For years, Carter Krull’s family watched Survivor after Wednesday night church, eating pizza and debating how they would handle the challenges on television.
Now, the 2020 Central Lyon High School graduate is giving his family and Northwest Iowa a chance to watch him compete.
Krull, a Rock Rapids native now living in Sioux Falls, is a contestant on Season 51 of the CBS competition series, premiering September 23.
From Watching at Home to Getting the Call
Krull said his family began watching the show when he was around six or seven. Over the years, conversations with his brother, Ross, about which challenges he could handle remained more family banter than a serious plan to apply.
That changed about a year ago when Krull was watching an episode and eating cheesy puffs. Host Jeff Probst encouraged viewers who thought they could complete a challenge to submit an application. The next day, Krull recorded an audition video while passing Grand Falls Casino and sent it in.
After working through the casting process, he returned to the family farm with news his parents initially struggled to believe.
“I came to the farm one day and told my parents. I said, ‘I think I just made it on Survivor,’” Krull said. “And I’m a guy usually full of some guff. And so I think they kind of rolled their eyes and said, ‘Yeah, yeah, okay, go feed the cows.’”
As the opportunity became real, his focus shifted from making the cast to competing for the prize.
“You didn’t apply to be on Survivor just to be on Survivor,” Krull said. “You know, you apply for a million dollars. And so that’s kind of how my gears in my head were operating is: let’s turn this dream into reality.”
A Competitive Background and Northwest Iowa Values
Competition was already a familiar part of Krull’s life. According to his University of Sioux Falls athletics biography, he participated in football, basketball, baseball, and track and field at Central Lyon. He earned first-team all-district football honors as a junior and senior and was a three-time state qualifier in track and field.
According to Varsity Bound, Krull finished his Central Lyon/George-Little Rock football career with 65 receptions for 901 yards and seven touchdowns, along with 376 rushing yards and six touchdowns. He also contributed on defense and special teams.
After high school, Krull joined the University of Sioux Falls football program and pursued entrepreneurial studies. He and a friend later started a moving company, called MOVE MOVE MOVE, in Sioux Falls. What began with one or two moves a week has grown into work five or six days a week, he said.
Krull also helps on his family’s farm near George, regularly traveling through Rock Rapids.
Krull acknowledged that deception is part of the competition. His goal was to balance those strategic demands with the values he brought from home.
“I didn’t want to change my identity just because I’m on a TV show, you know? No, I wanted to come out, be the same guy. All of us kids grew up in northwest Iowa, you know, being taught is to be a good person.”
Hometown Support and Plans for the Prize
Even before the premiere, Krull said he has been surprised by how many local people have shared their own memories of watching the show.
“I can’t believe the outpouring of support I’ve had already, you know, and it hasn’t even aired yet,” Krull said.
His plans for watching the premiere were still undecided at the time of the interview. But he had decided before filming what he would do with the prize money if he won: reinvest it in the farm and moving business.
Krull credited his father, Korey, with demonstrating the value of steady improvements to the family farm rather than spending money on expensive possessions.
“Put it back into what you believe in,” Krull said. “And our family farm has been in our family for a long, long time.”
Season 51 of Survivor premieres Wednesday, September 23, at 7 p.m. Central on CBS. The season will also be available on Paramount+.
