Meet the 'Survivor 45' Cast! Brandon "Brando" Meyer is Described as a "Lovable Liar"
Though Brandon “Brando” Meyer may look like a stereotypical nerd, he’s a class clown at heart. The software developer is described as a “lovable liar” by his friends and loves pranks and puns alike. In fact, the 23-year-old describes himself as the fictional love child of a wayward summer fling between Yul and Cochran. But his brand(o) on the island will be a bit different, as he hopes to play up his youthfulness to make sure, when the votes are read, the joke’s not on him.
Read on for my interview with Brando, and check in with Parade.com every day for interviews with this season’s contestants and other tidbits. Survivor 45 premieres on September 27 with a 90-minute premiere on CBS.
Related: Meet the Full Cast of Survivor 45
Interview with Brando from Survivor 45
To start, tell me about yourself.
My name is Brando. I’m originally from Oak Park, California. I’m 22, also, if you can’t tell. A lot of people think that I’m a teenager. My optometrist thought I was 12 the last time I went. I never know what I’m gonna get. [Laughs.]
When was the last time you went to an optometrist?!
You would think it was years ago. I would say maybe six months; we’re talking 2022. I was just as shocked as you. I mean, I know; I don’t have any facial hair going on. But you’ve gotta give me some credit. [Laughs.]
Maybe he needs his eyes checked, ironically. Well, Brando, what brings you out to Survivor? What makes you want to feel like your brand, in a manner of speaking, is this game.
[Laughs.] Growing up, I always had a lot of struggles with my confidence and just the way that I felt about myself. So, for me, being out here is sort of proving to that younger version of me that we can make it out here and that I can push through this and be that person that walks home with the million dollars. I’m half-Japanese and half-white. And so I had a big struggle with always feeling like I was too white for the Asian kids and I was too Asian for the white kids.
And I’d turn on the TV, and it’d be like Disney Channel, Nickelodeon. All of these shows didn’t really have people that were like me. And so I think part of why I turned to Survivor was because we had people like Yau-Man and Tai. And it was really cool to see people that were more like me. And there’s still a degree of me that was like, “I’m not nearly as Asian as any of these people who are first-generation; they immigrated to America.” And so being here, for me, I can represent my own group.
You talked a bit about your history watching Survivor. When did it start?
So, my parents first showed me Survivor when Nicaragua was airing. I don’t know if it was Fabio’s luscious hair or the crush that I had on Brenda, but I was instantly hooked. And ever since then, it’s been my thing with them. We always watched together, even when I was away at college. Now [that] I've moved over 1000 miles away from home and, every Wednesday night, we boot up FaceTime, we watch the show together, we debate our draft picks in between the commercials. And so it’s been a big family thing for me.
You already mentioned some previous castaways. But give me one Survivor winner and one non-winner who you identify with the most.
The non-winner I already namedropped. That’s gotta be Yau-Man. There’s just something about how he’s super friendly and charming, but also strategic and innovative. He used the truck for strategy. He created the first fake hidden immunity idol. I think there are so many great qualities to him, and I’d really like to play like him. And then for winner, I think that I would be sort of like a mix between, if Yul and Cochran ran away one summer and and had a child, I think that child would be me. [Laughs.] Yul’s got that calm, cool collectiveness to him, and he’s really smart and always thinking. And then there’s someone like Cochran, who’s a little bit more goofy but still on the smarter side. And I think the best of both worlds for both of them is what I’m looking to bring to the table.
What’s your favorite moment in Survivor history? Does it involve any of the people you just mentioned?
One of my favorite moments is definitely in Survivor 26 When Cochran is walking around the beach [at the] beginning of the season, and he’s got that horrible sunburn all over his body. I’ve always been a fan of the goofier moments. And I think a more recent one for me is when there was an Immunity Challenge in season 42–it might have been reward–where Maryanne was in this wheel spinning. And when she got dizzy, she spun the other way to make herself undizzy. And that was like a moment where I stood up and pointed at the TV, and I was like, “That’s me!” Because that’s something that I’ve done ever since I was little, and I’ll stand by it. That 100% works.
So, besides spinning around in reverse, what’s your prep been like to come onto Survivor?
So, I don’t have a 3D printer in my apartment. So, a lot of my work with practicing puzzles was running down to CVS, printing them out, cutting out the pieces, and making sure that I could get as many as possible. You know, the shotgun approach. And so I think that that’ll be a big factor in the way that I succeed in this game. Because as a 22-year-old, scrawny Asian guy, I think it’s pretty obvious that I’m going to be put on some of the puzzles.
Talk to me about that perception, besides those obvious biases and stereotypes. When you first hit the beach, how do you think people will see you?
So I think there’s going to be a lot of people who underestimate me because they think, “Oh, he’s just some young guy.” And people under the age of 25 don’t really win Survivor. They don’t do well. But as someone who loves numbers and loves statistics, one of the stats that I research recently is that players under the age of 25, on average, outlast exactly 50% of their opponents. Which means when I’m coming out here, I’ve got just as good of a chance as anybody else to make it far in this game. And so I think that’s one perception that people will have with me, and they won’t realize what’s coming at them.
So, are you going to try to swerve into that perception? Like the luscious-haired Fabio, you can say, “Hey, I’m a young kid. Trust in me and disregard me until Day 26, when you give me a million dollars.”
Oh, 100%. One of my favorite things is telling puns. I’m a big pun guy. And so I think that’s something that will help disarm me a little bit. Because, as someone who wears glasses, who is Asian, there’s going to be that perception that I’m always thinking and that I’m super smart and strategic. Which I mean, I am those things. But if I can show my goofier side, I think that that’ll help make people a little less alerted.
