How two Survivor Dream Teamers got their jobs

It’s been five years since a behind-the-scenes video Jeff Probst filmed on location with Survivor China revealed what it was like to be a member of the Dream Team. They’re the production assistant crew members who help construct challenges, act as stand-ins for the contestants during helicopter shots of the challenges, and, most importantly, test the show’s challenges.

Interest in becoming a Dream Team member remains high, with people often e.mailing me to ask how to apply (don’t do that). There is no formal procedure, and many Dream Teamers are local (to the production’s location) and/or have connections to the producers or previous Dream Team members. But many have found their way to the Dream Team through persistence and effort, and two of those people are now working as PAs on Jeff Probst’s talk show.

In a “backstage bonus” video on The Jeff Probst Show’s web site, Keetin Marchi and Zach Sundelius describe how they became Survivor crew members before getting their current jobs: Zach stalked crew members on Facebook and created a Twitter account that got the attention of an unnamed Survivor blogger who helped get him in touch with the crew (not me; don’t e.mail me), while Keetin created a cleverly edited video of herself being interviewed by Jeff Probst, using footage from Tribal Councils.

Watch the video for their full stories.