Challenge Wins: 14
Days Lasted: 39 Votes Against: 0 (4 Cancelled out with Hidden Immunity Idol) Awards: Challenge Beast (Worlds Apart); Meal Ticket (Worlds Apart); Worst Strategic Move (Worlds Apart); Bamboozled (Worlds Apart); Super Hero (Worlds Apart) |
Survivor: Worlds Apart
Being a blue-collar laborer, Mike started off on the Escameca tribe. He initially formed an alliance with Kelly Remington and Dan Foley, and he was viewed as the leader. However, he began to earn the ire of his other tribe members Rodney Lavoie, Jr., Lindsey Cascaddan, and Sierra Dawn Thomas when he repeatedly insisted that the tribe do more work around camp. Nevertheless, the tribe did well in challenges. They won the first three Immunity Challenges so they avoided going to Tribal Council for the first eight days. During that time, Mike's reputation became more favorable as Dan's antics and Rodney and Lindsey's rivalry took the attention off of him. However, the blue collars finally lost their first Immunity Challenge on Day 11. After the challenge, Mike, Dan, and Kelly aligned with Rodney. Rodney wanted to vote for Lindsey for her outbursts at camp, but Mike and Kelly thought about voting for him. But at Tribal Council, they stuck with Rodney. The four of them split their votes between Lindsey and Sierra and eliminated Lindsey in the revote.
On Day 12, a tribe switch occurred. Mike remained on the blue collars tribe with Rodney, Dan, and Sierra but lost Kelly. However, he gained white collars Tyler Fredrickson and Joaquin Souberbielle, and no collar Joe Anglim. However, Joaquin and Rodney started bonding which scared Mike and Dan. They won the next Immunity Challenge. On Day 16, Mike decided to throw the Immunity Challenge to save Kelly. So the blue collars threw the challenge. After the challenge, Rodney, Joaquin, and Tyler targeted Joe because he was the biggest challenge threat but Mike and Dan wanted to get rid of Joaquin because his friendship with Rodney was too strong. Joe joined them in order to save himself. Then they tried to get Sierra on their side because she was the swing votes but she was unsure. At Tribal Council, Sierra sided with Mike and Joaquin was blindsided in a 4-3 vote. Later that night Mike explained to Rodney why he got rid of Joaquin but Rodney was still angry.
On Day 17, the tribes merged and Kelly joined Mike's side again. He was also able to gain former white collars Tyler and Carolyn Rivera and former no collar Will Sims II. Joe won immunity on Day 19 thwarting the blue collar's plans of getting rid of him so Mike targeted Jenn Brown. However, at Tribal Council, Jenn played her idol negating the seven votes cast against her blindsiding Kelly in a 4-1-0 vote. After Joe received a clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol he showed it to Tyler but Mike caught them. Then Tyler told Mike about the clue to keep the Blue Collars' trust. Though Joe couldn't find the idol, Mike decided to frame him by claiming that he saw Joe find it, which sidelined Joe from continuing his search; Mike continued looking, and eventually found the idol. Joe won immunity again on Day 22, so the alliance targeted Hali Ford and she was blindsided in a 7-4 vote.
Tyler won immunity on Day 24 ending Joe's immunity streak. Joe then tried to trick Mike into keeping him by showing him a fake Hidden Immunity Idol claiming it was the real one. Despite having the real idol Mike still asked Joe to give him the fake one. At Tribal Council, Mike played the fake idol on Will and learned it was indeed fake. The votes were split between Joe and Jenn, but Mike used Shirin Oskooi's swing vote to send Joe to the jury. The next day Mike overheard Rodney's inner alliance consisting of Rodney, Carolyn, Tyler, and Will plotting to vote him out next. At the Survivor Auction, Holloway held out from participating in order to have all of his money for a game advantage. Though all of the castaways agreed to purchase letters from their loved ones at Shirin's suggestion, Holloway sneakily reneged; after earning the ire of his tribe-mates (most notably by Carolyn and Dan), but Holloway relented and subsequently lost the lottery to earn the advantage, which went to Dan. After the auction, Mike blew up Rodney's four-person alliance to everybody, however, this resulted in him getting kicked out of the alliance and becoming public enemy #1. However Mike saved himself by winning immunity on Day 27. At Tribal Council, Jenn was eliminated.
