Mark Wales Biography – Mark Wales Wiki
Mark Wales is a CEO, author, and Former Special Operations Commander, an ex-SAS Troop Commander who served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, East Timor, and the Solomon Islands. He launched his own fashion label, Kill Kapture. He was a contestant in Australian Survivor (2017) and Australian Survivor: Blood v Water (2022). Mark has also completed an MBA and worked as a business consultant. Mark became the winner and was crowned the Sole Survivor of Blood vs. Water in its finale episode on April 4, 2022, after receiving a unanimous jury vote of 10-0-0. He also won a grand prize of $500,000.
“I think my time as a combat officer in the SAS was very, very formative, changed me a lot, and has given me the skills to try this game. I have had to fight my way out of some desperate situations and I am great at hanging in there until the bitter end. It’s often when you think it’s all over that you pull through and something good happens,” he said in an interview.
One of his abilities is reading people. Mark says he has learned how to look at someone and determine whether they want to kill him or be his friend. He also has taken some traits from previous contestants. “I think I will be a lot like Lee but not so naïve – of course, you can’t be that honest all the time. Sue was a killer and just got on with it. I would like to be like her, she was physical and good on the team but I will be more ruthless when I need to be,” he said. “I love breaking rules. A great quote that I love is by Lord Nelson: ‘No one ever made history by following the rules.” He also loves cooking, traveling, and surfing and after dealing with the after-effects of war, he knows what he wants. “I genuinely think I will be good at it but I am also here to inspire other veterans to live a full life. It can be hard after leaving the military so I am encouraging them to have a go.”
In the 2017 Survivor, despite Mark’s best efforts to hide some of his military skills and fire-making abilities to not put a target on his back, he showed his strength in challenges and helped Asaga dominate most of the early Immunity Challenges. He quickly developed a strong bond with Sam Gash (now his wife), which was perceived as romantic by some, and a power couple by Henry Nicholson and Jacqui Patterson. Henry threw the sixth Immunity Challenge to take the opportunity to vote out strategic threat Sammy before a swap or merge. Mark and Sammy thought most of the tribe was splitting the vote between weak links Ben Morgan and Michelle Dougan, but Mark was suspicious of ulterior motives. He was helpless in preventing his main ally Sammy from being voted out at Tribal Council. Mark sought revenge and teamed up with Luke Toki who did not like how Henry and Jacqui held all the power. This plan failed as Luke was unable to secure enough votes to oust Jacqui, and Mark was voted out as planned.
He has also authored a book dubbed Survivor: Life in the SAS. He studied with the Wharton School of Business before joining the elite consulting firm McKinsey and Company in New York City. He was listed in the Wharton prestigious 40 under 40 awards for business excellence.
Mark Wales Age
As of 2022, he is 42 years old. He was born and brought up in Perth, Western, Australia.
Mark Wales Wife
He is married to his wife, Samantha Gash. The two contested in Australian Survivor 2017 where they met and sparked their romance. In 2022, they also rejoined the cast of Survivor. Sometime after appearing on Australian Survivor in 2017, he began a relationship with fellow contestant Sam Gash. The couple married on December 14, 2019. Their castmate Jacqui officiated the wedding and Jarrad became their photographer. Fellow castmates Aimee, AK, Jericho, and Luke also attended the wedding. The couple has a son born in 2018.
Mark and his wife Sam are the second pair of returning players internationally with a familial relationship to compete in a season, following Rob and Amber Mariano. Mark and Sam however are the first all-returning player pair to compete in a Blood v. Water format. His wife Sam was however eliminated before the end of the show while Wales emerged the winner of the competition as the Sole Survivor. The show concluded on April 4, 2022, with Mark Wales being named Sole Survivor, defeating Shay Lajoie and Chrissy Zaremba, receiving a unanimous jury vote of 10-0-0.
Mark Wales Children
He is the father of one child, a son Harry Lock Wales, born in 2018.
Mark Wales Family
He was born in a family of two with his older brother. In an interview, he described having come from a family of soldiers with his grandfather being a soldier and fighting in the Indonesian war.
Mark Wales Instagram
His Instagram handle is @mark.a.wales.
