Nashville sports reporter Sam Phalen competes on "Survivor"
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Nashville "Survivor" contestant Sam Phalen. Photo: Robert Voets, courtesy of CBS
Two different sides of Nashville's Sam Phalen helped him land a spot on the new season of "Survivor," which premieres Wednesday night.
- There's the jockish kid, who excelled at sports and played baseball through high school.
- Then there's the nerdy kid who became obsessed with the island-based reality show at a young age, even organizing neighborhood games of "Survivor" and pretending to be host Jeff Probst in his backyard.
Why it matters: Phalen sought to tap into his background in athletics and super fandom of the show when he landed on the Fijan island where "Survivor" is filmed.
What he's saying: Phalen tells Axios it was "surreal and very emotional" when he first stepped foot on the island and looked across the beach at Probst, the show's iconic host.
- "When I first hit the sand and I see Jeff Probst standing there, my brain flashes back to all of those moments when I was a little kid and I would tell my parents, 'Hey, I'm gonna do that,'" Phalen says. "It flashed back to my late grandmother telling me how much she loved the show."
- "'Survivor' was a family affair for me growing up. Me, my mom, my dad and my brother would have family time, which was to sit down, watch 'Survivor' and then talk about it after."
Reality check: It's one thing to love watching "Survivor." But it's another to take the leap and audition for the contest, a very complicated and competitive reality show where you're stranded on a beach and deprived of food and sleep.
- Phalen says he was motivated to send in an audition video after Probst challenged viewers during an episode last year to get off the couch and try out.
- "I had wanted to be a contestant really as long as I can remember. The athletic background for me, playing sports growing up, just having a real competitive spirit, I was super captivated by the game. Not only the physical challenge that 'Survivor' is, but the mental games that go along with it."
The intrigue: Phalen, 24, moved to Nashville to attend college at Lipscomb. He pursued a career in sports reporting, eventually earning a job covering the Titans for A to Z Sports.
- He went into "Survivor" hoping the unique skillset of interviewing pro athletes would serve him well.
- "A good sports journalist first and foremost builds strong relationships. In order to get information, you have to be trustworthy. Players have to trust you, their agent has to trust you," he says.
How to watch: Cheer on Nashville's hometown "Survivor" contestant Wednesday night when the first episode airs at 7pm Central on CBS.