Last month, we opened the doors of the Survivor Oz offices and offered you the opportunity to submit an application to become an Ozlet! Today, we’re revealing who made it through the “exhausting application process” to join the team!
We received just under fifty applications from a variety of different parts of the world, all from people who believed that they were the best choice to take up a position as an Ozlet. After much consideration and debate, we decided to hire twelve new people! Whilst we didn’t initially plan on hiring so many, the standard of applications was incredible and it was simply too difficult to overlook so many people. In the end though, we had to settle for twelve. Along with the twelve new Ozlets, we are also introducing our new graphic designer, who has been a member of the team for several weeks already. These thirteen people come from four different countries – Australia, Canada, Romania and the United States. They will each offer a different opinion about the world of Survivor and they will be valuable members of the team.
Without further ado, please welcome…
Clifton Gibbons
Clifton hails from Richmond Virginia and started watching Survivor since it’s debut. However life got in the way and he only recently got back into the show when a Heroes vs. Villains marathon aired on television, which made him realise what he had been missing out on.
“Hello! My name is Clifton Gibbons and I’m from Richmond, Virginia in the United States. I’m currently pursuing a masters degree in psychology and co-managing a music collective in Richmond.
I first became aware of Survivor near the end of the first season when I was barely ten years old. As it became more and more hyped in the media, I remember stumbling upon a magazine of some sort on our kitchen table detailing Kelly’s “betrayal of Sue Hawk”. Most of my family gathered around the television for one of the only times ever to watch that final episode. I remember just being completely fascinated with the concept. I fell in love with the show during Australia and watched it with my dad through Vanuatu. After that, for reasons I don’t recall, I stopped watching.
As I started graduate school this past fall, I found myself with more free time than I expected. My new apartment also had a television included in the rent and I had access to cable for the first time in years. While flipping through the channels in early September, I came across the first episode of Heroes vs. Villains on TVGN. I found myself instantly sucked back into the show given the modern incarnations of characters I remembered so well such as Boston Rob, Colby, Jerri, Sandra and Rupert. The added strategic elements that now existed in the show made me instantly view the show in a more strategic way than I had watching the first nine seasons as a ten to fourteen year old. Since that Heroes vs. Villains marathon in September, I’ve shamelessly watched every season at least two times and compiling and edited together as much bonus material as I could get my digital fingers on.
Another time-suck I became invested in for the first time this past fall was Skyrim. As I played through that game for countless hours in my free time, the soundtrack I listened to was Survivor Oz, The Survivor Historians and the Podcast that Sucks (RHAP). So, I’ve done an insane amount of Survivor consumption in a relatively short amount of time and have an interesting split perspective on the show from the different eras that I’ve enjoyed it.
Given that no one in my life still watches the show, I’m ecstatic to have an opportunity to talk Survivor here on Survivor Oz. I’m honoured to become a member of the team here, and I look forward to enhancing the Survivor Oz experience in any way I can!”
Clifton has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Julian Groneberg
Julian is our second Ozlet to hail from Queensland but our first male to live in the Sunshine State. Julian is another one who took a break from Survivor for a part of his life, but his obsession is now back bigger than ever! Julian is such a big fan, he intends to visit the filming locations and has already ticket Guatemala off the list!
“I’m Julian! I live in Brisbane, am a massive fan of eating out and nice places, writing, news, the media, politics, travel and at the time of writing this, I am starting to get obsessed with home improvement! I work at a web design agency as a digital copywriter and love writing a story almost as much as I like telling them.
Survivor is another obsession. I first got into it when I was in about fifteen with the Australian Outback season. My Dad had moved to Mission Beach in Queensland near where the season was filmed and he told me how the crew booked hotels in town and how big of a deal it was to the locals. I was so into the show until about Vanuatu, where I gradually stopped watching. I rediscovered it all at the end of 2012 and have had so many seasons to watch! Its been pretty much the only television show I’ve watched religiously since then.
