For the last two decades, Jeff Probst’s name has been synonymous with one thing: “Survivor.” And he is A-OK with that. When he landed an Emmy nom for outstanding reality competition host — his first nod (and win) in the category since 2011 — I was eager to tell a story about who Probst is outside of the two seasons a year he films in Fiji.
“It’s interesting because most people think I shoot ‘Survivor’ and then I’m done until I shoot again,” he says from his Los Angeles home. “It’s kind of like plate juggling.”
We discussed Seasons 45 and 46 at length for our recent Emmys story. Then he headed to Fiji to film seasons 47 and 48 — the former will premiere next month — and within three days of returning home, he began watching cuts from 47.
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“Here’s how it works. I’m in post-production on 47, in pre-production on 49; I’m starting casting on 49, and then we have 50 coming up this year, so that’s a bigger thing,” he explains. “Then we also have the podcast that we’re doing. It’s a year-round job. I know that surprises people. How could it possibly be? But almost every day I’m touching ‘Survivor’ in some way.”
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On the day of our Zoom, he has many meetings planned — but his day starts hours before. At 6:30 a.m., he wakes up with no alarm clock. He begins his day with Kaya, the Doberman Shepherd he and wife Lisa Ann Russell rescued a year ago and is “the most loving, beautiful little bean.”
“We go downstairs together. She stretches out, gives me a little kiss. I make a cup of coffee. We go outside,” he explains. He leaves the door open for Stevie, his second dog, a Bernedoodle, who is a bit slower and runs out when he’s ready to join their walk around his property. Sometimes, he listens to a news podcast or a book. Other times, he’s just alone in his thoughts.
He’s recently been listening to a book about the connection between your mind and body, and how much thoughts can relate to both mental and physical health.
“I used to tell myself when I’d go to bed, I used to tell my cells, ‘Here’s what I want to work on tonight,’ and I would talk to my body as though it was my team and it could be to solve a creative problem,” he explains. “The reason I’m really into it is, it’s ultimately, what I try to bring to ‘Survivor.’ Even though people think this is ridiculous when I try to explain it to them, I don’t see ‘Survivor’ as a competition reality series. I see that as a giant misdirect. It’s a life adventure and you have to be willing to put yourself into this crisis mode that we’re in, where we’re going to deprive you of everything.”
Probst explains that when the weather gets awful or the hunger gets unbearable, thoughts take over.
“What I find amazing is how many times people get past an initial fear or setback and they say, ‘I’m not satisfied with this. I am better than this. I can recover from this moment.’ And suddenly they’re at the end of the game, and say, ‘I can’t believe what I’ve learned about myself. Jeff, I never thought I’d win a challenge. I can’t believe I opened a coconut, I made fire.’ So I’m always looking for ways to make the experience more of an adventure, and often the way you do that is by disguising it as a game.”
This daily routine of walking and focusing on himself (and his dogs) has changed everything for Probst and starts his day on the right note.
When he gets back, it’s time for a quick breakfast. “I’m not a food person. I eat for fuel,” Probst says. “But these zucchini muffins are so good; it’s like a treat. I have a cup of coffee and a muffin. Then I pick up some dog poop and have another muffin.”
If we weren’t on Zoom, it’d now be time to watch another episode of “Survivor” 47 to take notes and get it down to the 65 minutes of runtime. For about three hours, he watches and shares his notes with the production team. At this point, “our collaboration is seamless,” he says. “We are one unit. The idea of showrunner is kind of lost. It’s gone. We’re a show team and my job is just to be another set of eyes.”
“99.9% of the time” there is “not a single note” from CBS, he says. “That is hard-earned. In our world, you’re so used to getting pages of notes,” he says. “They trust us to explore. It allows us to experiment.”
Next on the schedule is a 30-minute walk with the dogs, usually combined with a work call. Today, he has a call on the books with Jay Wolff, the executive producer of “On Fire With Jeff Probst,” the official “Survivor” podcast Probst co-hosts with a former winner. “We’ve decided on our new co-host for this new season,” he teases. “We’re very excited about our new choice.”
Mixing work calls in isn’t something that drags him down. In fact, it’s the opposite. “I want to be clear: This isn’t me saying, ‘My life is busy.’ This is what brings me joy,” Probst says. “I like accomplishing things.”
After his call, he’ll head inside where he has three whiteboards set up. It’s time to dive into Season 50 and figure out what exactly it will look like — marketing, twist, cast etc.
