Local Bartender, Volleyball
Coach Becomes “Survivor”

Can a local volleyball coach and bartender be a survivor?

Only the upcoming season of “Survivor: Cook Islands” will tell.

Tonight (Thursday) is the season premiere of the hit CBS reality television show, and one of its 20 contestants is Long Beach resident John “J.P.” Calderon.

Calderon is not talking about his fate on the show — his contract with the producers prohibits him from discussing the details. But if being athletic is key to winning, Calderon has as good a chance as anyone, say his co-workers at The Silver Fox, where he tends bar part time.

“He’s very in shape,” The Silver Fox manager John Barnes said. “I know he is competitive and he is somebody who is out to win.”

Calderon’s main competitive outlet has been on the volleyball court. The 30-year-old is a former Long Beach State men’s volleyball player (1997-98), and after graduating in 2000, served as assistant coach for the women’s volleyball team for five years.

Currently he is head trainer for the all-girls Mizuno Long Beach Volleyball Club.

Barnes said he didn’t know much about Calderon’s time on Cook Islands but said one thing was evident: Calderon had lost weight while he was gone.

“Hopefully that means he lasted a while,” Barnes said.

Calderon, a Southern California native, having been born in Santa Monica and raised in Marina del Rey, will be a member of the Hispanic Tribe. This season’s “Survivor” divides contestants by race, which has been stirring up controversy among the show’s fans.

To cheer on Calderon, The Silver Fox, one of the city’s most prominent gay bars, will be have its televisions turned to “Survivor” each Thursday night beginning with tonight’s premiere. “Survivor” airs at 8 p.m. on CBS

“All of us at the bar are very excited for him,” Barnes said.

The Silver Fox is at 411 Redondo Ave. For more information, call 439-6343.

—Amy Bentley-Smith

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