Survivor: The man Australia loves to hate
Male model David Genat had everyone talking when he emerged as the villain on Australian Survivor last year. As he returns to TV, he reveals what really went on in the series – and what happens next.
Stellar
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Long before he morphed into the man that everybody loved to hate on 2019’s Australian Survivor: Champions V Contenders – 18 years ago, to be exact – David Genat was just a young guy gaining notice on another hit reality TV series, the early noughties staple Search For A Supermodel.
“I’d been watching Zoolander with a buddy of mine the night before they were doing the casting,” Genat tells Stellar. “They ran a commercial saying, ‘If you want to audition for the show, come on down,’ and I thought this is some sort of irony here. I just casually mentioned, ‘It would be really funny if someone went to the audition and did a Zoolander impression’ and my friend was like, ‘I will give you $50 if you do that.’”
A uni student at the time, Genat jumped at the offer of quick cash – and, true to his word, auditioned with an impression of the Blue Steel pose made famous by Ben Stiller in the cult film. It paid off: he got cast and ended up winning the show, alongside another then-unknown hopeful named Nicole Trunfio.
“I can’t believe it worked,” he says. “That’s what launched my modelling career. I signed up with Ford, who I’m still signed with today, and moved to the States almost immediately.”
Genat’s CV is now an aspiring model’s dream: stints as the face of luxury brands Ralph Lauren, Montblanc and Tommy Hilfiger; numerous struts down global runways; appearances in fashion bibles including Vogue and Vanity Fair.
But the 39-year-old, who lives in New York with wife Pearl Christensen and their daughter Rei (he also has two sons, Winston and Hugo, from a previous relationship), keeps an eager eye out for jobs back home.
“I’ve never spent more than six months out of Australia,” says Genat, who is originally from Perth. “It’s the highlight of my career when I get to be back in the country.”
So he was quick to say yes when Australian Survivor came calling last year. Coupled with his love of the show and an interest in furthering a different kind of career, it felt like a no-brainer.
“I’ve been studying acting for some time, and that’s the direction I’d like to go in,” he says. “So when the opportunity came up, I thought it would be a good segue.”
Anyone who watched the show would say Genat did a fine job of acting the villain. Which begs the question: was it just acting?
“I’ve watched my fair share of Survivor and I’ve always liked the loveable villains... so I did go into the game wanting to be able to do that,” he admits.
“I’m not sure if I was that loveable until a few episodes in, though. When you’re filming, you have no idea how it’s going to make the final edit. I was really going after that kind of character in editing and that’s how it came out. So I loved it.”
Genat didn’t come close to winning (he placed 10th) – but he forged a few friendships, in particular one with his onscreen arch-nemesis Shaun Hampson, former AFL player and fiancé to Megan Gale.
“Shaun is legitimately the nicest human in the world,” he says. “It was a game for him as it was for me, and we thoroughly enjoyed that rivalry.
“What’s great about Survivor is that it is relatable, there’s a character you can get behind and identify with... but maybe it’s hard to relate to Shaun because he’s six foot six and married to a supermodel. Geez, he’s a beautiful man, isn’t he? Jeepers creepers!”
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Genat lost more than the $500,000 grand prize on offer. Like most players, he dropped some serious weight – in his case a full 11kg. Genat’s wife is a fitness trainer, so he had some expert help putting it back on – which was not as simple as one might think.
“It was hard, absolutely,” he says. “But usually with my job I’m restricting calories as you have to be pretty skinny as a model. So it was pleasant trying to get strong and eating as much food as I could. She had it all mapped out like science on how to build the weight back up.”
And he needed it. Genat headed back to the jungle just a few weeks after his final tribal council for another go, this time as part of the cast for Australian Survivor: All-Stars.
He wasn’t at his physical peak, but Genat couldn’t pass up another chance to win – and perhaps to make a different kind of impression on his new rivals.
“I was really worried about having a target on my back,” he explains. “A lot of my game had already played out onscreen. But then I realised everyone else’s had, too.
“So what I thought would be a disadvantage ended up being an advantage. There’s still a definite strategy shift for me this time. But not too big!”
Australian Survivor: All-Stars premieres 7.30pm, February 3, on Network 10.