If you love reality TV, then you've likely watched a season or two of Survivor. The show has had legendary moments, some truly notorious contestants, and a slew of winners who have etched their name in history.
The beloved reality show has made some huge changes through the years, but at the end of the day, fans still can't stop themselves from tuning in to see who becomes the Lone Survivor at the end of each season.
Richard Hatch was the show's original villain, and it's time we check in and see what he's up to these days.
'Survivor' Is A Classic Series
The dawn of the new millennium was a momentous occasion, and as such, networks new they would have to up their game to get things started off right. In 2000, the reality TV game was forever changed when a little show called Survivor kicked off the new millennium in legendary style.
The premise was simple, the execution was brilliant, and Survivor was the right show at the right time for CBS. It was an overnight success that people couldn't stop buzzing about, as there had been nothing quite like this on TV before.
Since its debut almost 23 years ago, the show has maintained its standing on television. We are 42 seasons and well over 600 episodes in at this point, making Survivor one of the most successful TV shows of all time.
Things had to begin somewhere, and that fateful first season of the show gave way to many iconic moments, and even one of reality TV's biggest villains.
Richard Hatch Was An Early Reality TV Villain
Season 1 winner, Richard Hatch, is one of reality TV's earliest villains. Fans still can't believe that he won the show, especially with some of the stunts he pulled while the cameras were rolling.
He was quick to get the alliance ball rolling, something that audiences found distasteful years ago. His cocky demeanor also rubbed people the wrong way, and these factors combined to make him a hated villain that went on to actually win the show.
It wasn't all gravy after winning the show, as Hatch had legal problems that saw him do time behind bars.
Things got ugly in a legal sense after Hatch made the fatal flaw of not paying taxes on the money he won from the show.
"Surprisingly, he wasn’t convicted for tax evasion until 2006. He went to prison for 51 months (a little over four years). Then he went back to prison when he violated his probation. This time he served nine more months. This caused him to miss several opportunities to appear on Survivor, including the popular Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. Hatch apparently didn’t learn his lesson, as he lost some property in Nova Scotia in 2013 after, you guessed it, not paying his property taxes allegedly," ScreenRant writes.
It's been a while since he dipped from the spotlight, and fans are curious to see what he's up to these days.
What He's Doing Now
So, what is Richard Hatch up to these days? Well, the official CBS site sure makes it sound like Hatch is a busy man these days.
"Richard continues to run his own business as a corporate trainer and consultant, conducting seminars on numerous topics, including conflict management, team building, practical negotiation and public speaking. In addition, he is a licensed real estate agent and has worked as a car salesman and bartender," the site writes.
He has not been on TV in some time, and many fans were surprised that he wasn't on season 40, which featured winners from seasons past. Turns out, his past appearances on the show were cause for concern.
"I didn’t feel comfortable having him out on the show and representing a show that is for families," Jeff Probst said about Hatch's absence.
The season would have benefited from having an original villain on there, but unfortunately, Hatch was nowhere to be found.
Outside of his time on Survivor, Hatch also appeared on several other shows like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Australia, The Apprentice, and The Biggest Loser.
It sure doesn't seem like the star will be on other competition shows in the future, but Hatch is active on social media, so fans can pop over and give him a follow to stay in the loop with him.
Survivor season one gave the world an old school reality villain, who's lived a wild life since his time on the show.
