‘I present as laid back and easygoing, but inside the wheels are turning’
When season 51 of “Survivor” premieres on Wednesday, Sept. 23, Clarkies will see a familiar face. Eric Macksoud ’13 is among the castaways marooned on the islands of Fiji, competing for a chance to win $1 million on the hit CBS program.
Macksoud, who majored in psychology and was a member of the Men’s Swimming & Diving team, had been vying for a chance to compete on Survivor for six years.
“I started applying in 2020 after getting back into ‘Survivor,’” Macksoud said in an interview on Tuesday. “I was a fan when I was a kid. I was 8 years old when the first season came out, and at that time, ‘Survivor’ was a huge part of the cultural zeitgeist. You couldn’t go anywhere without someone saying, ‘The tribe has spoken,’ or ‘I’m gonna vote you out!’ ”
Macksoud, a mental health counselor who grew up in Rhode Island and now lives in Connecticut, said he is a longtime fan of competition reality TV.
“I like the idea of people overcoming challenges,” he said. “I just think that is what the human experience is all about, and I want nothing more than to celebrate that.”
Macksoud is planning to be back on campus next month for the annual Swimming & Diving Alumni Meet with Coach Paul Phillips, who first coached Macksoud when he swam on a youth team at age 7.
“I love nothing more than to catch up with my old friends from the team, catch up with Coach, meet the new group of swimmers and divers,” said Macksoud. “I love that Clark constantly promotes connecting with your fellow human beings. If it was not for Clark, I would not be the man I am today.”
ClarkU News caught up with Macksoud for a Q&A ahead of his primetime debut. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
What made you want to go on “Survivor”?
It dawned on me at the time, “Oh my God, I’m done with grad school. I have a job. I don’t really have any other responsibilities. I can do this. I have the time.” I kept submitting, submitting, submitting, and the thing about reapplying over and over is that you learn more about yourself in the process.
What started as, “I can get on TV and get fame” became more nuanced. I don’t need the fame. I don’t need the glory. While it’s nice, it’s more about challenging myself and showing myself that if I set my mind to something, I can make it real.
That’s been the theme of this journey. Year after year, you don’t hear back. You feel down, but you don’t give up. I think that’s such an important lesson, not just for myself, but for humans in general, because life is a lot of “Tubthumping,” the song, right? You get knocked down, but you get back up again, because they’re never going to keep you down.
Did you watch “Survivor” as a Clarkie in the residence halls?
Funny enough, I did not watch “Survivor” during my time at Clark, but my best friend from Clark, Nick Tate, did. He’s part of the reason why I decided to apply because when I got into watching “Survivor,” I messaged him and said, “Nick, this show is amazing and I can’t believe I didn’t watch it with you. I think I could do this.” He said, “You couldn’t do it,” and I responded, “Bet.” So, I’d like to thank one of my best friends from college, from Wright Hall, Nick Tate, because without him challenging me, would this have kickstarted anything?
Do you consider yourself a competitive person?
I’m not a competitive person in the sense of constantly needing to win to prove myself. However, if I’m in a game of any kind or any type of competition, I do get very competitive, but I like to keep it covert because you don’t want anyone to see that you’re competitive. If they do see it, they’re going to look at you and make you a target.
In all the competitive settings I’ve been in, it’s always trying to be covertly competitive, because I present as laid back and easygoing, but inside the wheels are turning. I am thinking about how I can get ahead.
Are you still practicing swimming?
I’m 34 years old. I’ve got a mortgage to pay. I have clients to see, and pool time is expensive. So, I don’t really get to swim as much as I would like to, and it’s a shame because I genuinely love swimming. I have a lot of positive emotions attached to it, especially from my time at Clark.
My time on the swim team, I think, definitely gives me an edge because not only did it help me develop life-saving skills — swimming not only in a pool but also in an ocean with rough waters — it also taught me the value of camaraderie, of getting to know people, learning how to deal with different personalities. It taught me a valuable lesson about the world in general, which is the diversity of people and how beautiful it is to bond through the diversity. I can definitely credit any confidence I have going into the game to the Clark U Swimming and Diving family.
What Clark course most prepared you for being on “Survivor”?
When I was taking my undergrad psych courses, I remember taking a behavioral psych course that was very helpful in reframing my mind to separate emotion from behavior.
When you’re interacting with other people, it’s very easy to determine a person’s character by their behavior. Human beings do it all the time. It’s a survival tool and it’s a judgment tool. What that behavioral psych course taught me is a human is separate from their behaviors. It was a great way to help me learn how to compartmentalize if I feel bothered by someone’s behaviors because I can acknowledge that I’m not bothered by the person, it’s the behavior, and behaviors can be changed. Not only is that great to prepare oneself for meeting new people and having to deal with things that are uncertain, but it also teaches me to be in tune with my own behaviors and practice mindfulness and self-awareness.
Why is mental health important to you?
Mental health is one of, if not the most important, things I value. Not only is that from a professional standpoint as someone who counsels people and promotes healthy behaviors and emotions, it also is personal because I’m someone that struggles himself with mental health.
I do have my own history of anxiety. I used to struggle with anger management when I was younger. Going to therapy, practicing self-awareness and mindfulness, taking accountability for my actions and behaviors, it means a lot to me because I think we live in a time where we’re seeing a lot of people, especially men, struggle with that. I think it’s important to promote that it’s human to have tough feelings. It’s human to not be perfect. It’s human to not have it all figured out. Once you recognize that and accept it, it can allow you to accomplish anything you want. If I didn’t work through my anxiety, would I have ever applied [for “Survivor”].
What’s next for you?
Now that I’ve achieved the side quest of making a dream happen, it’s time to now get to the big dream. “Survivor” is an adventure, but what bigger adventure is there than marriage?
I just can’t wait to marry Gina DeVito, my fiancée, next year. I’m so grateful to have a loving and caring partner who is supportive of my dreams and ambitions, and I of hers. I can’t wait to do the rest of the planning. I can’t wait to get things set up. I can’t wait to get the suit. I can’t wait to see how she looks in her dress. I can’t wait to party, and I can’t wait to start the grandest adventure of all.