He won immunity again along with Carolyn on Day 29. At Tribal Council, Mike bluffed about giving the idol to Shirin so the others would switch their votes. Will and Tyler switched their votes to Dan, but Mike did not give the idol to Shirin and she was sent to the jury. On Day 30, Mike, Sierra, and Carolyn were teamed up for reward. They initially had a lead due to Rodney forgetting to bring the balls with him on the obstacle course, losing a lot of time for him, Dan, and Tyler, but they later caught up. However, Mike managed to win the Reward Challenge, but his team did not give it up to Rodney which made him mad because it was his birthday. During the reward trip, Carolyn considered teaming up with Mike. After getting back from the Reward Challenge Rodney acted like he wanted to quit so Mike would not play his idol but Mike knew he was lying. Carolyn won immunity but Mike was safe due to him having the Hidden Immunity Idol. Mike wanted to get rid of Tyler and try to convince Carolyn to vote for him which she pondered over. At Tribal Council, Carolyn and Sierra sided with Mike. Mike played his idol negating the four votes cast against him blindsiding Tyler in a 3-0 vote. That night Carolyn told Mike about Dan's advantage and they decided to get rid of Dan next. Mike, Carolyn, and Will won the next Reward Challenge and during the reward, Mike proposed a final three deal with them which Carolyn considered. On Day 35, Mike narrowly defeated Sierra to win immunity. After the challenge, Rodney asked him if he was voting for Dan which he thought about. He then told Carolyn and Sierra that Dan, Rodney, and Will are voting for Carolyn. At Tribal Council, Carolyn played her Hidden Immunity Idol, negating the five votes cast against her, and her and Mike's votes sent Dan to the jury.
On Day 36, the final five met their loved ones. Mike saw his mom. Then the final five competed in a Reward Challenge. Mike won, and then he got to spend time with his mom and got an advantage for the next Immunity Challenge. He told his mom that everyone is targeting him and he is glad that she is here. The next day, Mike and his mom go to the location of the challenge. His advantage was that he and his mom get thirty minutes to practice for the challenge. However, they did not make any progress which worried both of them. Nevertheless, Mike was still able to win the Immunity Challenge. Then both he and Carolyn decided to vote for Rodney. Sierra joined their side. Then he talked to Rodney and Rodney told him that Sierra has done nothing to upset the jury. So Mike was unsure whether to vote for him or Sierra. However, at Tribal Council Sierra accidentally told everyone that she was a threat so she was blindsided in a 4-1 vote. Mike won the Final Immunity Challenge. After the challenge, Rodney told him to vote for Carolyn but Mike wanted to take her to the end. Then Mike told her that tonight there will be a tie between her and Rodney and so there will be a fire-making tiebreaker challenge. Then he starts prepping her for the challenge. At Tribal Council, both Carolyn and Rodney were tied with 2 votes so they had to compete in a fire-making tiebreaker challenge. After an hour Carolyn won and made it to the end.
At the Final Tribal Council, Mike was praised for winning numerous challenges and making it to the end despite being public enemy #1 but was criticized for playing a bad social game. In the end, Mike received six votes and won the title of Sole Survivor while Carolyn and Will received one vote each. He received votes from all the no collars, all the white collars, and Dan the only blue collar.
At the Reunion Show, Jeff Probst polled the jury on who would vote for Mike or Rodney if Rodney made it to the end instead of Carolyn and four people said they would have voted for Mike, so Mike still would have won. He revealed that he has repaired his friendship with Dan. He was also one of the thirty-two contestants eligible to return for Survivor: Cambodia. While he was one of the top ten males, his victory on Worlds Apart disqualified him from returning.
