RHAP: We Know Survivor - Survivor 49 Preseason Interview: Jake Latimer

Episode Date: August 30, 2025

Mike Bloom's Survivor 49 preseason interviews continue with Jake Latimer, a Canadian correctional officer bringing a unique perspective to the game. Jake shares his emotional motivations for playing, including his father's deteriorating eyesight and the impending birth of his first child.

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Goldfish have short memories. Be like goldfish. Hi, everybody, and welcome back to our Survivor 49 preseason interviews here on RHAP. My name is Mike Bloom, and today we're going to be getting into my interview with Jake Latimer, another member of the Kella tribe. I feel like what we've gone out of Kella so far is grade A. literally we talk to Alex we talk to Annie now we're adding a J on top of that here's a little bit to know about Jake because he walks into this season with a lot on his mind Jake is 36 years old he is originally from Regina Saskatchewan he is one of our two Canadians on this season

currently lives in St. Albert Alberta he is the first alberan resident to play Survivor something that he wears with Canadian pride, and he is a correctional officer. Throughout my talk with Jake, he expresses vehemently the idea that he has a purpose in his day to day to help people, whether it be, you know, rehabilitating the prisoners that he works with, whether it is the charity, volunteer work he does with the Special Olympics, or whether it is about his ever-growing family. Jake talks to me about the fact that one of the reasons why he felt he had to do Survivor right here right now is because of the fact that his dad has been afflicted with glaucoma.

And so as he is losing his eyesight, this will, from a timeline perspective, most likely be the last season of Survivor that he sees. and he wants to make sure that if he were to ever pick a season to be on, it would be the one that his dad could watch and take in fully. Now, unfortunately, that timing ends up conflicting with a major event on his calendar, which is the fact that as Jake reveals to me, he is missing the birth of his first child to come out and play Survivor.

Suffice it to say, it's very much way. on his mind. And I think on the one hand, while this might serve as a very understandable distraction from the here and now that happens in the beaches of Fiji, it also serves as an incredible motivator for him, because as Jesse Lopez once said, get that money, baby. He has to get that money for that baby. So given everything that's going on at home, I'm glad the correctional officer got off on on good behavior to come to Fiji and talk with me.

Of course, if you want to check out all the other interviews we've got going on, past, present, and future with the cast of Survivor 49. You know where to go. We know Survivor.com for our Survivor-only podcast feed. And if you want to watch the video versions of these interviews, Jake is someone that a lot of people were talking about. So if you want to put the visual to the name, please watch RHAP.com or search Rob has a podcast in YouTube.

tomorrow, just so you know, we're staying in the Great White North, as we're going to be talking about a fellow Canadian on this cast, Jeremiah Ing. So Jeremiah tomorrow on the podcast. But right now, here is my conversation with Jake. Your name, age, and occupation. Awesome. My name's Jake Ladmer. I'm 35 years old, and I'm a correctional officer up in Canada. Interesting. Was that something you always imagine yourself doing?

I wanted to do police and then got into corrections as kind of a stepping stone but then the pays a lot better it's a government-based job so it's I'm super happy where I am right now what made you want to get into

law enforcement to begin with it was generally to help people so I used to work with kids before I got into law enforcement I worked with kids that were kind of getting into trouble and I just kind of wanted like more of a

what's the word I'm looking for challenge I guess you could say to work with adults with inmates however the prison that I'm in right now, the inmates are very already institutionalized and there's no kind of reintegration back in a society for them. So it's a bit tough.

Well, let's talk about what brings you out to a very different pressure cooker of a situation here where you got some wide open space, but contained within the game of Survivor. So talk to me about your history with the show and what made you decide to go from a fan to a player. Well, so Survivor was a family staple. Like when I was a kid, me and my little brother growing up,

we'd watch it with mom and dad on the couch every Wednesday night and and mom always had these fun games or she'd, um, she'd make us, she'd manipulate the challenge somehow in the house. Me and my brother would do the challenge and whoever won would get like the first piece of dessert or something like that. And I always won the challenge. I was just like, what was your record? I always won.

So I was destined to be here. But, um, and then I moved overseas to play hockey. Um, my brother moved away. So, um, we stopped watching Survivor with mom and dad, but it's still something that we talk about every so often. Um, but now, unfortunately, my dad has a, an eye condition called glaucoma. Um, basically it's a, D, D, D, iteration of the eye. It's tunnel vision, but it gets dark and dark and dark until it's just black.

