Former “Survivor” contestant and gubernatorial candidate Rupert Boneham visited Muncie’s Tan U Very Much on Thursday night.
Rupert Boneham carefully removes the sword from Dan Meyer’s throat Thursday night at Tan U Very Much. DN PHOTO SAMANTHA BLANKENSHIP
Q: What brought you here tonight?
A: The public schools got ahold of us and asked me if I would come talk to the teachers and the … I want to say the student body or the family fun night. I don’t know exactly who I’m talking to at any given time, but when the public schools, especially public schools in Indiana, call me and ask for help, I come out. I came out here to do a little empowerment talk with the teachers and some of the students. And it might sound terrible but I couldn’t even tell you what schools I was in.
Q: How do you think the discussion went?
A: In the one school I was at, where I was talking to the government class, I think it went wonderful. Oh my gosh. Being able to stand up and show a very scary, not-the-ordinary politician going up against two career politicians and being able to show I was the most … points ever influence for a third party candidate, bringing issues out that no one ever really talked about with our detention center, actually talking about the drop out rates in high school and how we could increase those, uh, success rates to bring in the vocational ed back, if we would do something to work on the cause of the problems not the symptom. The government class was fun. The talk this evening with, gosh … hundreds of kids from the elementary school and their families … to be Survivor guy and be cool to even the kids and have them hear when you talk about losing the game three times, four times and still winning because it counts how you treat yourselves and others, how you give off yourself, how you work together with people. And to be able to do that and encourage kids to work with their families to set goals and have, you know, you don’t have to be an angel. Just don’t be a bad guy. Don’t hurt yourself for others. Now I get, as a 50-year-old man, I get to be cool to the kids and the tweens … I love it. So yeah, I came out to just kind of play around.
Q: What do you think of Muncie?
A: I love Muncie! I’ve been coming out here for years. I mean, I grew up in Kokomo. I’ve lived in Indiana for, gosh, the last 25 years. Um, Muncie’s cool. I like Muncie. I have a lot of friends here.
Q: Have you ever thought about going to Ball State and speaking there?
A: Uh, you know, my wife and I both would love to come to Ball State. My wife is a graduate of Ball State. She graduated a few years ago, and uh, no we come out every once in awhile just to wander around a little bit. Our contact info on our website … maybe drop us a line and invite us to come out and do some speaking … do a little speaking gig out at Ball State. Laura would love it. I would love it.
Q: Are there any other involvements you have around Muncie?
A: One of the things we’re trying to do is spread our mentoring program, and being able to show the value in giving back to a younger generation … giving back to … someone that is hurting themself is not a criminal. They’re a cry for help. And what we’re trying to do across the state of Indiana is show, if we work with the detention centers and stop locking up our problems and actually dealing with them … by 2014, end of ’14 start of ’15, we’re gonna have our template set that I’m gonna try and put in place in every county across the state of Indiana. And show you’ll be able to save millions of dollars; and that’s the byproduct of saving lots of lives. So we’ll see what happens. But yeah, keep an eye ‘cause I’m coming here.
Dan Meyer, the world’s top sword swallower, showcases his ability. Rupert Boneham, “Survivor” celebrity and motivational speaker, watches this feat on Thursday night at Tan U Very Much. Boneham visited with local schools to speak about empowerment and his experiences being a candidate for governor of Indiana in the 2012 election against Mike Pence. Following the discussion, he met with other fans to discuss his adventures with “Survivor.” DN PHOTO SAMANTHA BLANKENSHIP
Rupert Boneham passes the sword back to Dan Meyer after removing the sword from Meyer’s mouth Thursday night at Tan U Very Much. DN PHOTO SAMANTHA BLANKENSHIP
Freshman pre-vet major Elizabeth Allison met with Rupert Boneham Thursday night at Tan U Very Much for an autograph and photo together. DN PHOTO SAMANTHA BLANKENSHIP
Rupert Boneham, in town to speak with middle school students about empowerment, poses with fans Thursday night at Tan U Very Much. DN PHOTO SAMANTHA BLANKENSHIP
Rupert Boneham speaks with fans Thursday evening at Tan U Very Much about his adventures with “Survivor.” DN PHOTO SAMANTHA BLANKENSHIP
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