Life After “Survivor”? This Former Cast Members Enters New York Real Estate

Shii Ann Huang thinks her former job as a cast member of “Survivor,” the reality TV show that had contestants eating bugs and sleeping in the sand for the chance of winning $1 million, prepared her well for her new one: real estate broker.Ms. Huang has been a broker with the Corcoran Group for less than a month, and she says her survival instincts are ready.“I’m prepared to survive the crazy New York real estate market,” said Ms. Huang, 30, who specializes in downtown sales. “I’m a big proponent of downtown, and I love large spaces, like lofts and townhouses.”Ms. Huang lives in a rent-stabilized apartment in Chelsea. And she calls herself a “sub-lebrity,” due to her status as a reality television star on the CBS shows “Survivor: Thailand” and “Survivor: All Stars.” She is working to secure her first exclusive, a loft in Chelsea.“Although fame is a good fodder for cocktail conversations, I’m not sure how it will affect my job,” Ms. Huang told The New York Sun recently. “Ultimately, it is all about how you get along with people, and so far, the reaction has been positive.”Ms. Huang has lived in New York for the past eight years, moving from Mesa, Ariz., where she spent most of her childhood. She immigrated to America with her family from Taipei, Taiwan, as a child.In Arizona, she was a state-champion speech and debate competitor and had the unusual hobby of raising prize-winning sheep. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where she studied English literature. She also has a master’s degree from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in interactive telecommunications.She was an executive headhunter in the financial services industry, and after appearing on Survivor, she decided to make a career change.“I love working with people, but I didn’t like the financial side, which was very technical,” she said of her old career. She chose real estate “because, like most good New Yorkers, I’m passionate about it.”Ms. Huang, who has just completed a two-week training course at Corcoran, says her colleagues are bemused by her stint on TV.“Some are surprised I was on the show, others think it’s interesting,” Ms. Huang said. “I’ve learned a lot since doing ‘Survivor,’ but I’m still that same girl you knew: honest, with a wicked sense of humor, and a hard worker.”While Ms. Huang wants to attract real estate clients, she’s a bit wary of people a little too obsessed with her days on “Survivor.”“Please don’t publish my cell phone – it is weird, but in some circles I’m considered famous,” she said, remembering that a man recently paid several hundred dollars at a charity auction for the chance to take her rock climbing next month.Maybe he wasn’t looking for a climbing companion, but merely needed a broker.

Life After “Survivor”? This Former Cast Members Enters New York Real Estate

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