I also collect the DVDs but I’ve got still a pretty measly Buff collection. My ultimate Survivor goal is to travel to as many of the filming locations as I can. I’ve checked one off the list – Guatemala, last year. The trip in the Mayan ruins was inspired by it which is my all time favourite season. Next I want to cross off is Cook Islands, (second favourite season)
I love that I’m getting to put in an opinion on the show through Survivor Oz, (since I’m pretty opinionated), and get to dissect it with such a great team of passionate Survivor fans. I discovered Survivor Oz by searching for Podcasts relating to Survivor and have been lapping it up since – so many hours of Survivor content to quench the Survivor thirst!
I cant wait to meet the other Ozlets and start helping out!”
Julian has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Ferdinard Joppe
Ferdinand is a Norwegian native but currently hails in Australia! Initially a fan of Expedition Robinson, Ferdinard didn’t fall in love with Survivor until he watched Heroes vs. Villains. It’s safe to say, he hasn’t looked back since!
“I was born and raised in a faraway land, not unlike the kingdom depicted in Disney’s Frozen, known as Norway. With long winters and short summers, I often dreamed about living somewhere else. A land filled with beautiful beaches and a functional sun… and that land was to be Australia.
However it would take many years for my decision to leave Norway and move to the other side of the world to be executed. So what to do when you live in a cold snowy country? Watch people starve on a beautiful beach of course. Expedition Robinson was Survivor’s Swedish prototype and it was my first introduction into Survivor. It is still airing today, along with a Norwegian version as well; however I never really became a fan of any of the Scandinavian “survivors”.
It wasn’t until years later when I stumbled over Heroes vs. Villains that I fell in love with the show. After binge-watching it I went straight to my mum and told her she had to watch it, she loved it, I loved it and a tradition was born. Together we have seen most of the seasons we have managed to find.
I found Survivor Oz when I moved to Australia and it suddenly popped up when I searched for something Survivor related. I got hooked on the Top 10 lists firsts, then started listening to the interviews; how good was the Tracy interview!?
Right now I love my Survivor life, living with two lovely ladies who I managed to turn into Survivor addicts as well. Every Thursday we gather around to watch the latest episode of Cagayan, one of the best seasons in years! We also have a little bet going on, we chose one member from each tribe and whoever end up having the cumulative highest ranking will be served a feast by the others. I selected Brice, Kass and Trish, so I am off to a bad start!
Right now I am doing a Bachelor in Media. I love cinematography and film-production in general which will probably be reflected in my posts.
I am super keen to get the opportunity to discuss and analyse Survivor with other enthusiasts, although from reading the power-ranking of the Cagayan cast I know we are going to have our fair share of disagreements!”
Ferdinard has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Kristan Knarr
Kristan is a long time Twitter fan of Survivor Oz and after a little bit of persuasion, applied to be Ozlet! A big reality television fan, Kristan listens to A LOT of Survivor podcasts and joins the team full of motivation.
“My name is Kristan Knarr and I have spent most of my life in the boring town of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, now (unfortunately) most recognisably known as the hometown of the guys from Amish Mafia. I am currently a student and will be graduating with a business degree in May. My hobbies include reading, going to concerts, watching football, (the American kind!), and of course, watching reality television.
I have been a fan of reality television for as long as I can remember. In my pre-teens, I was always watching random shows like For Love or Money, The Mole and Endurance and already over-analysing them to no end. Soon after, I discovered Big Brother US and became obsessed with the strategy, drama and different types of characters. During Big Brother All-Stars in 2006 I made a friend online that was as reality-obsessed as me. He tried very hard to convince me to watch his other favorite show, Survivor, but I was disinterested. Eventually, Survivor: Tocantins was about to air and he finally convinced me to tune in and I was immediately obsessed. I have watched each season live since then and between Samoa and Redemption Island I went back and watched seasons one to seventeen. I knew the outcome of some seasons and was shocked by others. Overall, my favorite season is China. I have watched and re-watched it and cannot get enough of Todd and Fei Long in general. I can’t believe that it took me so long to start watching, but I’m glad that I eventually did.
I also listen to a lot of Survivor podcasts. It’s probably quite insane that for every forty-two minute long episode of Survivor I listen to about eight hours worth of podcasts, but I really enjoy listening to different perspectives from different fans. Survivor Oz was the second Survivor podcast that I found and I loved it because Ben is able to get such obscure contestants that no one else interviews. As much as I enjoy hearing from the players that are still rather relevant, it’s nice to also hear from people that disappeared after playing. I look forward to working with Ben and the Ozlets, both new and old!”
