Meet the 'Survivor 45' Cast! Nicholas "Sifu" Alsup Carries a Double-Edged Sword of Helping Others
Through three decades, Nicholas "Sifu" Alsup has seemingly done it all. From Walmart to being a touring musician to owning a bar, landing in his current position of owning his own gym. The 30-year-old's physical prowess earned from nearly 25 years of Tai Chi and martial arts surrounds a beating heart and a desire to be empathetic and supportive. But despite his sensitivity, I don't think this Dragon Ball superfan doesn't have a trick (or Kamehameha) up his sleeve.
Read on for my interview with Sifu, and check in with Parade.com every day for interviews with this season's contestants and other tidbits. Survivor 45 premieres on September 27 with a 90-minute premiere on CBS.
Related: Meet the Full Cast of Survivor 45
Interview with Sifu from Survivor 45
To start, tell me about yourself.
My name is Sifu, and I'm from O'Fallon, Illinois, like 15 minutes from St. Louis, for reference. [Laughs.] I've been doing Tai Chi my whole life and martial arts ever since I was six years old. So definitely gonna play into this whole game.
So, before we get into your Survivor resume, I want to get into your work resume. Because your bio talks about being a musician, working at Walmart, and now you're a gym owner. Talk to me about all the big moves you made, occupationally speaking.
From an occupational perspective, an overview would be all the way from Walmart to working at a local park that was taking half my check. I actually owned a bar in St. Louis. And then, after that, I owned my own gym. And then traveling and touring and playing music with artists all over America.
Is this ability to do many things just a part of you? You seem like a modern-day Renaissance man to me!
I try to be. Yeah, I definitely do. I mean, you can tell by the beautiful shirt? [Laughs.] It's proof that I'm adaptable and I'm willing to go for what I want. I always had to fight the adversity of being told, "You can't do this," or not being able to financially afford stuff, to be able to push myself to get to where I wanted to be. But I jumped through those hurdles with every bit of me that was wanting to fight back and not give up. I use that fuel to make myself better. And here I am playing music and teaching people and doing the gym life. And that's it. It's all I wanted to do. It's not easy, but it's worth it.
So now you get to add "Survivor player" to your extensive resume. Talk to me about what made you decide to come out and compete.
I want to push myself, and I want to make sure that there's no stone left unturned. I'm going to botch it, but there's a saying that [goes], "I don't want any ghost next to my deathbed." And it's by Nelson Mandela. You don't want to say "what if." You don't want to say, "I shouldn't have [dne] this or that." And when I watched Survivor–I binged all 40 seasons of it at the time–I got turned on to it. I was like, "This is worth it. This is an adventure of a lifetime that speaks to my soul and everything I want to do in life." To be primitive, without food, around these random people you don't know, and to have to challenge yourself in every which way. It just made sense for me. Call me crazy, but I'm here. [Laughs.]
So you found Survivor during the pandemic and immediately decided you had to watch it all?
You know what's odd? And you'll probably laugh at this. My fiance and I actually started at season 40. We watched Winners at War. So it was really strange because I saw all the winners. And I told my fiance, "Whoa, hold on. These are all the winners of previous seasons? We've got to go back." So, I literally went back. And it made so much sense why they were saying certain things, and they were doing certain things. [Laughs.] I was like, "This is amazing."
[Laughs.] It's like walking in at the end of a movie and trying to figure it out from there. Well, in honor of your first Survivor season, give me one winner–and a non-winner–who you identify with the most.
Tony Vlachos is one of the top ones that I relate to. Just his ferocity in the game. [Laughs.] His spy bunkers, and his social work. Cagayan was where it really made sense to me, "Man, you could really go out, be yourself, play hard, have a fun time." Because it wasn't like he was tippy-toeing. He was literally out there being himself and trying hard. And that made sense to me, resonated well with me. The [non-winner] would be probably Woo. I really enjoyed his play.
So, if I asked you to name your favorite moment in Survivor history, would it be around Tony and Woo, considering your affinity for them?
Oh, my goodness. That's a tough one. I would say some of the funniest moments, yes, were when when Tony was like, "She's speaking llama." [Makes gibberish noises, then laughs.] Those things stick out to me. In the older seasons, you always had more banter behind people's backs. I just thought that was so funny and hilarious. And then they turn right to 'em and just say, "Yeah, you're really cool," and they would just be talking crap about him. [Laughs.] And I would [also] say the challenges. Just seeing the evolution of challenges and things like that. I just enjoy that all.
Let's get into your prep for the game. Given your career, I would imagine the physical training was part of the process. Was it different than what you're used to doing?
Yeah, a lot. So I don't know if you can tell, I'm about 220-something pounds. A pretty big guy. [Laughs.] I had to fast, which was terrible because I usually eat five to six meals a day, man. So, having to fast was tough. I had to work out early in the morning, like 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. I would get up, hit the treadmill, hit the stair stepper. And I would burn at least 2400 calories a day. People thought I was insane. But they didn't know why because you can't really say anything. [Laughs.] They're like, "Sifu, you've been to the gym four times today." I'm like, "Well, I really am enjoying it. I'm enjoying suffering." [Laughs.] I did some workouts in the sauna because it is incredibly hot here. So, I just tried to replicate what I thought it would be as much as possible seven days a week.
