As the 18 new players of Survivor 48 stood on the Fijian sand, the electricity in the air was palpable. As my talks with them in the days prior had shown, this was an incredibly eager and energetic group. For some, this was a dream that spanned decades finally realized. They were mere moments away from introducing themselves to host Jeff Probst, the fans, and most importantly, their competition. So, when Probst welcomed them officially to Season 48, that energy turned from potential to kinetic. There were shouts, screams, hoots, hollers, a wave of sound that the host would go on to say may be the best initial reaction he’s ever had to that declaration.
Of course, there was a lot to be excited about. As Probst would outline, they were about to take their first step in a life-changing, 26-day journey. Before the showrunner and executive producer mentioned that first step, though, he had a speech to prepare the new castaways for how they should tackle everything the game will throw at them. And he didn’t have to look far for inspiration.
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“Let’s just use the ocean as an analogy for Survivor,” he said. “Beautiful, mesmerizing. But the ocean is also dangerous, just like Survivor. And those waves get big. They can swallow you up, just like this game. But if you’re a surfer, the big wave is what you want! That’s why you got on the board in the first place. You lean into that big wave, because each big wave gets you closer to the next big wave. And maybe, just maybe, the greatest ride of your life. But if you fear the big wave, if you’re timid, that ocean will consume you. Before you know it, the riptide has you. You never had a chance, because you never got on the board. The same on Survivor. You gotta play this game like a surfer having the best ride of their life. They don’t want it to end. They want the next big wave. Because they know, ‘Yeah, that next big wave is a dangerous obstacle. It is also my opportunity for greatness.'”
Unfortunately, due to time constraints, Probst’s analogy did not make the final edit of the two-hour premiere of Season 48. Indeed, much of the “mat chat” wound up on the cutting room floor. While viewers were privy to hear about what made players like Mitch Guerra, Chrissy Sarnowsky and Kevin Leung want to “answer the call” and come out to play, every one of the contestants got the chance to share their story. While some had incredibly heartfelt stories, showing why–or for whom–they are playing, others hilarious answers, saying it was in response to something they saw on the show. One particular player even got to give Probst a lesson in gay culture, and why Survivor has been such a part of it.
You can check out what everyone in the Survivor 48 cast had to say during the marooning as to why they “answered the call” and decided to put their mind, body, and spirit on the line for the million-dollar prize and the adventure of a lifetime.
Related: Everything to Know About Survivor 48
Robert Voets/CBS
Mitch Guerra
So, I’ve been watching Survivor since Season 4. I remember falling in love with the TV show and saying, “Man, this looks incredible! And then, season after season, maybe one day I’ll get the opportunity.”
Jeff: So what was the one thing? What was the thing that made you say, “I hear it, and I’m gonna respond?”
Mitch: So, growing up as a person who had a speech impediment, I remember watching Survivor: Amazon. And there was a contestant on the show who also had her own struggle. I was like, ‘Wow, here’s someone out here playing Survivor who also struggled with something.’
Jeff: Mitch, that was The Amazon! That was 20 years ago! What took you so long?!
Mitch: Listen, Jeff. I’ve been trying to get out here the last 20 years! [Everyone laughs and applauds.]
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Kamilla Karthigesu
Kamilla: Every single commercial break, you were saying, “You want this? All you gotta do is apply!” And that’s a lie because I’ve applied in the past, and I didn’t get on! [Everyone laughs.] Until five years later. I was sick of you showing up on the TV saying, “All you need to do is apply.” So I applied.
Jeff: What was the emotion that occurred when you applied and finally got the call?
Kamilla: I didn’t believe it at first. It didn’t make sense. Because I applied out of anger, really. And it wasn’t really just anger at you. I watched Season 45. I watched the first episode, and I was like, “How did that happen? You quit because you need your vape?! You took up a lot of spots for people! I know alternates come out.” And so I was angry. I filmed a rant, I sent it in. I’m like, “This is what got me cast? Being mad?!” [Everyone laughs.]
