Michael Skupin

Michael David Skupin (/ˈskuːpɪn/; born January 29, 1962) is a convicted fraudster and child sex offender. Best known for competing on two seasons of the reality competition show Survivor, he became the first person to be medically evacuated from the game after falling into a fire on Survivor: The Australian Outback.

Skupin was born January 29, 1962, in Farmington Hills, Michigan. When he was four, his father died of cancer. His mother, Mary Louise Skupin, went on to marry Clarence Landry when Michael was ten. Michael then took his stepfather's last name, though Clarence had never officially adopted him.

While in high school, Michael Landry became an athlete, playing tight end for the football team at Brother Rice High School in Birmingham. During his junior year, Landry was expelled for throwing water balloons at some students at a neighboring all-girls high school. For his senior year, he transferred to St. Mary's Preparatory in Orchard Lake where, even before his expulsion, he was offered a spot on their football team playing both tight end and linebacker.

After high school, Landry tried to enroll at Western Michigan University (WMU), but he was initially denied acceptance due to the fact that no Social Security number existed for a "Michael Landry." He reapplied to WMU under his birth name, Michael Skupin, and was later accepted. In 1984, Skupin graduated with a B.B.A. degree.

Skupin's first job after college was selling copiers for 3M. In 1992, he teamed up with a childhood friend, Greg Swan, to found Rhinosoft Interactive, a software company based out of Wisconsin. In 2000, Rhinosoft was involved in a controversy when some CD-ROM versions of the Bible, published by Skupin and Swan, were distributed into various boxes of cereal as part of a promotion by General Mills. The cereal company, which had been distributing computer games and dictionaries on CD-ROM as part of the same promotion, claimed that it was unaware of the presence of the Bible CD-ROMs. General Mills apologized for the move, stating that it was against company policy to "advance any particular set of religious beliefs," although Swan insisted that the company had indeed been aware of the disc-based Bibles all along.

Skupin, a Christian, is also the founder of Michael Skupin Ministries, which helps people combat addiction. He had also considered running for the United States Senate in 2002, but ultimately decided against it. In addition, he has written a book about his life, entitled Fireproof. The book was released in 2004.

In 2000, Skupin flew to Australia to film the second season of the TV series Survivor. He was one of 16 castaways competing for the $1 million prize and the title of Sole Survivor. Upon the start of the game, Skupin was placed on the Kucha tribe, and was almost immediately seen as the tribe's leader. At first, he disavowed the role of tribal leader, but later embraced being the tribe's main provider, catching fish for the tribe and even killing a wild pig for its meat.

On Day 17, Skupin was tending to a fire at camp, when he accidentally inhaled some of the fumes and passed out into the fire. Seconds later, he let out a scream, then ran frantically into the water as his hands were now burned severely. The medical team was called in, and they determined that his injuries were too severe to keep him in the game. He was then evacuated by helicopter to seek further medical treatment, making him the first Survivor player ever to be medically evacuated and the first to be eliminated from the game without being voted off first. Overall, he was the sixth contestant to exit the game, and finished in 11th place.