On the note of that physical presence, what do you think people will perceive you as?
I think people will perceive me as a slight physical threat. I don't think I'll be a physical threat to where it's so dominating. I think it'll just be like, "Oh, he could probably be very helpful in these certain situations." Because I'm probably going to help more of a group idealistic thing where we all help, we all pitch in, we're all doing this, so it's not all on me. And I'm also not going to put too much light on me like, "Hey, I've been doing 24 years of Tai Chi. I'm gonna beat all the balance challenges." I'm not gonna do that. Because watch me get out there, and I'm falling all over the place. [Laughs.] You don't want to put too much of a highlight on yourself before actually getting into it. You just want to go in with some confidence and that physical/mental endurance.
What do you desire in an alliance partner?
I am seeking honesty in a partner. Someone that's going to be legitimate with letting me know if my name is coming up or, realistically, what their plans are. I kind of want to know what their ideal is, if they could lay it out from their head to me, and then I can help articulate that, that's kind of the partner I want. Because it's their idea, then, and it's their plan. But realistically, I'm going to be taking a piece of that and switching it or using that information myself. [Laughs.]
When it comes to perceptions, is there anyone in this time before the season that you're eyeballing as people you do or don't want to work with?
The energy is actually quite positive here. I don't think there's anyone highlighted so far. There are a couple of people that have been given me the eyebrows and eyes. [Raises eyebrows dramatically.] You don't really know what that means. But there is positive energy from a few people that I've met. And so I think it's going to be an exhilarating season in that regard. It's a lot of people with a lot of different good energy. No one seems so negative, which they may when they're starving after 48 hours. [Laughs.] But I think it's all good.
Related: Everything to Know About Survivor 45
What would you say is your biggest superpower and your biggest kryptonite in your life, and how that may play into your game?
My biggest superpower in life would probably be helping others—the ability to be empathic, to love and care, and to give back to the community. My kryptonite would also be that same thing. I would definitely want to do that. And these are real people. It's not fake people. You can say it's a game all you want, but you're next to human beings that have hearts, souls, families, and everything. And that's where this game gets tough. Because you realistically are dealing with the person that is struggling more than you and needs that nourishment and doesn't have that safe space they're used to at home. I'm not really going to give up any rewards, but you kind of feel like you want to for someone suffering. You gotta walk that fine line of being human and playing the game out here. And I think that'll be my kryptonite and my superpower.
Let's say a boat shows up at your camp on Day 2, asking for one person to go on a journey. How would you approach the situation?
Honestly, I would try to use as much psychology as possible that I could to make it seem to where they naturally will want to pick me. [Laughs.] If you look at these scenarios, typically, they are going out and getting advantages or going on a journey and getting some sort of twist for the game. I want to be on that Survivor twist. So I think I would present it in a way to where it's like, "I don't know what is going to happen, everybody, but I would be willing to volunteer for this. If not, someone else can go." And with that being said, whoever else would present it, I would just say, "Well, how about you and I figure this out with rocks? Or I'll go this time, you go next time." I'll be very forward about it.
How much do you plan on incorporating advantages into your game in general? Are you going to be this guy who hangs around camp to provide, like you mentioned before?
No, man. I'm going to be searching. [Laughs.] But again, I'm not going to be the guy that says, "Hey, I'm going to get wood," and I bring three sticks back. I'm gonna bring a bundle back. But there's gonna be an idol in that bundle. [Laughs.] Every adventure out there, whether it's camp life, or getting water at the well, I'm going to take each opportunity to search for an advantage. Why not? You're on Survivor. It's one of my bucket list [items], to find an immunity idol.
What is your hottest Survivor take?
This could be an unpopular opinion. But I think the new era of Survivor is the best version of Survivor. And I only say that because it's more inclusive, it's more tangible. You can relate to people better. You're understanding more stories. I know a lot of people don't agree with that. But you've got to realize there are so many years of the old Survivor to where it's gonna be very difficult to see it. But I see it as a new way to reimmerse this game into the world to where people can really relate to it, and it can it can become more popular again and get back out there in the world.
What celebrity or fictional character would you want to come out for a Loved Ones visit?
Oh, my fiancee would hate this. [Laughs.] Oh, Lord. Well, the celebrity would be Jessica Alba. [Laughs.] The fictional character, oddly enough, would be Goku. Or something like Piccolo or Trunks, one of those guys. That way, they can just help me out. That's something people don't know about me is I'm a huge DBZ fan like crazy. All the way from Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Superhero, Dragon Ball Superhero. Every bit of 'em.
Next, check out our Survivor 45 interview with contestant Julie Alley.