On Day 12, a tribe switch occurred. Mike remained on the blue collars tribe with Rodney, Dan, and Sierra but lost Kelly. However, he gained white collars Tyler Fredrickson and Joaquin Souberbielle, and no collar Joe Anglim. However, Joaquin and Rodney started bonding which scared Mike and Dan. They won the next Immunity Challenge. On Day 16, Mike decided to throw the Immunity Challenge to save Kelly. So the blue collars threw the challenge. After the challenge, Rodney, Joaquin, and Tyler targeted Joe because he was the biggest challenge threat but Mike and Dan wanted to get rid of Joaquin because his friendship with Rodney was too strong. Joe joined them in order to save himself. Then they tried to get Sierra on their side because she was the swing votes but she was unsure. At Tribal Council, Sierra sided with Mike and Joaquin was blindsided in a 4-3 vote. Later that night Mike explained to Rodney why he got rid of Joaquin but Rodney was still angry.
On Day 17, the tribes merged and Kelly joined Mike's side again. He was also able to gain former white collars Tyler and Carolyn Rivera and former no collar Will Sims II. Joe won immunity on Day 19 thwarting the blue collar's plans of getting rid of him so Mike targeted Jenn Brown. However, at Tribal Council, Jenn played her idol negating the seven votes cast against her blindsiding Kelly in a 4-1-0 vote. After Joe received a clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol he showed it to Tyler but Mike caught them. Then Tyler told Mike about the clue to keep the Blue Collars' trust. Though Joe couldn't find the idol, Mike decided to frame him by claiming that he saw Joe find it, which sidelined Joe from continuing his search; Mike continued looking, and eventually found the idol. Joe won immunity again on Day 22, so the alliance targeted Hali Ford and she was blindsided in a 7-4 vote.
Tyler won immunity on Day 24 ending Joe's immunity streak. Joe then tried to trick Mike into keeping him by showing him a fake Hidden Immunity Idol claiming it was the real one. Despite having the real idol Mike still asked Joe to give him the fake one. At Tribal Council, Mike played the fake idol on Will and learned it was indeed fake. The votes were split between Joe and Jenn, but Mike used Shirin Oskooi's swing vote to send Joe to the jury. The next day Mike overheard Rodney's inner alliance consisting of Rodney, Carolyn, Tyler, and Will plotting to vote him out next. At the Survivor Auction, Holloway held out from participating in order to have all of his money for a game advantage. Though all of the castaways agreed to purchase letters from their loved ones at Shirin's suggestion, Holloway sneakily reneged; after earning the ire of his tribe-mates (most notably by Carolyn and Dan), but Holloway relented and subsequently lost the lottery to earn the advantage, which went to Dan. After the auction, Mike blew up Rodney's four-person alliance to everybody, however, this resulted in him getting kicked out of the alliance and becoming public enemy #1. However Mike saved himself by winning immunity on Day 27. At Tribal Council, Jenn was eliminated.
He won immunity again along with Carolyn on Day 29. At Tribal Council, Mike bluffed about giving the idol to Shirin so the others would switch their votes. Will and Tyler switched their votes to Dan, but Mike did not give the idol to Shirin and she was sent to the jury. On Day 30, Mike, Sierra, and Carolyn were teamed up for reward. They initially had a lead due to Rodney forgetting to bring the balls with him on the obstacle course, losing a lot of time for him, Dan, and Tyler, but they later caught up. However, Mike managed to win the Reward Challenge, but his team did not give it up to Rodney which made him mad because it was his birthday. During the reward trip, Carolyn considered teaming up with Mike. After getting back from the Reward Challenge Rodney acted like he wanted to quit so Mike would not play his idol but Mike knew he was lying. Carolyn won immunity but Mike was safe due to him having the Hidden Immunity Idol. Mike wanted to get rid of Tyler and try to convince Carolyn to vote for him which she pondered over. At Tribal Council, Carolyn and Sierra sided with Mike. Mike played his idol negating the four votes cast against him blindsiding Tyler in a 3-0 vote. That night Carolyn told Mike about Dan's advantage and they decided to get rid of Dan next. Mike, Carolyn, and Will won the next Reward Challenge and during the reward, Mike proposed a final three deal with them which Carolyn considered. On Day 35, Mike narrowly defeated Sierra to win immunity. After the challenge, Rodney asked him if he was voting for Dan which he thought about. He then told Carolyn and Sierra that Dan, Rodney, and Will are voting for Carolyn. At Tribal Council, Carolyn played her Hidden Immunity Idol, negating the five votes cast against her, and her and Mike's votes sent Dan to the jury.
