Samantha Impaglia 
The tribe has spoken. Last month, we shared the news of Hoboken’s first-ever Survivor-inspired contest, which ran from March 31st to April 6th, 2025. While most people know Survivor as a competition show held in a tropical locale, this local event came in the form of a week-long social competition right here in the Mile Square — testing each participant’s athleticism, coordination, and ability to work with a team. Now that Survivor Hoboken has officially crowned its first-ever winner, HG is taking a look back at the event and sharing a bit more about this year’s finalists. Read on for more about the Survivor Hoboken social competition, as well as our chat with Chelsea Altchek, Steven Hurst, and the first-ever “Sole Survivor of Hoboken,” John Cordone.
^ The top 6 castaways. Photo Credit: Matt Carlson
Event Recap
^ The Madison Tribe (top) + the Washington. Tribe Photo Credit: Matt Carlson
Matt Carlson, lifelong Survivor fan and facilitator of the event, shared with HG that the week-long competition had over 205 applicants. After interviewing over 60 locals and selecting six men and six women as the “castaways,” the games had begun. The group included a diverse selection of locals in a variety of age groups. Matt shared that the oldest player was a 49-year-old Jersey City mom of two, Jennifer Demirel, and the youngest player was a 25-year-old Fordham grad and former competitive dancer, Julia Campbell (who was also the first player voted out). Hudson County resident Olivia Marcus, who made the final four and was the last member to join the jury, was a fan favorite, documenting her entire Hoboken Survivor experience on TikTok.
Photo Credit: Matt Carlson
Each challenge tested each participant’s athleticism, coordination, and ability to work with a team. There was a mix of in-person and at-home challenges with one-to-two tribal councils per day, in which people were continuously eliminated from the game until the contestants were narrowed down to the final three. The tribal councils and challenges were held outside of normal working hours, and of course, included some hidden immunity idols, backstabbing, and twists — essentials of a typical Survivor season.
Photo Credit: Matt Carlson
“What started the week as 12 strangers who all love Survivor, ended the week as 12 friends who all love Survivor.” Matt shared with HG. “I’m super grateful for how kind everyone was and how seriously everybody took this game. I cannot believe how close all of the players were at the end of this week. We supported Hoboken businesses all along the way, having a challenge Thursday night at House Of Que Joe Trivia, a beer pong type challenge at River Street Garage Saturday afternoon, and holding our Final Tribal council at Schmitty’s.”
Meet the Finalists + First-Ever Winner
Survivor Hoboken’s three finalists included Chelsea Altchek, John Cordone, and Steven Hurst. At the end of the competition, John, who received five of the six jury votes, was crowned the first ever “Sole Survivor of Survivor Hoboken.” Chelsea took second place, and Steven took third.
“John had an unforgettable journey from throwing up during the first challenge, to playing an advantage gifted to him from his ally Colleen, to shedding tears at the final tribal council,” Matt shared with HG.
Now, let’s hear more from the finalists and the winner.
Steven Hurst is a 35-year-old warehouse manager, dad of two girls, and Rochester native who has lived in Hoboken for the last five years. He is a longtime Survivor fan (with the exception of the“most recent seasons”).
“Going into it, I wasn’t sure what to expect or how well I would do, but once night one and the first challenge came, I was fully invested!” Steven shared with HG. “I initially just wanted to not be the first one voted out, then I just wanted to make the merge…and after that, I realized I had a chance to win and wanted to win so bad. I spent almost all day/night during the week strategizing and talking with my alliance members, ensuring I wouldn’t be the next one voted out. Fair to say it consumed my life in the best possible way for an entire week! I can’t say enough about the game Matt put on. It was an amazing week that involved all of the elements that make Survivor fun. There were intense challenges, anxiety-riddled tribal councils, blindsides, backstabbing, and friendships made along the way. I walked in the first night and met John and Chelsea, and ended up staying with them all the way to the final three. The three of us had never met, and a week later are still texting daily about how much we miss each other and playing the game. All in all, 10/10. Would play again in a heartbeat!”
Photo Credit: Steven Hurst
Chelsea Altchek is a 30-year-old fifth-grade teacher and summer camp division head. She is a Broadway-loving, trivia-playing Hoboken explorer and true Survivor superfan who’s even been known to recruit her students into the fandom.
“My Survivor Hoboken experience was better than I even anticipated!” Chelsea shared with HG. “Matt’s challenges were incredible, and I had the best time strategizing all week. I even made friends throughout the week, and I can’t wait to continue talking Survivor with them in the future. I highly recommend the experience to any fan of the game!
Photo Credit: Chelsea Altchek
And finally, the first-ever winner, John Cordone: a 34-year-old marketing professional who lives in Jersey City. John described himself as an empath, skilled at reading people’s energy, building trust, and adapting to different personalities.
“Survivor has always been a social experiment that tests your ability to adapt and make connections with new and different people. For me, Survivor Hoboken was an opportunity to do something brave and put myself out there. It was a wild ride and an exceptionally organized and executed game that challenged me mentally and physically,” John shared with HG. “The game was made even more thrilling by the amazing people who each challenged themselves to be great and make their mark playing this game we all love. While we weren’t in Fiji for a month, navigating the stresses of the game as well as real life and the addition of modern communication tools made our game uniquely difficult and exciting! I’m honored to be able to claim the title of Sole Survivor – Hoboken, but I feel even more lucky to have been involved in this amazing experience.”
Photo Credit: John Cordone
We think it’s safe to say that Hudson County locals are looking forward to future events. You can find our previous coverage of Survivor Hoboken here. Please note, this local competition was not affiliated with Survivor on CBS.
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