7 vs. Wild

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7 vs. Wild
Genre
Developed byFritz Meinecke
Country of originGermany
Original languageGerman
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes32
Production
Executive producersFritz Meinecke, Johannes Hovekamp, Maximilian Kovacs
Running time45 minutes
Original release
NetworkYouTube
ReleaseNovember 16, 2021 (2021-11-16) –
present

7 vs. Wild is a German reality TV-show invented by YouTuber Fritz Meinecke and his team. The series, which is published on YouTube, follows the experiences of seven YouTubers who have to survive on their own in the wild for seven days. They are only allowed to take seven preselected items with them and the clothing they wear. The participants have to persevere isolation and the moods of nature.[1]

Season 1 (2021)[edit]

The first season took place at the end of August 2021. The 16 episodes were published from the beginning of November to the end of December 2021 on the Meinecke's YouTube channel.[2]

Concept[edit]

The seven participants with varying degrees of experience in bush crafting, camping and outdoor activities were dropped off into an unspecified lake in Sweden. After swimming to the shore each participant was allowed to move 500 meters in each direction along the lake and as far as they wanted into the mainland. According to the rules they were allowed to take seven items with them, clothing not counted. The clothes, were predetermined by their use (e.g. T-shirt, gloves, headgear, buff, warming layer, socks, shoes).

The aim of the series is to survive in the wild and in complete human isolation. This includes activities such as: searching for food, building or finding a shelter and a place to sleep, passing of prepared tasks (for points) and filming them. Thanks to the location on a lakeshore the water supply and the possibility to fish are guaranteed. All the participants have access to a sealed first aid kit, a sealed mobile phone, a GPS transmitter and the technical equipment for filming.[3]

In the first episode the competition rules, participants and the items chosen in each case were presented. Subsequent episodes showed the participants' recordings, which lasted approximately half a day per episode, with the length of the segments per participant depending on the quantity and quality of the material provided. From the time of elimination the participants are no longer shown at least in the main part of the show, even if they decide to remain on the filming site.

The participants are obliged to daily confirm their well-being by pressing the dead man's switch. Should they fail to do it, they are eliminated and picked up. In addition, the participants have to open a sealed envelope containing a daily challenge. Participation in these tasks is voluntary, but points can be earned by participating, which plays a role in determining the overall winner.

The use of the cell phone carried for emergencies only, will result in direct elimination of the participant, and the use of materials from the first aid kit will be sanctioned with point deductions.[4]

The winner is the participant who stays in the game the longest. If more than one participant remains in the game until the end, the winner is the one who achieves the highest score in the challenges. They will be awarded a 10,000 euro prize, which is donated to a charity organization of their choice.[4]

Participants and selected items[edit]

Participant Item
Tools Source of fire Storage and accessories Outdoor kitchen Other Amount
Fritz Meinecke Kukri Fire striker Sleeping bag, tarp tent, parachute cord Pot Fishing kit 7
Martin "Survival Mattin" Rudloff[5] Knife Lighter Sleeping bag, hammock, plastic tarpaulin Water filter with a bottle Fishing kit 7
David "Dave" Henrichs[6] Knife, saw Lighter Sleeping bag, tarp tent Pot Hygiene kit 7
Niklas "Niklas on fire" Röder[5] Knife saw Fire striker Sleeping bag, tarp tent, parachute cord Pot 7
Pascal "Bommel" Bommert[5] Hatchet Fire striker Sleeping bag, hammock, tarp tent, parachute cord Pot 7
Fabio Schäfer[5] Knife Fire striker 2
Christian "Reloadiak" Nosty[7] Knife, saw Fire striker Sleeping bag Pot Fishing kit, hygiene kit 7

Episode overview[edit]

