ABOUT
Survivor Oz is Australia’s only podcast dedicated to one of the World’s biggest and most influential TV shows in history Survivor, airing nationally right across Australia and downloadable around the world. We are also Australia’s only Survivor website bringing the latest Survivor news, views and interviews and everything else in between!
Originally spinning off from Hobart’s Edge Radio and it’s Friday breakfast show The Brink in 2012, the first episode aired in February 2012. The first Survivor related segment aired on The Brink (titled Survivor’s On The Brink) in 2011 with Season 17’s Gillian Larson being the first guest. After bringing numerous other guests on the show, it was announced that the show would spin-off into its own one hour slot, creating the only Survivor related show in Australia! The show was then renamed into Survivor Oz and in September 2012 became a stand alone podcast. In 2014 we reached our first ever number on on iTunes and became the number one TV & Film podcast in Australia, and we also won our very first award by being named the ‘best foreign website’ at the 2014 Czech & Slovak Reality Awards. We also introduced two spin-off shows in the same year, with The Amazing Race Oz and Big Brother Oz debuting in July and September.
The aim of the show is to bring Survivor castaways, past and present, to the airwaves and give their unique individual insight into the world of Survivor. Ultimately we aim to get every single contestant in the history of the show on our show (and you can keep updated on this goal via our ‘interview count’ on the right hand side of the page) , and while we know this may take some time, it’s something that we won’t give up on! Each week on average we bring two different contestants talking about their experiences, from why they applied to thoughts on some of the bigger characters from the history of the show. We also put a set of 5 ‘unique’ questions to each castaway (which is technically 6 different questions, but who is counting), to really get their thoughts heard on everything to do with Survivor.
Added to the show, this website is designed to bring all the latest news from Survivor as well as statistics, season overviews, contestant bios and everything else related to the greatest reality show of all time!
With listeners from every corner of the globe, this is a show for every single Survivor fan on the planet! We also always appreciate your feedback as well as giving you the chance to put the questions to your favourite contestants, so make sure you always stay tuned to find out who you can ask questions to!
ABOUT THE TEAM
BEN WATERWORTH (HOST)
The host of the show is Ben Waterworth, Hobart radio personality and long time Survivor fan. Ben first hosted a show on Edge Radio in 2004 as part of Elizabeth College’s Schoolies program and through numerous different side shows began hosting one of Hobart’s favourite and most influential shows The Brink which ran for 10 years as the stations flagship breakfast program till 2015. Ben is also the host of Australia’s only Formula 1 radio show The Qualifying Lap which is currently on Edge as well as via podcast. Currently he works as a newspaper journalist in Hobart.
Throughout his time on the air, Ben has interviewed everyone from Royalty, Prime Ministers, Academy Award nominees, Grammy winners, Olympic Gold Medallists & Formula One World Champions. Through his unique style, humorous personality and passion for what he does, Ben’s commitment to his shows has seen him rewarded in becoming a finalist and nominated for the Australian of the Year, Tasmanian Young Achiever awards as well as the Pride of Australia Medal.
For Ben, Survivor Oz is a perfect outlet for what he calls a ‘Survivor addiction’. Being a fan of the show since day 1, Ben soon found himself rapidly getting addicted season after season and had a long-standing dream to find himself involved in the ‘Survivor world’ somehow one day. Given now he talks to the former castaways on a regular basis to appear on the show, Ben is living his dream in more ways than one and his passion and enthusiasm for the show shine out in each of the interviews. His opinions aren’t often agreed upon by most of our listeners, and his reputation to ‘suck up’ to the guests can rub people the wrong way, but it creates a perfect water cooler conversation point after you have heard every interview! He is the perfect host for Australia’s only Survivor radio show and his knowledge of everything Survivor also adds to a unmissable show!
The Ozlets did a special interview with Ben about his time hosting the show and everything else in between, which you can download here
THE OZLETS
The Ozlets are a bunch of hard working individuals who contribute to every aspect of the show you know and love. All Ozlets dedicate their time for nothing more than the love of Survivor, and spots as an Ozlet are highly sought after and come across rarely. Currently our Ozlets hail from right across the globe, from Australia to the US, Canada through to Ireland. There are no boundaries when it comes to where our Ozlets are from. You can learn more about our Ozlets by downloading their introduction interviews, a link which can be found under each of their images. Our current Ozlets and their positions are as follows:
Alec Culver (USA)
Contributing Editor
Alec joins us from Salt Lake City in the USA and is excited to join the team!
