Brady Finta is a contestant from Survivor: Vanuatu.

Brady became the third casualty of the Fat Five Alliance after his loyalty was put into question by the majority by John Kenney, causing his entire tribe to vote him out.


Retrieved from

Brady Finta was born in San Diego. At the time, his father was in Vietnam on one of his two tours as a fighter pilot in the US Navy. With his father being in the US Navy, they relocated many times, including Camarillo, California; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Pax River, Maryland; San Diego, California; Farifax, Virginia; Charleston, South Carolina; and Memphis, Tennessee.

Finta attended 10 schools before high school and finished at James Island High School in Chas, South Carolina. He then attended the University of South Carolina, where he received a degree in Political Science and played on the rugby team. After spending the summer after graduation in Norway (his father was stationed there), Finta went to the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School as a result of having gone through college on a Marine ROTC scholarship. He became a second lieutenant, trained as an infantry officer for a year and was then assigned his first platoon in Hawaii. After three years (with one year of it deployed to Japan), he was transferred to Camp Pendleton, California. Approximately two years later, he resigned his commission and joined the FBI in 1998.

After graduating the FBI Academy, he was posted to the Los Angeles Division (Orange County) and assigned to the Asian Organized Crime section, where he has been ever since. Soon after completing his agent probation, he tried out and was selected to be a member of the FBI Los Angeles SWAT Team. He will soon be working counter terrorism.
Finta's mother is currently pursuing a master's degree in theology at a Jesuit University in Ohio. His father retired from the Navy and lives and works in Spokane, Washington. His older brother, Jim, is a helicopter pilot for the Coast Guard in Seattle, Washington. His older sister, Lori, is a film editor in Memphis, Tennessee. His younger sister, Gina, is a dance instructor in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He also has a half sister, Katya. In addition, has eight nieces and nephews.

Finta's hobbies include surfing, home improvement and traveling. He has traveled the US and abroad, having served in Okinawa, Japan, among other places. He describes himself as enthusiastic, athletic and motivated. He enjoys playing rugby and watching football. His hero is a 20-year-old lance corporal who returned from Iraq missing an eye. To Finta, that kind of courage and self-sacrifice defines heroes.

Finta currently lives in Huntington Beach, California, with his fiancé, Broni. His birth date is December 17, 1970.[1]


During the welcoming ceremony, Brady Finta had the unfortunate distinction of being the first person to attempt to retrieve a spirit stone from atop a greased pole. Brady covered his hands and feet with sand then climbed the pole with ease. The tribes was revealed to be Divided by gender, with Brady's tribe being called Lopevi. On the way to camp, Rory Freeman felt that finding the camp would be easier if they split up. This caused Brady to view Rory as an individualistic person and not a team player. This was further proven when Rory often took walks alone. Lopevi made a decent shelter but failed to make fire. He was shocked with Chad Crittenden when Chad revealed he had an artificial leg. Brady deemed Chad a huge threat because of his artificial leg, humility and likability. At the first challenge of the season, the men initially had the lead. The lead evaporated when Chris Daugherty was unable to cross the balance beam, allowing the women of Yasur to surge ahead and win. After the loss, Brady befriend the other Athlethic men: Brook Geraghty, John Kenney, and John Palyok. The other three wanted Chris gone for botching up the challenge and asked Lea Masters to vote out the presumed weakest link. Brady thought eliminating Chris but noted that Rory's personality might be a problem. Brady cast his vote against Rory, But the other men aligned themselves due fear of being picked off and voted out Brook.

Things kept getting worse as the men lost the challenge to earn flint because of a balance beam. However, Lea lead Lopevi to victory in the Immunity Challenge. The next challenge, it was announced that tribes would be going to Tribal Council. Lopevi won the Reward Challenge, winning them fishing gear and a shot at individual immunity. John K. won immunity and would stay at the women's camp to determine who get immunity at their Tribal Council. Rory was bugging Lea with his personality and vice versa. Brady, John, and John tried to used this to get Rory out, but the dominant alliance stayed strong, with John P. getting the boot. Brady referred the main alliance as the "Fat Five". He tried to proved his worth by fishing. This failed as he only managed to get small fish. The women won the next two challenges, costing Lopevi the experience of a local bushman and immunity. Once again in danger of elimination, Brady again pleaded to vote out Rory. Lea considered the thought but didn't want to lose an ally. Brady hoped that the third time's a charm when he voted against Rory. In the end, The other men (Including John K.) voted him out, making him the fifth person out of the game.

Voting History

Brady's Voting History
Episode Brady's
Voted Against
1 Rory -
2 Lopevi Tribe Immune
3 Rory -
4 Rory Chad, Chris, John K.,
Lea, Rory, Travis
Voted Out, Day 10


  • Brady did not do any in-person television interviews after being voted out, as he was forbidden to do so by the FBI due to sensitive work obligations at the time. There was some speculation as to whether he would be allowed to attend the finale Reunion Show, though, in the end he was present.
  • On January 9, 2010, Brady attended Survivor's 10-year anniversary party along with all of his Vanuatu cast mates.


  • Brady was one of four castaways that were confirmed to have been casted by Kelly Goldsmith for Vanuatu.[2]
  • Brady voted for Rory at every Tribal Council he attended.
  • Brady was the first person to be voted out on Day 10.
  • In his official cast photo, Brady is wearing a shirt that says "Boran", which was the name of a tribe in Survivor: Africa.
  • Brady is the first contestant voted out of Survivor: Vanuatu to not have had five votes cast against him.
  • Brady said his cover story was that he was being sent on an Temporary Bureau Assignment.[3]