Challenge accepted
Australian Survivor is back with more of the country’s most motivated individuals taking part, including Boost Juice founder and Shark Tank star Janine Allis. She tells DANIELLE MCGRANE why she decided to become a contestant on the challenging reality sh
Were you a fan of Survivor before you went on the show?
Yes, I have been forever. Without question it’s absolutely my favourite show on TV and having watched the American one for years I think the Australian version is far superior and I think they do a great job, so I was really thrilled to be a part of it.
Watching the show and being on the show are different things, why did you decide to take part?
I think in life it’s too easy to say no. For me, and where I am in my life, I’m always a believer in, How can I do better and be better and act better?’ For me, being able to take yourself out of what you’re doing and really reflect on what you are and who you are is a positive.
But also, where else can you get an experience like this? I’ve done Shark Tank and Undercover Boss, but this didn’t seem like a TV show, it really seemed like an experience. It was probably the rawest and rarest experience I’ve ever had.
What is it about Survivor that appeals to you?
First and foremost, that ability to find out what you’re made of – and it’s the worst and best time of your life. In your life you get so caught up in getting up when the alarm goes and you do what you do and then you go back to bed, you’re on this wheel. But I think in Survivor you’re in a situation where you’re bonding with people you’d never normally bond with.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a business woman or a miner, you are just people on an island sitting in front of a campfire for hours talking. It’s quite amazing and particularly in the world we live in now with technology, the way we communicate is so different, so this was incredible. I think if I did it 15 years ago it would have been incredible, but doing it in this world we live in now, it’s even more so.
It is a great leveller isn’t it? Everyone is the same in there.
Yeah, we’ve all got the same challenges and you have to work together to achieve the same goals. To be part of something like Survivor, having the experience was amazing.
What was life like without devices?
Amazing. The fact that you’re actually sitting down talking to someone and you have an uninterrupted conversation where you’re actually in the moment talking and not thinking about what’s on social media or notifications, it is actually quite amazing. There were elements that weren’t fun, like at 2am when it was raining and you’ve got wet clothes on and you’re cold, there’s no fun in that. But I didn’t find anything difficult.
What I find staggering is the human ability to simply adapt. You adapt to sleeping on the ground. At the start, all of us weren’t sleeping and would maybe get an hour a night, if we were lucky. Fast forward 30 days and everyone is sleeping seven hours, so it’s quite impressive how the human body can adapt.
What were you afraid of before you went in?
Well, I’m a positive person anyway so there wasn’t anything I was worried about. I tend to take life as it comes. So I was just thinking about preparing my family, my work and my commitments to be able to be away for a couple of months which was one of the hardest things. The most difficult thing was leaving. Australian Survivor Wednesday, 7.30pm on 10