Survivor-themed reality contest takes to woods outside McHenry

For anyone who is really into the long-running competition reality show “Survivor,” was a huge fan of “The Mole” when it was on the air, or repeatedly applied to appear on “The Amazing Race,” there is a gaming group for you.

Including here in McHenry County, where one such group plans to film its second season of a locally run version of “Survivor.”

From Sept. 3 through Sept. 9, McHenry 3rd Ward Alderman Frank McClatchey will be one of those gamers. He has been cast in McHenry resident Nikki Neises’ reality game, Survive.

Across the country, people apply to compete in local versions of those games, organized and hosted by volunteers and other enthusiasts, Neises said.

They are known as Live Reality Games, or LRG. Facebook, Twitter and Reddit have groups created for those who put on the local competitions and those who apply to play in them.

After participating in one of those Survivor-style games in Tennessee, Neises created her own version, now about to kick off its second year. It will be broadcast live on YouTube as it happens.

“I am a really big fan of the CBS version,” Neises said. Her dad owns 5 wooded acres outside of McHenry with a pool and grotto, making it the perfect location for a camping version of the CBS game show usually played on exotic island locations.

McClatchey and 19 other contestants will be living in the woods outside McHenry, camping and participating in reward and immunity challenges. Each day, contestants will be “voted off the island” until one person has outwitted, outplayed and outlasted the other players.

McClatchey also let the McHenry City Council know that he will miss the Sept. 5 meeting, as he will be in the woods with no access to a phone or the internet.

McClatchey had never applied to be on Survivor when he got a Facebook message from a friend-of-a-friend in late 2022. That person suggested he go to a link to apply online.

“I survived cancer. I can survive anything.”

—  McHenry City Alderman and Survive contestant Frank McClatchey

“I got an email back, asking for me to put a video resume together,” McClatchey said. Then, he met Neises and other game producers via a Zoom chat.

They asked him, “What makes you think you can survive this?” McClatchey said. “I survived cancer. I can survive anything” was his answer.

On the first day of competition and filming, each contestant will be given a tarp, rope, hatchet, flint, water, a cooking pot and rice, Neises said. The players will be spilt into teams and immediately perform a challenge to determine where they will make camp.

“They will arrive on the property and have no idea who each other are. They will be sizing up the competition as soon as they arrive,” she said.

Just like the TV show, there are “Immunity Idols” hidden for players to find, Neises said. Those who win games can earn advantages – like more food than just the rice provided.

The last person standing also wins $2,000, Neises said.

Those who tune in on YouTube “are seeing it raw” and as it happens, Neises said. She and the 10 other people running the production side have rented cameras that allow them to switch scenes and determine which camera is broadcasting live.

McClatchey said he has no idea who his teammates will be. Neises gave some hints: There are contestants coming from California, Chicago, Arizona and British Columbia in Canada. “We are kind of spread out,” she said.

McClatchey will be the “most local” person in the cast, Neises said.

Because some of the people in the LGR community know each other, “we don’t announce early. ... There are connections and we don’t want people to form pregame alliances,” Neises said.

Last year’s game is available to stream now at www.survivelrg.com. More information on the group can be found on the SurviveLRG Facebook page, and McClatchey’s game can be found at www.youtube.com/@surviveproductions when it starts.