And this will be the last season of Survivor he'll ever be able to see because he'll be blind by the end of the year. Oh my God. So for the sun to be on it, it's, uh, it means more than anything. Yeah, just to like see your kid about it's stream on television in more ways than one. Yeah, it's, it's, it's, uh, it's emotional, but it's, um, it's, it's one of the motivation, motivational, um, reasons for why I'm here. So talk to me more about you went overseas to play hockey. Was this in Australia? Yeah. Back when I was a kid, I was 18 and, um, I wasn't going to make the NHL, but I got offered to play in a pro league over there. So went

over there. I got injured. So my career didn't last very long. Then ended up meeting a girl and brought her back to Canada and now we're married. So congratulations. Thank you. Yeah. So what was that culture shift? Like, I mean, obviously you were experiencing it with their relationship too. Yeah. I mean, the culture shift from Canada,

Australia is pretty similar. It's a very laid back community. I'd move there tomorrow if I could. If I could transfer my job there tomorrow, I would. But Canada's a beautiful place as well. So it's just a bit more colder, right? yeah so like just two weeks ago I was in minus 20 with with snow and now here I'm sweating off my undercarriage and plus 30 Celsius so there you go it's a whole range of temperatures a whole range of seasons to talk about as well from Survivor so if you could give me one winner and one non winner who you identify with the most could be personally strategically okay yeah so I'll talk about so let's talk about 47 and 48 right now because those are the two most recent ones that I'm most familiar with at the time But Sam, Sam on 47. I love that man.

He doesn't know it yet. We're best friends. He just doesn't know it. Yeah. He played it so well. He's a good dude. I love everything about him. I think he should have won that game.

And 48, someone I'm following with Joe. Me and Joe are very, very, very similar. We're both in law enforcement. We both take care of other people before ourselves. And I haven't seen where that season is right now, but all the best of that man, I hope to shake his hand one day. Interesting. So talk to me about that natural.

I mean, I guess that sort of comes from, again, why you want to go into law enforcement. Do you find yourself like a natural nurturer when you see other people you need? Yeah, I take care of other people for myself. I run the Special Olympics program up in St. Albert, Canada. Oh, I don't run the whole program. I run the golf program and I coach some other programs. So all my volunteer time or all my time away from my job, I'm volunteering with Special Olympic athletes and helping them get better at whatever sport they want.

And it's just, I don't know. I don't even put that on my resume. I don't talk about it much. I just enjoy doing it. It's just part of my life. Nice. Yeah. So looking back,

when it comes to your favorite moment in Survivor history, did it involve any of the guys that, you know, you were talking about? Yeah, I think, I mean, Survivor's been around for, well, we're going on 49, but Joe with Ava there, when she had her autistic little episode there when he went to comfort her, I was crying

on my couch. Of course. Like it was, I mean, that's an emotional thing. And the audience, people in American, people in Canada, that's what brings them back to watching the next episode, right? So that's, I'm not saying I'm going to be cry and hold in everyone, but that's the exact man that I hope to be one day

who Joe is. Yeah, and I mean, it's so interesting though. And Jeff even points that out in the moment, right, in a game like this where emotions can be weaponized, you know,

certainly the way you feel about people, the way you feel about yourself, is that something you anticipate having to manage when you're out here? Or is it more so for you, I got to be me, I got to be this natural person. I'm going to be me.

And in my interview earlier, I said, I'm not going to change who I am. Being me got me to where I am today. Right. So why change? what I'm doing. And I said, I'm going to come into this game being loyal, honest. I might have to go behind people's back. It's not something I want to do.

But if I make the top three, I want to be able to look them all in the eye and say, I never backstabs you. I'm all of your friends after the show. And, you know, I was completely honest and loyal to each and every one of you. And if I win, I win, if I don't, I don't. That's the game I kind of want to play. Interesting. Yeah. Who knows? Who knows? I say that now. That might change in a couple days, right? Because I feel like especially, you know, in 48, especially before, you know, the episodes that aired before we all left here, like, that was definitely a discussion point, including on the island of like, especially the new era, so fast, so gamey, plenty of

