Earl Cole was a 35-year-old Advertising Executive from Santa Monica, California when he became the Sole
Survivor of
Survivor: Fiji in the first unanimous jury vote in the show's history. A University of Washington business school graduate and accomplished musician who plays piano, saxophone, guitar, violin, and drums, Earl worked as a Senior Advertising Executive creating media strategies and brand marketing for major accounts. He built a lasting alliance with Yau-Man Chan on the struggling Ravu tribe and led the dominant Syndicate Alliance to systematically eliminate the Four Horsemen after the merge. Earl found multiple Hidden Immunity Idols and played one by default at its last opportunity, winning the game in a historic 9-0-0 vote to become the first Black male winner and second Black winner overall. He established the Earl Cole Fund at the University of Kansas Medical Center for Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease, appeared on Shark Tank pitching Smart Tire, and founded multiple companies including Particle 5 Interactive and Smush Mobile Technologies.