Despite the sun shining hot and bright in the beaches of Fiji, Solomon "Sol" Yi is bringing his own brand of "Sol Power." The 43-year-old does sales for a company that specializes in deep brain stimulation. But he's not necessarily approaching the game in a heady way, instead focusing on self-awareness, confidence, and relationship management. Sol has won over $200,000 in poker tournaments, and he hopes to net some nice pocket cards through idols and advantages, which he plans to use as weapons for other players rather than himself.
Read on for my interview with Sol, and check in with Parade.com daily for interviews with this season's contestants and other tidbits. Survivor 47 premieres on September 18 with a two-hour premiere on CBS.
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Interview with Sol from Survivor 47
To start, give me your name, age, and occupation.
I'm Solomon Yi. I'm 42 years old. I'm originally from Oklahoma. I live in Weston, Connecticut now, and I am a deep brain stimulation therapy representative. It's the best job in the world.
Well, you're gonna have to tell me what that entails. Especially if it's the best job in the world!
So basically, I help people with neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, OCD. And it's a life changing therapy. These people, they have been dealt a hand that they have no control over. And their lives are crap because of the symptoms that come from, for example, Parkinson's. You're just shaking 24/7. And DBS, or deep brain stimulation, we basically put electrodes in the brain–not me, I wish I did. But the neurosurgeons put electrodes in the brain , in the part of your brain that control your movement. And once we turn it on, it's like a pacemaker. There's a pacemaker-like generator in the chest that delivers electricity to the brain. And then, boom, those tremors stop in an instant.
Let's talk about a career shift for you to Survivor player. What brought you from Western Connecticut out to Fiji? What's your history with Survivor ?
Well, I'm a COVID baby. I had never seen until 2020. My colleague from work, we're feeding off each other, like, "What are you watching?" She's like, "Oh, I'm watching Survivor ." I'm like, "Oh, damn! That show's still on?!" And she goes, "Yes, it's the best show ever." I'm like, "Alright, I'll give this a try." And boom, first episode, I'm hooked! I watched, like, four seasons in a week, I'm not kidding you. And I just remember something inside of me was telling me, "You have to try to play this game." And I applied once, probably in 2021. And I made a shit video. I was trying to impress. I wasn't being myself. I was trying to think, "What do they want for me?" and try to put something out there like that. And when I submitted it, I knew that. I just knew I wasn't going to get on.
And then, literally almost every day for two years, it's like I had this itch inside of me. Like, "Dude, apply again. Apply again. Apply again." And it is hard to apply. But that itch just wouldn't go away. And finally, I'm like, "F–k it. Just try again." And I really tried to be myself in it. Really try to bring it. And just because I knew, like, "Dude, you're 42, man. You ain't got that much longer to play this game." And so, yeah, I brought it. And I don't know why they picked me. But I'm so blessed to be here right now. I don't know if you've ever been to Fiji, but as soon as I stepped off the plane, I got slapped in the face with this beauty. I'm in heaven right now. I'm married, and my wife's not here, so she might get a little upset about this. [ Laughs .] But she'd also be very, very happy for me. I haven't even been there that long, and my outlook on life has just changed dramatically.
I know you're a recent convert to Survivor . But can you give me one winner and one non-winner who you identify with the most?
Definitely Gabler. Gabler and I, we're both in medical sales. But that's really that's not necessarily why. I don't know Gabler, obviously. But I feel like Gabler has gone through some shit in his life, and he's overcome it. But his attitude, his outlook on life, is beautiful. And when I saw that, it really did inspire me. And his ability to create bonds with people. I remember in the final Tribal Council, he had a story about every single individual person with those one-on-one connections that he's made.
I'm really good at that. I've had to do that. I've had to develop one-on-one relationships with people just because of how I was raised. And, if I wanted to go anywhere in life, that's what I had to do. And when I saw him do that, they don't really show that on each episode, but they did explain it in that final jury. And that really hit home to me. He's very self-aware. I remember in one of the first few episodes, he took somebody out. He's like, "Man, I need to go under the water now, because I'm up here." [ Gestures to a high level. ] I'm very self-aware. I don't know what to call it, but I can see things and pick up on things that maybe most people can't that gives me information on, "Okay, you need to calm down, Sol," or "Hey, that person's a little upset with you right now, Sol. You need to probably go talk to him or her."
And then as far as a non-winner, Kaleb. Very charismatic guy, could connect with anybody. I love doing that. I love going to parties. I'll talk to you for one minute, develop a relationship really quickly, and I'm onboard; I'll go to the next person. And the problem with that is, and I learned from Kaleb, is that you can't be doing that right now. And I'm dying! That's the hardest part of this. I just want to celebrate with everybody, and just develop bonds with everybody. But I also don't want to be the first on the jury or be the first one voted out. So, yeah, I can really identify with that too.
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What would you say is your biggest superpower? Is it, as you mentioned before, that self-awareness?
It's not willpower. I mean, yes, what you just said, I absolutely have those capabilities. And they're very, very strong skills for me. But it's not willpower; it's called "Sol Power." My name's Solomon, and people call me Sol. So when people say, "You got a lot of willpower, man," I'll be like, "Who's Will? I got Sol Power! And Sol Power, to me is, I can do anything. And being picked to be on this show, it's proven to me. Because if there's any doubt in the world the things that I've tried to do, that's all gone now. Because I'm on freaking Survivor !