ways to stab people in the back. So there was a question of like, is this a game that you can play? And there's a conversation around like, it depends on the people you're with. It does. It does. And it's super hard to tell who the people are with because we can't talk to anyone right now, right? Basically, it's just, and I've always told people, don't judge a book by its cover. But that's what we're doing right now. We're judging each other just by based on looks. Are they smiling? Are they not smiling? Do you think they're into me? Do you think they're not into me? And that's all I'm working with right now. Right? So I'm really looking forward to getting this game started and just, you know, peeling that first layer of onion back

and seeing what people are like, right? So what's one life experience you feel has prepared you the most? Because it seems like you have done to so much. I've been looking at your bio right now and it just seems like you got your pilot's license or a federal, you know, peace officer. Like there's, there's so many things that you have to your resume. Yeah. I mean, there's a lot. I think the biggest motivational factor honestly to be here right now is so me and my wife, we were trying to have a child before I applied for this show

for about four and a half years and we couldn't get pregnant and so we got doctors help and we did different sort of procedures and stuff like that and I finally gave up and I just said like if it's meant to happen it's meant to happen so I applied for survivor and I'm like just get out of here I'm not going to make it anyways kind of thing

and she had a procedure done and then she is pregnant now and congratulations thank you and I'm going to be missing the birth for our first kid right. Oh my God. Yeah. So it's, uh, I've already cried about it today at the interview. So I'm kind of out of tears, but it's, uh, it was a decision I had to make. And my wife said, um, go and do it. Like you're going to have a little Bradenew baby boy when you get back. Exactly. He's not going anywhere. He's not going anywhere. Bring it home. It's, I mean, it's, it's, it's bittersweet being here right now. Yeah. She's by yourself at home.

But, um, that's my motivational factor here to, to get this job done and bring back some money. Yeah, there'll be a birth at home and you're getting birth into the game through the mud that Jeff will throw you into. That's right. So I mean, I got so many things I'm playing for. I just hope it goes the right way for me. So on that note, what would you say is your biggest superpower and your biggest piece of kryptonite that you're bringing into this game? I think my biggest superpower would be my way to attract people to me, just with my demeanor,

like my smile. I'm just the kind of guy, and I've always been where when I walk in the room, and I'm not being talked about this, but everyone wants to come chat to me. I'm the guy with the loud voice and laughing and talking and being nice to everyone. and that's going to help me out here. People are going to want me to be on their lines because they're going to feel cared and nurtured for, right? Yeah.

My biggest kryptonite is I'm Canadian. I'm a nice person. I'm too nice. And for me to have to write down someone's name on a, you know, on a jury ticket and take their dream away from them. And that's part of my doing. That doesn't sit well for me, but I got to keep telling myself, this is a game, this is a survivor.

You have to do this. You're all going to me buddies at the end. But so I think that's my biggest kryptonite is I'm too nice for a person. So from my research, I believe you might be the first player from Alberta to play Survivor. What does that mean for you? It means everything. I think, I don't know for sure. I think I might be the Canadian on this season too.

I don't know. But I mean, I got all of Alberta like going to be cheering for me, well, one they can find out, especially I'm from Regina, Saskatchew on Canada. So that's where I grew up. They're all going to be cheering for me too and just have Canada on my back. And it's just you're wearing the, you're wearing the flag up here, right? So down here, I guess. Well, let's talk about perceptions here because I'm sure I'm not telling you anything new

when your physical presence is something that I think is one of the first things that people would probably notice in a game like this. Is that something you're going to steer into? I mean, we talk about, okay. You're right. Like, I do have the stereotypical douchebag. Look, I guess I got the tattoos. I'm tanned.

I go to the gym. I have muscle. I smile. I'm confident. However, that is intimidating to a lot of people just walking down the street, right? So I'm going to shut that down straight away. Like I'm just going to open up and be myself and be funny and show them the real me right away that I'm not just this big meathead out there to boss people around because that's not my

personality, right? So when it comes to, you know, tribe camaraderie, again, I think that people would look to the sort of alpha types to be the leader to help with the shelter. Is that a role that you would want to take? Typically, no, I don't want to take like in any other situation, yes. I love taking the lead. I love, I've always been the captain on teams.

That's who I am. I love taking the lead. In this game, the leader never really goes too far because they're trying to boss everyone around. So I'm just going to sit back. I'm going to do my job. I'm going to do all my work

that I have to do. I can let someone else take the lead. And if they tell me to do something, absolutely, no worries. I'll get it done for you. Even if I think it's a stupid idea, I'll still do it, right? So it's just creating that commodity

and just the trust and give someone else the power for once, right? I don't need it all the time. Yeah. So when it comes to prep, again, I would imagine from a physical perspective. I'm not sure actually if anything changed, you know, when you found out you were coming out here. But what was your prep process like once you got the call? When I got the call, I did more swimming.

