Now that Survivor has been airing for almost 25 years, the hit reality show has such a lengthy history that new fans have to figure out which seasons to watch first. There are also many Survivor facts for the show’s fans to learn, like who the first player to be medically evacuated was. On top of that, fans get to learn that Survivor has had many great seasons, lots of highly respected winners, and some truly fantastic players.

There are also several facts about Jeff Probst to learn, including that he dated a former player for years. If that wasn’t interesting enough, it turns out that, on top of having scary moments, Jeff has also suffered several brutal injuries because of hosting Survivor.

Jeff Probst Suffered Serious Injuries While Filming Survivor

When most fans imagine what it would be like to compete on Survivor, they envision the other players as the scariest thing they will face. After all, it is almost always the other players who are responsible for Survivor competitors exiting the game.

The thing that a lot of people underestimate, however, is how physically dangerous playing Survivor can be. After all, many Survivor players have been forced to leave the game after suffering injuries that required medical attention.

When seasons of Survivor are filmed, Jeff Probst spends a lot of time around the same locales that the players do. While that is obvious, most Survivor fans have no idea that Jeff has also suffered some serious injuries because of the show.

In February 2006, Jeff Probst made an appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, as can be seen in a YouTube video of the resulting interview.

The 10 Craziest Times That Survivor Players Were Medically Evacuated, According to Screen Rant

• Michael Skupin Burns His Hands
• Jonathan Penner Suffers An Infected Knee
• James Clement Suffers An Infected Finger
• Joe Dowdle Suffers An Infected Leg
• Russell Swan Passes Out
• Kourtney Moon Fractures Her Hand
• Shamar Thomas Gets Sand In His Eye
• Pat Cusack Injures His Back
• Caleb Reynolds Collapses
• Colton Cumbie Gets Appendicitis

While talking to the talk show host, Jeff gave viewers a startling picture of the kind of thing he goes through as a result of being Survivor’s host.

Roughly four minutes into their interview, Conan asked Jeff about any injuries he’d suffered because of Survivor.

In response, Jeff began by claiming that none of the injuries he’d suffered were that serious. However, Jeff then described being stung by a scorpion on a part of his body that seems like it would be very painful.

“Well, sadly, nothing very, heroic, but in Africa, I had a scorpion sting me on the Achilles, which doesn’t sound painful, but is, and gets you zero sympathy.”

In response to Jeff downplaying the severity of a scorpion sting, Conan expressed amazement. “Zero sympathy? A scorpion bite is deadly. Is it not?”

From there, Jeff went on to describe a Survivor injury he suffered that was a lot worse than the scorpion sting.

As Jeff explained to Conan, he had a jellyfish sting him in the most vulnerable part of his body. Furthermore, Jeff told Conan that the sting happened in the middle of a challenge and was incredibly painful.

“I’ll tell you what does feel deadly is having a jellyfish sting you. I’m in the water for about 6 hours, and once again, we’re talking about the nether regions. The jellyfish stung me there, and we were in the middle of a challenge. “

It would be interesting to know if that challenge was called off or delayed after Jeff got stung.

The first two injuries that Jeff described to Conan seemed to be the natural repercussions of him spending a lot of time in nature. However, the third injury Jeff mentioned was entirely the Survivor’s host’s fault, since he made a foolish decision.

As he explained to Conan, Jeff relieved himself on an electric fence during the filming of a Survivor season.

After Conan questioned if that injury had anything to do with Survivor, Jeff explained what happened. “I get into Australia. It’s late at night. I’m in a tent. They go, by the way, there’s a little electric fence to keep the animals out, so you’ll be fine. So I’m thinking somewhere there’s a big wooden fence. I walk out in the middle of the night to kinda relieve myself, and an electric fence is this yellow strip of wire, and I pee right on it. And it sends a little shock back to you.”

As alarming as those three stories are, what Jeff didn’t say during that interview was even more telling. After all, Jeff didn’t mention during that interview that he’d suffered those three painful sounding injuries during the first six years he spent hosting Survivor.

As of January 2025, Jeff Probst has spent almost 25 years hosting Survivor. That makes you wonder how many more excruciating injuries Jeff has since suffered because of Survivor.

On top of that, Jeff didn’t tell Conan that he almost died because of Survivor in the year 2004.

How Hosting Survivor Almost Killed Jeff Probst

On May 10th, 2023, an episode of “On Fire with Jeff Probst: The Official Survivor Podcast” was released. As can be heard on the Apple Podcasts website, Jeff said something startling during that podcast episode. It was revealed that in 2004, Jeff almost died while filming a stunt for Survivor.

As Jeff explained, he’d jumped out of a plane while filming a Survivor stunt and became distracted and engaged his parachute too late. “I check my altimeter, and then I look at the horizon, and I decide to take in beautiful California. So I’m just looking at the horizon and thinking, ‘This is amazing.’ And I look down at my altimeter and it says 4,500 feet.”

Fortunately, Jeff still had more than enough time to engage his parachute and land safely. As Jeff explained during the podcast, however, after pulling his parachute, he realized something else had gone wrong.

“The next thing they teach you is to ask yourself two questions: Is it there, meaning, is your parachute above your head? And is it square? Is it there and is it square? I look up. Is it there? Yes. Is it square? No, meaning it doesn’t have four points. It has not opened. This is no lie.”

Fortunately, Jeff had been trained about what to do in that situation. During the podcast episode, Jeff explained that his training kicked in, and his life was saved.

While everything turned out okay, it is easy to imagine how scary that would have been for Jeff.

In this long-running reality competition show, sixteen people are split into two tribes and must survive off the land in various rural locales. Each week, they compete in challenges for resources, luxuries, or immunity — and each week, one person is voted out by their teammates, losing their chance at being the sole Survivor.

Release Date

May 31, 2000

Network

CBS

Cast

Jeff Probst

Seasons

45

Story By

Jeff Probst

Writers

Jeff Probst

Directors

Jeff Probst

Showrunner

Jeff Probst

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