That's undeniable. They picked me to play this game, and so now Sol Power is at its fullest strength. Nothing can stop me. Now, don't get me wrong, I understand I might not win this game. But do I believe I will win this game? Absolutely. And, I think for me, that's the biggest thing there is. Because if you don't believe you can win, if you don't believe that you can do anything, then you're probably not going to. And whether you're right or wrong, it doesn't matter. The point is, believe in yourself. It's not cockiness; it's not arrogance. It's just a belief that you can do anything. And that's probably my biggest strength, is my belief in myself.
What about the other side of things? What stands the greatest chance of stopping that Sol Power?
I grew up in Oklahoma; I'm a Korean kid. There weren't very many Koreans in the room. When I'd walk into a room, all eyes would be on me. And in order for me to at least have a chance in Oklahoma, I had to do something. So I made people laugh. And I've done that my entire life. And so, in this game, that could be my kryptonite. I could walk into the room and people could be like, "Hey, that guy is dangerous. Get him the hell out of here." If I don't tone it down and I am my absolute self, and they don't notice that, like, "Damn, he's good," then that's their problem. But I'm sure they are very smart; they will notice that. So that will be my kryptonite if I don't tone it down.
Well, let's talk about some of these people who might be laughing it up at your jokes for the next 26 days. Who have you been getting good vibes from in the preseason so far?
There's one person, she's the shortest person here. And she's just got a very warm smile. And every time I've looked at her– I'm feeling it, at least–I'm like, We could be tight here. We could take this thing the whole way." We're very, very different in terms of I don't think anyone would ever catch it. So she's probably one. And then there's another person that, when we were at the hotel, going to the bus, the first person that I saw, we kind of connected. And we've been kind of unintentionally being around each other a lot. But other than that, I'm trying not to go too deep with who to play with right now, because I know that everything is going to change once we can start talking. I'm sure that's not a great answer. But, yeah, that's where my mind is right now.
What’s your biggest takeaway from the past two seasons of Survivor that you plan to bring into your game?
Wow. Great question. I think right now, I've just got to keep my mind right the entire way. Don't get my emotions too high. Don't ever get low. Stay in the middle. That's my biggest takeaway. Because when you get emotional and you start getting crazy, your decision making is very, very poor. And the other thing is–and Jeff said this, actually–act like it's your second time to play. I'm not a pro poker player by any means, but I love poker. I've won over $200,000 playing Texas Hold 'Em tournaments. It's a passion of mine. I'm not a professional by any means. But when Jeff said that, I understood exactly what he meant. When you're playing poker, you have to take risks. And you might lose and you might go home. But if you don't take those risks, you will absolutely never, ever win a poker tournament. And so it's gotta be the same thing here. I have to take risks. So keeping a level head, but understanding you better take some risks, dude. Otherwise, you ain't going to win.
Is that attitude going to be incorporated into idols, advantages, and journeys as well? Are you going to take every opportunity given to you?
I mean, well, probably. If there's a Beware Advantage, I'm not just going to go, "Yep, I'm doing it!" I'm going to make sure that I'm level-headed, read it, [and] make sure that it's beneficial and strategic for me my game. I'll tell you, going back to last season's idol plays, what the hell?! Guys, come on! What are you doing?! Read the room. And it's very easy to say that on the couch, so I hope I don't do that here. But, at the same time, I ain't planning on using idols like a shield. I'm using them as weapons. I will be targeting people. We'll see how many times I play an idol on myself. But I genuinely anticipate to play idols for other people more than I do on myself. That's what kind of game I'm trying to play.
What's your hottest Survivor take?
So my parents, my family, they've been like, "Don't lie. Make sure that you're being honest with everybody. Don't come off as a person who's a liar or a sleazeball." That's my pet peeve. It's like, "Guys, this is a game! This ain't real life." You know who I am as a person. I'm trying to play a game, and the best way to play a game is to lie your ass off. So I'm going to deceive people. That's what I was telling them, "Stop it." And so that's my pet peeve. Who goes into a game like, for example, Balderdash, where you try to write a definition. Could you imagine if you played that game telling the truth? Why are we playing then? What is the point of this? That's my pet peeve. It's like, "This is a game. Relax, chill out. This is not who I genuinely am." Now, don't get me wrong, a lot of the show, I'm going to be myself. I have to be. That's how I'm going to create bonds. But in terms of strategic gameplay, I mean, I got to do what I got to do. [ Laughs .] And, if you're not, then you ain't going to win. That's just the truth.
Finally, if you could pick a celebrity or a fictional character to bring out for a Loved Ones visit, who are you picking and why?
I gotta go with my boy Matt Damon. F–k you, Jimmy Kimmel! [ Laughs .] I think he's one of the best actors. And I could use, you know, some coaching from the best actor, in my opinion, to act better than I already can. And everyone would probably be like, "Oh, you're friends with Matt Damon!" I'm like, "Yeah, that's my boy."
Next, check out our interview with Survivor 47 contestant Rome Cooney .
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