I did more lap swimming. I so went to the gym like I always did. I got a couple of massages, did some physiotherapy on my shoulders and stuff like that. Just to bring, I'm getting old. I'm 35, right? So just bringing everything back together. But yeah, but the prep was pretty much the same. Just ate a little bit more, more carbs, just trying to fatten up a little bit before this.

and then I'm going to lose it all right away. Any puzzles or firemaking or anything? Yeah, so funny story. So my mom bought me a survivor puzzle. It's a tree and it's got all these plastic pieces and they all kind of intertangle to each other. I'm not good at puzzles. I'm not going to lie about it. I'm not good at it.

So I opened it up and I looked at the damn thing and looking at it and I'm trying to get frustrated at it. So anyways, I said, you know what? I'm going to get a pizza. I'll do it when I get back. I got a call like two minutes later for my wife. She finished it. So it's just like I am not good at puzzles. and I'm going to, I'm not going to make it known,

but I mean, they can use me for other stuff. They give me for the swimming. They can use me for the physical stuff. Yeah. I mean, when we get to the merger, I got to do my own puzzle. I mean, that's going to be hilarious for the fans to see. Well, let's talk about some of these people

that will be alongside you as, you know, you do that swimming, do that, that musly portion. I'm sure you've been assessing these people as you've been sitting here in the preseason. So let's start on the positive side of things. You can give me their initials. You can give me descriptions of them. Who's giving you good vibes right now?

Who's like day one if we hit the beach? Yeah, so there's a gentleman. I think he's half African American. First name is, starts with an A. I don't know the last name. Very similar to me. He's always smiling. He's sitting at his table.

He's a bigger guy. He just looks like he loves life. So if I don't know if he's on my tribe, if he is, I'm 100% going to him, like straight away and just being like, dude, I think we're the same person. Like, we're just from different places. But I also want to find a younger female so I can be like that big brother kind of that mentor that she's going to feel

that she's getting taken care of and she can trust me and stuff like that and I just want to core three off the bat and then kind of find it in a force somewhere as well so yeah what about specifics on the other side is there anyone that you're either not getting good vibes from or you're like oh this person's a threat uh threat no I haven't seen anyone I'm like

this person's like I'm kind of scared of this person not at all there's a couple people that I think are taking the game very very serious right from day one that haven't said a word Well, we're not allowed to say a word anyways, but they're just down the pipes, not smiling at anyone, just doing their, doing their work and just, just, what's he called, tunnel vision. Yeah. Right? So there's a couple people there that are doing that.

At the end of the day, that's what they can do that if they want to. When we get to the beach and Jess has survivors already go, games on, we'll see what you're made of. Yeah, you're looking for that connection in that moment, though, I'm sure. And yeah, I want the connection with people that are close to their families to. I like people that love their families, love their friends, and just genuinely good people. those are people I can trust, absolutely. Well, let's invite some more members into your on-island family here.

Let's talk about idols, advantages, journeys. Is this something you're going to try to incorporate into your gain? Yes, if I find one, I will. I'm not going to actively look for advantages, I don't think. Because once again, I told you about my puzzles. Yeah. I got to figure out of a puzzle by myself,

that's not happening, right? So I'm going to have to pull someone in. So I'm going to have to see who my alliance members are, and if I can trust them with that kind of information. So actively look for them, I don't think so. If I happen to stumble across one, I'll see kind of where we are on the day, how soon tribal councils come and if it's,

you know, if it's a day away, maybe I'll open it'll give me a day and a half to do it, right? So I haven't really thought that far yet, to be honest. So let's say if you do find something, do you tell people about it? I would tell if I completely trust them with my life. I can read someone pretty quickly

to know if they're trustworthy or not, so I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Well, let's stay in production shoes here. I'm going to let you take a page out of Jeff's book. If you could either bring in a twist from a previous season or bring in a twist for an advantage that you can create on your own brand new that you want to play with in this season. Let's manifest it right now.

What do you want to play with? Oh, man. That's tough. Well, I wouldn't get rid of a shot in the dark. You want to get rid of a shot in the dark? I don't like it. Ooh, why's that? I don't know.

