Summary
- Survivor fans remember Brian Heidik as a dominant villain, but he has transformed into a charitable family man post-show.
- Heidik auctions off phone calls for charity and prioritizes spending time with his four children, showcasing a softer side.
- Controversy surrounds Heidik, with rumors of him being banned from Survivor and a past scandal involving animal cruelty charges.
Since Survivor began, many of the show's villains have been the most memorable. For example, avid Survivor fans remember what Jeff Varner did to become a villain and what the first player to be seriously injured later did to go to jail. In fact, even Survivor's host Jeff Probst has suggested he would be villainous.
Throughout Survivor history, there have been some things the show has mostly kept secret including the fact that they use body doubles. Another fact that most Survivor fans don't know is what happened to one of Survivor's winners who was so villainous he seemingly got banned, Brian Heidik.
This article will reveal the surprising turn that Brian Heidik's life seemingly took years after he won Survivor and whether he is banned from the show. Then, the article will look at what Heidik did to cement his villainous reputation after leaving Survivor.
Survivor's Brian Heidik Is Now A Charitable Family Man After Being A Reality TV Villain Who May Be Banned From The Show
When Survivor: Thailand aired in 2002, the show's devoted fans saw one of the most dominant games in the show's history. After all, even though the final tribal was close, Brian Heidik controlled the game, won many challenges, and never had a vote cast against him.
Despite everything that Heidik accomplished in the game, he isn't best remembered for that. Instead, Heidik is best known as one of Survivor's biggest villains partially because his comments on the show often made it seem like he had ice water in his veins.
With that in mind, many Survivor fans will likely be shocked to see where Heidik's life has seemingly taken him since the show. Based on what is known about Heidik's life now, he has become a highly devoted family man who raises money for charity.
After years of Heidik mostly disappearing from the spotlight, he did something that would shock most Survivor fans. In 2015, Heidik went on Instagram to encourage Survivor fans to bid on the chance to get to have a phone call with him.
During Heidik's Survivor tenure, it seemed like he only cared about himself. Heidik also carried himself like he felt he was above most people. With that in mind, it was shocking that Heidik was auctioning off that phone call with a fan to benefit a charity called Give Kids The World Village.
"Only 1 day left to bid!!! Please consider bidding on a call with me to raise money for #gktwvillage Give Kids The World raises money to fulfill the wishes of all children with life threatening illnesses and their families from around the world. Please use the link on my bio."
On Give Kids The World Village's website, potential donors can learn what the non-profit does. As the website explains, the charity uses the money that is donated to give ill children from around the world an opportunity to enjoy a vacation.
"Give Kids The World Village is an 89-acre, nonprofit 'storybook' resort in Central Florida. Here, children with critical illnesses and their families are treated to weeklong, cost-free vacations."
In December 2023, a Survivor player did something truly amazing for charity. After Mike Gabler won Survivor Season 43, he donated the $1 million prize money he earned to 25 charities that helped struggling veterans.
On top of promoting his charitable effort on Instagram, Heidik also did his first public interview about Survivor in years. In 2015, Heidik made his only appearance to date on Rob Cesternino's "Rob Has a Podcast" with the stipulation that he got to promote his charity auction. That interview is important for fans wanting to know about Heidik's life.
On top of Heidik's Instagram account revealing his charitable effort, it also shines a light on what his priority seems to be. After all, Heidik's Instagram account is dominated by photos of himself with his four children.
Not only has Heidik uploaded photos of himself spending time with his kids, but he also appears to be a doting dad. That appears to be the case since Heidik posts photos of himself supporting his kids at various events.
During Heidik's aforementioned "Rob Has a Podcast" appearance, the former Survivor winner discussed what his life is like after previously getting divorced twice. As Heidik explained, he and his third wife moved to a Los Angeles community to provide a life in "paradise" for his family.
Considering how much Heidik's life seems to have changed, it is even more remarkable since many fans believe he has been banned from Survivor. For that reason, when fans learned Survivor's 40th season would feature all winners, nobody expected Heidik to be involved.
With that in mind, it begs an obvious question. Has Heidik really been banned from Survivor? While that certainly has never been confirmed, there are very compelling reasons to believe that is the case. For example, when Probst ranked the first 19 seasons before Heroes vs. Villains aired, he was blunt about how much he hated Heidik's season.
"Some things never change. I didn't like it then, I don't like it now, and you'll notice nobody from this season was invited back for Heroes vs. Villains."
While that quote makes it seem more likely Heidik is banned, Probst notably never mentioned him by name. However, during his aforementioned "Rob Has a Podcast" interview, Heidik was asked if he would ever return to Survivor. While Heidik expressed interest in competing again, he definitively stated that he and Probst had issues.
“Long sigh. Well, listen, behind the scenes, I’d rather not go there. I’m sure you understand. Jeff and I have a little bit of a history. So, I don’t, I never want to bring negativity. But, at the same time. I hope there’s a future. So, if there’s another opportunity, then we’ll, we may explore it. Other than that, I’m a family who won a gold medal, move on. However, I’m ready.”
Those two quotes alone make it seem extremely likely that the rumors that Heidik is banned from Survivor are true. On top of that, the rest of this article will highlight a scandal from Heidik's past that would almost certainly ensure Probst and CBS would want nothing to do with him.
Survivor Winner Brian Heidik Was Arrested On Animal Cruelty Charges
After Brian Heidik won Survivor: Thailand in 2002, his life seemed to go awry in 2006. At that time, there was a slew of headlines about how Heidik had been arrested after his wife at the time called the police on him.
At the time of the arrest, CBS News published an article about the incident which quoted Douglas County Chief Deputy Stan Copeland. That article quoted Copeland explaining why Heidik's wife called the police on him.
"At about 3 a.m., his wife called to report that he was outside and that he had shot a puppy that was on his property with an arrow and planned to shoot another one."
Copeland also stated that when the police showed up to Heidik's home, he fled in his car, but he was pursued, quickly caught, and arrested. According to Copeland, the police then took the two puppies into custody.
Years later in 2019, Heidik gave another one of his rare interviews to Survivor Hall of Famer Jonny Fairplay and Survivor: Caramoan alum Matt Bischoff. During Heidik's appearance on that duo's podcast, "Reality After Show", the incident with the dogs came up.
During Brian Heidik's appearance on Jonny Fairplay and Matt Bischoff's podcast, he stated that he was never approached about competing in Survivor's all-winner season. While discussing that topic, Heidik spoke again about Jeff Probst having to "hold a grudge" against him.
Around the 30-minute mark of the podcast, Heidik gave his version of the events that led to his 2006 arrest. From the moment that the topic came up, Heidik blamed his ex-wife for being attention-seeking for what happened.
Heidik then went on to say that he'd given his son some ducks that were mauled in his backyard. Heidik then stated that he later saw what he believed was a coyote and shot it only to realize it was a puppy. Despite Heidik's explanation, it seems extremely unlikely that the team behind Survivor would want to be associated with the scandal surrounding his arrest.
