This week on the Survivor 41 premiere, host Jeff Probst asked the new castaways if they though it was time to retire his line “come on in, guys.” You know, the way he welcomes the players in for each immunity challenge.
Eventually, it was decided that Probst would retire that line for something more inclusive. Entertainment Weekly spoke to Probst after the season premiere and expanded on that question, which lead to Probst revealing something interesting, if not a bit trippy: He has an alter ego known as “Survivor Guy.”
EW asked Probst “After discussing it with the contestants, you decided to tweak your trademark challenge intro line, eliminating the word “guys.” While I support the change, I am concerned about one other aspect of the equation which has yet to be addressed: Will you still look at your feet when you tell the players to now “Come on in”?
And here’s what he had to say:
So glad you asked. Yes, I will continue to look at my feet. And I guess I’ll finally share the reason I do it. Wow, I didn’t expect to be this open. I’m a bit emotional, as this is pretty revealing, but here goes. That brief moment when I look down at my feet is when all the magic happens, for that is the moment I connect with my powerful alter ego and guide, known only as “Survivor Guy.”
Survivor Guy first came to me years ago, while we were in the Marquesas Islands filming the fourth season of the show. I was sitting alone on an island enduring a tremendous rainstorm. This was something I did on a regular basis, as I’ve always been a method host and wanted to be able to relate to what the players were feeling. I remember seeing a rat scurry past and then, seemingly out of nowhere, Survivor Guy appeared right in front of me.
Weirdly, he looked a lot like me, only significantly cooler. He wore animal skins, had much longer hair, a lot of odd tattoos and a feather necklace. I’ll never forget his first words to me: “Jeff, I am Survivor Guy… I am your alter ego, and if you embrace what I have to offer I can make your life on Survivor better than ever.”
We sat for the next six hours as he regaled me with tales from his life of jungle living. I’ll be honest, I don’t remember a lot of it because I was pretty damn cold. But it was clear he was very earnest, even though his stories seemed completely implausible.
Then as the sun began to rise, he said, “I must go. I’m needed somewhere else.” He started to walk away, then began a slow run, and finally leaped up as though he were going to fly away, kinda like a bird. But instead he only got about six inches of air, stumbled a bit, and then kept walking, finally disappearing into the jungle. To this day, Survivor Guy remains my Survivorspirit animal.
Survivor Guy guides me. Survivor Guy informs me. Survivor Guy literally gives me the questions at Tribal Council. Survivor Guy also comes up with those incredibly memorable lines, like “Got nothin’ for you” or “Worth playing for?” He even gave me a couple of new quips for this season, including “Sorry for you.” I’m still working on the delivery, but I’m confident it’s a keeper.
To this day, I don’t know where he comes from or where he actually lives, but I’ll tell you this… he’s my superhero. I’d be lost without Survivor Guy.
I think Probst might have eaten some mushrooms he found growing in Fiji that day, but hey, I’m here for “Survivor Guy.”
Read more from that interview on the Entertainment Weekly website.