On Day 36, the final five met their loved ones. Mike saw his mom. Then the final five competed in a Reward Challenge. Mike won, and then he got to spend time with his mom and got an advantage for the next Immunity Challenge. He told his mom that everyone is targeting him and he is glad that she is here. The next day, Mike and his mom go to the location of the challenge. His advantage was that he and his mom get thirty minutes to practice for the challenge. However, they did not make any progress which worried both of them. Nevertheless, Mike was still able to win the Immunity Challenge. Then both he and Carolyn decided to vote for Rodney. Sierra joined their side. Then he talked to Rodney and Rodney told him that Sierra has done nothing to upset the jury. So Mike was unsure whether to vote for him or Sierra. However, at Tribal Council Sierra accidentally told everyone that she was a threat so she was blindsided in a 4-1 vote. Mike won the Final Immunity Challenge. After the challenge, Rodney told him to vote for Carolyn but Mike wanted to take her to the end. Then Mike told her that tonight there will be a tie between her and Rodney and so there will be a fire-making tiebreaker challenge. Then he starts prepping her for the challenge. At Tribal Council, both Carolyn and Rodney were tied with 2 votes so they had to compete in a fire-making tiebreaker challenge. After an hour Carolyn won and made it to the end.
At the Final Tribal Council, Mike was praised for winning numerous challenges and making it to the end despite being public enemy #1 but was criticized for playing a bad social game. In the end, Mike received six votes and won the title of Sole Survivor while Carolyn and Will received one vote each. He received votes from all the no collars, all the white collars, and Dan the only blue collar.
At the Reunion Show, Jeff Probst polled the jury on who would vote for Mike or Rodney if Rodney made it to the end instead of Carolyn and four people said they would have voted for Mike, so Mike still would have won. He revealed that he has repaired his friendship with Dan. He was also one of the thirty-two contestants eligible to return for Survivor: Cambodia. While he was one of the top ten males, his victory on Worlds Apart disqualified him from returning.
Voting History
Episode |
Mike Voted For |
Voted For Mike |
4 |
Lindsey Cascaddan Lindsey Cascaddan (Re-Vote) |
--- |
6 |
Joaquin Souberbielle |
--- |
7 |
Jenn Brown |
--- |
8 |
Hali Ford |
--- |
9 |
--- |
|
10 |
Jenn Brown |
Individual Immunity |
11 |
--- |
|
12 |
||
13 |
Dan Foley |
Individual Immunity |
14 |
Individual Immunity |
|
14 |
Individual Immunity |
|
14 |
--- |
Jury Vote: Dan Foley, Hali Ford, Jenn Brown, Joe Anglim, Shirin Oskooi, Tyler Fredrickson |
Trivia
- Mike coined the Survivor: Worlds Apart merged tribe name, Merica.
- Mike is the first Sole Survivor to receive enough votes to be voted out but used the Hidden Immunity Idol to save himself. He was followed by Jeremy Collins in Cambodia, and Ben Driebergen in Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers.
- Mike is the fifth person to win five individual Immunity Challenges in a single season, the first four being Colby Donaldson, Tom Westman, Terry Deitz, and Ozzy Lusth. They were followed by Brsd Culpepper.
- Of the group, Mike and Tom are the only ones to win.
- He is, so far, the only one of the group not to return for another season.
- Mike's luxury item was a giant Texan flag.
- Mike was one of 32 contestants eligible to be selected to compete on Survivor: Cambodia. However, despite him being in the top ten males, his eventual victory on Worlds Apart disqualified him from returning.