John Paul "J.P." Calderon is a contestant from Survivor: Cook Islands.
Although he was a physically strong player, J.P. was criticized for his bossy attitude and poor work ethic around camp. A fearing Stephannie Favor rallied to get J.P. out, successfully securing Parvati Shallow's vital vote, which resulted in J.P. being voted out in 17th place.
Profile[]
Retrieved from CBS.com
Born in Santa Monica, California, John "J.P." Calderon grew up in Marina del Rey, California. He received a full volleyball scholarship to California State University, Long Beach, where he played on a nationally ranked Division I Men's team. He graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor's Degree in speech communications.
Calderon spent five years as an assistant coach for the nationally ranked Long Beach State University Women's Volleyball team. He also coached many youth teams to medal at the Junior Olympics. In 2004, Calderon began a pro-beach volleyball career. In addition, Calderon is currently co-director and head trainer for the all-girls Mizuno Long Beach Volleyball Club. Calderon enjoys being a mentor to kids and hopes to one day open a sports facility for children. He is also dedicated to helping young girls receive college volleyball scholarships.
Calderon is an accomplished swimmer and has been outrigger canoeing since he was very young. He is a self-proclaimed fitness fanatic who loves to spend time in the gym, and enjoys lifting weights, running and hiking. Calderon also does occasional print and fitness modeling.
Calderon's mother passed away from breast cancer when he was nine years old and his father passed away last year from a brain tumor. Calderon hopes to work with charities and organizations designed to benefit cancer research.
Calderon currently resides in Long Beach, California, with his Jack Russell terrier, Frankie. His birth date is September 5, 1975.[1]
Survivor[]
J.P. Calerdon was placed on the Hispanic Aitutaki tribe. He immediately befriended Ozzy Lusth, whose survival skills impressed everyone. At the first Immunity Challenge, Aitu was leading. However, they were slowed down by Billy Garcia. This allowed the Puka tribe to come in first. Aitu placed second and earned flint. Ozzy decided that Billy was the weak link and should be voted out next. In order to eliminate Billy from the game, Ozzy concocted the idea of the throwing the next Immunity Challenge. J.P. was immediately on board with the plan, but Cristina Coria objected to the idea. Nonetheless, J.P. sat out of the challenge, and Aitu lost. The tribe decided to exile Yul Kwon. At Tribal Council, Billy announced he had fallen in love with Candice Woodcock, and he was voted out. J.P. felt no sympathy for Billy's "love at first sight" with Candice, dismissing it as a lie and claiming him to be untrustworthy.
On Day 7, there was a tribe shuffle. J.P. ended up with Cristina on Rarotonga. The tribe ended up getting along fabulously. Raro was able to win immunity over the much weaker Aitu tribe. At camp, the women were getting annoyed with the men's egos. However, at the next Reward Challenge, J.P. and Cristina were both visibly shocked when it was announced that Cecilia Mansilla was voted out. Aitu won the next two challenges, sending Raro to Tribal Council. Stephannie Favor felt responsible for the loss and believed she should be voted out. The women realized that they had the majority over the men and deemed J.P. the most annoying due to his laziness and egotism. They convinced Brad Virata to vote with them. At Tribal Council, J.P. was blindsided in a 7-2 vote. Upon realizing he was voted out, he claimed that the tribe had "outwitted" him "big time".
| Episode | Tribe Affiliation |
Challenge | Challenge Type | Sit-Out? | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aitutaki | Lock, Load and Light | Reward/Immunity | No | 2nd |
| 2 | Tow the Line | Reward/Immunity | Yes | Lost | |
| Switched Tribes, Day 7 | |||||
| 3 | Rarotonga | Steeple Chase | Immunity | No | Won |
| 4 | Sacrificial Lamb | Reward | No | Lost | |
| Mayday | Immunity | No | Lost | ||
| Voted Out, Day 11 | |||||
Post-Survivor[]
- In 2007, Calderon joined the cast of the reality show, The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency. Wanting to pursue a modeling career, Calderon attended an open casting call and was signed after the second episode. The third episode saw Calderon being booked to appear on the cover of Instinct magazine, a publication that caters to gay men. The job prompted J.P. to come out as gay, much to the support of Janice Dickinson.
- On January 9, 2010, J.P. attended Survivor's 10-year anniversary party.
Trivia[]
- J.P. is the first LGBT Latino contestant to appear on Survivor.
References[]
| Survivor: Cook Islands Castaways | |||||||||||||||||||
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