A Dream Team marooning rehearsal for 'Survivor,' Season 50.' Robert Voets/CBS ©2025 Logo text Long before Jeff Probst shouts “Come on in!” to Survivor players at a challenge, another group has already leapt, belly-flopped, balanced and bruised their way through every step. They’re not contestants, but they are among the most vital players you’ve never seen on screen: the Dream Team.
Originally created so producers wouldn’t have to test elaborate obstacle courses themselves, the Dream Team has evolved into something far more integral to Survivor’s operation — a training ground, a backstage family and one of the show’s most reliable pipelines for behind-the-scenes talent. What began as a logistical workaround under co-executive producer John Kirhoffer has become a launchpad for future camera operators, producers and department heads.
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While in Fiji ahead of Survivor 50, The Hollywood Reporter spoke with current Dream Teamers Skylar Williams and Kevin Martinez, along with alumni Zach Sundelius (now a supervising producer), Brittany Crapper (co-executive producer), and brothers Tim (camera operator) and Chris Barker (Director of Aerial Photography), who now help capture the show’s signature scale and spectacle.
Find out what it takes to make the team, how the role has evolved and why one former Dream Teamer still calls it, “the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
How they got on the Dream TeamBrittany: I started on the Dream Team. It’ll forever be the best job I’ve ever had. I found out through a family friend. It sounded like the best job in the world. I reached out to her and she gave me Kirhoffer’s email, I sent in my resume and applied. You have to make these videos — I don’t know if you’ve heard about them. Mine was atrocious. I still thank John to this day for giving me a chance despite that horrible audition. But I submitted it, got on, and it was literally the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Kevin: I got into Dream Team through [supervising producer] Chris Marchand, who I’d worked with on Big Brother. He was there and started telling me about Survivor. I wasn’t sure about it; I’d never seen Survivor before but once I did, I was hooked. Skylar: I heard about it through my uncle, a former producer on the show. He said, “There’s this thing called the Dream Team. I think you’d be good at it.” I played sports growing up; I love to travel and learn about new cultures. So I reached out to Kirhoffer and Marchand: “I’d be really interested in this. I think I’d be good at it. I want to go into TV. This is my dream job.” After two years of talking with them, I turned 21 and I was on. Finding out I made it was the most exciting day of my life. Tim: I started on Dream Team in season 19. I got the job through a friend we lived with in Canada who worked in the challenge department with Kirhoffer. He got Chris [my brother] on the year before, and Chris said, “You gotta get a job on this Dream Team thing.” I was like, “Sign me up.” Zach: I’ve been a fan since day one. When I was in college, Jeff did a behind-the-scenes video for Survivor: China about Dream Teamers, but there wasn’t a way to apply. I spent years sending emails and resumes to random CBS addresses, never getting any traction. At one point, I made a Twitter account called Future Dream Team and chatted with people there. I connected with Gordon Holmes, a writer who covered Survivor. He said, “Future Dream Team, huh?” I told him my story and asked if he could help. He said, “No promises, but I’ll send your stuff along.” A month later, I got a call from Kirhoffer and about a month after that, I was in Samoa on the Dream Team.
Dream Teamers Skylar Williams and Kevin Martinez. Photo by Terry Terrones. What Dream Teamers actually do Skylar: When we’re not testing challenges or helping on shoot days, like holding lights or moving gear, we’re in the art workshop painting challenges. Painting a single wooden post can take days. Our typical day starts around 7:30 a.m. or 8 a.m. — we help on set, then to art, lunch, do test blocks, rehearsals and tribal council prep. It’s an 11- to 12-hour day. Brittany: We stand in at tribal councils, sitting where contestants do while lighting and camera setups get tested. So you’re a stand-in, a stunt double of sorts. The art department works closest with Dream Team. When we’re not running challenges or helping at tribal, we spend a lot of time painting and assembling challenge pieces. It’s really a bit of everything.
