For some, competing on “Survivor” would be a dream come true. For Cincinnati native Greg Insco, it would provide closure.
Insco’s journey to competing on the reality TV show started in 2005 when he asked his best friend Megan, “What’s the craziest thing I could do to get on ‘Survivor?'” She suggested walking across the country to drop off his VHS audition tape.
The conversation was a joke at the time, but on Oct. 28, 2006, Megan died from a brain aneurysm at 19. Insco realized walking from Cincinnati to Los Angeles to chase his dream was something he had to do.
He’s still waiting for his chance to be a castaway, but this year he was invited to the next best thing – The “Survivor 50” live finale, where Aubry Bracco was crowned the winner on May 20.
But that’s not enough for the superfran.
“I didn’t give up 20 years of my life to go to a finale to watch other people who’ve played multiple times,” he said. “That wasn’t the goal. The ultimate goal is closure at this point because I can’t make them put me on.”
A Cincinnati man’s cross-country journey to land on ‘Survivor’
Insco began his 2,220-mile journey in April 2009, walking 30 miles a day. It took him 76 days to reach the “Survivor” production studio, but a casting director rejected him because he was “too nice” for the show.
“It was brutal,” he said. “The (casting crew) absolutely destroyed me. And, you know, they said you’re only an idiot if you do the same thing and expect a different result, but I never got anything in life without persistence.”
Then, the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down. Insco convinced himself that if he just got five minutes of “Survivor” host Jeff Probst’s time, he’d “get whatever (he) needed out of that to know, or feel whatever (he) needed to feel.”
He decided to try again and started his trek to the live “Survivor 41” finale. But, unbeknownst to him, that year’s finale didn’t have a live taping because of COVID-19.
On Day 82 of his cross-country walk in 2021, when he was outside of Flagstaff, Arizona, an officer stopped him. She told him it was illegal to walk on the highway, so he had two choices: go to jail or ride a Greyhound bus until he was out of the jurisdiction.
Insco said he listened to the officer and took the Greyhound, but the bus driver fainted while going 70 mph.
“We flew off the road. There were 18 people on the bus. I was one of nine to walk away,” he said. “I don’t really know what happened to the other nine, but after that, it was like, ‘Oh, my God. I want closure even more.’ That was just such a brutal thing to live through.”
He returned home following the accident, but he was still eager to appear on the show. In 2024, he sold his rental properties and invested $250,000 into cryptocurrency. Shortly after, his money peaked at $1.5 million.
With his newfound money, Insco gave his dream another shot.
“The thing I want the most, more than any of that money, is closure to ‘Survivor,'” he said.
In 2025, Insco packed his bags and headed for Los Angeles. This time, he mainly slept in his car. When he arrived at the studio lot, he had a large cardboard cutout of Probst and check made out for $1 million that he planned to give to him, although he knew Probst would “never take (it).”
He walked by CBS Studios and CBS for hours, waving both the life-sized Probst and the giant check, to no avail.
Then, a dog sniffed his ankle.
Insco was on the phone with his friend when he realized the dog’s owner was Probst. A few of Probst’s friends told him they saw someone with a cardboard cutout of him and a $1 million check.
“[Probst] is recording me and he’s very intuitive,” Insco said. “He’s asking questions, like it could not be going any better. And then he goes, ‘Oh, crap. I was getting my car washed when I saw you. I have to run.”
He said Probst told him he’d have the casting director contact him, which he did seven months later.
Another dead end.
Insco’s time at ‘Survivor 50’ finale was almost a full-circle moment
Insco told the casting director he’d like to finish his walk from 2021, picking back up at the bus crash site and ending at the season 50 finale. Although the director couldn’t make promises, he said he’d try his best to get Insco in.
He started his cross-country trip on May 8, starting where he ended, with Day 83. After 10 days, he got word he’d been invited to the season 50 live finale, the first time the show has held a live taping since COVID-19.
“Survivor just emailed me! They are sending me and Maria (his girlfriend) to the LIVE FINALE WEDNESDAY NIGHT!!!!! Thank you all for the support/following along,” he wrote in a May 18 Facebook post.
Despite Insco making it to the live “Survivor” finale, finishing his walk on Day 95, he still hasn’t found closure.
“I think everyone there, except me, had a great time. I was just so sad,” he said. “And watching people who have played multiple times when I can’t even get through casting is, like, excruciating.”
“I know I sound selfish and ungrateful, and I’m sure the casting director wouldn’t want to hear that because it was a privilege and an honor to be there, but I just deserve more than that. I’m sorry,” he said.
What’s next?
It’s not likely Insco will give up on his “Survivor” dreams. He’s still figuring out how to get in touch with John Kirhoffer, who’s in charge of the “Survivor” Dream Team, which tests challenges for the show.
Will that satisfy him?
“If you can get on the ‘Survivor’ Dream Team, that’s going to have to be good enough,” Insco said he told himself, “whether you like it or not.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati man ends ‘Survivor’ trek at finale. He still needs closure
Reporting by Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