Day Episode Title Published Challenge Scores
Fritz Mattin Chri Fabio Bommel Dave Niklas
01 The Start 06 November 2021
01 02 The Exposure 10 November 2021 Swim from the boat to the shore [points]
shortest time [min]
3
5:01
4
4:55
2
5:03
6
3:57
5
4:17
7
3:07
1
5:24
03 The Decisions 13 November 2021
02 04 Bear Terrain 17 November 2021 Craft a torch [points]
longest burning time [min]
7
59:48
3
1:42
5
2:45
6
7:18
4
2:22
dropped out dropped out
05 Fatal Torch Mistakes 20 November 2021
03 06 Objects Submitted 24 November 2021 Submit objects until the end of the seven days [points] 13 0 0 13 2
07 Consequential Submission 27 November 2021
04 08 Night Rescue 01 December 2021 Drill a fire [points] 0 0 0 0 dropped out
09 Mental Decay 04 December 2021
05 10 Crafting Rafts 08 December 2021 Craft a raft [points] 7 0 0 0
11 Broken Seal 11 December 2021
06 12 Mindset against Forces of Nature 15 December 2021 Alternative sources of food
(Insects and worms) [points]
7 1 0 dropped out
13 New Projects 18 December 2021
07 14 The Final Challenge 22 December 2021 Stacking stones [points]
highest stack [cm]
5
154
6
155
7
190
2-7 15 Niklas' 7 Days 25 December 2021
8 16 The Grand Final 29 December 2021
Final scores [points] 42 14 14 (25) (11) (7) (1)
Final positions 1. 2. 2. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Winner[edit]

With 42 points, Fritz Meinecke was the winner of the first season. The prize of 10,000 euros was donated to Robert Marc Lehmann's project Mission Erde.[8] Chris and Mattin shared the second place due to the same score. The following places were determined by the date of elimination.

Reception[edit]

The aired episodes have an average of over four million views.[9] The Stuttgarter Nachrichten announced the start of the series.[10]

After the series' launch, the youth radio program of the SWR (the Southwest Broadcasting is a regional public broadcasting cooperation serving the southwest of Germany) DASDING wrote: "The survival format '7 vs. Wild' is going through the roof on YouTube right now." Web video producer MontanaBlack stated that, "it's one of the most hyped formats ever on YouTube."[11] The news portal Watson (a Swiss news portal) called the series "brilliant."[4]

The episodes also received attention due to "live reactions" from popular streamers such as Simon Unge,[12] Jens Knossalla[13] and Rezo.[14] Additionally, some of the participants responded to the episodes by providing additional background information, such as from Fritz Meinecke.[15]

Season 2 (2022)[edit]

The second season of 7 vs. Wild was published each Wednesday and Saturday on YouTube. It is accompanied by the behind-the-scenes videos on Dave's channel.

Participants[edit]

Season 3 (2023)[edit]

The third season is planned for August/September 2023 in the Canadian province of British Columbia. This season brings rule changes in comparison to the first and second seasons. The duration of the season was extended from 7 days to 14 days. In this season the contestants compete in teams of two and not with a set amount of items but with whatever they can fit into a predefined bottle. In the preparation and announcement phase of the season the management nominated, among others, moderators Joko Winterscheidt and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf who declined to participate. Its shown on Amazon Freevee.

Participants[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "7 vs. Wild – Der Beginn – Folge 1". YouTube (in German). Fritz Meinecke. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  2. ^ "7 vs. Wild – Alle ungeklärten Fragen zum Projekt" (in German). Fritz Meinecke. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  3. ^ "Diese YouTuber werden in Schwedens Wildnis ausgesetzt – und es ist grandios". Watson.ch (in German). 2021-11-25. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  4. ^ a b c Diese YouTuber werden in Schwedens Wildnis ausgesetzt – und es ist grandios von Watson retrieved 2 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d "Influencer in der Wildnis: Youtube-Serie "7 vs. Wild" enttarnt Schwächen des Fernsehens". Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung (in German). 2021-12-12. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  6. ^ "David Henrichs – Crushing Media Solutions – Contact". Archived from the original on 2021-11-30. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  7. ^ "Reloadiak | Über mich" (in German). Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  8. ^ "Folge 16". Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  9. ^ "Fritz Meinecke's Mostviewed YouTube Videos – Socialblade.com". Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  10. ^ "7 vs Wild" – Das Survival Experiment auf Youtube von den Stuttgarter Nachrichten retrieved 2 December 2021.
  11. ^ '7 vs. Wild' mit MontanaBlack und Unge? Archived 2021-11-22 at the Wayback Machine von Dasding retrieved 2 December 2021.
  12. ^ "Youtube-Show "7 vs. Wild": Kandidat aus dem Südwesten verblüfft Konkurrenten" (in German). 2021-11-22. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  13. ^ Reaktion auf 7 vs. Wild – FOLGE 1 von Jens Knossalla auf YouTube retrieved 27 November 2021.
  14. ^ Rezo Reagiert auf 7 vs Wild | Folge 3 von Rezo auf YouTube retrieved 2 December 2021.
  15. ^ 7 Vs Wild Teilnehmer reagiert auf Folge 1 | Fabio Schäfer Live von Fabio Schäfer auf YouTube retrieved 15 December 2021.