Born and raised in Silver Lake,
Minnesota, Gary Stritesky attended Silver Lake High School where he
participated in football, basketball, track and baseball. He then
attended St. Cloud State University and also trained at Brooks
Barber School which ignited a 14-year career as a barber. He also
participated in a real estate program at Anoka-Ramsey Community
College.
Stritesky currently works as a school bus driver and carpenter. He
recently built a six-unit townhome complex for senior citizens in
Silver Lake, Minnesota. He was previously in the military, stationed
in Vietnam for eight months in 1971. He has also worked as a taxi
cab driver and landscaper. In 1990, Stritesky spent a year living in
Melbourne, Australia, with his family during his wife's teacher
exchange program. In 2002, they returned to Perth, Australia, for
another year as a result of his wife's second teacher exchange
program.
Stritesky has competed in multiple inline skate marathons. He also
enjoys biking, canoeing and coaching. He spent many years coaching
his children's soccer, baseball, basketball and football teams. At
least once a year, Stritesky travels to the Boundary Waters Canoe
Area Wilderness, taking part in portaging, canoeing, fishing and
enjoying the solitude of the northern Minnesota lakes. He has biked
in many areas of Minnesota, including leading a scout group to camp
and family trips. He also participated in a cross-country biking
adventure while in Australia.
Stritesky currently resides in Ramsey, Minnesota with his wife of 34
years, Diane. They have four children, Aaron, Alison, Leah and Kara
and two grandchildren. His pet bulldog, Dobber, recently passed
away. They have since adopted Harley and Blaze, two miniature
dachshunds, and just returned their pet snapping turtle, Snappy, to
the wilderness. Stritesky's birth date is September 16, 1951.
Gary
Stritesky - Favorites
Colors: Green,
black
Scents: Cooking steaks
Flowers: Rose, sunflower
Board Games: Monopoly, Checkers
Video Games: X-Box
Sports to Play: Football, baseball
Sports Teams: Minnesota Twins
Outdoor Activities: Biking, rollerblading,
walking
TV Shows: SURVIVOR, AMAZING RACE
Movies: Cool Hand Luke, Clint Eastwood
Music: Country Western
Magazines: Sports Illustrated, Dog World
Books/Authors: Charmed Eagle
Cereals: Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Fruits: Strawberries, banana
Snack Foods: Cool Ranch Doritos
Cookies: Peanut butter and sugar cookies
Candy Bars: Snickers, Almond M&M's
Alcoholic Drinks: Beer, Bloody Mary
Non-Alcoholic: Root beer, tomato juice
School bus driver Gary Stritesky is among
the 19 contestants chosen for "Survivor: Fiji," the 14th
installment of CBS' hit reality show, the network announced Friday.
"Survivor: Fiji" begins airing Feb. 8.
Stritesky's bio on www.cbs.com
states the 55-year-old Ramsey resident is a school bus driver and
carpenter. Stritesky, who was raised in Silver Lake, attended St.
Cloud State University and a barber school, working for 14 years as
a barber. He's competed in inline skate marathons and likes biking,
canoeing and camping.
While CBS is mum about the show's details and has
banned Stritesky from interviews until his time in Fiji comes to an
end on the series, they did allow his wife, Diane, to talk a little
about her husband's big adventure.
"This is something he's wanted to do for so
long," says Diane, who helped her husband train for the show by
making sure he got in his gym workouts. "We've watched the show
since it first started — every episode. I said go for it. …
We're very excited for him that he's gotten that opportunity to
actually live out a dream.
"People will love him because he has the best
sense of humor," Diane says. "He just really makes people
feel good and he's a fun person to talk to."
The Striteskys have four children, two
grandchildren and a couple of miniature dachshunds. — Amy Carlson
Gustafson
