Zach Kozyrski

**Zach Kozyrski** is a contestant from *Australian Survivor: Champions v Contenders* (2018) and *Australian Survivor: All Stars*.

A prominent member of the all-boys alliance, Zach was very loud about his opinions, constantly stating that the women on his tribe were weak compared to the female Champions. This caused him to butt heads with all the girls on his team, most notably outsider Paige Kerin. Although his strength was able to get him far in the game, his general unlikable personality was proven tough for his alliance to carry, causing them to get rid of him quickly.

In *All Stars*, Zach improved his game greatly, deciding to focus more on his social game. After being sent to Exile Beach alongside Shonee Fairfax, Zach was placed back onto Mokuta, where he joined the majority alliance, an alliance that would go onto dominate for the majority of the game. Come merge, Zach appeared destined to go far, but several attempts to build his resume only made him appear as David Genat's goat. After volunteering to go to Exile Beach a second time, Shonee exploited his feud with his ally Jacqui Patterson, prompting Jacqui to flip on their alliance and send him home in a 4-3-2 vote.

## Profile

*Retrieved from 10play.com.au*

* All Stars

**Age:** 39
**Occupation:** Personal Trainer
**State:** WA
**Tribe:** Contenders​​​​​
Now working as a personal trainer, Zach first came to the attention of Australia as Hunter on the family entertainment television show, Gladiators.
Zach hopes his fellow castaways will think he's all brawn and no brain giving him an inside edge to win the title of Sole Survivor.
"I'm a huge fan of the show, just like I was of Gladiators. All I wanted to be was a Gladiator. Did that. Now all I want to do is be a Survivor. As a hyper competitive individual, I relish the challenge and it's the bragging rights of being Australia's lone survivor. I love to compete and this game is the pinnacle."
"I am constantly being asked to try out for shows like this but I've never been interested except for *Survivor*. I'm going to be doing it for my family, friends and fans."
When he's not watching *Survivor* with his wife, Zach is the captain of Australia's number one paintball team which he built and recruited by himself.

Although he feels he has the physical side sorted, Zach also thinks he has the mental ability to take on his fellow castaways saying, "I know how to make people feel good about themselves and to believe in the process. I think most people see fitness guys as big dumb idiots but I want to play smart."
**40, Personal Trainer — Season 3**
One of the most controversial players to hit the island, Zach was not favoured by his female castaways, but he says he's learnt from it and wants to show his real side.
"I have focused on the political correctness side of my interactions, thanks to one of my training clients. She has been educating me on how to interact with people and I have learnt a lot. I don't want to have a reputation as someone that isn't me so I would like to prove that I am not what people think."
While he might be out to change his ways, there are some things Zach can't stop like his sense of humour and most importantly, his strength. He said: "I'm probably the strongest male they've ever had set foot on the island. I'm also probably one of the most controversial."
"I'm going to have more fun this time, no matter what the situation. I would diversify my network and put more emphasis on building relationships. But it's going to be impossible for me to fly under the radar, I'm loud and large."
Zach lives in Perth with his partner Katie, where they spend a lot of their time saving birds and plans to spend the winning money to help support that.

## Australian Survivor

### Champions v Contenders

Though the Template:Dab struggling against the Template:Dab particularly in one on one matchups, Zach was the constant exception, often defeating Steve Willis in those situations. Zach's challenge performances did not make things easier for him strategically, as his sub alliance was exposed by Matt Dyson at the first Tribal Council. That didn't stop Zach from enjoying streaking with Benji Wilson, Robbie Skibicki, and Steve Khouw. That level of bonding reinforced their closes to the other sub alliances: a parent alliance consisting of Heath Davies, Tegan Gasior, and Jenna Austin, and an all-female alliance of Shonee Fairfax, Fenella McGowan, and Anita Berkett. Since Paige Kerin wasn't close to either of these three alliances, Zach targeted her next. Instead, the physically weakest of Zach's allies, Steve, was blindsided in a 6-4-1 vote on Day 11.

