Ryan Stewart is definitely your best team leader pick for the zombie apocalypse. You may recognize him from the reality show “Race to Survive: New Zealand,” where he and his son-in-law endured a competition navigating 150 miles of challenging terrain — relying on endurance, survival and navigational skills, and intuition. Off the screen, Ryan served as an army combat engineer and was deployed twice — once during the Utah 2002 Winter Olympics, and again for Operation Enduring Freedom in the Second Gulf War. While in college at UVU (where he graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in business), he started his own landscaping business and became a licensed hunting outfitter and guide, which he continues to do today for Mossback Outfitters. His number one accomplishment? His wife and five kids, with their first grandbaby on the way.
The Flop An awesome surprise was getting chosen out of thousands of people to be a competitor on “Race To Survive: New Zealand” with my son-in-law, Bronsen.
Hand You Were Dealt Military deployments, starvation and enduring the hardships while racing in New Zealand taught me that tough times don’t last, but tough people do.
Shuffle the Cards When my wife first got pregnant with our first child, we both wanted her to be a stay-at-home mom. Navigating the challenges of me being the sole provider was definitely a turning point and taught me how to work hard.
Go-to Game Tripoley or Five Crowns (or craps if I’m stuck in a casino)!
Preferred Playing Partner If I could play with my mother-in-law, Lisa Garrett, who passed away from brain cancer 20 years ago, I’d absolutely love it! She was a riot and loved playing games with her family; that woman played to win! It would be awesome to see her play with our five kids. They never got to meet her.
Wild Card I used to ride bulls with the Lehi High School rodeo team and played baseball for dear old American Fork High. Also, I’m leveling up and will become a grandpa in August!
Ace Eats Mi Ranchito in American Fork. I love their shrimp quesadillas and their fried ice cream.