Ethan Zohn

As part of the Boran tribe, Zohn did not become an immediate target in the game; he was seen as a strong player who could potentially help to win many tribal immunities. When his tribe lost two back-to-back immunity challenges, he joined the majority to vote off Diane Ogden and Jessie Camacho in episodes one and two. Over the next few days, Ethan would form a long-term alliance with Lex Van den Berghe and Tom Buchanan from his Boran tribe.

But a twist in episode five saw both of Zohn's alliance members and Kelly Goldstein switch from Boran to the Samburu tribe, leaving Ethan alone with fellow Boran members Kim Johnson and Clarence Black. Two of the new Boran members from the Samburu tribe, Teresa Cooper and Frank Garrison, had an old misunderstanding with another former Samburu member, Silas Gaither. So, by consensus, after Zohn's tribe lost the immunity challenge Gaither was voted out. Both of Zohn's alliance members Buchanan and Van den Berghe remained safe on the Samburu tribe, carrying all three into the merge.

Zohn's alliance soon began to control the game, with other members Johnson and Goldsmith. They immediately targeted Black due to his physical strength, among other events that had occurred earlier in the game, and he was voted out. But Van den Berghe had received another vote at tribal council, a vote he believed had come from Goldsmith, but which actually came from Cooper. This led Van den Berghe on a witch-hunt against Goldsmith which almost led to the demise of Zohn's alliance when Goldsmith possessed the power with the other four ex-Samburu members, Cooper, Garrison, Kim Powers and Brandon Quinton. But at the last minute, Quinton switched his vote, saving Van den Berghe, and voting out Goldsmith. But this move came back to haunt Quinton when Zohn's alliance saw him as untrustworthy and voted him out at the next tribal council.

Zohn, Van den Berghe, Buchanan, and Johnson regained control of the game, outing previous Samburu members Garrison, Powers and Cooper in the next three tribal councils, carrying them into the final four. At the next immunity challenge, Johnson, the next target to be voted out, won immunity, leading to the alliance having to resort to voting one of their own out, despite the fact that the challenge contained some controversy. At any rate, Zohn joined Van den Berghe and Johnson in voting out Buchanan, carrying them into the Final Three.

At the final three immunity challenge, older tribe member Johnson outlasted the two young, fit men to win immunity in an endurance challenge. With Johnson holding the power to choose who she would sit next to in the Final Two, she chose Zohn.

In the end, Zohn beat out Johnson in a 5-2 vote to become the Sole Survivor, gaining the votes of Goldsmith, Garrison, Cooper, Buchanan, and Van den Berghe.[8]

Zohn was invited to participate in Survivor: All-Stars, which he gladly accepted. Originally part of the Saboga tribe, Zohn was immediately targeted as a previous winner, along with Survivor: The Australian Outback winner Tina Wesson. When Saboga lost immunity, the rest of the tribe decided to vote out Wesson first, needing Zohn's strength to win future challenges. When Saboga lost immunity once again, Zohn was spared once more over physical liability Rudy Boesch, who had hurt his ankle previously.

In Episode 5, Zohn and the rest of the Saboga tribe were disbanded after losing a challenge. Zohn and Jerri Manthey joined the Mogo Mogo tribe, while Jenna Lewis and Rupert Boneham joined Chapera. Later in that episode, Zohn joined the rest of his new tribe to vote out Survivor: Borneo winner Richard Hatch.

In Episode 7, Zohn was on the outs when the alliance of Manthey, Lex Van den Berghe, and Shii Ann Huang left him out in their decision to vote out Colby Donaldson. Zohn was shocked at the decision, feeling betrayed by old Survivor: Africa alliance member Van den Berghe.

In Episode 8, Mogo Mogo lost immunity once again, and Zohn, the last former winner, was voted out in 11th place overall, by a vote of 4-1. He was the most successful of the four previous winners who competed on All-Stars, lasting longer than Wesson, Hatch, and Jenna Morasca, who quit the game on day 9 to be with her ailing mother.[9]

Zohn returned as a contestant on the fortieth season of Survivor, Survivor: Winners at War, where he was a member of the Sele tribe. Along with All-Stars castmate Amber Mariano, Zohn broke Kelly Wiglesworth's record for the longest gap between seasons. He was placed on the Sele tribe, where he joined an alliance of "Old-School" players formed by Rob Mariano and Parvati Shallow. Zohn was targeted by Jeremy Collins and Michele Fitzgerald shortly after as a ploy to weaken Mariano and Shallow, and he was the 4th person voted out. Zohn remained at the Edge of Extinction for the remaining duration of the season, during which he openly spoke out about his health issues and his drive to never give up. He was defeated by Tyson Apostol and Natalie Anderson respectively at the two Edge return challenges and became a permanent member of the jury on day 35. He later voted for Anderson to win the season, although she finished second to Tony Vlachos.