Throwback Thursday #10 – Meeting Richard Hatch

by Dan Gheesling

Everyone knows the Godfather of Realty TV is Richard Hatch.

He laid the foundation of scheming and true strategic play on Reality shows back in 2000, when he won Survivor.

There was even a book written about his gameplay, that I read as a 16 year old kid, and still have to this day! (Thanks Rich.)

To me, Richard Hatch was always a symbol (in Reality TV) of how a sharp mind can pretty much beat anything.

So when I had the chance to meet Richard back in 2010, I was ecstatic.

Dan-Gheesling-Richard-Hatch

When we had a chance to talk, I told him thank you for laying the groundwork for me to learn from. In the weird twisted world of Reality TV, he made his mark in my mind, for being the Godfather of strategy.

Looking back now at this photo I have to laugh at the lighting.

It’s as if Richard was luring me into the Dark Side of strategic play for my next run on Big Brother.

The charity event I met Richard at in Celebration Florida, is happening again this year for the Give Kids the World Foundation.

If you live in that area, I highly recommend you go to this great event that benefits a lot of kids. :)

You might even get to meet Hatch like I did!

  • http://www.reachformorenow.wordpress.com Colleen Kelly

    That was the only Survivor I did watch completely. I thought he was pretty smart. The lighting is kind of telling. LOL You’re in the light, of course!.

    Stay in the light Batman. :)
    Do good deeds.
    Carry on. ;)
    Colleen #SmartypantsInNJ haha

  • Bobby flynne

    Did u know that Richard hatch was on who wants to be a millionaire? I was looking around on YouTube at funny millionaire fails and then found some random video about him. Then I was like “wait a minute… I know this guy from somewhere.” And low and behold it was Richard hatch! That’s pretty cool that he was on 2 reality shows eh?

  • Ron

    It’s amazing how much Survivor has evolved over the years. Yes–I do miss the days when Survivor was all about strategy with players like Hatch, Rob Cesternino (?), Boston Rob, Yul Kwon, et al. Today–especially this season–it seems to be all about personalities. If you’re a nut case like Shamar, Brandon or Phillip–then the camera will be on you. The same can be said for Big Brother. It has gone from strategic players like Dr. Will, Danielle and Jun to personalities like Evel Dick, Rachel and Brendon. That’s why you, Dan, were a breath of fresh air when you won your season. You brought strategic game play back to BB. But that was the season when BB went back to basic. I think Survivor and BB should do that more often. I mean if I want to watch a show about nut cases, I’ll watch Dr. Phil or one of those daytime talk shows.

Previous post:

Next post: