Josh Wilder: 5 Things To Know About The ‘Survivor’ Season 44 Contestant

Josh Wilder has escaped elimination more than once so far on Survivor 44. Josh, 35, was out the outs on his original Soka tribe, and after he was swapped to the Tika tribe, he had to save himself with his Hidden Immunity Idol. Josh, now only possessing a fake idol, was the prime target for Carolyn Wiger and Yam Yam Arocho — until Tribal Council was canceled because Matthew Grinstead-Mayle left the game over a shoulder injury. Josh has made it to the “Mergatory” stage of the game, where he’ll have to make new allies if he wants to survive. Here is everything you need to know about Josh Wilder.

Josh lives in Georgia.

Josh currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, but that’s not where he’s from. He was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, but he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio when he was 5 years old. He grew up in the suburbs and attended Princeton High School.

He went to medical school.

After attending college at Washington and Jefferson College in Pennsylvania, Josh moved to Cleveland and enrolled in medical school at Kent State University. He received his Doctor of Podiatric Medicine in 2016.

He’s a podiatrist.

Josh currently works as a surgical podiatrist for the Ankle & Foot Centers of Georgia. Josh’s page on the company website lists all his professional accomplishments. He’s a member of the American Podiatric Medical Association and the Georgia Podiatric Medical Association.

He was the recipient of a kidney transplant.

Josh has talked about his childhood health issues on Survivor. He was born with a congenital deformity called prune belly syndrome, which affected his kidneys. Thankfully, Josh got a kidney transplant at age 9 from a 15-year-old girl who was killed by a drunk driver. He said in an interview with Parade magazine that he’s playing Survivor in honor of his kidney donor. “I’ve always wanted to live my life through her because I’m living for two people,” he said. “So I’m doing this for her.”

He’s openly gay.

Josh has been open about his sexuality on Survivor. He bonded with his tribemate Yam Yam about them both being gay, despite the pair not being aligned strategically. Josh and Yam Yam shared their coming-out stories to each other in a heartfelt moment on the show.

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