Jenna's serious injury forced the Contenders to vote her out on Day 13, which opened up the game for Zach's alliance. With Benji taking a step forward strategically, Tegan and Heath were painted as a power couple. This allowed Tegan to be voted out next on Day 18, albeit sent to Exile Beach rather than permanently exiting the game. This twist focused the tribe's attention on Heath to ensure one of the pair is eliminated in the upcoming return challenge. Heath's Hidden Immunity Idol play on Day 20 negated 7 votes against him, instead sending Anita to Exile where she lost to Tegan. Not only was all of Zach's work for naught, but the consecutive losses saw Zach's frustrations with his tribemates, particularly the women, grow. These frustrations peaked at the Day 22 Tribal Council where Zach blamed the women for the Contenders doing poorly in the challenges. When he was called out on this, he tried to backtrack by saying the women on the Champions tribe were mostly athletes to justify his previous claim. Citing Zach was no longer useful as a shield, Benji and Robbie joined the rest of the Contenders in unanimously voting out Zach 7-1.

#### Voting History

**^1** In "Episode 8", Heath used a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating Zach's vote against him.

### All Stars

Zach impressed Mokuta with his early challenge performances, earning him a spot in the majority alliance centered around the more athletic players. However, Zach recognized he was on the bottom of that alliance and was eager to make a move. In the meantime, Zach focused on improving his social game. When a Reward Challenge victory forced him to relive his low point in the previous season with his sexist comments, Shonee Fairfax noted Zach's improvement this season. Zach's attempt to make a move against the majority alliance on Day 14 was in danger of backfiring on him when Nick Iadanza tried to use that information to target Zach. Zach was the only person that Tribal Council to vote for John Eastoe, and with the other factions of Mokuta targeting Shonee and Zach, both of them were sent to Exile Beach in a twist. The two unlikely friends bonded over this situation, only for them to immediately re-enter the game and participate in the Tribe Switch.

Zach had a quiet swap until the final pre-merge Immunity Challenge on Day 28 when he was frustrated at Jacqui Patterson en route to losing that challenge. This tension gave Nick another opportunity to target Zach. However, thanks to David Genat's recent bonding with Zach and the protection of David's alliance, Zach survived as Nick was voted out unanimously. Once the merge occurred, Zach and David pretended to the Vakama alliance that they were willing to flip. This led to Locky Gilbert's blindside, giving the Mokuta seven control. It would be short-lived though as Lee Carseldine's emergency exit preceded another Exile twist. The top three vote earners both on Day 34 and Day 36's Tribal Councils would be sent to Exile Beach where they would have to win their way back in the game or be vulnerable at the Day 38 Tribal Council. After Brooke Jowett, AK Knight, and Moana Hope were sent, Zach was eager to join them as he was confident in his challenge abilities and felt success at Exile would bolster his *Survivor* resume. Zach would get his wish on Day 36, though he would fail to win either of the return challenges. Though Zach expected his allies to have his back at Tribal Council, Jacqui decided to flip on Zach due to their personality conflict, sending Zach to the jury.

At Final Tribal Council, Zach contributed to his close ally David's victory over Sharn Coombes in a 8-1 vote.

#### Voting History

**^1** In "Episode 5", Shonee used a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating Zach's vote against her.
**^2** In "Episode 6", Mokuta was subjected to a mock Tribal Council where the two players who received the most votes were sent to Exile Beach. Zach received the second most votes and was exiled until the Tribe Switch.
**^3** In "Episode 11", the vote ended with a 5-5 tie between Moana and Phoebe, forcing a revote. Zach did not change his vote on the revote.
**^4** In "Episode 17", the vote ended with a 1-1 tie between Zach and David, forcing a revote. Sharn changed her vote to Zach on the revote, sending him to Exile Beach.

## Post-Survivor

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## Exile Island

### Times exiled:

2

* Zach is the highest placing man on the original Mokuta tribe.
* Both times Zach was voted out, he received a vote from Shonee Fairfax.

1. ↑ https://10play.com.au/australian-survivor/participants/season-3/zach/pa190317fgk
2. ↑ https://10play.com.au/australian-survivor/participants/season-5/zach/pa200203swtdy