7 vs. Wild

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7 vs. Wild
Genre	Reality Survival
Developed by	Fritz Meinecke
Country of origin	Germany
Original language	German
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	64 + 1
Production
Executive producers	Fritz Meinecke, Johannes Hovekamp, Maximilian Kovacs
Running time	45...90 minutes
Original release
Network	YouTube, Prime Video
Release	6 November 2021 (2021-11-06) – 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 and Amazon, follows the experiences of 7 or 14 YouTubers who have to survive in the wilderness for 7 or 14 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]

Sea- son	Year	Duration	Participants	Country	Temperature (night/day)	Spot selection
01	2021	07 days	7 (7 single)	Sweden	05...10 °C / 10...20 °C	Scandtrack
02	2022	07 days	7 (7 single)	Panama	20...25 °C / 30...35 °C, high humidity	Wandermut
03	2023	14 days	14 (7 pairs) (knew partner before)	Canada	00...10 °C / 05...15 °C	SK Touristik
04	2024	14 days	7 (group of 7) (didn't know each other before)	New Zealand	−7...+5 °C / 00...15 °C, frost and snow	OrgaTeam itself

Interactive maps with all playgrounds of the four seasons

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]

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]

The seven participants were released in this relay in central Sweden between Hagfors and Vansbro on the 12 km² Lake Naren (60°14′N 13°50′E / 60.24°N 13.83°E / 60.24; 13.83 (Lake Naren)).

Participant	Selectable Items																Location of Release[5]
	tools				source of fire		storage and accessories					outdoor kitchen		other		Number of pieces
	Knife	Saw	Hatchet	Kukri	Fire striker	Lighter	Sleeping bag	Tarp tent	Parachute cord	Hammock	Plastic tarpaulin	Pot	Filter w. bottle	Fishing kit	Hygiene kit
Fritz Meinecke				Y	Y		Y	Y	Y			Y		Y		07	60°16′21″N 13°49′30″E / 60.2726°N 13.8249°E / 60.2726; 13.8249 (Season 1 Fritz Meinecke)
Martin "Survival Mattin" Rudloff[6]	Y					Y	Y			Y	Y		Y	Y		07	60°13′04″N 13°50′02″E / 60.2178°N 13.8340°E / 60.2178; 13.8340 (Season 1 Mattin)
David "Dave" Henrichs[7]	Y	Y				Y	Y	Y				Y			Y	07	60°15′50″N 13°48′44″E / 60.2638°N 13.8121°E / 60.2638; 13.8121 (Season 1 Dave)
Niklas "Niklas on fire" Röder[6]	Y	Y			Y		Y	Y	Y			Y				07	60°12′49″N 13°51′02″E / 60.2135°N 13.8505°E / 60.2135; 13.8505 (Season 1 Niklas on fire)
Pascal "Bommel" Bommert[6]			Y		Y		Y	Y	Y	Y		Y				07	60°15′19″N 13°50′03″E / 60.2554°N 13.8341°E / 60.2554; 13.8341 (Season 1 Bommel)
Fabio Schäfer[6]	Y				Y											02	60°13′38″N 13°51′21″E / 60.2273°N 13.8558°E / 60.2273; 13.8558 (Season 1 Fabio Schäfer)
Christian "Reloadiak" Nosty[8]	Y	Y			Y		Y					Y		Y	Y	07	60°14′37″N 13°50′29″E / 60.2437°N 13.8414°E / 60.2437; 13.8414 (Season 1 Reloadiak)

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.^[9] Chris and Mattin shared the second place due to the same score. The following places were determined by the date of elimination.

The aired episodes have an average of over four million views.^[10] The Stuttgarter Nachrichten announced the start of the series.^[11]

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."^[12] 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,^[13] Jens Knossalla^[14] and Rezo.^[15] Additionally, some of the participants responded to the episodes by providing additional background information, such as from Fritz Meinecke.^[16]

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.

The game took place at 7 different locations on Isla San José (8°16′N 79°07′W / 8.27°N 79.11°W / 8.27; -79.11 (Isla San José)) in the Pacific Ocean in Panama.

