Ralph Kiser, the Russell County man picked to compete on this season of the popular TV show “Survivor,” isn’t allowed to say much to the media.
But in a rare interview with the Bristol Herald Courier, he talked a little bit about what it was like to be part of the show.
“I thought it was easy sitting on the couch. My belly was full and all that,” he said of the many past “Survivor” episodes he’s watched at home. “When you get there, it’s a totally different ballgame. … It was a whole lot harder than I ever thought it’d be.”
The premise of the reality show, now in its 22nd season, is that a group of people from across the United States are dropped off in a remote foreign location, this time Nicaragua, where they must compete in physical challenges and, in each episode, vote someone off the island. The winner gets $1 million.
Kiser, 45, appears in the latest installment, “Survivor: Redemption Island,” which premieres Wednesday. He is the sixth “Survivor” contestant from the Tri-Cities region.
And while he’s sworn to secrecy on what happens during the show, viewers do know this much: He didn’t die.
And, just months after the filming, he already says he wants to do it again. In addition to a future episode of “Survivor,” he’s got his sights on another CBS reality TV series: “The Amazing Race.” On that show, teams of two people follow clues in a race through assorted foreign countries.
Kiser, who works at Hapco Aluminum Pole Products in Abingdon and does some farming, applied for the show several times before being selected. He said he first got the idea from a friend at work – he’d never watched the show.
“All the guys around home and all the guys at the shop said, ‘Man, you’d be awesome at that,’ so I applied.”
Among the things he had to do to prepare for the show: overcome a fear of flying.
Now that it’s over and he’s waiting for the show to start, he said he’s worrying himself to death about it as he tries to dodge an endless barrage of questions.
“I’m not telling nobody nothing, so just watch it [the show],” he said.
Initially, he was going to plan a big party to watch the premiere, he said, but since CBS said no he’s got another plan: Watch it at home, with the phone turned off and no interruptions.
He doesn’t know yet if the show will make him famous, but with Kiser it’s not about fame or money. He says it’s about the experience.
“I’m wide open in everything I do,” he said. “I don’t care if I make it famous or not. Just want to enjoy life.”
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