“We just did a big season with 40. ‘Winners at War’ was a battle. And we had a very clear theme: We’re going to give you every weapon we have and you all battle it out. Somebody’s going to end up bloody but victorious,” says Probst. “So ‘Survivor’ 50 is not going to be that. Fifty’s gotta be a celebration. Let’s do a great season of ‘Survivor’ but put an emphasis on the word ‘fun.’ So, I’ve been going through these notes going, ‘That could be interesting,’ or — more often — ‘What were you thinking when you wrote that down because that makes no sense at all?’”
Midway through the day, about four times a week, the host gets in a workout at his trainer/friend’s home gym, who he’s been training with for 20 years. While those sessions are constantly changing so that he doesn’t get bored, getting to the gym is key for his mental health.
“My dad is 84 and still in really good shape. He’s never stopped. He’s always told me, ‘I don’t necessarily work out hard, but I show up,’” he says. “So, I’ve been showing up. I mean, I’m on a show called ‘Survivor.’ I don’t want to be voted off because I suddenly don’t look like I belong!”
He adds, “I feel really good after I work out, even if I don’t work out hard. If people saw my workouts, no one would be impressed. It’s just showing up and making it a part of your day.”
Two to three times a week he also plays tennis, sometimes with Pete Wentz. Because it requires strategy, he views the game as both fun and “a great stress reliever because you can’t really think about anything else.” If he can’t play with friends, he almost always hits a few balls on his tennis court during his second walk with the dogs, “while they lounge in the sun.”
Probst also says he doesn’t know how he maintains muscle because he really only eats one big meal and snacks on blueberries or strawberries throughout the day then usually has dinner with his wife around 7 p.m.
But we’ve gotten ahead of ourselves — he has an exciting addition to his day that he can’t wait to share.
“It is the first big step of S50,” he says, lighting up as he talks about his post-workout plan. First, he’ll pour some tequila. Then it’s planning time.
“We’re trying to figure out who’s gonna play in ‘Survivor’ 50. We know it’s gonna be returning players. We started out with a list of around 200, like, every person we would like to see, regardless of whether they want to do it or not. And then we got the list down to 125 and now I have it down to around 100,” he says. “I printed out their faces on 4×6 magnetic sheets with their names, the season they first played, and how old they will be if they play in 50. I’m going to put them on the whiteboard and take in the very first steps toward what I think will go down as the most enjoyable problem we’ve ever had to solve: How are you going to get this down to a handful of people to play ‘Survivor’ 50 that will satisfy the fans and will honor 50 seasons?”
When it’s time to actually go film Seasons 49 and 50, Probst “packs nothing,” he says. He brings a carry-on that fits his vitamins and tennis racket.
“Everything is on location. I’ve had the same T-shirts on location for at least 10 years, and I only wear these long-sleeve ‘Survivor’ shirts for rehearsals. I never dress up anywhere. There’s nowhere to go! You won’t see me out and about on base camp. I don’t go to the bar, I don’t do anything. I’m the most hideous-looking version of myself,” he says with a laugh. “I often don’t shower unless absolutely necessary. It is a full-on assault to go make ‘Survivor,’ and it feels so good to go to location with literally nothing. And when it’s time to pack to come home, it takes me about seven minutes to pack.”
On set, he’s “slathered in sunscreen” and nothing else matters. In fact, he four different hats and a “dummy proof” set of clothes in Fiji.
“We used to have a bunch of colors of shirts, and I work with a woman who tailors the shirts to fit me,” says Probst. “We get these shirts, she just cuts them down so they fit, and then we dye them certain colors. In [Season] 41, I said, ‘I just want a gray shirt, a black shirt, and two blue shirts, and that’s it.’ It’s like I’m a 5-year-old, and my parents only put clothes that go together. I can grab any shirt, any pair of shorts and any hat, and it all works. So it’s dummy proof. It changed everything!”
While his wife is “very supportive” and knows he’s excited about this, she doesn’t participate in this process. Instead, they convene afterward for a nightcap and some TV.
Usually, they’re watching “Dateline.” Probst quips, “The husband always did it. No matter what alibi the husband says he has, he murdered his wife. It’s 100%. Just arrest us. It’s always the man!”
Soon, Probst’s daughter, Ava, is heading to college, so he’s also been spending as much time with her as possible before she leaves. Usually, they watch animation together since she’s an animator, and they bond over different types of storytelling.
Probst ends every night the same: Making a to-do list for the next day. It’s something his wife often pokes fun at him over.
“What the list allows me to do is to go to sleep not worrying about tomorrow, because I already wrote down what I’m going to do,” he says. “I hit the pillow, and I’m out. I’m not thinking about anything.”