“I’m Alec from the good old Salt Lake City, Utah. I was born and raised here but I lived in South Korea for a few years. So I’m bilingual, English and Korean. I currently am a college student, studying Broadcast Journalism. I first discovered Survivor during the 6th season, Survivor: Amazon. My dad found the show and I have been hooked ever since. Basically Rob Cesternino got me hooked to Survivor and there is no person better to do that with. Ever since then I have watched every single season, some of them twice. My favorite season is probably China because I feel that every single player got at least some story arc in the season, even some of the early boots. Also Cagayan was an amazing season and in my opinion, the best season since Fans vs Favourites, the first one. I just want to write about the show that I love most and well I hope you guys like it.”
Alec has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Alex Morella (Australia)
Contributing Editor
Alex becomes the second Alex to join the team with the newbies and joins Cable and Jarryd as representatives from Melbourne, Australia. Currently studying at University, Alex loves Survivor and isn’t afraid to admit a strange way of discovering the show:
“I’m 20 years old and live in Melbourne, and have loved the show since discovering it via Australian Survivor (yes….Australian Survivor), and have become a reality show tragic since then. My favourite season was Gabon, due to it’s unpredictability, and I love puppet masters and the great strategists. I spend a lot of time thinking about how I’d address a jury about outplaying them (ala Todd), and continue to get frustrated by the recent returning player seasons, (it should be all or nothing! I’ll tolerate the occasional fans vs. favourites…like once every 10 seasons).
I study Arts/Commerce at Monash, work at a Football Club, and try and relate everything in my life as if everyone was watching it (I have the idea that everyone is watching me…even though they generally aren’t…subliminally). I love strategic games, games involving deception, and playing a character, all great elements of survivor. I love sport, mainly Football (world game) and AFL, but also Cricket, Rugby, Tennis…and basically whatever sport is on TV. I’m happy to try and argue as to why I’m right, and love banter.”
Alex has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Alina Salagean (Romania)
Graphic Designer
Alina is our first ever Romanian Ozlet! After discovering some of her photo-chops during Blood vs. Water, we offered our hand in friendship and she kindly accept to come on-board as our graphic designer.
“My name is Alina, I live in Oradea, Romania, and I’m an addict…a Survivor addict of course! I love movies and television shows, and the irony is that I’m not that much into reality shows. But as every rule has its exceptions, in my case one of these exceptions is Survivor, and I love Survivor more than anything!
I don’t remember exactly when I started to watch Survivor, but I remember the reason why. The reason was Rob Mariano after watching him scheming on a Roadblock on The Amazing Race. I was so impressed by his performance on that challenge that Survivor became a must see for me, and since then I have never missed a single episode!
Taking into consideration that Rob Mariano is the one that I have to thank for starting to watch this amazing show, he will always have a special place in my heart and this is also one of the reasons why he is my favourite player of all time.
I have a few seasons that are my top favourite, but I don’t dislike even a single one of them, because for me every season has its own special charm.
As much as I love this show, and unlike most of the Survivor fans, I can not say that my dream is to play the game. If I would ever have the chance to chose between playing the game or being on the production team, I would definitely chose the latter, as I would love to be part of the team that it’s bringing the magic to our screen! Besides my regular job, I’m also the editor for the Survivor thread at TV Blog Romania, and the reviews that I am writing there were the reason why I started to make photo-chops, as I wanted to give a little bit more colour to them.
Photo-chopping it’s a very time consuming hobby, but I consider this time very well invested as it brought me inside the wonderful Survivor community, and made me became part of this amazing team which is Survivor Oz!”
Alina has joined the team as a graphic designer.
Anthony Rossi (USA)
Contributing Editor
We believe that Anthony is the only Survivor Oz super fan in the world after he included quotes from some of the Ozlets in his application! After listening to most of the available podcasts on our site, Anthony will now have the chance to contribute to these as well as listen to them! Don’t refer to him as Anthony though, he prefers Rossi.
