Matt Klitscher
He came fifth on the 2018 season of Survivor New Zealand: Thailand, but now sassy serial reality star Adam O’Brien is determined to outwit, outlast and outplay a celeb-filled cast to claim the top spot on Treasure Island: Fans V Faves.
“I feel like Treasure Island is my game – this is the one I should have played,” the 33-year-old labourer tells Woman’s Day. “But Survivor really set me up well for this. I played a good social game and my strategy’s only evolved since then.”
Before spending 36 days in the remote Southeast Asian rainforest, Adam famously had 200 units of Botox injected into his forehead so he could maintain a poker face in emotional situations. He laughs, “I didn’t get any this time as my expression is a part of my personality and makes me more relatable. People didn’t trust me.”
He also made headlines for not having a bowel motion for 22 days during his time on Survivor. “I felt amazing,” grins Adam. “But when it finally started up again, it was intense, like giving birth!”
The irregular eating also led him to lose 18 kilos, which he’d mostly kept off until recently. Adam explains, “We had a loss in our family and we’re big emotional eaters. I only realised it as I was preparing to come to Fiji. I was like, ‘S**t, I’ve gained 15kg!’ But I reckon I could lose the same this time.”
Adam admits he was “negative and bitchy” on Survivor.
Looking back on his time on Survivor, Adam reflects, “It was life-changing for me. I learnt heaps about how resilient I am and without the distraction of technology, I sorted a lot of issues I had mentally.”
However, he cringes when he recalls watching the show back on TV, saying, “I thought I was a positive person, but I was nothing but negative and bitchy. I was shocked. At first, I shrugged it off as just being funny, but I’m more of a balanced person now – more masculine and a nice guy, which is better.”
Interestingly, Survivor wasn’t Adam’s first stint on a reality show. In 2013, he was pressured into auditioning for The X Factor Australia, where he wowed judges Ronan Keating and Dannii Minogue with a performance of Fallin’ by Alicia Keys.
Adam laughs, “I’d just gone to support a friend with my guitar, but I was drunk and the producers talked me into it. I got through to the bootcamp, but because I’d just moved to Australia and hadn’t sorted out my healthcare, I couldn’t travel, so I had to pull out.”
