Matt Elrod

Matthew Wyatt "Matt" Elrod is a contestant from .
Known for his charm, athleticism and religiosity, Matt was voted out second after Rob Mariano noticed his closeness with tribemate and fellow ally, Andrea Boehlke. He managed to win his way back in the game through , making it to the merge. However, he made a fatal mistake of telling Rob that he considered flipping on him, which resulted in him getting sent back to Redemption Island. After winning his way through the duels again, he was eventually eliminated at the final duel, finishing in 7th place.
==Profile==
Retrieved from CBS.com
Name (Age): Matt Elrod (22)
Tribe Designation: 
Current Residence: Nashville, Tenn.
Occupation: Pre-Med Student
Personal Claim to Fame: My decision to lead my own life.
Inspiration in Life: I think that there are so many people worthy of being deemed "a hero" in everyday life that are overlooked. So, I'm going to say people who put others before themselves.
Hobbies: Athletics, reading and exploring.
Pet Peeves: People who act out for attention.
3 Words to Describe You: Mysterious, impulsive and deep.
Survivor Contestant You Are Most Like: Any contestant who has played the game with honesty and integrity.
Reason for being on Survivor: I've always wanted to live off the land and I think it would be a fun experience to compete on the show.
Why you think you'll "survive" Survivor: I know what it takes to be a winner.
Why you think you will be the Sole Survivor: I'm athletic, amicable and intelligent. I can also hold my own socially.http://web.archive.org/web/20230402095100/https://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/cast/52443/
==Survivor==
Like most of his fellow Ometepe members, Matt was elated to see veteran player Rob Mariano draw the Ometepe buff on Day 1. Following Kristina Kell's secret discovery of the Hidden Immunity Idol, Matt became a part of Rob's newly formed alliance consisting of Grant Mattos, Andrea Boehlke, Natalie Tenerelli, and Ashley Underwood to usurp Kristina's plans of eliminating him. With most of the tribe following Rob, the vote was split as planned, where Kristina's closest ally Francesca Hogi was eliminated.
On Day 5, despite being faithfully aligned with him, Rob noticed that Matt seemingly had a budding romance with alliance partner Andrea. Rob, who had also found love on Survivor (with winner Amber Brkich) began to feel threatened. Matt made a more damaging mistake by shaking hands with the rival Zapatera tribe seconds after Ometepe suffered their second defeat on Day 5. This gesture irked Rob, who swerved the vote towards Matt's direction. In the end, Rob managed to turn the majority alliance against Matt, blindsiding him in a 4-2-2 vote, sending him to Redemption Island and also flushing Kristina's Hidden Immunity Idol in the process.
However, Matt became an unstoppable force at Redemption Island, winning every duel he competed in, including a showdown with the notorious Russell Hantz. On Day 19, he won the reentry duel, allowing him to reenter the game, and earning him a spot in the merged Murlonio tribe.
After the merge, Matt found himself as a swing vote between the majority Ometepe alliance, and the minority Zapatera alliance. He told Rob that he wanted to be a part of his alliance still, and that he now wanted to go to the final three with Grant and Rob. While Matt easily forgave the very tribe that sent him to Redemption Island, he and Andrea were offered a final four deal by Zapatera member Mike Chiesl, under the condition that they voted out either Rob's closest ally, Grant, or Rob himself. Matt, however, decided to follow his honor code and told Rob about the whole ordeal, including that he had actually considered voting him out. This prompted Rob to command the Ometepe alliance to turn on Matt once again. With Matt voting for Steve Wright, who he was made to believe was the intended target, he would ultimately be blindsided in a 6-5-1 vote, sending him back to Redemption Island.
Matt would continue to thrive on Redemption Island throughout his second run, despite Rob purposefully voting out the stronger members of Zapatera first, which would start to worry the latter. After being blindsided herself, Andrea arrived at Redemption Island only to get into a heated debate with Matt about his most recent blindside. Despite his previous successes, Matt lost the final reentry duel to Andrea after a lapse in concentration. Ultimately, Matt would finish in seventh place, becoming the sixth member of the jury.
At the Final Tribal Council, Matt berated Rob for his duplicitous gameplay, but ultimately voted for him due to the lack of any other respectable options.
<tabber>Challenge History=
Episode 	TribeAffiliation 	Challenge 	Challenge Type 	Sit-Out?	Result
1 	rowspan=2 	Push It Uphill 	Reward/Immunity	No 	
2 	Smash, Grab, Smash	Reward/Immunity	No 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	
3 	rowspan=6 	Jail Break 	Duel 	 	
4 	Domino Effect 	 	Duel 	 	
5 	Cube Crisis 	 	Duel 	 	
6 	Grapple and Maze 	 	Duel 	 	
7 	Concentration 	 	Duel 	 	
8 	Chimney Sweep 	 	Duel 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	
colspan=6	 	 	 	 	
8 	 	Roller Ball 	Immunity 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	
10 	rowspan=5 	House of Cards 	Duel 	 	
11 	Shuffleboard 	 	Duel 	 	
12 	Rock Block 	 	Duel 	 	
13 	A Maze N' Jig 	 	Duel 	 	
14 	A Leg Up 	 	Duel 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	
|-|Voting History=
Episode 	Matt'sVotes 	Voted AgainstMatt
1 	 	
2 	 	
 	 	
