When the cast for “Survivor 50” was announced, Tallahassee rejoiced: At long last, we had another contestant from Florida’s capital city!
Christian Hubicki, a robotics professor at the FAMU-Florida State University College of Engineering, originally appeared on the show in 2018 in Season 37 as part of the David vs. Goliath special, but he was invited back for “Survivor 50,” which featured — for the first time in Survivor history — an entire cast of returning players from previous seasons.
Hubicki had just moved to Tallahassee around the time of his first appearance on the show after getting a job with the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and subsequently opening his own robotics research lab called the Optimal Robotics Laboratory, where his researchers program robots to walk and run like people.
Final watch party with ‘Survivor’ star is May 13
And when word spread that there was a Tallahasseean on the newest season, one of our local breweries — Proof Brewing Company — sprang into action and organized a series of Watch Parties at the brewery every Wednesday to cheer on Hubicki.
But the watch parties would feature a bonus: Hubicki himself would be in the house for each one! And after weeks and weeks of special appearances and packed houses at Proof, Wednesday night marks his FINAL Watch Party at Proof before he fulfills his obligations to CBS and becomes a member of the jury that will ultimately crown a winner of “Season 50.”
Proof co-founder Angela Burroughs said the entire relationship that was formed between their brewery and Christian was unexpected — but, being big Survivor fans themselves, they were here for it!
“The FAMU-Florida State University College of Engineering actually reached out to us before the season started and asked if we were interested in being the official watch party spot for the season,” said Burroughs, who was blown away by the response as hundreds filed into Proof for the first Watch Party — and the crowd only grew bigger every week after.
“This is by far one of the most fun and unique events we’ve ever hosted. It has been such a joy to see the Survivor fans show up to support Christian!”
As the show progressed and it became clear Christian was a serious contender, the watch parties got SO big, Proof installed extra televisions and seating in the brewery to accommodate everyone.
They sweetened the pot by holding prize giveaways every week for those who came out, as well as carving out time for meet-and-greets and Q&As with Hubicki, who quickly became a fan-favorite not just in Tallahassee — but around the world.
Fans make friends with Tallahassee professor
“We have an immunity tab raffle every week where anyone who starts a tab gets entered in. Christian draws the winners when he’s on site,” Angela Burroughs said.
“He’s brilliant — his performance on the show is so relatable and charming. The most wonderful things about him are his humor, integrity and respectfulness. You really see him shine during the toughest moments on the show. He also has a fantastic sense of humor — quick wit on and off the screen,” Burroughs said.
“He designed the shirt you see him wearing on the show — the robot T-shirt. You can even purchase them through his IG account and 30 percent of profits on all products are donated to the ‘Robotics Education Fund’ (eng.famu.fsu.edu) founded by Christian.”
Hubicki is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, but before moving to Tallahassee he earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Bucknell University, earned his dual-degree Ph.D. in Robotics and Mechanical Engineering at Oregon State University, and completed his postdoctoral work in the Mechanical Engineering and Physics departments at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
His group’s research at the Optimal Robotics Laboratory specializes in legged robotics, applied optimal control, biomechanical modeling, and fast algorithms for adaptive robot behaviors.
And with so much brain power, Christian was seen as a real threat on the show — so much so, he was ultimately the 11th player voted out on April 26th. But not before he lasted over 2 months!
Christian obviously couldn’t divulge how he did on the show while it was going on, and he showed up to Proof every week and hung with fans and took part in the festivities just as if he was making it until the end.
“He’s amazing with fans! He gives his full attention to whoever he’s meeting,” Angela added. “He’s fully engaged and the fans seem to truly feel his positive energy.”
Watch parties will continue
Even though Wednesday night is the final watch party Hubicki is going to attend, Proof plans to keep hosting the events up until the season finale.
“We will set up the second large projection screen and extra seating this week as this will be the last time he’s onsite doing the meet and greet,” Angela said. “But we will keep hosting the watch parties every week up until the season finale on Wednesday, May 20.”
We don’t typically watch every season of “Survivor,” but we certainly followed along this season and were excited for our friends at Proof to be a part of Hubicki’s run. And props to everyone who came out each week to watch the show, root Christian on and support Proof in the process.
And we doubt we’ve seen the last of Hubicki on Survivor. The way he played the game — with his calm, cool and calculated demeanor — captured the hearts of so many around the world and right here at home. Surely he’ll be invited back to take another shot at the Survivor crown and that $1 million first place prize at some point in a future season!
We wish Christian the best and hope to see him on the big screen again soon! And cheers to Proof for being a part of his story from start to finish!
Danny Aller is the co-founder, along with Matthew Crumbaker, of the TLH Beer Society. Reach the Beer Society on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or email tlhbeersociety@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Proof Brewing forms bond with Tallahassee ‘Survivor’ contestant
Reporting by Danny Aller, TLH Beer Society / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
