Meet the 'Survivor 43' Cast! Mike Gabler Hopes His Operating Room Demeanor Will Get Him the Win

The 52-year-old heart valve specialist from Meridian, Idaho is this season's oldest contestant, and wants to use the life experiences that come with that to his advantage.

It's unknown if Mike Gabler has the most heart out of the Survivor 43 cast, but he certainly is the biggest expert on it. The transcatheter valve expert has made the show a household staple since the very beginning and is thinking back home in more ways than one out here. But he's ready to dry his tears, though they may help people look past his "severe-looking" exterior.

Read on for my interview with Gabler, and make sure to check in with Parade.com every day for interviews with this season's contestants and other tidbits. Survivor 43 premieres on September 21 with a special two-hour premiere on CBS.

Related: Meet the Full Cast of Survivor 43

Interview with Gabler from Survivor 43

Why are you here on Survivor?
Life is short, life is now, and you gotta live it. I'm the best version of me that there's ever been right here right now. And I look to get better. And I know that this is going to test me in every way imaginable. I really am a little bit anxious but also very excited to see what reveals myself to myself. (Laughs.)

What's your history with watching Survivor?
My wife and I've been watching Survivor since before we even had any kids. So from the beginning. And then it's become a family show that we watch every week. We make a nice dinner. We put some treats in the dog bowl, so he doesn't bother us during the show. (Laughs.) We're one of those families that watches with the pause button. So when something big is about to happen or drop, we'll hit pause, we kind of queue the room. I'll ask my two daughters and my wife what they think. We all make our best guess. And then we hit play. So it takes us about two hours to watch on Survivor night. But it's a special night for us. And we love the show.

Give me one Survivor winner and one non-winner you identify with the most.
That's really a great question. I've got a lot of fan favorites because I'm a huge fan of a bunch of the different winners. I'm trying to play a game based on a few of them. A winner would be Jeremy [Collins]. I really liked how he played, his intensity. I loved Big Ben from my home state of Idaho. I love how he played.

I also love Rupert. Rupert didn't win, of course. But his heart and his enthusiasm and his fight were extraordinary. He's too good for his own good! (Laughs.) And he was inspiring. And there's been a lot of people who don't have to win to inspire you on the show. Like Jeff always says, you just never quit on Survivor because you never know what's going to happen next. And I think the people that play the hardest and with the most intensity are the ones that usually resonate the most with my family and me.

What's your favorite moment in Survivor history?
I like it when you get a stronger group of people that think they have the upper hand, and then somehow, it gets flipped on them abruptly. I'll bring up Survivor: Africa, for example. Randy, the lovable curmudgeon villain, was tricked by Bob and given a fake immunity idol, but he thought it was real. And then he played it, and of course, the rest of the tribe knew it wasn't [real]. It's like a "justice is done, he got what was coming to him" kind of a moment. Those are fun.

Also, whenever you see somebody battling it out and winning an Immunity Challenge when they have to. And it's usually somebody that you wouldn't think could win. And that's really amazing when you just see how deep they dig, and how much they bring of themselves that they didn't even know it was in there, but they found it, and they unlocked it at the right time. I think that is incredible.

What's one life experience you feel has prepared you most for the game?
I'm 51 years old, and I've had a lot of life in my life. It can be something from my career. I play a role on a heart team, working with top surgeons and top cardiologists. I'm a clinical specialist myself, but we're in a very diverse team of people, a very multicultural group of people. But we all have one focus, and that is to take care of the patient. And it's in high-pressure situations sometimes. To be able to communicate and work effectively and get good outcomes for patients with that team, I think that's probably going to really help me out here when it starts getting really dicey.

What do you think people will perceive you as?
That's a good question. First impressions, you look at me, I'm a pretty severe-looking guy. I'm kind of a larger mammal. I've got a beard and a shaved head. I've got a variety of tattoos. So you don't know what the first impression might be. But I'm a very genuine person. And I think time is on my side. The longer I can stay in the game, the better it will be. Because I really do care deeply about people. That comes from my work dealing with patients. And I think if I can connect with people, and they connect with me, that'll grow my power in the game and advance me. The deeper I get, the more powerful I will become.

What type of player are you looking for in an alliance?
I look for somebody that's got heart. I look for somebody that is out there for a variety of reasons that aren't just being the person at the end or the title. They want to go deep into themselves, and they want to get far in this game to prove to themselves and everybody else in the world that they can do it. So I think that kind of a genuine competitor is somebody I'd like to align with to get deep into the game.

What is the one thing you told yourself you wouldn't do in this game?
Cry on the first day, but that's already blown. (Laughs.) I've got two teenage daughters. I love them so much; they're on the other side of the world now. And my oldest daughter, her prom is in two weeks. One of the producers was asking me about her. And I'm going to miss it. And unfortunately, because of my career, I've missed a lot of things as my children were growing up. Both my daughters of the world to me. But they understand, and they're supportive. Love transcends time and space. And I feel them with me here, like they feel me with them now, I'm sure. Of course, I'm getting emotional just talking about this now. (Laughs.)

One of the coolest things about making this happen and getting off the couch and coming in and competing in the show is, I always tell my family and my friends, "Don't wait for life. You've got to be an active participant in your own life. Just do it." And making it onto the show, I was able to show, not just tell, my girls what they can do. I made an audition video, sent it in, and holy cow, they call me, and now I'm here! I think that their eyes got pretty wide when I got the call to come on the show. And I hope that that broadens their horizons, that it makes them think even bigger of the world, and they get to live life even bigger because of that.

How eager will you be to look for advantages in the game?
Oh my gosh. That's like graduating college. That's like a boxing trophy. That's something massive. I mean, if I can find an advantage or win an idol, that's going to blow my mind. I mean, you'll probably hear me from wherever you are without a microphone because I will probably be howling that loud at the sky if I find one of those things and I'm able to harness that power. It's a big deal. Any way I can change the game and sway it in a powerful way, heck yeah!

Next, check out our interview with Survivor 43 contestant Jeanine Zheng.