Coach (Survivor contestant)

Wade was selected to participate on Survivor: Tocantins, the 18th season of the series, in 2009. Being one of the most controversial characters to ever play the game,[18] he was recognized as the main antagonist of this season; however, Jeff Probst has stated he doesn't feel like Wade did anything to earn this reputation. While in the game, he gave nicknames to his fellow tribemates: James "J.T." Thomas, Jr., the "warrior", Stephen Fishbach, the "wizard", Tyson Apostol, the "assistant coach" (to which Apostol later wished to upgrade himself to "co-coach"), and himself, the "Dragon Slayer". These players together formed the "Warrior Alliance".[19] Ultimately he made it to a fifth-place finish, and was the fifth member of the jury, as well, voting for Thomas to win the title of Sole Survivor.

Wade was perhaps most famous for telling his fellow castaways stories of adventure from his previous exploits as a professional kayaker.[20] Such stories were chronicled in the book A Voyage Beyond Reason, written by Tom Gauthier, although many of these stories were revealed to have a rather casual relationship with reality.[21]

For the 20th season of the series, CBS brought back "heroes" and "villains" from previous seasons.[19] Wade was selected to participate for the Villains tribe and was the ninth person voted off and the first member of the jury. During his time in the game, he was a part of the Villains majority alliance and had a close alliance and relationship with fellow Villain Jerri Manthey, leading some to believe that the two had a possible romantic connection. He appeared to be in the majority alliance on his tribe at the time of his elimination, but outsiders Sandra Diaz-Twine, who would be the eventual winner, and Courtney Yates managed to convince the alliance that he was not trustworthy, and he was sent to the jury in lieu of Yates. At the reunion, Wade mentioned that after watching this season and Tocantins, he realized how people viewed him, and decided that he did not want to be viewed as "The Dragon Slayer" anymore.

In 2011, Wade returned to Survivor for the third time in Survivor: South Pacific, as the self-styled 'Zen Slayer'[22] and one of two returning contestants (the other being Ozzy Lusth). During the season, Wade was assigned to the Upolu tribe through random draw, gaining the friendship of Edna Ma on the first day. On the first night, he made an alliance with Sophie Clarke, Rick Nelson, Albert Destrade, and Brandon Hantz, who later revealed to Wade that he was Russell Hantz's nephew. Wade decided to trust Brandon Hantz, but still was wary of his outbursts. Wade and his four alliance members eliminated Christine Shields-Markoski, Stacey Powell and Mikayla Wingle, sending them all to Redemption Island. At camp, Wade found the Hidden Immunity Idol with the help of Destrade and Clarke, keeping it a secret from Hantz and Ma. Later on, Wade staged the Idol's "discovery" for Hantz, under the guise of a prayer ritual. The tribes merged with six members each, prompting Wade to attempt to sway former Savaii member John Cochran over in order to avoid a tie. Wade's alliance, now including Cochran, voted off the remaining Savaiis. Both Cochran and Ma, knowing that they were on the outside of the alliance, tried to get Wade to betray his original alliance; however, he decided against it. He went on to vote off Cochran first, followed by Ma. Wade, Clarke and Destrade ended up in the Final Three, and Wade finished second place only to Clarke, who won in a 6–3–0 vote.

Coach Wade was inducted to the Survivor Hall of Fame in 2015.[23] In September 2020, Coach Wade was ranked the "20th Greatest Survivor" by former castaway Russell Hantz.[24]