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Kyle Fraser
I actually had COVID. It was during Christmas 2022. My girlfriend didn’t get it, so she ended up going to live with her family while I was in my apartment alone. Still love her; we’re engaged now. [Everyone cheers.] But I was just on the couch. I had nothing but free time. I was playing video games with my other friends who got COVID from the same wedding. Just sent an applicaton, and here I am!
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Chrissy Sarnowsky
Well, I’ve been watching since Day 1. I was 30 years old when the first episode aired, so I’m a little older, watching with my mom all the time. And now I tape it. And I was literally laying at home in my pajamas eating my M&M Peanuts, and you were standing there with your arms wide open, and you’re like, “Apply now!” And I’m like, “He’s talking to me!” So I pull out my phone, and I’m like, “Boop boop boop!” [Mimes typing on a phone.] I never thought somebody like me would be on the beach talking to you right now.
Robert Voets/CBS
Cedrek McFadden
So I first started watching Survivor the first season. When Sue Hawk made that speech, I just moved to Philadelphia to start med school. And that had me hooked. Applied probably 10 years ago, didn’t get on. Probably a few months ago, I saw you do the commercial. I listened to the podcast, and someone said, “There aren’t any older people on Survivor.” Now I’m an older person. So I said, “You know what? He’s talking to me!” [Everyone laughs.] “I’m going to try again!” And it worked.
Robert Voets/CBS
Kevin Leung
I started watching with my dad at a really young age. What really got me excited about Survivor was Season 13, Cook Islands, when I watched Yul Kwon, and I saw someone who looked like me. And he wasn’t just smart. He was buff and he was talented and he was strategic. And ever since then, I was like, “I’m gonna try to get on the show. But I’m so weak, and I’m so small.” But when I saw David vs. Goliath, Season 37, that’s when I said, “Okay, the Davids are out here. They’re surviving. They’re doing great. Why can’t I do it?” And not gonna lie, when I first came out on the beach, I thought it was getting David vs. Goliath again! [Everyone laughs.] There’s some big, giant behemoths there. But it’s okay.
Related: Meet the Full Cast of Survivor 48
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Stephanie Berger
I just started watching during the pandemic. I told my boss in our very first one-on-one that, when I applied for Survivor, I was gonna need to take a leave of absence from work. I was like, “I’m going to get on, and I’m gonna need to take the time.” And he looked at me, and he was like, “Girl, this is our first one-on-one!” [Everyone laughs. Stephanie laughs in response.] “That’s more information than I perhaps needed.”
Jeff: Does that speak to how important Survivor was to you?
Stephanie: Sure. When you see the alliances get built, you are experiencing it from a position of “these are the avatars who are playing this game,” you can’t help but put yourself in their shoes and think to yourself, “What would I do if I was on a beach with Coach?” [Stephanie laughs. Everyone laughs in response.] Or, “How would I manage if I get a tribe swap and there’s just me and one other person from my tribe there?” And so when you continue to put yourself in the shoes of a player, when you’re challenge-minded, when you’re competitive, when you want it, you have to find out. You have to do it.
Robert Voets/CBS
Saiounia “Sai” Hughley
My name’s Saiounia. [Stephanie whoops.] My friends call me “Sai.” Jeff, you can call me “Sai.”
Jeff: Alright, Sai. So what was it for you?
Sai: The thing that did it for me was my homegirl, Maryanne. She came out of there. She was authentically herself, so unapologetic. And when she wailed that machete all around, I was like, “That’s me!” [Everyone laughs.]
Jeff: I’m curious. Did you respond to Maryanne saying in the first episode, “I’m weird. It’s okay to be weird”?
Sai: Yes! I thought it was weird she even said that. I was like, “I would have kept that to myself.” I was so intrigued. She made me want to cringe a little bit for her. But I was like, “Why can’t I step up and be out here and be weird with all of y’all?” First off, all of y’all are crazy for even being here. [Everyone laughs.] So that’s why I’m here: To be weird! I want to get weird with all of you. [Laughs.]
Jeff: Best opening marooning line so far. [Everyone laughs.] “I want to get weird with all of you.”
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Justin Pioppi
Jeff, my dad and I have a restaurant back home. It’s our family business, Luigi’s. We make the best pizza on Earth. I’m not trying to brag. [Everyone whoops and applauds.] He told me, Jeff, the only way I’m getting the time off from the restaurant is if I come out here and see you.
