Secunda’s Renier is a contestant in the popular game show Survivor SA

SECUNDA – Mr Renier Louwrens (30) will be competing in the eighth season of Survivor SA – Immunity Island, which will be hitting our screens in June this year on M-Net’s Channel 101.

Will he be able to outwit, outplay and outlast other contestants to become the sole survivor of season eight?

Mr Louwrens was born in Pretoria as the first child of what would become a family of six. He is the eldest of four brothers.

“Four brothers, that itself is a little bit of Survivor,” said Mr Louwrens.

Mr Louwrens was still young when the family moved to Vanderbijlpark because their father, Mr Herman Louwrens, began working for Sasol in Sasolburg.

He attended primary school at Laerskool Emfulenipark.

“In my Grade7-year my father began working in Secunda and at the end of that year the whole family packed up and set off to a new life in the province of the rising sun,” said Mr Louwrens.

He attended Hoërskool Secunda from 2005 to 2009.

“This was where I was shaped and refined for what life was about to bring.”

He played tennis for the first team for all five of the years at the school and was the captain for three years.

“In my matric year, I was privileged to be entrusted with the responsibility of being a deputy head boy of the school.

“This was the first time I dipped my toe into the big pond of leadership,” said Mr Louwrens.

At the end of the year, he was rewarded with the prestigious and sought-after award of Most Versatile Matriculant of the Year.

“I studied chemical engineering at the University of Pretoria and was in House Mopanie for my entire four years.”

It was at this time that he met the love of his life, Ms Lize Louwrens, who also studied chemical engineering.

“After we completed our Bachelor’s degree, we got married, moved back to Secunda to start working and also did our postgraduate degree together, specialising in water utilisation.”

The couple were married on 5 December 2014.

The couple’s son, Henro, was born in June 2019 and his little sister, Milané, is expected to make her appearance on the same day that Survivor airs on 3 June.

“Many people say that kids are expensive to raise (and they are), but for us, it was definitely a case of the benefits, love, support and growth opportunities of having a big family, far outweighed the challenges thereof.

“I will forever be thankful to my parents, Herman and Rinette, who have been and still are such great parents to us.

Mr Louwrens is a chemical engineer at Sasol and is also a business coach who has been pursuing his dream for the last five years.

“I am a passionate believer that Jesus Christ died for my sins and thus a sold-out believer in God and follower of Him.”

Mr Louwrens said he is THE ultimate fan of Survivor.

“My wife and I have watched 50 seasons of Survivor from across the world and many seasons twice.

“I have seen every episode, listened to the podcasts, seen the behind the scenes, attended reunion shows, won Survivor buffs and basically ticked all the boxes a Survivor fan can tick.”

He said that playing the ultimate game is the final cherry on top of his 20-year Survivor journey. His love for the game has evolved and skyrocketed.

“There is nothing else in the Survivor world I could still pursue other than playing,” said Mr Louwrens.

Mr Louwrens previously applied for Survivor season 7 and thus got him into the show the second time around.

“I encourage anyone who has entered and still wants to be on the show to keep on going at it and not give up.”

He believes that one of the worst game plans in Survivor is to come in with a fixed game plan.

“I am very adaptable and ready to play the game which is required from me. I have seen all the gameplay, know all the idols and advantages by heart and I am ready to use all of that knowledge to the best of my ability.

“To reduce my threat level, I will not tell anyone how well I know the game and underplay my ability to read and understand the game as much as possible.

“However, I need to play a good game to justify my fandom. I want to set myself up in the middle of a strong alliance and lead from behind rather than the conventional leading from the front.”

You can also follow him on the following platforms:

www.renierlouwrens.com
https://www.instagram.com/renierlouwrens/
https://www.facebook.com/renier.louwrens/
https://twitter.com/RenierLouwrens
https://www.linkedin.com/in/renier-louwrens-122a7a25/

“I hope that the entire community will jump in behind me, support me, vote for me and root for me throughout the season.”