Sept. 17, 2009

KINGSTON, R.I. - Former Rhode Island football player Mike Borassi has always been a big fan of the hit CBS reality series Survivor. On Thursday night, Borassi will appear on the network's 19th season in Samoa.

Borassi, who played at URI from 1965-69 and was a three-year starter, spent eight weeks with no communication on the island of Samoa located in the South Pacific.

"Survivor was certainly no picnic," Borassi said. "Physically and mentally it is tough and you truly have to survive. I feel like I did something that a lot of people could not do."

Getting to the island was no picnic either as Borassi and the 19 other participants spent 12 hours on a plane.

As the show gets set to air on Thursday night, Borassi, who works as a private chef in Marina del Rey, Calif., has since returned from his Survivor experience.

"It is a very surreal feeling to be back," Borassi said. "The first week I got back I would frequently have dreams, thinking to myself, `did I really just do that?'. It really took about a month for things to truly get back to normal."

Although Borassi was the oldest participant on the show, the 62-year-old feels as if he made a strong impression.

His journey to the 2009 fall series began 10 years ago when the show debuted in 2000. Borassi quickly got hooked on the show, but was critical of some of cast members on the show.

"I thought the people on the show were a bunch of wimps," Borassi said. "When I first started watching the show I always thought I could do what the cast members were doing."

Borassi's wife Geneiveve, who frequently watched the show with him, eventually challenged her husband to put his money where his mouth is and try out for the show.

Borassi, who attended the original Woodstock concert and had spent time working in the Caribbean for seven years, has never been one to shy away from trying something new, so when his wife encouraged him to go out for the show, the New York native gave it his best shot.

The URI alum had always dreamed of going on the show since in its debut nine years ago but with thousands of other applicants, he knew that his chances of getting selected would be slim.

Amazingly, Borassi was chosen to participate on the Survivor Tocantins series (Season 18) where he would have an opportunity to compete for the show's grand prize of $1 million dollars.

However, shortly after his selection to the show, Borassi learned that his Survivor debut would have to be put on hold.

Doctors told Borassi that his health could be in severe jeopardy if he took part in the show. At the time, he had a blood pressure of 170 over 90, weighed 275 pounds and had sleep apnea.

"What it really came down to was that I had just gotten old, lazy and fat," Borassi said. "Listening to what the doctor said really proved to be a wakeup call."

Although he was disappointed to not take part in the Survivor Tocantins, Borassi was determined to get on the next series.

He committed himself to getting back in shape and - after losing 50 pounds while working with a personal trainer - was given an opportunity to participate on this fall's show.

"I can't tell you how I did on the show, but I can tell you that I feel like I have already won," Borassi said. "I had to make a lot of life changes and I truly feel like have extended my life."

Survivor Samoa premieres Thursday, Sept. 17 at 8 p.m. (Eastern) on CBS. Viewers are encouraged to vote for the fan favorite. The fan favorite will receive $100,000.