Since Adam Klein won Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X and competed on Survivor Winners at War, he has earned a reputation for being an open book with his fans. After all, Klein has blogged about winning Survivor, he took part in a revealing Reddit Ask Me Anything session, and he shares about his personal life on social media.
Even though Klein is such an open figure, many Survivor fans don't know many details about the biggest controversy of his public life: his reality show audition coaching business. Thankfully, Klein spoke extensively about his business during an exclusive October 2025 interview with Surviving Tribal and FanSided. Klein's comments about his business were very revealing about why he started his business, how it helps people, and how surprised he was by Jeff Probst's comments about it.
Adam Klein's reality show audition coaching business began "organically"
As of October 2025, Adam Klein has been coaching people on how to get cast on reality shows for several years now. Since his business has been successful for some time now, Klein has a website with instructions on how potential clients can sign up and testimonials about the value of his work. While he now operates a successful business, it turns out that wasn't always his plan. Instead, when Klein was asked during his Surviving Tribal interview about how his business began, he immediately stated that the process began "organically."
When Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X first aired, reality show viewers were introduced to Klein and quickly realized he was one of their own, a superfan. The fact that he was a superfan who got on the show inspired viewers who dreamed of competing on Survivor to reach out and ask for his advice.
Klein explained that he initially began helping people with their audition videos in return for them donating to a lung cancer charity that fought to find a cure for the disease that tragically took his beloved mother's life.
After Millennials vs. Gen X, I was sort of like one of the super fans of the season. So, people would ask me for advice on their audition video and that sort of thing. I was raising money for lung cancer research at the time, so I had the option open for people to make a donation, and if they made a donation, 'Send me your video and I'll review it.'
After those earlier efforts, Klein returned to national television when he competed during Survivor Winners at War. Since that was a landmark season that aired at the height of the COVID-19 shutdowns, it garnered many viewers. That resulted in Klein being inundated with an overwhelming number of requests from people who wanted his audition video feedback.
That problem presented itself at the same time as Klein had a unique opportunity because props from Survivor: Winners at War were being auctioned off, with the proceeds going to charity. Klein explained that he came up with a solution to help many fans, make money for the charity he cared deeply about, and get some of his keepsakes from the season.
"Then Winners at War happened, and I started to get flooded with requests because I was the superfan of the season… I got so many requests that I couldn't keep up, and I had to say, “No.” I had to say that, and I didn't like that. I liked doing it. I liked helping people with it. At the end of the season, so many people were asking me for help that I was like, “Why don't I do this all at once?' So I was like, I'll do a workshop.'
"I posted about the workshop, and did it so it was like a three-pronged benefit thing. I charged $40 for it and said, 'For the $40, you guys will get the workshop and help with it. What I'm going to get out of it is I'm going to use the money that we raised from this in the Survivor Charity Auction to get souvenirs for myself from the season. And then all of the money is going to go to charity through the auction…' It was sort of a win-win-win. We had this fun Workshop, I got these souvenirs, and the money went to charity."
It is worth noting that Klein has a long history of personally giving his time and money to charities. For example, a 2017 People article spotlighted the fact that Klein took part in a 21-day cross-country cycling event called The 2017 Coast 2 Coast 4 Cancer Ride. That same article also noted that when Klein won Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, he donated $100,000 of his prize money to Stand Up To Cancer.
Klein finished explaining that seeing the number of people who wanted to be part of that workshop made him realize that there was a legitimate market for a business like his. Klein also explained that he was inspired to start his business at that time because the shutdowns had stalled his career, which was working as a motivational speaker.
"When over 400 people signed up for it, I was like, 'Holy crap. There's a market here. There's a lot of people who are interested in this.' So, I was like, 'If you want to meet with me privately…' That's the first time I ever charged for it for myself, not for charity... Not only was it fun for me, but now I was making some money.
"Remember, this was during the pandemic, and I was a motivational speaker, so I had no job. I was laid off from my own job basically because all the bookings that I had went virtual, and then when you go virtual, you don't meet people. So, I stopped getting keynote speaking opportunities because I always get them by being in a place and talking to people. And so, it filled my time and gave me something to do, and a way to make some money."
Why Adam Klein's reality show coaching business is a good thing
From the outside looking in, some people may assume that as part of Adam Klein's business, the former Survivor winner teaches people to trick reality show casting agents. If that were the case, his efforts almost certainly would be a negative thing for reality shows. However, he explained that anyone who made that assumption would be very wrong.
