I Got To Live Out My Survivor Dream For A Week In Fiji

So I just spent the last week in Fiji getting to quasi-live out my Survivor dream. It was truly one of the greatest experiences of my life and something I will remember forever. There's been a handful of times in my life where I am aware that I am living in a moment I will remember and think about for the rest of my life and last week was one of them. 

It all started a few months ago when our head of PR Jourdyn Berry reached out to me and said that CBS asked her if I'd be interested in doing a Survivor brand trip to Fiji that included a mini-Survivor challenge with other influencers. (I hate using the word influencer because I don't think I could ever influence anyone to do anything but those were their words). My answer was obviously an immediate yes. I kept waiting for something to fall through and for it to not happen so that I wouldn't get too far ahead of myself. At one point, I even thought it might be an elaborate revenge plot by Mintzy. But it turns out that wasn't the case, so last Monday night I took a red eye from LA to spend 6 days in Fiji with 7 other Survivor fan content creators and a team from CBS. 

I didn't know exactly what to expect going into the trip, but the experience blew all my expectations out of the water. We flew first/business class on Fiji Airways with lay down beds and two full meals. I've never flown like that before but my god does it live up to the hype. Unfortunately, it'll make me much less excited about my Delta Comfort Plus upgrades going forward. And then they set us up at the beautiful Sofitel Resort on Wednesday in Fiji where we got to live the life of luxury for a day with massages, beachfront cabanas, and infinity pools. But that was all stripped away one day later. We went from a life of luxury to a life of survival as our "Survivor Experience" officially began on Thursday morning. 

The 8 of us were marooned on one of their Survivor islands deep out in the Pacific Ocean. We spent a total of about 36 hours there from Thursday morning until Friday night. We had to completely fend for ourselves as they wanted to give us the authentic experience of what it's really like to spend a night out there so there was no glitz or glamour or special treatment. We had no food, had to try and build our own shelter and fire, slept out on the island, did an immunity challenge, and had one tribal council. They are going to turn it all into a full Survivor episode that will air on the Survivor/CBS YouTube sometime in September before the premiere of Season 49. I'm not allowed to give any specific details about the results of the game but I will talk generally about my experience and what I learned out there. 

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It's a lot harder than it looks on TV

Listen, I didn't think Survivor was going to be easy. I've seen enough of the show to know it's a legit survival show that physically breaks you down. But even I was surprised at just how bad it can be. Now some of that may have been just unfortunate circumstances. We had what one camera man described as the second worst weather night he's ever worked. It was non-stop rain with the occasional cold breeze that didn't help. And there's just so much darkness. The sun sets at like 6 PM and doesn't rise until 6 AM. So you're just sitting in darkness for 12 hours with no idea of the time or when the end is in sight. And however uncomfortable you may think it is to sleep on bamboo, multiply that by at least 10. It was easily the worst sleeping conditions I've ever endured in my life.

And while in the moment you're miserable, when it was over I was almost glad that we had the conditions we did. It proved that we could get through even the worst conditions Fiji has to offer and gives you a true sense of accomplishment and gratitude for the luxuries of daily life. At our resort on Wednesday night, I was annoyed at how flat the pillows were. When we got back there Friday night they felt like fluffy clouds when compared to a damp jacket laying on a piece of crooked wood. I can't see myself complaining about a minor inconvenience for quite some time, although I'm sure that feeling won't last forever. 

I will say one thing is I never really got hungry despite the utter lack of food. But that was probably just because of adrenaline and having my mind focused on so much else. Also 36 hours isn't THAT long to go without food. I'm sure with a few more days out there I would have experienced all the starvation and food dreams that players talk about. 

Boredom is also a major factor. There's just so much downtime with nothing going on, especially at night when it's too dark to see anything and you have to just sit in your shelter. By the morning I knew everyone's favorite cereal, cookie, and the worst thing that's ever happened to them so I can only imagine how close people get after weeks and weeks of it. There's definitely a "trauma bond" element to it, and I'll always feels a close kinship with the 7 other people I shared that experience with. 

Overall, it definitely left me with a newfound respect for everyone who's ever played the game. I can definitely see how when you've been out there for weeks you can lose your marbles a bit as you become the most vulnerable version of yourself that you can possibly be. And while I still don't think I'd ever cry out there and do often get annoyed at the tears as a viewer, there was definitely a part of me that thought "Oh yeah I get why people cry out here." 

I can't talk too much more about the specifics of the challenge or tribal or gameplay or anything like that until it airs in September. But it was overall a truly surreal and life changing experience. And I know it was only 36 hours so you can say "Oh it couldn't have been THAT bad." And you're right. It wasn't bad enough where it made me rethink my desire to go on the show for even a second. It was a privilege of an experience and one I'm elated I had. My overall takeaway was: Harder than it looks. But at least now I know I can do it. 