“Greetings! Name’s Anthony but I am more commonly referred to as Rossi. I live in the small state of New Jersey in the United States, but I was originally from Illinois. I currently study Art History at university in hope to become an architect.
I first noticed Survivor when I watched Pearl Islands on YouTube. After that, I immediately went searching for the other seasons that I hadn’t seen. I never wasn’t a super fan until I saw all these interviews by the contestants. These interviews allowed me to rethink about the show and as time passed I became obsessed. I noticed Survivor Oz when an interview was posted on Facebook, but I never really paid attention to what else Survivor Oz had to offer. I saw another interview a few months later and then I truly saw what they had to offer. I love the concept of Survivor Oz and loved listening to all the different kinds of episodes.”
Anthony has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Cable Brandon (Australia)
Contributing Editor
Cable is from Melbourne in Australia, and is a passionate Survivor fan who has been a long time follower and listener of us here at Survivor Oz. He is of course thrilled to be joining the crew her at the show:
“I saw Survivor in its first season, but missed a few episodes, was excited to watch the last few episodes until the Australian media leaked the winner the morning the show was to air. Beginning with Australian Outback, began to tape each episode, watching it live, then watching it as a group in media class at Uni. Definitely got a few people hooked.
Amber was my first Survivor crush, I was so in love with her. But I was a massive Colby Donaldson fan, but hoped Jeff Varner would have gone further. Gutted Colby didn’t win, still spew about it to this very day.
Applied for the Australian version of the show, filmed in the bush, told them I would lie cheat & steal to win the show. I said I wasn’t there to make friends, but I would make everyone think I was their friend. I also inter spliced footage of myself talking about the vote and why Mitchell Olson had to go with footage of Australian Outback. Video is unfortunately long gone.
Always wanted to collect buffs, but never knew they sold them to the public, saw them on eBay, when Exile Island was showing, then started buying up. Only need 1 buff now for the collection. Have some awesome autograph pieces and a Probst bobble head. And many other weird and wonderful survivor things.”
Cable has joined as a contributing editor.
Clifton Gibbons (USA)
Contributing Editor
Clifton hails from Richmond Virginia and started watching Survivor since it’s debut. However life got in the way and he only recently got back into the show when a Heroes vs. Villains marathon aired on television, which made him realise what he had been missing out on.
“Hello! My name is Clifton Gibbons and I’m from Richmond, Virginia in the United States. I’m currently pursuing a masters degree in psychology and co-managing a music collective in Richmond.
I first became aware of Survivor near the end of the first season when I was barely ten years old. As it became more and more hyped in the media, I remember stumbling upon a magazine of some sort on our kitchen table detailing Kelly’s “betrayal of Sue Hawk”. Most of my family gathered around the television for one of the only times ever to watch that final episode. I remember just being completely fascinated with the concept. I fell in love with the show during Australia and watched it with my dad through Vanuatu. After that, for reasons I don’t recall, I stopped watching.
As I started graduate school this past fall, I found myself with more free time than I expected. My new apartment also had a television included in the rent and I had access to cable for the first time in years. While flipping through the channels in early September, I came across the first episode of Heroes vs. Villains on TVGN. I found myself instantly sucked back into the show given the modern incarnations of characters I remembered so well such as Boston Rob, Colby, Jerri, Sandra and Rupert. The added strategic elements that now existed in the show made me instantly view the show in a more strategic way than I had watching the first nine seasons as a ten to fourteen year old. Since that Heroes vs. Villains marathon in September, I’ve shamelessly watched every season at least two times and compiling and edited together as much bonus material as I could get my digital fingers on.
Another time-suck I became invested in for the first time this past fall was Skyrim. As I played through that game for countless hours in my free time, the soundtrack I listened to was Survivor Oz, The Survivor Historians and the Podcast that Sucks (RHAP). So, I’ve done an insane amount of Survivor consumption in a relatively short amount of time and have an interesting split perspective on the show from the different eras that I’ve enjoyed it.
Given that no one in my life still watches the show, I’m ecstatic to have an opportunity to talk Survivor here on Survivor Oz. I’m honoured to become a member of the team here, and I look forward to enhancing the Survivor Oz experience in any way I can!”
