Survivor 50: Probst’s Fiji routine and Vermont alum’s advice
The reality series survivor 50 returned focus to life on location as host Jeff Probst outlined a typical day of filming in the Mamanuca Islands, Fiji, and Kathy Vavrick-O’Brien, Vermont’s first full-time contestant, offered advice drawn from her runs on Seasons 4 and 8.
Probst on creative life
The Emmy-winning host and showrunner Jeff Probst said "Survivor" is not a gig, calling it "our creative life, " and described how every idea the team has goes into the show. He noted the way the production runs has changed a lot in 26 years, but the demands remain. The conversation that produced these details was edited and condensed for clarity.
Early seasons and logistics
Probst recalled that in early seasons the crew went to a new country or a new island every season, "building a city on an island, " packing everything onto big shipping crates across the ocean, unloading and building again, so the amount of work was huge. For many seasons he and the crew lived in little single-person tents and sometimes in modular housing. On one season they used very tiny trailers that were maybe 12 feet long and eight feet high, with a bed and little else.
Day length and rhythms
Working on the show is a 26-day event from the morning of day one. Probst said a day might technically start at 6 a. m. when you wake up and end at 10: 30 p. m. when Tribal Council is over, though the work doesn't really stop until the end of day 26. Especially for executive producers, there is always a radio next to the bed and in the boat and everywhere, because the show is a "living, breathing organism. "
Life on a Fijian island
After 10 years of filming in Fiji, the production has a routine that helps prep and reduces unforeseen problems. Probst lives in a home on the water in Fiji and said he wakes up to the sounds of the ocean every morning. In the middle of the ocean there is no ambient light, he added, so it's pitch black at night and easier to go to bed early and rise with the sun. The isolation limits distractions — he described living on a little island with no restaurants, no movie theater, friends not visiting and nowhere to go to dinner — which makes it easier to focus.
Morning workouts and prep
Almost every morning Probst works out, mostly for his mental health. He keeps a small gym with a few pieces of gear he has collected over the years and ships them to his little house. The crew literally builds a false floor for that equipment so they do not hurt the house. He does straightforward weight exercises, "nothing fancy, " for maybe 20 minutes most days. "I feel like I let my body know, 'We're going back into war, let's go, '" he said.
Vermont’s first contestant speaks
Kathy Vavrick-O’Brien, speaking from Burlington, Vt., said she had never watched the show when she submitted an audition tape in 2002. Twenty-five years later she remains the first and only full-time Vermonter to appear on the show. Asked, "Did you know what you were signing up for?" she said, "No. I did not know what I was signing up for. I did not watch the show. This was just a double dare. "
Seasons, moments and memories
Vavrick-O’Brien was picked to compete on Season 4, "Survivor: Marquesas, " and finished in third place after what she described as a rocky start that turned into a fan-favorite run. She said the experience reshaped how she approached people: "It taught me, like, to be more patient and be resilient and understanding. I think that’s why I didn’t win -- because the whole show taught me to be lovely. And I love these people. So, to all of a sudden backstab them was impossible. "
She is also remembered for a moment in which a tribemate was injured by a venomous sea urchin; Vavrick-O’Brien said she urinated on the wound to sterilize it after the men declined. The moment aired during primetime but was edited down: "But what’s wonderful about television -- is it had to get approved for family hour, so they cut it, " she said.
Vavrick-O’Brien returned for Season 8, "Survivor: All-Stars, " competing during what she described as the peak of reality television, when the show had tens of millions of viewers and there was no social media. Finalists were greeted with a live red carpet show in Central Park, and she said she was met by a crowd when she returned to Vermont: "I mean, we were treated like rock stars. It was fun. " She still keeps relics from her time on the island, including unwashed buffs and a T-shirt, preserved as memories.
Changes and advice
Vavrick-O’Brien said the current version of the show runs fewer days and appears to offer contestants more amenities than when she played: "They were really tough on us, and now it seems like people... they have a little more food, they have clothing, right? It seems a little easier. " She said she was not asked to return for Season 50. For prospective contestants she advised: "Be unique. And don’t say you’re in great shape, and I can win ‘Survivor. ’ Everybody says that, so you have to come up with your own shtick. " She remains in contact with people she competed with and continues to sell real estate in the region.
Both Probst’s description of life in Fiji and Vavrick-O’Brien’s memories from Seasons 4 and 8 outline the practical and personal sides of filming and competing as the production moves into the 50th season.
