Meet Global’s “Survivor” contestants representing the maple leaf: Erika Casupanan and Shan Smith.
Casupanan, a communications manager living in Toronto, will lean on her master manipulation skills to carry her through season 41 of “Survivor”. Smith, a Toronto-born pastor living in Washington, relies on her work ethic and toughness to take her to the finale.
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Both contestants catch up with ET Canada ahead of their island journey. Casupanan admits she put a lot of pressure on herself to be a good representative for Canada, Filipinos and women of colour.
“I had always dreamed of being on ‘Survivor’ and I think that being able to represent Canadian, being able to represent women of colour — and I was born in the Philippines and I know there are a lot of Filipino fans of ‘Survivor’ — it’s something that I think weighed on me,” Casupanan tells ET Canada.
“It’s easy to know that you’re going to be on this big show and to think, ‘How am I supposed to represent all of these people and make sure that they see themselves up there.’ But before going up to the show, I kind of changed my mindset,” she adds. “I thought, ‘I just need to go out and be me.'”
Despite living in Washington, Smith reps Toronto hard.
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“I am so proud to be a Canadian. I am so proud to be from Toronto. I rock and I rep the 6 so hard,” Smith shares. “I am a Toronto girl… I am all in that world. There isn’t a place that I haven’t eaten in Toronto.”
“Survivor” will return for its 41st season with a two-hour premiere on Wednesday, Sept. 22, at 8 p.m., ET/PT, on Global.