Kristan has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Daniel Knowles
Daniel is our second ever Ozlet from Adelaide, joining friend Lynda from the City of Churches.
“Hi, I’m Daniel and I’m twenty-four from South Australia, born & raised. I work at Sanity, (a music/movie retail store), and I’m a big Survivor fan!
I started watching Survivor halfway through the first season, (it was Gervase’s boot episode), and have since seen every episode of every season. It was originally a family show we all watched but now its just me & my Brother. It quickly became my all-time favourite show and nothing has overtaken it! I’ve watched a few seasons more than once and I’m slowly collecting all the DVD’s.
I found Survivor Oz through one of the current Ozlet’s, Lynda Phoa, who I am good friends with, (we even met Ami Cusack & James Clement together). After stumbling on the site around a year ago I frequently visit it to read the feature articles and check out the interviews and latest news. It’s been great fun being a fan of the site but it will be even more fun getting to be a part of the Survivor Oz team!”
Daniel has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Jarrod Loobeek
Jarrod joins Jarryd as our second Ozlet named Jarrod on the show! (I can already tell Jarryd won’t be happy about this!) Hailing from Sydney in Australia, Jarrod is a big Survivor fan, loves our what if scenarios and playing and watching tennis.
“Hey, I’m Jarrod, I’m twenty-one years old and I’m from the Sydney suburb of Emu Plains, (right up there in terms of lame town names). I’ve always been interested in film and television and just recently I completed a Communications degree in Media Arts and Production at the University of Technology, Sydney.
My two real loves in life are tennis and reality television; watching them, talking about them and playing them, (well that only applies to tennis so far but one can dream right?). My favourite reality television show is Survivor, which I watched casually at the beginning but really became a committed viewer around the airing of Pearl Islands. As a competitive person I find myself naturally drawn to Survivor because it is such a ruthless and draining game. I love when seasons are unpredictable and provide plenty of game changing what if scenarios to mull over. For example, what if Tyson had voted as planned and Russell had gone home in Heroes vs Villains?
I stumbled across Survivor Oz in late 2012 while working on a university assessment on the globalisation of reality television. I instantly loved listening to the seasons Ozcaps and reading other people’s opinions in the top 10 segments. I’m so excited to be a part of the team and share my thoughts and opinions on the greatest television show of all time.”
Jarrod has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Paul Lutrell
Paul joins Ben and Noah in hailing from Survivor Oz’s home town of Tasmania! With a degree in Journalism, Paul is a avid writer who hopes one day to be able to apply for the show he loves.
“Hi, I’m Paul and I’m from Hobart, Tasmania. I’m currently a student studying accounting, though I already have a Bachelor of Arts, (with a major in Journalism). In my spare time I play in a psychedelic-rock band, where I also write, record and produce the band’s music. Last year we were signed to an independent record label, which was extremely gratifying but not nearly as glamorous as it sounds.
I started watching Survivor when the first season aired, (I was ten years old), and continued to consistently watch up until Survivor: Palau. For whatever reason, I stopped watching until a friend reintroduced me to the show in late 2012. Since then, I’ve developed a bit of an obsession with Survivor. I’ve watched every season at least twice and I can’t get enough of the game. Like most Survivor fans it’s the strategy that pulls me in. Watching great players make great moves is as good as television gets.
My hope is that one day CBS will open the applications to non-US citizens and then maybe I’ll have a chance at experiencing the game first hand and winning the title of Sole Survivor.”
Paul has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Katelyn McLaughlin
Kate has a keen eye for statistic and records when it comes to her favourite show! A fan since Day One, Kate brings a wealth of experience and Survivor knowledge to the team!
“Hi! I’m Kate. I just moved to Louisville Kentucky, but I’ve lived all over it US. I’m a bit of a pop culture junkie. Television shows, books and movies are my drug. I love stats, trivia and random facts that the average viewer doesn’t notice. As a child I had a reoccurring dream that I was trapped on an island with strangers, so when I saw the preview for Survivor I knew it was going to be up my alley. By the first episode I was hooked. I love the strategy elements and how the game is always changing which keeps it from becoming predictable. I stumbled on Survivor Oz when I was googling challenge records a few years ago and I quickly became a huge fan of the interviews with the more obscure contestants. I’ve never had any friends that watched the show, so I’m extremely excited to work with people that share my obsession!”