Jeff: So you’re just getting out of work. [Everyone laughs.]
Justin: Could you write me a note?
Robert Voets/CBS
Mary Zheng
So I started watching during COVID with an ex-boyfriend. Hello if you’re watching. [Everyone laughs.] I don’t really watch TV. But when I do, it’s Survivor. And I always remember thinking to myself, “Man, look at these people in the water. I could do better.” And then for New Year’s Eve–I actually applied January 2–my friends and I came up with this silly little slogan: Abundance mindset, baby! Whatever you want is yours. You just have to go for it. So I literally just Googled it and turned in a video. And the next day, when I got the email, I was like, “They do this with everyone, right? Wanting next steps?” But then, when I was working on the application, I wanted to respond to the email with the application fully filled out. Not like, “Yes, I’m gonna work on it. I’ll send it to you.” I was taking my time. And as I was about to send in the fully filled-out application, I got a text. And I was like, ” Oh, I think this is real!” I was curious. I was open. I said, “You know what? The world is mine. I can do whatever I want. I just have to try.”
Robert Voets/CBS
Shauhin Davari
Jeff: In the front, right here, in the beard.
Shauhin: [Laughs.]
Jeff: Why do you laugh?
Shauhin: I mean, that’s not an uncommon way to refer to me. It’s just funny to me, I guess. No, the beard is probably the thing to call me out by. My name is Shauhin, and that’s why I applied. Never seen anybody with the name Shauhin out here. Never seen a Persian male come play this game. [Everyone applauds.]
Jeff: Is that inspired, in some ways, by seeing other people on the show?
Shauhin: Of course. I mean, Shirin was the first Persian person to ever play the game. And, of course, we had Venus in 46, and that was awesome to see, too. But, I mean, it feels insane to stand in this sand right now. It feels like a lucid dream. Like I’m controlling a dream, like I’m living inside of a collective dream that we’re all having. I don’t know, we’re all in Inception, trying to control the dream we’re trying to create.
Robert Voets/CBS
Star Toomey
Jeff: Right behind Shauhin, in the back.
Star: [Erupts into a scream.] Jeff, Jeff! No, not me! Oh my God! [Unintelligable screaming.] I’m good.
Jeff: What’s your name?
Star: [Pauses, trying to contain her energy.] My name’s Star. And you told me to come on the show. And so I came on the show for you, Jeff! I did it for you, Jeff. You said, “You think you have what it takes to be on Survivor?” I was holding my son. I said, “I’ve got what it takes to be on Survivor.” Dropped him in the bed, took me three hours, went to my car, filmed my tape six times. And on that sixth, I sent it in. [Everyone applauds.] Two weeks later, I got the call. And I almost passed out! And I’m not passing out today. [Everyone laughs.]
Related: Jeff Probst Reveals Survivor 48 Will Feature Never-Before-Seen Moments That ‘Transcend the Show’ (Exclusive)
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Eva Erickson
So, I’m a pretty new Survivor fan. I just started watching it at Georgia Tech with my hockey teammates. I’m on the men’s hockey team there. [Everyone whoops and applauds.] Before I had seen an episode of Survivor, I played Survivor as a drinking game. We made tribes, and we had drinking game challenges. We’re playing Flip Cup and we’re playing Pong and all different types of drinking game challenges. We had hidden immunity idols. Our firemaking at the end was we all had to take a breathalyzer. Whoever was most sober was out. And we voted people out, and I won the first time we played that. And I was like, “You know, maybe I can do the real thing!” I know it’s a little different out here.
But I started actually watching the season with all the guys, too. And they were all like, “Oh, Eva, you eat so much better than all these people out here.” They all know that I’m kind of a beast. I played men’s hockey. So they all encouraged me to do it. I applied in the locker room at hockey. I had just gotten off the ice. Filmed my video, sweaty as hell. And I was like, “F–k it, I’m gonna try to get on Survivor.” And I’m out here. And I feel like I’m not supposed to swear, so, sorry. [Everyone laughs.] I swear a lot, so I feel like there might be a curse count.
