The hit television reality show Survivor premiered for U.S. audiences back in 1997. It became a cultural phenomenon and an instant hit, while surviving for 32 seasons now.

This season, Survivor: Kaoh Rong is set in Cambodia, where there are three tribes of beauty, brains and brawn.

Hailing from San Francisco, 51-year-old Tai Trang was picked for the beauty tribe. He's participated in the AIDS Life Cycle ride for the past 13 years and raised more than $75,000 for the LA LGBT Center and San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

This gentle soul responded to some questions from Windy City Times about Survivor.

Windy City Times: Hi, Tai! Start off by by describing surviving in the open ocean and your journey to the United States.

Tai Trang: I was born and raised during the war years in Vietnam, I even have a scar from the Tet offensive[a] bomb shrapnel scar on my head to prove it!

Not funny, but funny that many of my childhood and war memories are the same. In 1979, we escaped the communists by boat and floating on the open sea for 11 days without food and barely any water. There were 262 people cramped onto a little fishing boat. There was this poor woman who got so seasick she kept throwing up on me for the first five days. We floated for eight days total and then we landed on an oil drilling island. The next day the oil company said they will tow our boat to a refugee camp but then they cut the rope when we were out of their territory.

The day after that, my 84-year-old grandma died and we floated in the ocean for another three more days. After landing on a non-inhabited Indonesian island with this near-death ordeal, we were all grateful for not running into any of the Thai pirates.

We spent a year in Indonesian refugee camp, then ended up in California when I was 15. My life started afresh at an American high school without a word of English. Seven years later, I graduated college and even spent a year living and studying in Florence, Italy. By the way, I learned most of my English from flipping burgers at the Der Weinerschnitzel only six months after being fresh of the boat arriving to America.

America is the land of opportunity and I am so fortunate and lucky to be here. I work hard. I always go after what I want and never take anything for granted.

WCT: What is your daily life like now, as a gardener?

TT: I am lucky to work as a gardener for the city and Port of San Francisco. I take care of many city parks along the water front. I climb trees, mow grass, take care of plants and pick up lots of garbage. Why do people litter when the trash can is just a few feet away?

I am happy to be outdoors and see the bay water every day. I have daily encounters with beautifully dressed workers as well as many homeless people using the park. Homelessness is a big and complicated problem to solve. I have gotten complaints but, unless the homeless folks are creating nuisance and threatening the public, they are the citizens of the city and have the right to use the park the same as any one else.

WCT: Being a beekeeper, have you ever been stung?

TT: Yes; I have been stung hundreds of times over my 10 years of beekeeping. I rarely get stung anymore, but it still really hurts each time. My body has developed immunity and I do not get a reaction or swollen anymore. Even at the beginning, I never wore a veil or gloves for fearing of crushing bees.

I am just more comfortable working with my bare hands. I can tell by the way they sound and body language when the bees get upset. I do always have a smoker ready to relax them just in case. I am a pretty high-energy person but when I work with the bees, my whole demeanor somehow changes and I become very relaxed and calm. Bees will feel your tense emotion and react accordingly.

WCT: What was your journey to being cast on Survivor?

TT: Mark Philpot, my boyfriend, and I applied for The Amazing Race in summer 2014. We got noticed but did not make it to the semifinal round.

CBS casting producers for both Survivor and Amazing Race invited me to send in a tape for Survivor. It's funny; at first, I told them let me think about it, and then said "yes" the next day. I am a big fan and know I would be good and really enjoy the physical aspect but was terrified of the much tougher social aspect of the show.

WCT: Do you still want to be on The Amazing Race?

TT: Yes; we still hope to sometime in the near future. Can you help to get us on?

WCT: No, but I can help spread the word. Doesn't your personality play into this game as well?

TT: Yes, but I am too trusting and had reservations whether I can be good at manipulating and betraying. Being the middle child of 11 siblings, I can be the peace maker.

I have people skills and can get along with pretty much anybody. I am small, trustworthy, and non-threatening. I know I can get away with a lot. I am competitive in my own way and believe that the good guy can win Survivor.

WCT: How did you come out of the closet?

TT: I actually never came out to the family or any relative. They must know by now by watching. I hope they are not shocked when I am announcing I am gay and trying to kiss a straight guy on national television! [Laughs]

Mark and I are completely out in public, work and with all our friends. We have been together for over 10 years now and my mom never asks so I don't tell but, of course, they know. It's an Asian thing. If we don't speak it out loud, then we don't have to address it.