Kate has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Ivan Ornelas
Ivan has a eye for creativity and loves to write about his Survivor obsession. Despite being a latecomer to the Survivor experience, Ivan is slowly working his way through the seasons, in his quest to see them all!
“Hi, I’m Ivan from Martinez, California (a town in the San Francisco Bay Area). I’ve been a fan of Survivor since 2009 but have caught up in learning about the seasons of Survivor that aired before then. I have seen every season from Micronesia in it’s entirety, plus a handful of seasons before Micronesia and am slowly making my way through them all!
I’m currently a freshman studying a Computer Science major at the University of California Davis. I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to Video Games, mostly Super Smash Bros and Pokemon. When I’m not tweeting about everyday stuff or Survivor, (@IvanOrnelas2), I’m on my other Twitter account for Pokemon, (@PokeWizardCali), where I like to talk about all things Pokemon nonstop. My dream is to one day compete on Survivor and I plan on applying for the first time sometime this year. But for now I am so excited to be a part of the Survivor Oz family, which is equally as awesome! Almost anything that has to do with Survivor I have an opinion on, but the hardest things for me to choose are my favourite winners, players and seasons because there is so much to love about Survivor. Even the not so great seasons like Redemption Island and One World are not without their moments and their quality players and characters. I’m a firm believer of everyone who has won Survivor earned it and that luck plays an important part of the game no matter how good or bad a player is considered to be. I’m involved in the Survivor community a lot, from playing Survivor games online to being a part of the Previously on Survivor Facebook group. I also follow Rob Has a Podcast. Other shows I like aside from Survivor include Big Brother, The Big Bang Theory and The Simpsons!
I love the articles on Survivor Oz because they touch upon a variety of subjects in the Survivor world and they always leave me thinking and wondering how I feel about those topics. The Top 10 Lists, the Power Rankings, the Interviews and more! Survivor Oz is just a really cool website that I hope to contribute a lot to! I look forward to making a lot of new friends as well!
I enjoy writing a lot, (one of the reasons I applied to be an Ozlet), writing many things from Survivor predictions and reviews, fan-fictions, lyrics to original songs and even a short film as seen below. (Warning: Contains some mild foul language – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSTh0qcOI9U). Also in the video I wrote lyrics to a parody of Cascada’s Miracle called “Bullet Bill”, a reference to the Mario Kart video game series. I plans on posting a video of myself singing that song soon.”
Ivan has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Anthony Rossi
We believe that Anthony is the only Survivor Oz super fan in the world after he included quotes from some of the Ozlets in his application! After listening to most of the available podcasts on our site, Anthony will now have the chance to contribute to these as well as listen to them! Don’t refer to him as Anthony though, he prefers Rossi.
“Greetings! Name’s Anthony but I am more commonly referred to as Rossi. I live in the small state of New Jersey in the United States, but I was originally from Illinois. I currently study Art History at university in hope to become an architect.
I first noticed Survivor when I watched Pearl Islands on YouTube. After that, I immediately went searching for the other seasons that I hadn’t seen. I never wasn’t a super fan until I saw all these interviews by the contestants. These interviews allowed me to rethink about the show and as time passed I became obsessed. I noticed Survivor Oz when an interview was posted on Facebook, but I never really paid attention to what else Survivor Oz had to offer. I saw another interview a few months later and then I truly saw what they had to offer. I love the concept of Survivor Oz and loved listening to all the different kinds of episodes.”
Anthony has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Alina Salagean
Alina has been a member of the team for several weeks and we are finally formally introducing her! Alina is our first ever Romanian Ozlet! After discovering some of her photo-chops during Blood vs. Water, we offered our hand in friendship and she kindly accept to come onboard as our graphic designer.
“My name is Alina, I live in Oradea, Romania, and I’m an addict…a Survivor addict of course! I love movies and television shows, and the irony is that I’m not that much into reality shows. But as every rule has its exceptions, in my case one of these exceptions is Survivor, and I love Survivor more than anything!