Participant	cancel- lation	Selectable Items												Number of pieces	Location of Release[17]
		Knife	Saw	Machete	Hatchet	Fire striker	Hammock	Bivouac sack	Mosquito net	Parachute cord	Pot	Filter w. bottle	7 Cigarettes
Antonia "Starletnova"	Day 2				Y	Y		Y				Y		04	8°17′55″N 79°07′39″W / 8.2987°N 79.1275°W / 8.2987; -79.1275 (Season 2 Starletnova)
Sabrina Outdoor	Day 4	Y	Y			Y					Y			04	8°18′35″N 79°06′06″W / 8.3097°N 79.1018°W / 8.3097; -79.1018 (Season 2 Sabrina Outdoor)
Fritz Meinecke	completed			Y										01	8°13′37″N 79°07′38″W / 8.2270°N 79.1271°W / 8.2270; -79.1271 (Season 2 Fritz Meinecke)
Jens "Knossi" Knossalla		Y				Y	Y		Y	Y		Y	Y	07	8°18′43″N 79°07′05″W / 8.3120°N 79.1181°W / 8.3120; -79.1181 (Season 2 Knossi)
Sascha Huber				Y		Y	Y			Y		Y		05	8°18′12″N 79°05′43″W / 8.3032°N 79.0953°W / 8.3032; -79.0953 (Season 2 Sascha)
Ottogerd "Otto Bulletproof" Karasch				Y										01	8°17′00″N 79°07′32″W / 8.2833°N 79.1255°W / 8.2833; -79.1255 (Season 2 Otto Bulletproof)
Joris (wildcarder)				Y		Y					Y			03	8°17′21″N 79°05′09″W / 8.2892°N 79.0857°W / 8.2892; -79.0857 (Season 2 Joris)

Season 3 took place in August/September 2023 in the Canadian province of British Columbia on Hope and Nigei Island (50°55′N 127°51′W / 50.91°N 127.85°W / 50.91; -127.85 (Hope Island and Nigei Island)). This season brought rule changes compared to seasons 1 and 2. The duration of the season was extended from 7 days to 14 days. In this season, participants competed in teams of two, not with a set number of items, but with what they could fit into a predefined bottle. In the preparation and announcement phase of the season, the management nominated presenters Joko Winterscheidt and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf, among others, who declined to take part.

The season was released between 31 October and 22 December 2023 on Amazon (Amazon Prime Video and ad-financed Amazon Freevee) and four weeks later on YouTube. An additional 17th bonus episode (Joey alone in the forest) was released on 24 January 2024.

Location of the Orgateam Basecamp: 50°53′55″N 127°51′23″W / 50.8986°N 127.8565°W / 50.8986; -127.8565 (Season 3 Basecamp)
Hotel: Malei Island Resort 50°54′40″N 127°44′48″W / 50.9111°N 127.7468°W / 50.9111; -127.7468 (Season 3 Malei Island Resort Hotel)

The fourth season was planned for fall/winter 2024.^[20] However, the realisation and filming had already been completed at the time of the announcement. Despite the secrecy, there was speculation about filming and participants for a new season at the beginning of May, as several potential participants signed off for three weeks at exactly the same time. The participants were announced on August 27, 2024;^[21] inquiries as to whether they would accept participation were obsolete at this point, which caused some confusion. The exact location on site was found by fans of the series using the elevation profile and a few pictures within about an hour. Preparation work began in November 2023 and filming of the season took place in May 2024.

The season will be/was released between 1 October and 22 November 2024 on Amazon (Amazon Prime Video and ad-financed Amazon Freevee) and two weeks later on YouTube.

After a briefing in Frankfurt, the participants traveled to Christchurch via Singapore on scheduled flights. From there they continued with a chartered Cessna 208 Caravan to Wanaka. The last 30 km to the drop-off point were flown in three Airbus Helicopters H125, with the participants blinded with goggles. The journey was non-stop without overnight stays, the time zone difference is 10 hours (CEST UTC+0200 → NZT UTC+1200), the participants were dropped off in the afternoon when they were overtired.