Clifton has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Colin Hilding (Canada)
Contributing Editor/Interview Coordinator
Colin becomes our first ever Ozlet from the beautiful country of Canada, something that everyone at Survivor Oz is very excited about! Colin comes from Winnipeg, and brings a wide variety of radio and media experience to the team, as well as his love for Survivor:
I’m Colin, and I hail from the city of Winnipeg in the great country of Canada. I’m a small business owner, and in my spare time I love to shoot and edit video, as well as write anything from fiction to my endless commentary on Survivor.
“I heard about Survivor back in 2000 before the show was even advertised. The concept sounded fascinating to me, and when it did eventually air, I was hooked from the first episode. 13 years later I still never miss it. I love to watch the controlling game players such as Richard and Lex, and I love the big talkers like Eliza, Penner and Chris Daugherty. Africa is my all time favourite season, but I also love the unpredictability of Gabon and Vanuatu. It kills me every day that there still has never been a Canadian version of the show, as I’d play in a second.
I first discovered Survivor Oz when I was searching for lists ranking the seasons. I read through several articles, but somehow missed the interviews. Months later I stumbled across the site again, and this time found the extensive interview list. I’ve been listening to Survivor Oz interviews almost every day since. I’m thrilled to be part of Survivor Oz, and beg Ben and the other Ozlets to never vote me out. I provide fish and have been known to burn socks.”
So keen was Colin to join the show, he put together this epic application video which all but sealed the deal for Colin becoming an Ozlet:
Colin has joined the team as a contributing editor and will also help in interview coordination.
Gabriel Swenson (USA)
Contributing Editor
Gabriel joins us from Arizona in the USA and has been watching the show for as long as he can remember.
“Hello there. I’m Gabriel Swenson, and I am from Tucson, Arizona all the way over in the United States. I just started my freshman year of college at the University of Arizona as a pre-physiology major.
My family takes frequent trips to California to surf, so my parents were ecstatic when they first heard about this new show called Survivor back in 2000. They were addicted from episode one. I watched every season with them, but at three years old, I was not old enough to know or care about what was happening on the show. The first season that I vividly remember was The Amazon. Since then, I have not missed an episode and have gone back to rematch every season multiple times.
I first discovered Survivor Oz after the original 2012 Ozcars (or rankings back then). The reason that I liked the website so much was because I felt like it was a Survivor themed BuzzFeed full of listicles. I started listening to the interviews with the Gina Crews one during a Marquesas re-watch and was amazed that I was missing out on them for so long.
When I saw that Ben was looking for new Ozlets, I decided that it was time to stop commenting my ideas for articles on other posts and do them myself. I am looking forward to this opportunity and am hoping that I have something to offer.”
Gabriel has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Gemma Kinghorn (Australia)
Contributing Editor
We are thrilled to welcome our first ever ‘celebrity’ Ozlet in Gemma Kinghorn from Perth in Western Australia! Eagle eyed fans would recognise Gemma as a contestant from the 2014 season of Australian Big Brother where despite being the first person evicted, she still left a memorable mark on the house and season! Gemma is a massive Survivor fan and only applied for Big Brother because she was unable to apply for Survivor as she explains:
“Hi everyone I’m Gemma and I live in Perth Western Australia. Survivor worlds apart is the 30th season and funnily enough it coincided with my 30th birthday so that means I have been watching survivor for half of my life. In 2014 I was on big brother Australia as the first evicted housemate. One of the reasons that I applied to be on Big Brother is because to be on survivor you have to be an American citizen I even contemplated moving to America just to apply. I am obsessed with the reality television but survivor is by far my favourite even after being on Big Brother I still tell everyone that survivor is the best reality show on television. I have watched every season except for Marquesas… Sorry John Carroll! I would love to say that I am a traditionalist but I do prefer more current seasons to the classic ones. Although I have a few favourite season scattered through the first 15. Probably one of my favourite seasons was Samoa I was a bit disappointed in the winner but I love how the Foa Foa four managed to still make the final three even though they had one of the biggest villains of the game in their midst, and they didn’t have the numbers at the merge. I really enjoy the vast differences of survivor players from one side with your HEROES my favourites being Malcolm, James clement, Denise, Spencer Bledsoe, Colby and Rupert and on the other side my favourite VILLIANS being, Russell, Corrine, Tony, Abi-Maria, Tyson and of course Johnny Fairplay. I like the returning player seasons I like being able to change my preconceived ideas of players from their original season, the biggest difference being Cochran I loved the change he went through during his second time playing . Anyway moving on I am so excited to be involved with Survivor Oz and hope to share my views on my favourite game with you all soon Xxx”
We are thrilled to have Gemma on the show to join in all the fun! You can also hear our Big Brother interview with Gemma here!
