Employee wants to be 'marooned' in the South Pacific

Pyle, 45, building supervisor of Carpenter Sports Building, is the state of Delaware's lone applicant to Survivor. The new series will "maroon" 16 people on an isolated tropical island in the South China Sea this spring for nearly six weeks and record their activities for the viewing public. In addition to the adventure, a $1 million prize will be awarded to the last survivor.

A 25-year UD employee, Pyle has conducted nearly a dozen outdoor leadership training courses in Winter Session with Roger Spacht, health and exercise sciences.

Pyle said he hopes the combination of his outdoor survival skills and psychological leadership abilities gives him an edge when the television producers begin making their first round of selections at the end of December from approximately 1,000 applications.

"I like teaching students and sharing my knowledge of the outdoors," Pyle said. "I teach them experiences I've lived through and taught myself."

Apparently a number of relatives, friends and associates thought of Pyle as soon as stories about the search for people to star in Survivor hit the news.

"People called me," he said, "or they would pass me in the hall and say, 'This is you!' I got four or five phone messages from people telling me to apply."

Eventually, Pyle received an application and sent out a three-minute video to California about himself. Also, there were numerous papers to sign, including legal documents and requests for medical information.

"I'd like to go for the adventure," he said. "The $1 million would be great, but that will demand a lot of head work. I'd like to go and spend two or three weeks on a deserted island off the coast of Borneo. To me, that would be an adventure.

"I lived for 30 days in the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming during an outdoor leadership certification class," he said. "There were nine of us. It was wonderful. When I get to go camping, I sleep outside, under the stars."

If Pyle gets beyond the multi-level screenings in Philadelphia and California, he could end up being dropped off on a deserted, snake-infested South Pacific island next March for seven weeks with 15 other adventure- seeking competitors-with nothing more than the clothes on their backs.

Pre-set cameras will record the contestants' activities and interactions, and the highlights will be broadcast during a 13-week television series that will be seen by millions of viewers. According to the script, every three days the survivors will vote to banish one of the remaining competitors from the island.

"It's going to be a cut-throat bunch," Pyle said, "and when it gets down to the last few remaining, it will be very interesting. People are telling me I'm an easy winner, and that I'll last until the end for sure. But, it will involve more than just knowing your survival techniques."??

A heavy dose of psychology and manipulation of a wide range of human emotions-plus luck-will determine the ultimate winner, Pyle said.

But, if he does happen to be the lucky one who wins the million, what will happen to the money?

Laughing, Pyle said his family and friends have already spent a bit of it.

A group of fellow dirt bikers, with whom he rides each Memorial Day weekend, reminded him that they all promised each other that if anyone ever won the lottery or made it big, they would buy each other new dirt bikes.

"My daughters are looking forward to me being on television more than the money," he said. "I'd probably give most of it away. I've got eight brothers and sisters."

Pyle said he was surprised by all the attention he has received so far, adding, "I'm not even a finalist. I can't believe the amount of excitement."

Only one person told Pyle she didn't want him to pursue his quest. Staci Truitt, recreation services, told him she was worried the exotic adventure might be dangerous. Pyle said he found her comment surprising, especially when everyone else is urging him to go for it. But, Pyle said he assured his co-workers that if he found any poisonous snakes, he would put them to good use, by making them part of a meal.

According to Pyle, with the relatively small number of applications, he figures his odds of getting dumped off on the snake-filled island are about 1,000 to 1. "Not really that bad," he said. "Better than playing the lottery-and more fun, at least for me.

"You see," he explained, "when most people think of a vacation, they want to be in a fancy hotel with a hot tub and room service. Me, I'll take the outdoors and the least amount of people and comfort as possible. Honestly, if I were stranded on a deserted island, it would be a dream vacation. So, being there with 15 people would be next to the best I could hope for.

"I think taking care of the food and water and shelter would be a piece of cake. That's the whole draw for me. To not hear a telephone would be heaven."

Vol. 19, No. 15

Dec. 16, 1999

Vol. 19, No. 15

Dec. 16, 1999

Employee wants to be
'marooned' in the South Pacific