SM Resident Was 'Terrified' About 'Survivor: Redemption Island'

Sarita White doesn't know what her future holds. Four years ago, she moved to Santa Monica to cut her teeth in the entertainment industry. Now, the visual-effects producer is finding herself on the other end of the camera: White is one of the 18 contestants on Survivor: Redemption Island. The game show debuted one week ago, and the second episode airs Wednesday at 8 p.m.

White is one of two Santa Monica residents participating in the reality-TV show. (Go here to read an interview with the other one, Phillip Sheppard.) Since moving here, she has lived in the Ocean Park neighborhood. But she's not sure how long she'll stay.

"It's really hard to say at this point," White told Santa Monica Patch in an interview last week. "There's a tidal wave coming at me, and I'm just staying quiet and letting it wash over me. I focus on the beauty of day-to-day life."

White has a hard time keeping track of all the places where she's lived. Born in Sacramento, she has also resided in San Francisco, Seattle and Natick, MA.

When White isn't busy moving from one city to the next, she's on the move anyway: The 36-year-old is an exercise fiend. She trains at on the , runs every day at , does the Santa Monica Stairs, hikes at Temescal Canyon and swims too.

Swimming didn't come so easy to her, though, she revealed.

"I was never a strong swimmer, so I knew I had to figure it out" in preparation for the show, which involves physically demanding competitions. "I can dog-paddle like nobody's business, but diving under things and swimming in the ocean ... I was terrified."

Accordingly, White's trainer designed unusual routines for her in preparation for the challenges she would face on the game show.

"She's super-unorthodox," White said of Saetha Evans, her personal trainer. Evans had White push large balls and go through relay courses, for example.

"We'd go to the middle of Joshua Tree and come up with the craziest routines," White said.

White wanted to be as prepared as possible for her trip to San Juan del Sur, where Redemption Island takes place. "You never know what you'll end up doing" in the contest, she said. "When you're about to go on the show, you watch it with a different set of eyes."

The 22nd season of the popular TV series is set at the same location where its predecessor, last year's Survivor: Nicaragua, was filmed. The winner will be revealed in May.

White knew what to expect in terms of the geographical climate, even if she didn't know what challenges would unfold on Redemption Island. Living five blocks from the beach, she has gotten used to warm days and cool nights. She calls her life "ideal."

Along with the physical aspects of her preparation, White also had to steel herself mentally. On a wall in her apartment, she posted a series of inspirational quotes; many of them displayed Buddhist mantras.

White says she mastered the "art of unattachment. When I was pushing myself to the point I wouldn't normally, [I'd think] 'I'm going through it, but it will pass.' "

Whether or not she wins, Survivor: Redemption Island will pass too. And even if White's life goes back to normal, she probably won't be too disappointed—after all, her life is "ideal."

"I love every day, waking up, the way the sun looks out my window," she said. "The palm trees. Riding my bike to the beach.

"There's something about Santa Monica, specifically Ocean Park, that is just so down-to-earth and laid-back," White continued. "It's beautiful. It's a community, and a lot of [places] today don't have that anymore. It's really special to me."