Gemma has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Ivan Ornelas (USA)
Contributing Editor
Ivan has a eye for creativity and loves to write about his Survivor obsession. Despite being a latecomer to the Survivor experience, Ivan is slowly working his way through the seasons, in his quest to see them all!
“Hi, I’m Ivan from Martinez, California (a town in the San Francisco Bay Area). I’ve been a fan of Survivor since 2009 but have caught up in learning about the seasons of Survivor that aired before then. I have seen every season from Micronesia in it’s entirety, plus a handful of seasons before Micronesia and am slowly making my way through them all!
I’m currently a freshman studying a Computer Science major at the University of California Davis. I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to Video Games, mostly Super Smash Bros and Pokemon. When I’m not tweeting about everyday stuff or Survivor, (@IvanOrnelas2), I’m on my other Twitter account for Pokemon, (@PokeWizardCali), where I like to talk about all things Pokemon nonstop. My dream is to one day compete on Survivor and I plan on applying for the first time sometime this year. But for now I am so excited to be a part of the Survivor Oz family, which is equally as awesome! Almost anything that has to do with Survivor I have an opinion on, but the hardest things for me to choose are my favourite winners, players and seasons because there is so much to love about Survivor. Even the not so great seasons like Redemption Island and One World are not without their moments and their quality players and characters. I’m a firm believer of everyone who has won Survivor earned it and that luck plays an important part of the game no matter how good or bad a player is considered to be. I’m involved in the Survivor community a lot, from playing Survivor games online to being a part of the Previously on Survivor Facebook group. I also follow Rob Has a Podcast. Other shows I like aside from Survivor include Big Brother, The Big Bang Theory and The Simpsons!
I love the articles on Survivor Oz because they touch upon a variety of subjects in the Survivor world and they always leave me thinking and wondering how I feel about those topics. The Top 10 Lists, the Power Rankings, the Interviews and more! Survivor Oz is just a really cool website that I hope to contribute a lot to! I look forward to making a lot of new friends as well!
I enjoy writing a lot, (one of the reasons I applied to be an Ozlet), writing many things from Survivor predictions and reviews, fan-fictions, lyrics to original songs and even a short film as seen below. (Warning: Contains some mild foul language – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSTh0qcOI9U). Also in the video I wrote lyrics to a parody of Cascada’s Miracle called “Bullet Bill”, a reference to the Mario Kart video game series. I plans on posting a video of myself singing that song soon.”
Ivan has joined the team as a contributing editor.
James Pickering (United Kingdom)
Contributing Editor
We lost an Ozlet called James since our last group of newbies but we welcome another James back, this time hailing from London in the UK! With another new country added to the Ozlets list, James brings even more opinions and diversity to an already diverse group:
“Hi guys, my name is James and I’m a 23 year old who all the way from Sunny London in England. I have been a fan of the show right from the very beginning – I used to live in Sydney for around 10 years of my childhood, and I still remember watching the first episode with my parents on a Sunday night. I was immediately hooked, and one of the reasons I was upset about moving back to England was that Survivor isn’t shown over here, and nobody knows anything about it! I watched the first 9 seasons in Australia before the move, and realised around 3 years later of the availability of streams, so quickly have caught up on all seasons in chronological order. I have seen every season at least twice, and to this day my favourite season is and probably always will be Pearl Islands – I remember jumping up and down cheering with my family the day Burton got blindsided! I love the social politics of survivor and how it has produced winners from all different backgrounds and ages, reflecting that it is possibly a fairer game than life itself! I first heard about Survivor Oz when Russell retweeted a tweet about his interview, so I listened to it and started exploring the website. I’m now looking forward to contributing to that very website in anyway I can!”