The Dream Team as a launching padBrittany: I explored different departments to see what interested me, and eventually realized producing was my passion. I started shadowing producers, spending days with them learning their roles. I landed a job as a nighttime segment producer for one season, then moved to daytime segment producer and producer; then supervising producer and now co-executive producer. Skylar: I’m really interested in producing. I shadowed and helped producers last season and this one. At Survivor, everyone wants you to succeed and teaches you to be the best in your field. We learn the show’s details and are prepped for long-term roles here. Kevin: I want to get into assistant directing (AD) or camera operating. I’ve done both this season and last, and love being hands on. My dream is directing and AD feels like a step closer. Staying as an AD is tough though since it’s competitive and promotions come from within, which I love. Tim: I’ve loved cameras since before the show, I just didn’t know how to break in. Joining Survivor meant meeting pros who took me under their wing, showing me gear and teaching me. After a few years as a camera assistant (AC), I moved up to camera operator. Chris: I started as a camera assistant. When drones started emerging, we used helicopters, but a few of us brought drones to set, made reels and got approval. The first drone season was Ghost Island (2017). Now we use about 15 drones and no helicopters. Zach: I was a journalism major so I was drawn to storytelling and producing. I worked in several departments but producing was my passion. After Dream Team, I briefly worked on The Jeff Probst Show. Then I was a night segment producer, then daytime segment producer, then producer on Island of the Idols and Edge of Extinction. Then I moved into the challenge producer/supervising producer role.
The Survivor familyKevin: I’ve never felt this kind of camaraderie on other shows. Here, it’s like, “We got you, we’ll help you.” We eat together, breakfast, lunch, dinner. I want to be here until I’m 80. Skylar: It’s a huge happy family. We’re together 24/7. I feel like that also helps build the bond and family that is Survivor. Zach: We’re all we got. So being in those close quarters with everyone, we’re seeing the same people every day. And it’s not just work. We work, but then we go eat dinner together and hang out together. I think because you’re all in pursuit of the same goal, that’s part of it. But I don’t think that alone is enough. There’s an institutional community that everyone here has cultivated from the beginning. When you step into it, you immediately get this sense that this is more than a job. People really care not only about the show but about each other. And then you want to just keep the ball rolling and be a part of it. Brittany: I don’t know if you can get a sense of it, but Survivor as a crew is like a massive family. Deeply connected, everybody loves each other so much and supports each other, and is there for each other. There’s nothing like it. I think a lot of that is due to the fact that they’ve always promoted from within. Everybody comes in and starts as a Dream Teamer. Dream Team isn’t just an entry level internship at a company, it is so much more than that. It is the start of becoming a part of this family, and what this beautiful show is.
I met my husband here. He doesn’t work on the show anymore, but when we met, he was standby props in our department and I was a Dream Teamer. Three years later we got married, and now we have three beautiful daughters who are here. He watches them and takes care of them while I work. It’s crazy how many Survivor babies there are. I want to say we’re creeping on the 50s or 60s and tons of marriages. When you travel and spend six months abroad, back in the day that used to be how long you were on location. It’s kind of inevitable. But it’s pretty cool.
John Kirhoffer as the heartbeatSkylar: He’s genuinely a father figure. He wants the best for all of us. He’s always looking out for us, making sure we’re all okay. Making sure we’re trying our best, working our hardest. He’s like a safe space for all of us. Kevin: I see John like a father figure. He’s our boss but he doesn’t feel like your typical boss. And even during challenges, he always tells us, “If you’re uncomfortable, don’t do it.” He understands that some people have phobias or are afraid of heights or have claustrophobia. He’s always looking out for us. Brittany: John really takes these Dream Teamers in as his own children. He cares so deeply and he makes sure that everybody’s happy and doing well, and he’s filled with the best advice. You learn so much from him. I still go to him for advice or a hug when I need it. He’s a really good dude, he’s done a lot of good for a lot of people. Chris: Kirhoffer is kind of like the camp counselor. You eat together, you run challenges together, you work art together. It’s a real bonding experience. Tim: Kirhoffer shepherds you through introducing you to each department and very quickly, everybody else on the crew takes you in and welcomes you. Then 15 years later you’re like, “Oh yeah, I’ve known these people for 15 years.” I started out being pretty overwhelmed with this 300 person crew. Then everybody just becomes friends and family, and it’s just such a treat to look forward to seeing the same people every year.
Survivor airs new episodes on Wednesdays at 8pm on CBS and Paramount+.
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