255: Jarrad Seng

Jarrad Seng is an Australian photographer, videographer, artist and former contestant on the toughest game on the planet - Survivor.

I’m very aware that as a white, straight, male, middle class person - that I was always seeing people that looked like me not only in the world but also on TV.

Jarrad didn’t have that.

With a mum from Christmas Island and a Dad from Malaysia - the phrase ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’ was very real for him growing up in Western Australia.

Today we speak about what life was like growing up where he did - his path to becoming a professional photographer, and indeed what affect instagram is having on us as a society.

Then somewhere around the 1/2 way mark we start talking about Survivor.

If you don’t know what survivor is - as far as I’m concerned it’s probably the greatest game invented by people.

Part hunger-games, part battle of the minds, it’s an incredible exploration to the nature of humans in the face of adversity. If you’ve never watched an episode - it’s more than just shirtless dudes throwing coconuts through a hoop - it’s so much more. It’s like the hardest game of chess you can imagine, combined with the back-channeling and politics of a climate-summit, mixed with the toughest crossfit class you’ve ever taken, while living in the outdoors in a way that would make Bear Grylls wish for a sleeping bag.

I’m grateful that Jarrad made the time to come on the podcast, and since we recorded this - we’ve both attended the finale show - and let me tell you, it’s going to blow the roof off when you see who wins.

So without any further delay, come to a hotel room in Sydney where my family is living while the bathrooms in our apartment are being renovated, and enjoy this conversation with Jarrad Seng.

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