James has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Jarrod Loobeek (Australia)
Contributing Editor
Jarrod joins Jarryd as our second Ozlet named Jarrod on the show! (I can already tell Jarryd won’t be happy about this!) Hailing from Sydney in Australia, Jarrod is a big Survivor fan, loves our what if scenarios and playing and watching tennis.
“Hey, I’m Jarrod, I’m twenty-one years old and I’m from the Sydney suburb of Emu Plains, (right up there in terms of lame town names). I’ve always been interested in film and television and just recently I completed a Communications degree in Media Arts and Production at the University of Technology, Sydney.
My two real loves in life are tennis and reality television; watching them, talking about them and playing them, (well that only applies to tennis so far but one can dream right?). My favourite reality television show is Survivor, which I watched casually at the beginning but really became a committed viewer around the airing of Pearl Islands. As a competitive person I find myself naturally drawn to Survivor because it is such a ruthless and draining game. I love when seasons are unpredictable and provide plenty of game changing what if scenarios to mull over. For example, what if Tyson had voted as planned and Russell had gone home in Heroes vs Villains?
I stumbled across Survivor Oz in late 2012 while working on a university assessment on the globalisation of reality television. I instantly loved listening to the seasons Ozcaps and reading other people’s opinions in the top 10 segments. I’m so excited to be a part of the team and share my thoughts and opinions on the greatest television show of all time.”
Jarrod has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Jordan Rose (USA)
Contributing Editor
Jordan hails from New York City in the USA and has a large amount of experience and opinions to bring to the team!
“Hey! I’m Jordan, and I live in the New York City area in the U.S. I am incredibly thrilled and honoured to be a part of Survivor Oz! I got into Survivor during the first season and have been addicted to the show ever since. I stopped watching a couple of times during its run (most notably between seasons 22-26… big surprise), but I own seasons 1-20 and have watched each at least 5 times. And of course, I’ve caught up on the “New School” seasons and watched each twice. My favorite season of the show is probably Palau, because Tom is from very close to where I’m from, his win was very satisfying to me and I enjoyed watching Koror win every week. I work as a registered nurse in New York City. In my spare time, I watch a lot of sports and reality TV, go to movies, and play golf occasionally.”
Jordan has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Julian Groneberg (Australia)
Contributing Editor
Julian is our second Ozlet to hail from Queensland but our first male to live in the Sunshine State. Julian is another one who took a break from Survivor for a part of his life, but his obsession is now back bigger than ever! Julian is such a big fan, he intends to visit the filming locations and has already ticket Guatemala off the list!
“I’m Julian! I live in Brisbane, am a massive fan of eating out and nice places, writing, news, the media, politics, travel and at the time of writing this, I am starting to get obsessed with home improvement! I work at a web design agency as a digital copywriter and love writing a story almost as much as I like telling them.
Survivor is another obsession. I first got into it when I was in about fifteen with the Australian Outback season. My Dad had moved to Mission Beach in Queensland near where the season was filmed and he told me how the crew booked hotels in town and how big of a deal it was to the locals. I was so into the show until about Vanuatu, where I gradually stopped watching. I rediscovered it all at the end of 2012 and have had so many seasons to watch! Its been pretty much the only television show I’ve watched religiously since then.
I also collect the DVDs but I’ve got still a pretty measly Buff collection. My ultimate Survivor goal is to travel to as many of the filming locations as I can. I’ve checked one off the list – Guatemala, last year. The trip in the Mayan ruins was inspired by it which is my all time favourite season. Next I want to cross off is Cook Islands, (second favourite season)
I love that I’m getting to put in an opinion on the show through Survivor Oz, (since I’m pretty opinionated), and get to dissect it with such a great team of passionate Survivor fans. I discovered Survivor Oz by searching for Podcasts relating to Survivor and have been lapping it up since – so many hours of Survivor content to quench the Survivor thirst!
I cant wait to meet the other Ozlets and start helping out!”
Julian has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Katelyn McLaughlin (USA)
Contributing Editor
Kate has a keen eye for statistic and records when it comes to her favourite show! A fan since Day One, Kate brings a wealth of experience and Survivor knowledge to the team!