Since the start of season 4 in 2024, for the first time there has been a podcast for the series in which various protagonists from the previous seasons have their say. The podcast is hosted by Steven Gätjen.^[23]

For the first time, the participants did not know where (continent, country) and how (singles, doubles, group) they would be exposed. They only found out the country from Singapore onwards. They learned the local conditions and the game mode directly at the drop-off point. With temperatures well below zero at night and sometimes only slightly above zero during the day, this season was climatically more challenging than the previous seasons.

There were numerous useful items on the plane, such as sleeping bags and flares. There were also cigarettes lying around, but the smokers overlooked them (The cigarettes were in a box of blister plasters). There were also 6 suitcases scattered around the site, which could be found either by chance or by scattered clues ("radio messages" on compact cassettes in the letterbox). These contained other useful items, such as saws, toothbrushes, knives, dog food, peanuts and chocolate, as well as less useful items intended for improvisation.

The exchange point for memory cards, technology and information about the location of the cases on compact cassettes was a mounted letterbox. Each participant was required to carry a medipack (which no one did) and a GPS tracker, and there was also a satellite phone for emergencies.

The relay was carried out on the South Island of New Zealand and filmed near Wanaka. The release took place in late autumn (southern hemisphere) between 10 and 25 May 2024 for the first time as a group. It was modelled on the crash of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, with an aircraft wreck of a Dornier Do 28A-1 serving as the backdrop.

Location of the organisation team in Wanaka

The main base was Wanaka Hotel (44°41′41″S 169°08′12″E / 44.6947°S 169.13671°E / -44.6947; 169.13671 (Season 4 Wanaka Hotel (Fritz Meinecke & Orgateam))) at an altitude of 285 m, about 50 minutes away from the Orgateam. It was also the starting point for evacuations at Code Yellow: driving to the Forest Range Station by car, flight with ultra-light helicopter Guimbal Cabri G2 to the drop-off, which took approx. 90 minutes.

Location of the organisation and emergency team on site (Orgateam)

The local base was Forest Range Station (44°38′27″S 169°30′14″E / 44.64074°S 169.50397°E / -44.64074; 169.50397 (Season 4 Forst Range Station (Emergency Team))) at an altitude of 410 m near Lindis Pass on State Highway 8. There also was the Helicopter take off place (44°38′23″S 169°30′16″E / 44.63980°S 169.50440°E / -44.63980; 169.50440 (Season 4 Helicopter take off place)), about 5 km away from the drop-off zone. It was also the starting point for evacuations at Code Red: flight with ultra-light helicopter or ride with All-terrain vehicles to the drop-off, which took approx. 8 to 15 minutes.

Location of the drop-off of the participants

The participants were dropped off at the bottom of the 400-meter-deep Breast Creek (44°35′33″S 169°29′05″E / 44.59238°S 169.48484°E / -44.59238; 169.48484 (Season 4 Drop off (Breast Creek))) at an altitude of 610 meters on a plateau measuring around 3000 square meters.

Note: This is a fenced 140 km² large private property and can only be accessed with the consent of the owner.

Uwe's Tree Antonia

(44°35′43″S 169°30′05″E / 44.59531°S 169.50139°E / -44.59531; 169.50139 (Season 4 Uwe's tree Antonia))

Bridge for pickup

(44°35′25″S 169°31′38″E / 44.59025°S 169.52720°E / -44.59025; 169.52720 (Season 4 Pick Up(Bridge)))

Weather station nearby and weather records

The weather station of the Wanaka airfield (44°43′19″S 169°14′46″E / 44.722°S 169.246°E / -44.722; 169.246 (Season 4 Wanaka Airfield + Weather Station)) is located 24 km to the southwest. Barometrically and due to the valley location, temperatures are expected to be 2 to 4 °C lower locally, so that −7 to 19 °C can be expected. Rainfall in May is between 50 and 200 mm. Compared to previous years, May 2024 was comparatively dry with 30 mm of precipitation and around 3 °C cooler.

Topomap of New Zealand