Instead, Klein teaches his clients about how to tell their true stories in a compelling way that will make them stand out among the glut of audition tapes that casting agents see.
"It's storytelling coaching. It's like figuring out who you are and what makes you interesting. A lot of people, they say the same stuff that everyone else is saying. It’s like, 'Let’s get to know each other a little bit. And why haven’t you talked about this thing, that you have this personality trait so much more than anybody else. But you're still talking about a competitive you are, how manipulative you are, how you can get along with any different person from all walks of life, how you’re a chameleon and all the same stuff that everybody else is saying in there. Why are we doing that? Let's focus on the things that really make you stand out…' As I started to do it I got better and better and better at it and I started to come up with with you know lessons and things that would make people understand themselves better and be a better storyteller…
"I think there's a big misconception from people who have not worked with me about what it is that I do. There's a lot of misconceptions. I think some people think that I encourage people to fake it, to play a character, play a role. Nothing could be further from the truth."
As most reality show fans will likely already realize, the lessons that Klein described very clearly seem like they would be applicable to a lot more than just the audition process. Instead, the fact that Klein teaches potential reality show competitors how to tell stories with their words could make them a lot more captivating for viewers if they ever make it on TV. With that in mind and the fact that his business encourages clients to represent themselves truthfully, it seems like Klein's influence could make reality shows in general better.
It is also important to note that while talking to Surviving Tribal, Klein was very forthright that he doesn't take credit for any of his clients potentially getting on reality shows.
"I'll never say like I got these people on the show," Klein said. "That's not in my vocabulary. I don't believe that."
Instead, Klein stated that his role is as a coach who can be "helpful in the process." On top of helping people get on the show, Klein also explained that he believed that his clients take more away from working with him than that.
"I don't advertise this as the goal because I don't want to oversell myself. But, there are times when people come out with a degree of confidence that maybe they didn't have before or an ability to sell themselves in different situations. It’s sort of storytelling and coaching through the lens of how to get on reality television. That's the lens through which we look inside and learn how to better tell our stories, but there's a lot of self-reflection that happens in my work with people. I think it goes a little bit deeper than just, 'Get on the reality show.'"
Adam Klein was shocked by Jeff Probst's reaction to his business
After it became known that Adam Klein had started his business, one person who had a notable reaction was Survivor's host and executive producer, Jeff Probst.
During a 2023 episode of "On Fire with Jeff Probst: The Official Survivor Podcast" titled "The Game Is On," the host called Klein's business out without mentioning it by name. To be specific, Probst argued that anyone who would see value in Klein's business wouldn't get on the show.
"This business is very specific. Former players are charging money to potential future players with advice about how to get on the show, how to get us to notice you, what you should do or say on your video, things like that. Here's the headline, to anyone who's thinking about doing this. If you need the coaching of a former player to help you get on the show, you're not gonna get on the show."
Klein was asked about that remark and a couple of similar statements that Probst made about his business. In response, Klein explained how shocked he was by Probst's remarks. That said, Klein also expressed nothing but love and admiration for Probst as a person and Survivor as a show. Klein also spoke about appreciating how much Survivor has done for him.
"[I was] blown away to be honest. It was and it still is hard for me because like this is my childhood hero. You know what I mean?
"I have so much love and respect for this man, the show and everyone who works on it, and the casting team. I don’t want beef with one of my favorite things in the world. Survivor’s been such a huge part of my life. My first ever email was literally SoleSurvivorAdam@aol.com when I was 10 years old. This is such a big part of my life, they’ve done so much for me in my life, I would not even be able to live the life that I’m living, and have the business I have without Survivor. I have so much love and respect."
From there, Klein expressed the obvious sentiment that it didn't feel good for him to learn that Probst had spoken out against his business. Klein also explained that the situation made him feel cut off from the Survivor community at the time.
"When your hero is disappointed, or angry, or whatever, it doesn't feel good... It definitely hurt. I felt a little bit like a pariah in the community."
Based on Klein's remarks about his business, it seems clear that he is trying to help his clients fulfill their dreams and grow as people while making reality shows better.
With that in mind, it is easy to understand why he would have been surprised to have inspired frustration in Probst or anyone else.
Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.