Vinny Bonta

Afroduck (Merge)

Urban Legends

Taratibu

Urban Legends

3

Urban Legends

3

Urban Legends

18/18

Urban Legends

Vinny Bonta

Vinny Bonta was the 5th place contestant and fifth member of the jury from Survivor: Time & Change - Buckeye Battles. He is a contestant on Urban Legends.

Vinny Bonta is best known for his early and cross-tribal alliance with Will Wahl, as well as his core alliance with Allie Donohue and Kelsey McCaffrey and late rivalry with Muriel Ossip. Vinny was seemingly in control of the game for the vast majority of the game - he was a crucial member of the Savage Six alliance and made strong connections with most everyone in the game including Jackson Tinsley and Tyler Allen. During the pre-merge stages of the game, Vinny remained in a relatively comfortable position due to strong tribe performance in challenges. During the post-swap stage, Vinny found himself on a dominant tribe once again and was never quite in jeopardy of going home.

Upon making it to merge, Vinny reunited with Kelsey and Allie and was able to publicly utilize his relationship with Will to make it further in the game. Using Will as a "shield" and an extra vote on his side, Vinny was able to keep the target off of his back for most of the merge and involve himself in major vote-offs such as the blindside of Tyler. However, following Will's elimination at a surprise tribal council ceremony in correspondence with the progression of his rivalry with Muriel, Vinny's game progressively became more and more exposed and in jeopardy.

Despite his final attempts to downplay his strategy and deflect votes from coming in his direction, Vinny was perceived as the frontrunner to win the game due to his quiet dominance of the game and he became the primary target of Jackson's idol play at the Final Five Tribal Council.

Despite being in the majority alongside Allie and Kelsey against Jackson in the Final Five Tribal Council, Vinny was eliminated from the game as a result of an idol play and two votes from Muriel and Jackson.

Vinny voted for Muriel to win the game after acknowledging her as the only player he was truly afraid of in the game and after criticizing Jackson for making multiple strategic errors.

## Biography

I grew up in a very privileged home as an only child. Was given everything I wanted and didn’t fit in super well with others when I first met them. Learned what it looked like to understand people and care about others throughout school. My life was all about sports, being popular and having my parents being proud of me until I started going to YoungLife. Through the later part of high school I wanted to live my life not dedicated towards those things but instead living my life for Jesus.

## Pre-Game Survey Answers - Buckeye Battles

**Contestant Name:** Vinny Bonta

**Major(s):** Strategic Communications

**Minor(s):** n/a

**Hometown:** Upper Arlington, Ohio

**Birthday:** March 1st, 1995

**What Are Your Major Campus Involvements?**

Young Life and Spikeball Club.

**What Are Three Words To Describe You?**

Talkative, Perceptive, Weird.

**What Are Your Favorite Hobbies?**

Spikeball, watching or playing almost any sport or backyard game (except soccer) and board games. Yes, I like board games and is probably why I am single.

**What Are You Most Passionate About?**

My relationship with the lord, maintaining real friendships and being good at things that don't matter (board games/Spikeball/backyard games).

**What Are Three Of Your Pet Peeves?**

Bikers on Ohio states campus, people who like Qdoba, people who didn't prestige in Call of Duty 4.

**What Is Your Personal Claim to Fame?**

Sadly it is probably that I was the 2014 Catan national champion. Catan is a board game, yes I am a nerd.

**Do You Have Any Hidden/Special Talents?**

I have never lost a staring contest.

**Do You Have A New Years Resolution? If So, What Is It?**

To try and bankrupt Shamrock Towing. They are the worst!

**Who Is Your Inspiration In Life?**

Jesus Christ.

**What Is Your Dream Job?**

Stunt double.

**If You Could Live Anywhere In The World, Where Would It Be?**

Columbus Ohio! I love the Bucks too much to want to be anywhere else.

**Survivor Contestant You Are Most Like?**

Rob Cesternino.

**Reason For Playing Survivor: Time & Change?**

Survivor is one of my many weird obsessions and I love beating people at games. Survivor is the best game that I know of.

**Why Will You Win?**

I went to a Nickelback concert one time and sat through the whole thing. If I can put up with them for two hours, I think I can fake a smile to someone.

**Anything Else Cool You'd Like To Share?**

I made a highschooler cry by beating him in chess. I was 8.