3 	colspan="2" rowspan="6"	
4 	 	
5 	 	
6 	 	
7 	 	
8 	 	
 	 	
8 	 	
 	 	
9 	colspan="2" rowspan="6"	
10 	 	
11 	 	
12 	 	
13 	 	
14 	 	
 	 	
Voted forSole Survivor	colspan="2" 	
</tabber>
==Post-Survivor==
===Personal Life===
* Matt married musician Aubrey Swander on September 17, 2017.https://www.instagram.com/p/BZKbLtkgkRl/?taken-by=heywyattnash
===Entertainment Career===
* Matt uses the stage name, "Wyatt Nash", a play on "Wyatt", his middle name, and "Nash", for Nashville, his hometown.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4879415/ He landed recurring character roles in and . Elrod also portrayed Christopher in the television film adaptation of the novel, Petals on the Wind.http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_redemption_island/2014_May_27_wyatt-nash-matt-elrod
* Matt appeared in the music video for the song You Liehttp://projectmobius.blogspot.com/2011/06/freaky-friday-survivor-redemption.html by The Band Perry.http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/05/23/petals-on-the-wind-rose-mciver-wyatt-nash/
* Matt played the role of Ryan Kelly in the adaption of Karen Kingsbury's novel The Bridge.https://instagram.com/p/571tb5PtBJ/
* Matt appeared on the sixth episode of the ABC sitcom which aired on November 6, 2015 playing a Hot Doctor.https://instagram.com/p/9zapHGPtOz/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5155372/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_2
* Matt appeared on the 2017 comedy TV series Dear White People in a recurring role as Kurt Fletcher.https://deadline.com/2016/09/dear-white-people-netflix-series-casts-nia-jervier-wyatt-nash-recurring-1201814263/
* Matt portrayed Charles Smith in .https://www.popbuzz.com/tv-film/riverdale/wyatt-nash-charles-smith-actor/
* In 2019, Matt appeared in the second episode of the sixth season of playing a younger version of Michael Hitchcock, with , who played young Norm Scully.
==Trivia==
* Matt is the youngest man to compete on .
* Matt is the first person to be voted out on Day 5.
* He is also the first man to be ever sent to .
* After losing the duel to him, Krista lent to Matt her luxury item: a bible.
* Matt is the first contestant to return from Redemption Island.
** He is also the first of three contestants to be sent to Redemption Island twice. He would be followed by Ozzy Lusth and Laura Morett.
* Though he did not win any challenges as part of Ometepe, he did win the most Redemption Island duels, winning ten of eleven.
** He is the only contestant to reach the merge without winning a single tribal challenge.
*** However, Denise Stapley reached the merge with only 1 tribal challenge victory and that came via forfeit.
* Matt spent the most days on Redemption Island, lasting 29 days.
* Matt is the first of two contestants to return from Redemption Island, but eventually lose a duel - resulting in their elimination, with the other being Laura Morett. Andrea Boehlke, Ozzy Lusth, and Tina Wesson also returned from Redemption Island, but never lost a duel.
* Matt is also the only person to participate in every single duel at Redemption Island.
* Matt has the record for longest Redemption Island winning streak at 10 consecutive wins.
* Matt lost 25 lbs. during his time on Redemption Island.
* Matt was referenced in the episode by Christine Shields Markoski, who said "It would be great if I pulled a Matt and returned to the game."https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yt41Jx6zY0
* Matt turned down the offer to appear for a second time in as one of the returning Favorites.
==References==
Category:Contestants
Category:Male Contestants
Category:Redemption Island Contestants
Category:Redemption Island Jury Members
Category:Ometepe Tribe
Category:Murlonio Tribe
Category:7th Place
Category:Survivor (U.S.)
Category:Survivor (U.S.) Contestants
Category:Survivor: Redemption Island
Category:1988 births
Category:Living people