Mike Gabler with his parents, Bob and Joan Gabler, while watching the final episode of the reality TV show “Survivor,” on Dec. 14, 2022. Mike Gabler won the show’s $1 million prize and pledged to donate the money to veterans charities in honor of his father, a former Army Green Beret. (Photo provided by Mike Gabler)

Mike Gabler shocked his fellow castmates on the reality TV show “Survivor” last month by announcing he would donate the entire $1 million prize that he had just won to nonprofits that support military veterans. It’s the first time in the show’s nearly 23-year history that a winning contestant has made such a pledge, according to CBS, the network that airs the series.

Though not a veteran himself, Gabler, a 52-year-old heart valve specialist, said he will make the donations in honor of his father, Robert Gabler, a former Army Green Beret who is now 81 years old.

“It was a very emotional moment of few words, but a powerful moment,” he said about watching the show’s finale sitting alongside his mother and father.

Gabler said he decided before he arrived for filming in Fiji that he would donate the money if he won, but he never mentioned it to anyone on the show. After contestants are whittled down to the final three, contestants already voted off the island ask the finalists about their game play, then vote for the winner.

Gabler didn’t want anyone to consider the donation in their vote, he said. He wanted to win on his own. Once he returned home to Boise, Idaho, he had to keep the good news quiet until the finale aired Dec. 14.

“I'm glad I did it that way," he said during an interview Jan. 9. “I didn't want to make it look like I was using veterans. That would be the last thing I want to do.”

With the help of an accountant and attorney, Gabler is now determining exactly how much money after taxes he will be able to donate. He created a list of organizations through conversations with veterans and friends, as well as his own desire to help veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

He’s narrowed the list to about a dozen organizations and plans to finalize it once he learns how much money he will have available to share, he said. There are two groups that he said he’s already decided will make the final cut — Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions and Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

Mike Gabler, left, celebrates with Jeff Probst, the host of “Survivor”, after winning the reality TV show in 2022. Gabler said he will donate the entire $1 million prize to charities that support veterans and military families. (CBS photo)

Funding recovery

Amber Capone, co-founder and executive director of Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions, said when they first received an email from Gabler, they weren’t certain it was real. The almost 4-year-old nonprofit provides grants to veterans with PTSD for psychedelic therapy and research, and she said the whole thing felt “unbelievable.”

“I was actually speechless,” said Capone, whose husband Marcus Capone is a former Navy SEAL who struggled with PTSD until undergoing psychedelic therapy in 2017. "To know that we're having an impact beyond our day-to-day, where other people are hearing of our work and choosing to support us, is just unbelievably amazing.”

Gabler said supporting organizations that help veterans with PTSD became important to him, in part, from reading the book “My Hitch in Hell: The Bataan Death March,” by Lester Tenney, a World War II veteran who was a prisoner of war and survived the forced march. Gabler said he was a member of the team that performed Tenney’s heart surgery, and he got to know him before his death in 2017.

Tenney was one of many veterans on Gabler’s mind during the difficult moments of his 30 days of competition on “Survivor,” he said. He went into the show at 200 pounds and shed about 38 because there were days when he ate little or nothing. Many nights, he said, he couldn’t sleep because of the cold and rain.

“I'm choosing to put myself out there, and I also know that there's an end at some point coming,” Gabler said. "Whereas these guys and gals are out there for sometimes years. ... There's a lot of strength that came from that.”

During one episode, four contestants, including Gabler, had to hold up 25% of their pre-game body weight using grip strength. As Gabler battled to keep his weight in the air, he began dedicating each minute to someone in his life. One of those minutes, he dedicated to Tenney.

“We do this for fun. They do this for real,” Gabler said during the challenge about military members.

He won that contest, holding his weight up for more than 37 minutes, a record for the show.

Funding education

Special Operations Warrior Foundation is the only organization on Gabler's list that does not focus on veterans’ recovery and suicide prevention, he said. He chose it at the suggestion of high school friends from Texas — where Gabler grew up — who went on to serve in special operations.

Gabler already has decided the group will get at least $100,000 to put toward their mission to educate the children of fallen members who served in the special operations of any military service branch. The nearly 43-year-old organization covers expenses from preschool to college or career training such as trade school.

On average the foundation spends about $150,000 per child, said retired Maj. Gen. Clay Hutmacher, president and CEO of the foundation. As of January, the foundation had committed to funding education for 1,033 children.

Hutmacher said he’d seen a news item about Gabler’s philanthropic plans but never thought they would be on the receiving end of his donation.

“We’re just grateful,” Hutmacher told Gabler recently. “We couldn't do our mission without folks like you, and it's just an honor to meet you. I really appreciate your selflessness.”

When Gabler announced his intentions to donate his winnings to veterans charities during the “Survivor” finale episode, fellow castmate Ryan Medrano, who is the child of a service member, was moved to tears.

Military families endure more than people see, said Medrano, 25.

“[My dad] put his life on the line time and time again, and I've [sat] at home thinking, 'Is he going to come back this time?’ ” he said.

Capone said Gabler’s donation to support PTSD treatment will go a long way to making certain that service members who get home from military operations are able to heal and live a full life with their families. She has seen the effects of the therapy with her husband and more than 700 veterans who’ve received grants.

“You don't see that level of kindness and leadership and selflessness in our society today," she said of Gabler’s donations.