I don’t remember exactly when I started to watch Survivor, but I remember the reason why. The reason was Rob Mariano after watching him scheming on a Roadblock on The Amazing Race. I was so impressed by his performance on that challenge that Survivor became a must see for me, and since then I have never missed a single episode!
Taking into consideration that Rob Mariano is the one that I have to thank for starting to watch this amazing show, he will always have a special place in my heart and this is also one of the reasons why he is my favourite player of all time.
I have a few seasons that are my top favourite, but I don’t dislike even a single one of them, because for me every season has its own special charm.
As much as I love this show, and unlike most of the Survivor fans, I can not say that my dream is to play the game. If I would ever have the chance to chose between playing the game or being on the production team, I would definitely chose the latter, as I would love to be part of the team that it’s bringing the magic to our screen! Besides my regular job, I’m also the editor for the Survivor thread at TV Blog Romania, and the reviews that I am writing there were the reason why I started to make photo-chops, as I wanted to give a little bit more colour to them.
Photo-chopping it’s a very time consuming hobby, but I consider this time very well invested as it brought me inside the wonderful Survivor community, and made me became part of this amazing team which is Survivor Oz!”
Alina has joined the team as a graphic designer and her work as already featured on our episode recaps and Facebook page.
Andrew Shadlock
Andrew is out second Canadian Ozlet, following Colin. A big Survivor fan, Andrew is keen to join in on discussion about the show he loves.
“Hey! I’m Andrew originally from London, Ontario but currently living in Toronto for University. I love movies, travelling and most of all Survivor. I watch plenty of amazing shows but no other show has kept me hooked for thirteen years. Survivor always keeps things interesting, Twenty-eight seasons in and I still can’t get enough. I spend the summer hiatus re-watching my favourite seasons and I count down the minutes until the next episode airs. I love the game, the characters and even the amazing cinematography Survivor has to offer. Survivor takes risks and they aren’t afraid to keep us guessing as to what is going to happen next. I love Survivor and I can’t wait to discuss it in a community of people who also realize that Survivor is the greatest show ever.”
Andrew has joined the team as a contributing editor.
Bridget Vellturo
Our fourth female to join the team in this intake is Bridget! Whilst Bridget may have only begun watching the show at the beginning of Survivor: One World, she has seen ever single episode of the show, labeling herself as a “binge-watcher” of Survivor.
“Hey guys, I’m Bridget, and I’m a student from upstate New York, where there is still two feet of snow on the ground… in March! I love traveling, having studied abroad in the U.K. on two separate occasions and music, having co-created a music blog with my friend this past fall.
I am relatively new to Survivor, (I didn’t really ever see or get into the show until Spring of 2012). But don’t let the mere twenty-three months fool you, I have seen every episode of seasons one to twenty-three approximately five times each and have religiously watched seasons twenty-four to twenty-eight live. My favourite seasons are China, (so many great characters and kind of brought the audience back to “old school Survivor”), and Heroes vs. Villains, (so many hilarious, ironic moments and loved the variety of players from all different Survivor eras). I love how in Survivor one mistake can cost you the game and the complexity of the strategy overall. My favourite players are those who know Survivor is, first and foremost, a television show and, secondly, a game, (think of people like Rob Cesternino, Parvati Shallow, Courtney Yates and Randy Bailey to name a few). I applied to be on the show this past winter, wishing to be the first female red-head to win the game. Unfortunately, I didn’t hear anything back, (but maybe next year!).
I first discovered Survivor Oz about a year ago and immediately would check weekly for new top-ten articles and power rankings. This summer, I listened to basically all the interviews as a break from binge-watching the seasons. I am thrilled to join the Survivor Oz team as an Ozlet and look forward to contributing in any way I can!”
Bridget has joined the team as a contributing editor.
There you have it, thirteen new Ozlets ready to step through the doors of the Survivor Oz offices for the first day of the rest of their lives. Each and every one of them is keen to get started so keep an eye out for upcoming Feature Articles and Top Ten’s written by our bunch of newbies!
To everyone who sent in an application, thanks very much for your effort and we do appreciate you going through our “exhausting application process”. We will open up applications again one time in the future.
Introduction interviews with our newbies will happen soon for you to get to know your new Ozlets, and you’ll also hear them across some podcasts in the meantime! Feel free to leave a comment below welcoming them to Survivor Oz!