August 27, 2009: Three weeks before the premiere,
CBS finally releases the cast on their official web site. Here's
Russell's bio from there:
"Russell Hantz (36)
Hometown: Dayton, Texas
Occupation: Oil Company Owner
Russell Hantz’s personality speaks for itself when he proudly
displays a missing tooth that he refuses to fix! This married
father of four is visually memorable. Standing tall at only 5’6”,
he is built like a brick house with a bald head. At 200 pounds
of pure muscle, Russell’s solid figure and sharp tongue
has helped him carve out a multi-million dollar business in the
oil-tanking industry.
A huge SURVIVOR fan, this self-made man built his business from
scratch by working hard, speaking his mind and stepping on anyone
who got in his way. Russell won’t apologize for his style
of game play either saying, “I’m not going out there
to make friends. I’m just not doing it. But everybody is
going to think I’m their best friend, because I’m
just such a lovable character.”
Russell can’t wait to get in the competition and show “these
morons how it’s done” and he “plans to play
the game dirtier, smarter and more cunning than anyone can imagine.” It
is those skills that have allowed him to achieve his biggest
accomplishment in life and that is being able to provide for
his family.
Russell is married with four children and currently resides in
Dayton, Texas. His birth date is October 10th."
August 24, 2009: First Survivor: Samoa ads
begin to air on CBS, and Russell is given a featured speaking
role, saying (apparently unironically) "I can control
how they think."
Russell, in-game mind control
Russell, second from left (with hat)
Russell, ready for first IC (in underwear)
Russell, the human tanker
Shortly after the ad airs, Sucks poster Jacare15 identifies
Russell, saying: "Bigguy who controls how people think last
name is Hantz. He was recruited James Clement style--aka friends
with Boo."
Rapidly, both smokeitgood and SEGScapegoat find
his MySpace page, which identifies him as Russell Hantz, 36,
of Dayton, Texas. For good measure, Polonium also finds his wife
Melanie's MySpace, as well.
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