Ruan tops on Tropical Island of Treasure

The final episode of Tropika Island of Treasure’s All-Star (Season 10) recently aired and it was Ruan Scheepers, born and raised in Krugersdorp, and his all-star teammate, celebrity and Afrikaans singer Karlien van Jaarsveld who came out victorious.

Over 12 weeks fans watched as at first 18 contestants became eight, then they paired with their all-star partners and battled it out in St Lucia to become the team to share R1 million.

In the grand finale it was teams Piña Colada which consisted of all star Jonathan Boynton-Lee and his partner fitness coach Lelani Loots, Tropical consisting of all-star Karlien van Jaarsveld and her partner model Ruan Scheepers, and Mango Peach which included all-star Brendan Peyper and his partner TV presenter Boitumelo ‘Melo’ Moloto.

The final six had to get through physical and mental challenges and although it seemed like team Piña Colada was going to take the win, it was Ruan and Karlien who pulled it off in the final minutes of the competition.

Ruan was born and raised in Krugersdorp and attended Hoërskool Noordheuwel and later moved to Pretoria where he completed his studies. These days he shares his home in Centurion with his girlfriend and their cats, Nacho and Henk.

He became a brand ambassador for various big companies after winning Mr Global South Africa. When he is not strutting his stuff as a part time model he works as a clinical trial manager developing and testing new medicines, primarily in oncology in the US, UK and India.

Speaking about his time in the competition Ruan said; “I went into the competition extremely confident but got humbled within the first few challenges. I honestly did not expect to get as far as I did! But I’m so blessed by the outcome.”

His biggest challenges was the endurance challenges and he explained that he does not do any cardio training.

“Fitness is absolutely crucial in this game and I was pushed to my max.”

But where he really excelled was the intellectual challenges, where he said he could apply his brain and outsmart his opponents, even being called ‘Mr puzzle’ at one time.

When it came to his teammate he said he and Karlien complemented each other which he believed balanced out their weak points.

“With Karlien I once again learned that dynamite comes in small packages. I really had an amazing teammate and learned so much from her.”

Ruan and Karlien did not always have the easiest time in the challenges but surely showed that they would not give up and always gave their all to the end. Something Ruan said he learned from the competition.

“As the underdogs, we could have given up but we kept on going and giving our best and at the end we won. Therefore I learned you can fall seven times but you have to get up eight times.”

For future contestants he just wants to say, “you should not underestimate the competition as it is very physically and mentally challenging”.

The final moment came with disbelief and Ruan said sometimes it still does not feel real but he was proud of how far they had come.

“Before the show I didn’t realise the true meaning behind the proverb ‘it takes a village’. As much as succeeding in the challenges was fully my responsibility I wouldn’t have been able to give it my best without the people that supported me all the way. My parents, friends and family truly are my biggest supporters. My girlfriend encouraging me everyday and being my number one fan. My trainer Jono Pooler and the guys at Unique Physique who helped me with the physical aspects and of course it was by the grace of God that we came out victorious.”

If you missed this season you can always watch it on YouTube @TropikaIsland.