Orlando woman to compete on this season's 'Survivor'

College Park's Lindsey Cascaddan says don't judge her by her looks

ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando's Lindsey Cascaddan is the latest Central Florida resident to be featured on the hit CBS reality show "Survivor.

[WEB EXTRA:  Full interview with Lidsey Cascaddan]

The College Park hairstylist says she can't wait for the season to begin. Filming took place last summer.

The show, now in its 30th season, picks a variation on its theme each season.

This time, the tribes are broken down into "White collar, corporate workers," "Blue collar people who work with their hands," and "No collar, carefree."

Cascaddan will be in the "Blue Collar" group.

She says viewers may think she belongs in the 'No Collar" tribe at first glance, but she feels at home with her "Blue Collar" teammates.

"My personality is so black and white. I think that when you first look at me, you would assume that I was this very artsy, fly by the seat of my pants girl, but I got put on the blue tribe for a reason," she says. "I'm a hard worker, and I have core values."

One of the first things you might notice about Cascaddan is her tattoos. She says that despite her looks she's all-American and at her core, quite conservative.

"I think that I look different, and I think that there's a part of casting that looked at me and was like here's this girl that looks like a 'no collar' and America is going to want to put her in the 'no collar' group, and we're not going to let them." She continues, "We're going to force America to see that sometimes this is what the heart of America looks like." 

She isn't able to say how far she got in the show, but said growing up in Orlando helped prepare her for the brutal Nicaraguan day time heat. The nights on the other hand were a whole different experience.

"The night comes and it's raining, it's freezing and it hits you out of nowhere. The first night I remember thinking, 'What did I sign up for?' I mean, I have the heat covered. I know how to handle that, but you're sitting in this shelter that you sort of built and it's a mess. It's like the Chinese water torture." 

The show has a history of casting Central Florida residents. Kat Edorsson, of Orlando,  was in "One World," and "Blood v.s. Water."

Brothers Alec and Drew Christy, of Winter Park, were cast in "San Juan Del Sur."

Don't miss the 90-minute premier of "Survivor - Worlds Apart" at 8 p.m. Wednesday on Local 6.


About the Author:

Paul is a Florida native who graduated from the University of Central Florida. As a multimedia journalist, Paul enjoys profiling the people and places that make Central Florida unique.

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