He might already have a hefty bank account, but Thomas Krottinger is looking to add a million-dollar check to his name after being crowned the “Sole Survivor” of Survivor 48.

For those who are unfamiliar, Thomas was recently announced as a castaway on Survivor 48, serving as a member of the Lagi tribe alongside Shauhin Davari, Eva Erickson, Joe Hunter, Bianca Roses and Star Toomey. With two more tribes of six—the Vula and Civa tribes—competing on the reality television series, the entire cast of Survivor 48 is as follows:

Despite being a stranger to his fellow castaways, with one look at his Instagram profile, the music executive’s tribemates may recognize some of his oh-so famous friends…

Seemingly best friends with “vampire” singer Olivia Rodrigo through work, keep scrolling for everything you need to know about Thomas ahead of his Survivor debut, including this to-die-for friendship.

Thomas Krottinger Is 34 Years Old

Thomas is 34 years old—despite his youthful appearance—born on March 1, 1990.

With this birth date, he is a Pisces, “known for their dreamy nature, deep empathy, and artistic flair” (according to Allure).

In the same article, it was revealed that Pisces have some pretty severe weaknesses, ones that could be detrimental to Thomas’ gameplay:

“Pisces feel everything—including emotions that don’t even belong to them.”

“Pisces’ deep empathy and sensitivity can sometimes lead to escapism, challenging anxiety and erratic mood swings.”

In a game that is as emotional as can be, here’s to hoping star signs are just a myth, and that Thomas has a successful Survivor journey nevertheless…

Thomas Krottinger Is A Music Executive

As mentioned previously, Thomas is a music executive, working at Sony Music Publishing in Los Angeles, California for more than seven years.

During his time at the University of Southern California —which he attended from 2008 to 2012, earning a BA in Theater and Music Industry—he worked as an intern at Atlas Entertainment, Mosaic Media Group, Velvet Hammer Music Management, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Disney/ABC and more (according to his LinkedIn).

Upon graduating from college, he worked as an assistant at Creative Artists Agency and an A&R professional at Prescription Songs/Kemosabe Records, prior to finding his forever home at Sony Music Publishing. He joined the company in 2017 as the senior manager of international A&R, eventually becoming the director of A&R, the vice president of A&R, and now the senior vice president of A&R—how cool is that?

He opened up about his job in an exclusive interview with Parade‘s Mike Bloom, just moments before beginning his Survivor journey. He started by sharing how he got into the industry initially:

“I originally wanted to be an actor, and that’s why I came to LA. That’s why I moved out west, and I quickly realized, when I was talking about sales figures and charts positions in rehearsal, that no one cared. I needed to find somewhere to water that garden.”

“I took a music law class in college and fell in love with the music business, and then I just interned all around town and got some really amazing mentors, and then got my first gig at an agency.”

“I kind of tricked my way into A&R, because I had no experience, and ever since then, I just kind of conned my way up.”

He then detailed exactly what he does in the A&R world:

“I work at a publishing company, so not a record label, so we’re kind of like the secret underground part of the music business.”

“When you hear the song ‘Hello’ by Adele, you think of the recording of ‘Hello’ by Adele that Columbia Records owns, but inherent in that recording is an underlying composition, which is the song itself that was written by Adele and Greg Kirsten. I am on the composition side of things.”

“My job is to find people that make music and help them make music. I’m definitely behind the scenes, in the DNA of songs, as opposed to the marketing, music video, creative direction—that part of the business.”

With his career, though, Thomas has developed relationships with some A-list celebrities, notably Olivia Rodrigo. In an Instagram post shared in April 2024—recapping his whereabouts from late 2023 and early 2024, indicated by the caption “Q4/Q1″—he included a photo with the pop princess, seemingly backstage of her GUTS world tour.

Additionally, announcing that he would be a part of the Survivor 48 cast in an Instagram post shared last month, the “deja vu” singer commented “YESSSS​​​​​​​.” Other celebs got a piece of all the action as well, with PinkPantheress commenting a series of laughing emojis and more.

He might be well-liked in the real world, but will Thomas have similar success on Survivor 48? Well, we will just have to wait and see.

More About Thomas Krottinger

As detailed in his official Survivor biography, when he is not working, Thomas enjoys binge-watching The Real Housewives franchise, making (and eating) homemade ice cream, drinking cold brew, spending time with his dogs, reading and more.

In his interview with Parade, the 34-year-old elaborated on his love for coffee in particular, admitting that he had to give up caffeine in order to prepare for the show. He spilled:

“I gave up caffeine… ‘m gay, so we live for cold brews. It’s part of our natural diet to stay alive and stay powerful in our gayness. I go to sleep thinking about the cold brew I’m gonna have the next morning. I love it.”

“I would [usually] have two cups of coffee in the morning that I brewed, and then a cold brew too. It was nuts. Giving up caffeine, my withdrawal was textbook. Not only was I lethargic—I was wanting to fall asleep in meetings—but I had anxiety and mood swings.”

“I was like, ‘This is good that I’m giving it up.’ I’m going to bring it right back, just for the record.”

Despite having caffeine withdrawals, Thomas is itching to play a near-perfect game like Survivor: South Pacific winner Sophie Clarke—smart, savvy, personable and knows when to kick it into high gear and when to blend in with the pack—all while having an honest ally by his side.

Will he have what it takes to bring home the million-dollar check and the title of “Sole Survivor,” though? To find out for yourself, catch the long-awaited two-hour premiere of Survivor 48 on Feb. 26 via CBS, with next-day streaming via Paramount Plus as well.

If you like what you see, be sure to catch brand-new episodes of the Emmy Award-winning series every Wednesday afterward.

After all, it is certain to be a season for the books!

Survivor

Release Date

May 31, 2000

Network

CBS

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