“Hi! I’m Kate. I just moved to Louisville Kentucky, but I’ve lived all over it US. I’m a bit of a pop culture junkie. Television shows, books and movies are my drug. I love stats, trivia and random facts that the average viewer doesn’t notice. As a child I had a reoccurring dream that I was trapped on an island with strangers, so when I saw the preview for Survivor I knew it was going to be up my alley. By the first episode I was hooked. I love the strategy elements and how the game is always changing which keeps it from becoming predictable. I stumbled on Survivor Oz when I was googling challenge records a few years ago and I quickly became a huge fan of the interviews with the more obscure contestants. I’ve never had any friends that watched the show, so I’m extremely excited to work with people that share my obsession!”
Kate has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Kristan Knarr (USA)
Contributing Editor
Kristan is a long time Twitter fan of Survivor Oz and after a little bit of persuasion, applied to be Ozlet! A big reality television fan, Kristan listens to A LOT of Survivor podcasts and joins the team full of motivation.
“My name is Kristan Knarr and I have spent most of my life in the boring town of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, now (unfortunately) most recognisably known as the hometown of the guys from Amish Mafia. I am currently a student and will be graduating with a business degree in May. My hobbies include reading, going to concerts, watching football, (the American kind!), and of course, watching reality television.
I have been a fan of reality television for as long as I can remember. In my pre-teens, I was always watching random shows like For Love or Money, The Mole and Endurance and already over-analysing them to no end. Soon after, I discovered Big Brother US and became obsessed with the strategy, drama and different types of characters. During Big Brother All-Stars in 2006 I made a friend online that was as reality-obsessed as me. He tried very hard to convince me to watch his other favourite show, Survivor, but I was disinterested. Eventually, Survivor: Tocantins was about to air and he finally convinced me to tune in and I was immediately obsessed. I have watched each season live since then and between Samoa and Redemption Island I went back and watched seasons one to seventeen. I knew the outcome of some seasons and was shocked by others. Overall, my favourite season is China. I have watched and re-watched it and cannot get enough of Todd and Fei Long in general. I can’t believe that it took me so long to start watching, but I’m glad that I eventually did.
I also listen to a lot of Survivor podcasts. It’s probably quite insane that for every forty-two minute long episode of Survivor I listen to about eight hours worth of podcasts, but I really enjoy listening to different perspectives from different fans. Survivor Oz was the second Survivor podcast that I found and I loved it because Ben is able to get such obscure contestants that no one else interviews. As much as I enjoy hearing from the players that are still rather relevant, it’s nice to also hear from people that disappeared after playing. I look forward to working with Ben and the Ozlets, both new and old!”
Kristan has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Nick Chester (New Zealand)
Contributing Editor
People outside of Australia and New Zealand may not be aware of the strong rivalry that exists between the two nations, but trust us when we say it’s pretty big! So for Nick to join us from ‘the land of the long white cloud’ and probably ignite some friendly banter, it’s an exciting prospect! Nick also loves Survivor too:
“I’m Nick, I am a 28 year old policy analyst working in public health in the Waikato region of New Zealand. I have been a fan of Survivor since almost the beginning – I didn’t watch the first season as I am one of these annoying people that if something gets a lot of hype I refuse to buy into it, so I stayed away on purpose. I came to my senses by about halfway through Australia, and by the time Africa premiered, I was hooked. Although I have watched all the seasons, my obsession kind of died off a bit around season 12 and I actually stopped watching for about a year (gasp!) although this was mainly due to a lot of life changes at the time. This happened to be China and Micronesia, so in terms of picking seasons to miss, my timing was terrible. Gabon got me right back on the wagon so I have a very soft spot for both the seasons filmed in Africa. Like most hard core fans, I love the strategy of survivor, but also the complex personalities and seeing people who would never normally meet relying on each other and creating alliances. My favourite season is Pearl Islands.
I came across Survivor Oz on Facebook a few months ago. I like it much more than most other Australian things, such as their sports teams and horrible animals. Apart from Survivor, I am also a huge football fan (the version with a round ball that Aussies and Americans call “Soccer”) and long suffering supporter of Newcastle United Football Club in England. I also train my border collie, Edge and compete in dog agility competitions all over New Zealand and am a senior official.”
Nick has joined as a contributing editor.