What’s one life experience you feel has prepared you most for the game?
I think the biggest one for me was when I was 16. I was about 5’8”, almost 200 pounds. And I was really unhappy with the way that I looked, but also the way that I felt in day-to-day life. And as a 16-year-old, that’s not really something that I felt like I could go out there and talk people about and work through. And so I decided one day that I was tired of just sitting around and not doing anything, and I needed to put myself out there.
And that turning point for me was when Millennials vs. Gen X was airing. And David Wright was out there on the beaches of Fiji, the same beaches here. And he was facing his fear of death in the outdoors and just being himself, putting himself out there. And that was like a big confidence booster for me. And so that year, I decided that I was going to run three miles every night. I hit the ground running, and within a year, I lost over 50 pounds. And so I think that’s a big point in my life. It boosted my confidence, my motivation, and I think that’s something that’s really going to drive me out here.
That’s incredible, congratulations. I want to segue into more of the game side of things. You wrote in your bio that your friends would describe you as a “lovable liar.” I am so intrigued by this turn of phrase. How is this scoundrel-like quality going to apply for you in the game of Survivor?
So one of the things that I love doing with my friends is just screwing with them in any way that I can imagine. When I was in high school, I used to bring a box of fresh pencils to class and try to stick them into the backpack of the person in front of me [to] see how many I could get before they would notice. And along those same lines, I love lying to my friends just for absolutely no reason. It’d be like, “Oh, hey, did you hear this celebrity just passed away? Or this celebrity just won some crazy award?” And I always tell them right away that it was a lie. But I think that they always have fun falling for my tricks for a little bit.
So, when it comes to seeking out people in an alliance in this game, are you looking for that similar joviality? Someone that you could stick pencils in their backpacks, or stick votes in an urn for?
I think that’ll definitely come naturally. [Laughs.] But one of the things that I’m gonna go out of my way for is somebody who isn’t that much like me and might pick up the pieces that I missed. As someone who’s very strategic but also small and a little bit scrawnier, I think that a larger, beefier player, maybe more physical, might be someone that can help me. Or someone who might have more social experience in their day-to-day lives might be someone that could also help me advance. So, I’m going to be paying attention to the people that can pick up what I’m missing.
Speaking of paying attention, when it comes to perceptions, is there anyone in this time before the season that you’re eyeballing as people you do or don’t want to work with?
Yeah, there’s a handful of both. I think that one person who probably is getting namedropped a lot in here and that I’d really like to work with is the big bald man, Bruce. He’s someone who seems really friendly. And he gives me a lot of the same vibes that my dad gives me. And so I think he’s someone that, if he’s on my tribe, maybe he could be like that little piece from home.
There’s also somebody out here who’s got some poofy hair. He’s got some facial hair, got this cool walk that he does sometimes when he knows that people are watching him. He’s always making eye contact with me, always smiling at me. And the more that I was taking that in and feeling like I was this person, I realized, “He’s doing that to every single person out here.” And he’s someone that’s going to be high on my radar because he could already be everybody’s number one. I mean, even just going back to the airport, there was this one girl that I noticed skipped every single escalator, and I don’t know why. But there was just something that made me not trust her because of that.
Let’s say a boat shows up to your camp on Day 2 asking for one person to go on a journey. How would you approach the situation?
I want to be honest; there’s no chance I’m volunteering for something like that in the first few days. Because, knowing that I’m not the most physical guy, if we go to Tribal Council, my vote is going to be really important for me. In the new era, there seems to be a lot of focus on the stronger people making it through those early votes. So when it comes down to a boat, either I’ll let someone else take it, or maybe we’ll draw rocks, and I’ll just hope for the best.
Does that attitude apply to advantages in general for you? Because now, we’re in a stage where the idol you find in the jungle may not even be real.
Oh, yeah, it’s terrifying. And it’s definitely something they have to be thinking about. Because, even though we didn’t really see any Beware Advantages in the last season, as far as we’re aware out here, it’s something that if I see that, I’m going to try to coerce somebody else to go pick that up. Because having the advantage isn’t always the advantage. Sometimes, having the knowledge of it is better. Hence, the Knowledge is Power.
What is your hottest Survivor take?
My hottest Survivor take is definitely a pretty hot one. And it’s that Edge of Extinction is actually a really fun twist. As someone who loves seeing players get second chances and loves the dynamic of having to work through, “Okay, how do we treat people when we vote them out? And how do we treat them before we vote them out?” I think that it’s really fun to see players have a chance to win their way back into the game, and maybe that spurs from me starting right around when Redemption Island was airing. [Laughs.]
What celebrity or fictional character would you want to come out for a Loved Ones visit?
I’ve been thinking about this question. And I think I’m gonna have to go with Ichiro Suzuki. Growing up, he was my favorite baseball player. I’m pretty sure he was the first Japanese-born player to be a position player in the MLB. And so something about him breaking that boundary, but also being super humble about it all the time, is something that I really value in him. I think he’d have a lot of good knowledge to share. I was a big fan of him when I was growing up. But then, recently, I moved to Seattle, where I work as a software developer for a big tech company. And so I’ve been loving going to the Mariners games, especially last season. The last time before last season that they were in the playoffs, I was one. So it was nice to finally get to experience that during my lifetime.
Next, check out our interview with Survivor 44 winner Yam Yam Arocho.
