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NEW YORK (WCCO) ― A Minnesota man will be one of the contestants vying for a $1 million top prize when "Survivor" debuts in February.

This year, the castaways will be on the tiny South Pacific nation of Fiji.

Minnesotan Gary Stritesky, 55, will be one of the castaways. Stritesky is a school bus driver and carpenter from Ramsey, Minn. He grew up in Silver Lake, Minn., where he played football, baseball, basketball and ran track in high school.

He and his wife, Diane, have four children and two grandchildren. Stritesky enjoys canoeing, fishing and biking. He has also competed in multiple inline skating marathons.

Stritesky said his wife wants to know when he'll finally grow up and get a real job.

As always, the challenge for each is to outwit, outplay, and outlast the others, this time in a country made up of many tiny islands.

There happened to be a real-life coup in Fiji during production of the show.

"Survivor: Fiji" begins Thursday, Feb. 8, on CBS.

"The Early Show" introduced the rest of the castaways to viewers Friday.

Some have already been through some tough times, in Iraq and during Hurricane Katrina, for instance.

Briefly, in alphabetical order, they are:

Alex Angarita, a 28-year-old attorney from Los Angeles, who knows not everybody trusts a lawyer's skills of persuasion.

Kenward "Boo" Bernis, a construction worker from Lafayette, La. Look out, ladies: He says romance is part of his strategy.

Yau-Man Chan, a computer engineer, is the self described "geek of the group." He hopes he doesn't stand out so much that he's voted off the island.

Earl Cole is a Santa Monica, Calif. ad executive. The Kansas native says he's a Midwesterner at heart, with a little California flavor.

Fashion stylist Jessica deBen is used to exotic locations. She says living in Los Angeles, where people don't eat, has prepared her for the game.

Erica Durousseau is a Louisiana native who was forced to leave New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Cassandra Franklin is a civil engineer manager also from Los Angeles. She says her goals for "Survivor" are pretty simple: to win the million dollars and lose 25 pounds!

Loan officer Liliana Gomez describes herself as "the feisty Latina." She joined the Marines out of high school, and served in Iraq.

Andria "Dre" Herd knows how to survive, from growing up homeless in North Carolina. This cheerleading coach first wowed crowds as a street performer with his brothers.

Internet producer Stacy Kimball says she may be high maintenance, but she'll do whatever it takes to win.

Sylvia Kwan is an architect in Northern California. The affable wife and mother says she can be devious, if she has to be.

With loan manager Mookie Lee, what you see is what you get. Cocky or strong-headed, Mookie just likes to have fun.

Customer service rep Lisette "Lisi" Linares' big challenge is going to be keeping her mouth shut. She says with a laugh, "I want to stop myself from looking at everyone and being like, 'Dude, I'm trapped on the island of morons here!' "

Bartender James Reid says he just doesn't care: "I can be a pain in the ***, I can be a hypocrite, I can be a bunch of things. The only difference between me and the average cat is that I admit it."

Ad exec Edgardo Rivera likes to party every weekend, and says he's good at manipulating people.

Anthony Robinson beat the mean streets of Compton, Calif. and graduated from Yale. The expert witness locator says he's the nice guy nobody expects will stab them in the back.

Fifty-five-year-old Gary Stritesky says his wife wants to know when he'll finally grow up and get a real job.

Rita Verreos is a single mother of two. She's an image consultant by trade, but says she enjoys a much simpler life, like one an exotic tropical island.

And finally, Michelle Yi is a 23-year-old college student from Cincinnati who says she's bubbly and energetic, but look out, players: There may be a dark side there.

(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)