Noah Groves (Australia)
Historical Analyst/Contributing Editor
Noah is great to have on board as not only is he obviously a massive Survivor fan, but he hails directly from our home state of Tasmania in our very own country of Australia! Given the small population of Tasmania, finding Survivor fans can somewhat be tricky, but Noah has come on board with full force to help share the love of his favourite show! Noah speaks fondly of his favourite show:
“My first Survivor experience was watching Gabon when it aired in Australia in 2009 and I was immediately hooked and haven’t missed an episode since. I was captivated by the different characters, challenges and location. Since watching Gabon I have gone back and watched all the other past seasons and have loved every episode, I am a huge fan of Survivor because of how different it is and how it can be so unpredictable and different every time. The whole format of starting in several tribes, merging to one and then have the people voted out vote for a winner is unique. You never know what you are going to get each season judging by the different cast, twists and the locations, watching different individuals strategies is fascinating and provides entertainment. It should be noted that every season of Survivor always provides many laughs from the cast and situations just makes the show even better!”
Adding that extra ‘Tassie flavour’ is fantastic for all our listeners!
Patrick Gustavson (USA)
Contributing Editor
Patrick joins us from Connecticut in the United States and is looking to start his journey as an Ozlet!
“Hey everyone, my name is Patrick (or Pat) Gustavson, I am eighteen years old and live in Southington, Connecticut in the United States. I am currently a student at Central Connecticut State University in hopes of obtaining a degree in journalism. In addition to Survivor, I enjoy watching and debating a wide variety of sports, and playing in my band in which I play the keyboard and sing lead vocals. I first saw Survivor when I was just six years old during Amazon, and fell in love with the show instantly. From that point on, I have been a loyal viewer, seeing every season as it aired. However, my obsession with the show first came about just before Blood vs. Water. I began to read summaries of past seasons and all of the memories came back. From that point on, I have re-watched every season at least once, and find something new and interesting each and every time! I discovered Survivor Oz a few years ago when looking for lists ranking the top castaways, and came across the Ozcars for that year. I then began reading the features and top tens on a weekly basis, and then became familiar with the episodes and interviews during San Juan del Sur. I knew I wanted to become an Ozlet while listening to the rankings cast, and I have been waiting for the opportunity to apply ever since. There are many reasons I wanted to be a part of the show: mainly because I love to talk in general, as well about Survivor, and I have been looking for fans to talk with since my obsession tends to frighten my friends and family, so I look forward to this opportunity to share my love for the show with many other super fans.”
Patrick has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Paul Luttrell (Australia)
Contributing Editor
Paul joins Ben and Noah in hailing from Survivor Oz’s home state of Tasmania! With a degree in Journalism, Paul is a avid writer who hopes one day to be able to apply for the show he loves.
“Hi, I’m Paul and I’m from Hobart, Tasmania. I’m currently a student studying accounting, though I already have a Bachelor of Arts, (with a major in Journalism). In my spare time I play in a psychedelic-rock band, where I also write, record and produce the band’s music. Last year we were signed to an independent record label, which was extremely gratifying but not nearly as glamorous as it sounds.
I started watching Survivor when the first season aired, (I was ten years old), and continued to consistently watch up until Survivor: Palau. For whatever reason, I stopped watching until a friend reintroduced me to the show in late 2012. Since then, I’ve developed a bit of an obsession with Survivor. I’ve watched every season at least twice and I can’t get enough of the game. Like most Survivor fans it’s the strategy that pulls me in. Watching great players make great moves is as good as television gets.
My hope is that one day CBS will open the applications to non-US citizens and then maybe I’ll have a chance at experiencing the game first hand and winning the title of Sole Survivor.”
Paul has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Troy Maynard (USA)
Statistics Analyst/Contributing Editor
We introduced you to Troy about his amazing buff collection so some of our listeners are already familiar with Troy. But given his great love of the show and his vast knowledge, it’s a perfect fit for Troy to be involved more. Troy spoke about his love for Survivor in becoming an Ozlet:
I am a big fan of podcasts covering “Survivor” and all reality television, especially Survivor Oz! The most “Oz”-some podcast to cover “Survivor!
Troy hails from Dallas in the USA
Survivor Oz 