Jeff Probst Is Incredible

We got to spend some time with Jeff at our challenge, our tribal, another rehearsal challenge, and to shoot bonus content with him. And I honestly think me and Jeff may be friends now? I can't release what we shot together until September but I feel like we have a rapport now. It's not Cochran or Penner level but like maybe one day? He was extremely nice to all of us and helped give us such an incredible experience. 

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But beyond that, you can just tell how good he is at the job. In addition to our own Survivor Experience, we got to watch the very beginning of Survivor 49's taping where we really saw him in action. He doesn't wear a mic in his ear or anything. He never flubs a line. He has his questions and comments ready to go and fires them at you. He thoroughly explains the challenges himself. He tells you where to stand so you're not blocked in a camera frame. He really is Survivor. And don't get me wrong, they have a huge and incredibly talented team working on it so it's far from a one-man show, but you can tell how inseparable Jeff and Survivor really are. They cannot exist without each other. 

They Are Never Leaving Fiji 

One of my biggest critiques of the show has been they need to change locations again. They've done every season there since Season 33. It leads to a lot of the seasons blending together (especially in the new era) and one of the best parts of old Survivor was the location really having a meaningful impact on the season. And while I still do think all that, I understand why they don't leave Fiji and don't think they ever will. They just have such a great set up. We got to take a tour of multiple islands where they film, see their production base camp, the challenge building area, the infamous Survivor Sanctuary, and a lot more. (Oh and the tribal council set is even more epic and grandiose than it looks on TV. Walking in there and soaking it all in and seeing how it's all run felt like a dream). 

It's clear they are a well-oiled machine and have a good thing going with Fiji that they are in no hurry to change. And I get it. Listen, I still think new locations every year would help the show, but I understand why that can't be the case. And if staying in Fiji is the way to keep Survivor around forever, then that's more than okay with me. 

Because another one of my takeaways was that not only Fiji itself breathtaking, but the Fijian people are so kind and welcoming. We had Chief Ronnie as our tour guide for the week and he really did a great job showing us the Fijian culture. On Saturday night after a full boat day to a bar called Cloud 9 in the middle of the Pacific that randomly played the best 2000's throwback pop hits I've ever heard, we went to experience "Old Fiji." Fijian locals cooked chicken, fish, and more for us over an outdoor fire pit thingy and then they performed rituals and fire dances and gave us some Kava (an herbal remedy they use in the Pacific Islands that made my tongue a little bit numb). And you can tell how elated they were to share their culture with us visitors. It wasn't like it was some chore for them, it felt like they were genuinely honored to have us visit and it was just another unforgettable experience in a long line of them. 

(It's the 20th part of this Fiji photo dump I posted. Not sure if it's going to embed Part 1 or Part 20. 20 was probably too many pictures and the cropping absolutely dominated me but alas). 

I Must Get On The Real Show

I saw some TikTok rumors of people saying that since we were invited on this trip, we'd never be allowed on the real show. Well I don't know how that started, but it couldn't be further from the truth. We were told prior that wouldn't be the case, and that if anything, it would only help our chances of eventually getting one cast day. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself because I know a lot would still have to break right, but I do feel like my chances are higher than they've ever been. This trip only renewed the love I have for the show and the burning desire I have to be on it. But regardless of whatever happens, this trip will always be very meaningful to me and it feels like a dream come true to officially be part of the "Survivor family" in a way. 

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I've talked about my obsession with Survivor a lot through the years. My dad had me watch the first season with him when I was 4 years old and I've been hooked ever since. In my basement as a kid, me and my dad would play fake Survivor games. When my mom put out nutcrackers at Christmas, I would take 16 of them and then create an imaginary Survivor game. I got hired at Barstool as an intern largely due to a Survivor: Barstool fanfiction that I wrote. And at Barstool, I got to help with the creation of the first ever Surviving Barstool game, win it, and then be involved with others down the road. Survivor is truly in my blood and a huge part of what makes me who I am. It's not just a show that I watch. It's an obsession that has had meaningful impact after meaningful impact on my life. So the entire last week felt like an out of body experience that 13 year old me could only dream about. I will be forever grateful to have had that opportunity. The entire CBS team of Lori, Emily, Paige, David, Cara and others made it the trip of a lifetime for us with everything incredibly well planned and executed. And I also got to meet other great people in the rest of our influencer crew that I'll have that shared experience with forever. Every single person out there helped make it the unforgettable experience that it was and I'll cherish those memories forever. 

Now it's time to apply for Survivor Season 51. 

You can hear more about the trip and our recap of last night's episode in the new Snuffing Torches. Watch/like/subscribe here.