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Thomas Krottinger
Jeff: Guy in the back, with the mustache.
Thomas: My name is Thomas. I cannot believe I’m here right now.
Jeff: Can you take us inside that moment? What is that moment when, like Shauhin said, “I feel like I’m having a lucid dream.” What is the moment of “not believing that I’m here in the sand”?
Thomas: What do you mean? There are like 17 other people here in tribes. There’s a film crew. None of it makes sense. This is not real. You just referred to me as “the man with the mustache.” That’s my thing now. We’re gonna ride that into the sunset. [Everyone laughs.] We’ve got a lot of facial hair over here. [Gestures to himself and Shauhin.]
Jeff: So, talk to me about what made you go from a fan to wanting to be a player.
Thomas: So I, like a lot of people, found Survivor in the pandemic. And my husband kind of bullied me that I had never seen an episode in 2022. He was like, “You love pop culture. You’re very gay. You should know what this is.” [Everyone laughs.] So I started watching–
Jeff: Hold on. What does being gay have to do with it?
Thomas: Oh, Survivor is huge with the gays! [Everyone laughs.] It’s like part of the culture, yeah. So he was kind of ashamed that I had never seen an episode. So of course, I’m a completist, so I started with Borneo Episode 1. And nine months later, I’ve watched 42 seasons. And then, somewhere along the journey, I was like, “I can do this!” Like a very confident version of me. And so I applied. And then here we are, and it’s just a dream come true.
Robert Voets/CBS
Bianca Roses
I’m also having a lucid dream. Jeff, you and I go way back. I’ve known you since I was eight years old, watching the show. My screen name was “survivorfreak815.” And as an eight-year-old, that’s bizarre. But there was no other option for me as my dream. It took a while for me to apply, actually, a really long time. But I was at a point in my life where I was about to change up a lot of things. I was leaving New Jersey to move to Virginia, which, to my family, is like I needed a passport to get there. [Everyone laughs.] I was about to leave my job after being there for eight years. A lot of big things were in motion. And I looked myself in the mirror, and I was like, “Bianca, it has been in your head since you were eight years old.” It was raining, and I was at my parents’ Jersey Shore house, and I was like, “Go sit your ass down and film that video.” And I just did it. And my voice is shaking. I can’t believe I’m here.
Robert Voets/CBS
Joe Hunter
Oh, man. You know what? My sister Joanna. So she started watching from the very beginning. And unfortunately, we lost her due to domestic violence. And she wanted to do this, and I was too chicken shit to do it. So I finally recovered from that. And I said, “This is for Joanna. I’m gonna do this for her and make it a life-changing experience.” And I know she’s here with me. [Everyone applauds.]
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David Kinne
You know, it’s funny. You talked about going from being a fan to being a player. I wanted to be a player, then became a fan. So I started watching Survivor maybe the first couple of seasons. It always stuck in the back of my head as something I wanted to do. I didn’t have enough time to watch a whole lot of TV. Just recently, I got back into it. I said, “You know what? I gotta do this.”
Jeff: Was there a moment when you were watching?
David: Oh yeah, first episode I rewatched, and that was back in December. I applied the next day. I didn’t even finish the season, man. I like that you can’t really be challenged anywhere else, this here, on this beach. That, to me, is my calling. I love to be challenged, and I am just dying to see what I’m made of. And I’m dying to see what everyone else is made of.
Star: Oh, we’re gonna show you! [Everyone reacts.]
David: Better keep up!
Robert Voets/CBS
Charity Nelms
[Gets emotional.] It’s been ten years in the making for me. I worked really hard to be here. And I don’t want to be the Survivor big crybaby. But they’re happy tears. Ten years ago, I was ditching ministry school, obsessively watching Survivor. I would watch it and think, “Man, I wish I could do that. But I could never physically.” I was 100 pounds heavier, struggled with deep-rooted insecurity, wouldn’t want to show my body in a bathing suit. And, ten years later, I’m ready to run with the best of them. Let’s go! [Everyone applauds.]
Related: ‘Survivor’ Announces Fans Will Vote on Twists, Advantages and Other ‘Key Elements’ for Upcoming Season 50
