Erin Lobdell described her appearance on "Survivor: Tocantins" as "life-changing."
Unfortunately for the 27-year-old Waukesha native, it wasn't as life-changing as winning $1 million.
Lobdell, a hair stylist at Glow Salon and Spa, 765 N. Jackson St., made it to the final three of the popular reality show before seeing her torch extinguished during the three-hour series finale Sunday.
Her third-place showing came just days after Milwaukee native Danny Gokey finished third on "American Idol."
After being voted off, Lobdell watched James "J.T." Thomas Jr., a 24-year-old cattle rancher from Alabama, win the grand prize on live television in New York. Thomas won by besting his close friend and, New Yorker Stephen Fishbach, in a unanimous decision by the seven-member jury comprised of ousted contestants.
"I was a little bit surprised," Lobdell said after her departure from the competition. "But I think, like, deep down, I definitely knew that that was the decision J.T. was gonna make. And I'm really proud of myself for as far as I've come. It's really been life-changing, and I'm glad I was able to stick around for as long as I did."
Lobdell was part of the final four along with Taj Johnson-George, the wife of former NFL star Eddie George. Though Johnson-George was popular with competitors and had worked with the male finalists during the days leading up to the end, the men conspired to vote against her because they considered Lobdell to be a weaker player.
"She was one of the biggest threats in the game," Fishbach said of Johnson-George.
When Thomas, Fishbach and Lobdell returned after the next-to-last tribal council meeting, Thomas quipped about the difficult of eliminating Taj because Lobdell was "annoying" and wouldn't stop talking.
Thomas, who had been a favorite, won the final immunity challenge to ensure his place in the final pairing and cement his status as the dominant physical layer in the game. In her final attempt to reach the finals, Lobdell tried to pit the two men against each other by convincing each that they were better off taking her to the final two, but the deep friendship between the two men won out.
"Outside of country guy, city guy, we're a lot alike," Thomas said of Fishbach. He added, though, that taking his friend to the finals was risky. and that he could have gone down as "that dumb fool that mixes morals with millions."
Thomas' popularity extended to the viewing audience. He also won $100,000 for being the viewer's choice. Asked why none of the other competitors conspired to eliminate Thomas, Johnson-George said it "just never came up because he was too sweet... you just can't find anything wrong with him."
Shortly before being voted off, Lobdell said: "I'm pretty proud of myself. it speaks greatly of my self-perseverance. I definitely made decisions that kept me here. That is amazing to me."
Lobdell's friends and co-workers held a party at Glow to watch the finale. The group cheered raucously when she advanced to the final three, but seemed crushed when she was voted out.
Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