I just don't, ah, I don't know. I don't like it. I feel like you can create such a commodity in a team and they have that one and six chance or whatever, whatever the numbers are. Yeah. And then your whole game's screwed if they have that thing, right?

So it is part of the game. I just personally don't like it. What would I bring in, though? You got me on the spot here, man. No, no, take your time, dude. I know it's a lot to pull from. I'd maybe bring in like an idol or something that's good right till emerge,

right from the start. But it's like the task is like incredibly hard, right? Like, I don't know what the task would be. But if you take it, you get you get a idle until merge if you don't take it you lose your vote to emerge like a big stake or something like that so you really got to be sure about it so i think that would be pretty cool so if you were a juror there are so many pieces of criteria that you can utilize when it comes to voting for a winner right it could be loyalty could be relationship based could be strategic

could be resume story etc do you have like a core value in your mind at this moment if i were to to ask you to write out, like, if I were a juror, I'd vote blank, what would be that blank? Be respect. Respect, interesting. It would be, if I felt respected by the person and I wasn't, like, used as a puzzle piece for their game. If I actually felt like respect from the person,

they would get my vote. Loyalty, respect. Interesting. Yeah. You mentioned this a little bit before with a shot in the dark, but I'm curious, do you have any other big, what you feel are controversial survivor opinion, some hot takes about a player, a season,

the show in general? Um, not really any hot takes. I think Sam should have won 47, but I'm just a big Sam fan. Yeah, so talk to me about that. Was it,

was it just the way he was playing? I think the way he was played. He was very low key, but he was, he was quirky, smart, didn't rub people the wrong way. I don't know how many people

even voted for, like, I don't, he didn't invent many votes against him for the whole season. And that was the argument he made at the end. Yeah, like he played the game

with respect and integrity and, and he's, I loved watching him play. Like, I hope to get to meet the man one day. Well, because you wrote in your bio

that you're the glue of your friendship group and this is the glue guy you're talking about. Yeah, he's a glue guy. Yeah, I'm the glue guy with my friends and he's the glue guy with his buddy. In the new era, we've seen a couple of times this idea of like a disaster tribe.

You know, a tribe that ends up losing again and again, you know, I'm sure you don't want to put yourself in that worst case scenario, but do you anticipate having to change your strategy if you find yourself on that tribe? Yeah, I mean, pre-merge,

the weaker ones have to go. They have to go. The ones that can't physically swim properly. I wouldn't say properly, but very good. Or they have a hard time climbing a rope that's slowing the team down. They just have to go because I don't want to go to travel for the merge. If I have to, I'm not going to create an alliance with someone that is physically that week. I don't think because then I'm going to be stuck in a rock and a hard place, right?

So, yeah, I don't know. The week's got to go off. Like I say that really meanly, but you got to have a strong job because it's the merge. Last thing I'm going to ask, I'm going to throw it on an odd scenario at you here. You can have a loved one's visit, but it has to be a celebrity or a fictional character. Who are you bringing out? A loved one, but a celebrity?

Or a fictional character? A fictional character. Hmm. Hmm. Jeez. Man. That's tough. Uh, it shouldn't take me this long.

the answer either. I mean, it's a weird question. It is a weird question. Um, maybe Arnold Schwarzenger just come out. He's just an idol. Yeah. He's just a good, he's a good dude, man. I don't know. I like him. Yeah, have the Terminator out here in Fiji. Like, why not? And I think yeah, he could pump you up in a manner of speaking. Pump me up. Get me going and yeah, fire me up. Well, thank you for coming and bringing all of this. Oh, man. This is great. It's such a great opportunity to shoot with you. And I, again, I imagine there's, there's a lot weighing on you right now. You know, it seems like you are playing for a lot. lot at home. And I think that's going to allow you to throw your heart into this game.

That's it, man. Waring my heart of my sleeve and playing for my family. And that's what we admire about some of the best, you know, are people who give their all each and every ounce of effort and considering, you know, what you're playing for. I think that it's something that's incredibly admirable. And I think also it's going to allow you to, you know, wake up every morning even during the worst possible times. It'd be like, think about who I'm doing this for, 100%. That's, that's what's going to get me through the nights, get me through the days. Yeah. And I mean, very early congratulations. I'm a father myself. I'm a father myself. and it is, it's life-changing.

It's a lot, but it is, it's beautiful. It's going to be interesting if they tell me or not, so we'll see what happened.