Luckily, my mom already has enough grandchildren so I don't have to worry about carrying on the Trang family name.

I am kind of private and shy when it comes to sharing my personal relationships, anyway. Mark is welcome to all our family functions.

My mom really likes Mark and always ask for his nursing advice and sends food home for him. That is how she shows her acceptance of our relationship.

WCT: How hard was it leaving Mark at home?

TT: Leaving Mark for two months without contact was a bit hard, but not as bad as it was for him. Most of the time I am so busy having fun on the show and distracted with challenges, but I do sometimes long for the comfort of him holding me so I can relax and feel safe.

It's Survivor and I can never let my guard down and trust any cast completely. Mark and I are so grateful to have an group of amazing gay friends that we call our "family," for support. Some of my best friends are my exes!

WCT: Your bromance with Big Brother past contestant Caleb Reynolds seemed like such a sweet moment.

TT: Ah, Calebso very sweet and such a good sport. I teased and flirted with Caleb a little bit to see how far I could push things. I wondered if actual lips touching would cross his line?

Caleb and I are coming from such different backgrounds. I was worried how we would get along at firsthis being Christian with bible verse tattoos on his body, the Southern country-boy attitude versus mine being Asian, gay and an older generation.

WCT: Did the Life Cycle challenges help you prepare for the physicality of Survivor?

TT: Yes. I was living outdoors and sleeping on the hard ground for a whole week. I built endurance and leg strength by sitting on a little bike seat paddling up and down mountains in the California coast for total of 545 miles. It all took some mental intelligence and great patience.

WCT: You seemed surprised to be on the Beauty Tribe but do you see now why you were on there?

TT: [Laughs] Yes, I am still wondering. I would rather think I fit better in the potpourri tribe. I still laugh when am thinking bout being a beauty. Maybe Jeff Probst thinks it's inner beauty, but we all have inner beauty. I believe everyone is nice and do nice things for people they know. You just have to know where to look or be patient to let it come out.

WCT: You have brought attention to being respectful of our environment on a show where it is survival. Is it possible to have respect for the environment and survive in harsh conditions?

TT: Being respectful to the environment is a necessity to the survival of our human race. We have to take care of our home, the Earth or else it would not be able support or habitable to the near future generations.

Nature is happily getting along well with out our human interference.

WCT: You currently have an idol. Is it more important to be likable or have the safety of an idol?

TT: Likability is such an interesting trait to have. Everyone want to hang out, have fun, and be likable but then it's a dangerous thing also because no one want to bring them to the final worrying they will gain the jury votes.

Having the idol or letting people think you have the idol is very powerful. It can save you more than just one tribal, that is if you are smart and can play it strategically.

WCT: Are you surprised how well you are doing at the challenges?

TT: No, I am 51 but feel like I am in my mid-thirties. I can do pretty much any thing the youngsters can and I think I am better at it, too. I am physically fit with great endurance. I can swim, solve puzzles and have great balance. I run too, will brag that I have completed over 25 marathons. I even came in first and second, in 2007 and 2005, at the Nike Women's Race for my age group in the men's division.

WCT: If you won a million dollars, what would you spend it on?

TT: I would buy a little gentle farm with some land on the rolling hills of Northern Californiahopefully, by the sea. I would have various [hooved] animals for milk and cheesemaking, lots of chickens and bees, plus an exotic fruit tree orchard and, of course, a little pond with a rowboat.

That is my fantasy of retirement. I have a romantic idea of going back to basics and living off the land. We are currently in California and I can probably only afford a little shed right now.

A million dollars goes along way in Cambodia and South East Asia, but you have to wait and see how long I survive.

WCT: What did you learn from being on Survivor?

TT: I think when we are stripped down to basic needs for survival, even though it's for a game and million dollars, we can't change our true nature and can't hide from who we really are. Nothing is staged or produced, Survivor is real, including all the good and bad that you see on TV.

WCT: When are you coming to visit your fans in Chicago?

TT: Do I have fans? How many? I would love to come visit. I heard you guys have great restaurants, art museums, and it's a place where all the women are strong and the men are pretty.

Doesn't Darnell Hamilton from this season live in Chicago? Please say "hi" to him for me!

Survivor: Kaoh Rong battles it out Wednesdays at 7 p.m. central on CBS. Past episodes can be found at www.cbs.com .