Preston native makes his premiere on Season 43 of 'Survivor'

Sep. 24—PRESTON — A Preston native known for living life to the fullest is a cast member of Season 43 of the hit show "Survivor."

Cody Assenmacher, 35, is one of 18 cast members jockeying for the $1 million grand prize on the TV show, which is set in Fiji and had its season debut Wednesday night. The show airs at 7 p.m. Wednesdays on CBS.

Cody's family and friends gathered at the Downtown Pub in Preston on Wednesday night to watch the show, during which the 18 contestants are separated into three tribes of six and forced to form a new society while adapting to their physical and social surroundings.

"It was really cool. Lots of family support. Lots of friend support and it was really good," his mother, Mary Assenmacher, said of seeing her son on TV. "It was amazing to see him on there and I am so proud of him."

Assenmacher now lives in Hawaii, but has not forgotten what this area means to him. He tried out for a spot on the show not only for himself but to pay homage to a friend who died while in high school.

In a recent interview for the show, Assenmacher was asked who he considers to be his hero.

"Devon Yaddof, a best friend of mine who passed from cancer in high school," Cody answered. "His loss lit a fire in me at a very young age. That fire continues to drive me to live my life differently. And my parents, as I'm grateful for them selflessly molding me into the man I am today."

Yadoff died when he and Cody were seniors; Cody has been living life to the fullest ever since.

"He really lit a fire under Cody to live life to the fullest because you never know when your time is going to come," Mary Assenmacher said. "To this day we still all remember him. He was a really swell kid and just so great to be around."

In fact, during the watch party, those in attendance wore matching shirts with Yadoff's initials, DY, over the heart.

During the show, Cody was featured in a personal interview and viewers could see his tattoo: "Livin". That was also the title of the first episode of the new season.

"'Livin' fits him perfectly because he lives life to the fullest. He's adventurous and he loves to have fun." Mary Assenmacher said.

Assenmacher impressed fans — and the show's producers — as he found a new way to win the opening reward challenge and earned the team a pot, a machete and a flint.

Cody told a teammate to put the flint inside the bamboo stick to help guide a ring holding the flint off an elevated bar. They then won the challenge and received the first supplies of the competition.

Survivor executive producer/host Jeff Probst spoke to Entertainment Weekly and had this to say about Assenmacher's performance: "Cody was the only player who stepped out of the emotional chaos and studied the problem while it was still unfolding. How do we get that flint? We had tested that challenge many, many times with our Dream Team. Nobody ever thought of doing that, but Cody did.

"It showed that Cody is both calm and wily. That combination allowed him the clarity to see an opportunity and the ability to find a solution."

Assenmacher has spoken to media outlets in Hawaii about the personality needed to be able to be on the show.

"You have to have a little bit of a thirst of adventure to do it," he said.

"Especially living in Hawaii. Let's be honest — there's no reason to go to Fiji and starve and be bored and go through this crazy social experiment when you have it here in Hawaii," Assenmacher said while being interviewed by Hawaii News Now. "You have to be a little bit of a thrill-seeking, adrenaline-junky type of a personality to do it. To leave everything behind and put yourself on a remote island."