## Pre-Game Survey Answers - Urban Legends

**Major(s):** Strategic Communication

**Minor(s):**N/A

**What’s the first word that comes to mind when you think about playing this game for the second time? Explain.**

Pumped. I just smile and get so excited when thinking about playing this game again. I love Survivor and love competing and there isn't another thing I would want to do my last semester at OSU.

**Are you still friends with people from the first time you played? Do you expect to make friends on S3?**

Yes. I made friends with a lot of people who are super different than me who I wouldn't have become friends with without STC. Very thankful for that part even though I thought going in I wouldn't want to be friends with any of them and fake it during the game.

**What is your favorite memory from your first season?**

For myself it was when I lied to Kelsey and eliminated her from the touchy subjects challenge. Overall I loved Will's idol play and the mayhem that came after that tribal.

**What about the STC experience compelled you to want to play again? Why did you want to come back?**

Being able to play a game as complex and difficult as Survivor. I love games to the point where I will bet money on who can roll a higher dice number. I just love games and whenever you can play a game that is this great and this time consuming the reward of winning and outsmarting people is something that makes me giddy and excited. I just flat out love to compete and push myself.

**What are you most looking forward to in playing again? What is your biggest fear in playing again?**

I am so excited for the first couple of weeks. Those are where the perception of you and what people think of you is built. I have a pretty tough task ahead of me which makes me excited! I love having a chip on my shoulder where I am thrown into a tougher situation than most people and come out on top. I have a little ego when playing games and love proving people wrong or winning when the cards are against me. My fear is that I put too much into STC and let me friends down in my real life in terms of keeping up with our friendships.

**Has your college life changed at all since the first time you played? How so?**

I now live off campus which in an actual home and community outside of OSU which will make playing way harder.

**How do you plan on dealing with the stigma of being a returning player going into S3?**

Playing more relaxed. I think people's perception of me is a snake who is untrustworthy and selfish. Inside the game these are true but the first half of the game I think people will be shocked of how little game I talk and how much time I will spend in building relationships. If I get a chance to draft a team I am going to draft a horrible team and try to lose all my "allies" where I am a perceived underdog. I want people to underestimate me. Also that I throw challenges and I will keep doing that.

**Think about last season. What did you learn about yourself?**

As cocky as this sounds, I learned exactly what I thought. I learned that I understand people better than most and am very comfortable dealing with different types of people. I can make people trust me even when they shouldn't.

**Do you plan on integrating pieces of your past tribemates gameplay into your strategy for S3? What did you learn from the people in your first season that could potentially help you?**

When the situation presents itself I want my alliance to know I am with them 100% by making public moves just like Muriel would. Also I want to be more observant like Jackson. He was so good at being in a situation and not falling for my crap because he understood my situation and that what I was saying doesn't line up with what was best for my game. I want to have as much fun as Max did and be shirtless more often like him too!

**Based on your past STC experience, what is your biggest piece of advice to everyone else that will be playing this game with you?**

Don't trust me.

**You were obviously brought back for a reason. Talk about why you think you were brought back and what we should expect from you going into S3.**

I believe I was brought back because I do what's best for my game and not afraid to think outside the box. I did really weird things like throwing challenges, voting for my alliances and went on idol hunts with people just to steer them away from where the idol clue was. Also because of my dancing.

**Based on your performance in your first season, what do you believe to be your three best traits as a player that will help you succeed? What three things do you hope to improve upon in S3?**

Being approachable, throwing challenges and always being open to working with anyone. I want to improve on being more observant, more fun in confessionals and not such a lame robot and trust my gut more.

**Having played once before and learned as much as you have, what do you hope the other contestants in this game get out of this experience as they play for the first time?**

I want players to feel some sort of emotional response when voting people out and getting voted out. If you care and put a lot of time into something, you will have a strong emotional response to this game. I don't want a bunch of people who just don't care and are doing this on the side and realize that they could have done more in terms of time commitment.

**Win or lose, what legacy/impact do you hope to leave on your fellow cast mates in S3 and this organization once this is all said and done?**

As a guy who is willing to do whatever it takes to win while still showing people that I care about them and treat them well. Also as the best winner of college Survivor games.

**Final Thoughts?**

Let's do this!