Will Steven Ramm Be the First Coloradan to Win Survivor?

Survivor premiered its latest season last week, showing eighteen new contestants dumped on a Fiji island to battle it out for $1 million. Among the group of castaways was one potentially familiar face for Colorado fans.

Denver resident Steven Ramm is featured on the 49th season of the iconic reality TV show. Ramm, 35, is a program manager at Lockheed Martin. He is originally from Littleton and attended the University of Colorado Boulder, graduating in 2013 with a degree in aerospace engineering.

Ramm is only the twelfth Coloradan to compete on Survivor of the 751 people who have appeared on the show during its 25-year run, according to Wikipedia’s hometown list for each player. There have been no Colorado-based contestants since season 45, and just three others in the last decade.

If Ramm manages to win the season, he will be the first Coloradan to ever claim victory.

“As you get older, you kind of run out of first-time experiences,” Ramm said during the premiere episode, which aired on September 24. “Survivor is just jam-packed of first-time experiences that are going to help you get outside your comfort zone and give you a chance to be vulnerable.”

Of the eleven Colorado-based Survivor players before Ramm, only one made it further than sixth place. Ken McNickle of Denver made it all the way to the top three in season 33, Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X; however, he failed to receive any votes in the final tribal council.

Though it is very early in the game, Ramm appears to be on track to give McNickle a run for his money.

In the first episode of season 49, Ramm’s Hina tribe dominated both challenges; earning critical camp supplies by winning the marooning challenge, and securing first place in the immunity challenge to protect the tribe members from elimination.

Ramm stood out individually, as well. The self-proclaimed “discount Ryan Reynolds” enjoyed among the most screen time of any player in the opening episode. He spoke of everything from his hearing loss to his childhood bullying trauma, with his strong sense of humor shining through in every interaction.

“I was dating someone at the time and she was like, ‘You never listen to me.’ And I was like, ‘I’m trying!’” Ramm joked of learning about his hearing loss. “I just remember putting [hearing aids] on for the first time and my first thought was, ‘Wow, the world sounds so vibrant and rich.’ And my second thought was, ‘How many farts did I think I got away with that I literally did not?'”

Ramm also quickly revealed his potential as a strategic threat. While the rest of the Hina tribe enjoyed the peace that came with winning immunity, Ramm worked to secure potential alliances with Matt Williams, Jason Treul and Michelle “MC” Chukwujekwu.

“Right now, everyone’s happy. Everything’s optimistic. We won our first challenge, but that’s all going to come crashing down at some point,” Ramm said. “I’m trying not to have my hand in too many cookie jars, but I do think it’s important to start forming these connections.”

Ramm is a long-time fan of Survivor who names Rupert Boneham as his favorite player — Ramm even named his dog Rupert in his honor.

In addition to being a rocket scientist, Ramm is a musician who plays guitar, drums and bass. He held a watch party for the premiere of Survivor season 49 at the RiNo entertainment venue, Number Thirty Eight.

According to Ramm, he applied for the show just once, being cast on his very first try.

Fingers crossed that beginner’s luck will carry this hometown hero all the way to the title of Sole Survivor.

Episode two of Survivor season 49, “Cinema,” airs on Wednesday, October 1, on CBS and Paramount+.