Neighbors

An accidental 'Survivor'

Local resident recounts how he got involved in reality TV show

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Joaquin Souberbielle was on vacation in California when he heard his phone’s alert. It was a message notification from Tinder, the Smartphone dating application that lets users scan potential dates’ photos. The message was not intended to win Souberbielle’s heart, however — it was a reality show producer.

“When they first asked me I said no, actually,” he said. “They wanted me to come for an interview, but I had plans to head to Las Vegas…reality television was never really my thing. I don’t watch too much T.V. between trying to balance work, a social life, staying in shape. And when I did it was pretty much all ESPN all the time.”

He politely declined CBS’ offer and headed for Sin City for three days. The possibility stuck in his mind, though. He received calls from producers asking him to reconsider but kept declining until a late-night poolside conversation with his cousin tipped the scales.

“He told me it was something I couldn’t pass up,” Souberbielle said. “Millions of people have applied to be on the show, but they just picked me. He said it seemed like destiny, and I couldn’t disagree with him.”

Souberbielle scheduled a flight back to Los Angeles and met with executives in charge of casting.

“They asked me a lot of rapid-fire questions, trying to keep me on my feet — see what my reactions, my personality were like,” he said, “and eventually they told me they wanted me on the show.”

He returned home to tell his family, friends and coworkers about his trip. He said that while all of them were excited for him, and his boss told him to take all the time off he needed for the show, they were shocked to hear he had been chosen.

“I was never really an outdoorsman, so people were definitely surprised when they heard I told them I’d be trying to survive on an island in Nicuragua,” he said. “I’d barely ever even been camping, and when I had it had been to a pretty cushy place, not exactly the wilderness.”

He began to prepare for the show, which premiered on Feb. 25, right away. Already in good shape, he changed the focus of his workouts, building core strength rather than focusing on cardio. He said he headed to the island with confidence.

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