Fans Want to Know: Where Is Coach From 'Survivor' From, and How Did He Get His Nickname?

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Season 50 of Survivor.

New era Survivor fans wouldn’t be familiar with Season 50’s Benjamin "Coach" Wade, but longtime viewers know him well. In fact, this is Coach’s fourth time playing the game! Prior to the current season, Coach was on Season 18 (Tocantins), Season 20 (Heroes vs. Villains), and Season 23 (South Pacific). He’s gotten as far as runner-up and is now trying his hand at the revamped version of Survivor, hoping he’ll finally win it.

Given that it’s been a decade since Coach last appeared on the show, newer fans have a lot of questions about who he is. It seems that Coach’s fellow Season 50 contestants all have strong opinions about him, but viewers don’t know what to think. Google searches and Survivor discussion boards have been lit up with inquiries as to where Coach is from, what kind of player he is, and how he got this nickname.

Since Coach has moved around a lot, it’d be fair to say that he’s from a number of places, but the reality TV star was born in Knoxville, Tenn. He stayed in his hometown throughout grade school and college, up until he went to get a master’s in music education from the University of Nevada.

Coach didn’t stay in Nevada long, though; he moved out to California for a job as a soccer coach — hence his Survivor nickname. He lived in various cities in the Golden State, including Redding, Oakland, Susanville, and Lake Tahoe. He also worked in Bolivar, Mo., coaching the Southwest Baptist University team. However, we all know that once you check into Hotel California, you can never leave … Coach has since returned to the West Coast and now calls Susanville his home.

Coach has been vocal about the fact that he moved to Susanville because of how it differs from Hollywood. He explained, “Somebody once told me that when you get done with a reality show, you just need to run back to your normal life as fast as you can. So many people move down to LA, and they think they’re gonna be actors, you know, but I haven’t done that. I’ve just moved back to Susanville, kept grounded, and do the things that I love to do.”

When he’s not braving life at Survivor camp, Coach lives with his wife and three children. He is still involved in coaching soccer and playing music, and has added motivational speaking to his resume.

The Survivor contestant considers himself to be more grounded, moral, and honest than most career TV personalities. In fact, he insists he’ll show others a more truthful way to play the game. While many Old Era Survivor fans agree with Coach’s self-assessment, New Era viewers aren’t as confident that Coach is portraying himself accurately.

Specifically, stealing Ozzy Lusth’s challenge win — and then doubling down on it when he was called out — left fans with even more questions about Coach’s self-proclaimed integrity, and who he is as a whole.