That the third season of 7 vs. Wild is tough, we know at the latest since Fritz Meinecke’s exit. One candidate, however, desperately wanted to be part of it but dropped out after just 7 days. Now he explains why he made this decision.
Caution this article contains spoilers for episodes 1–12 of 7 vs. Wild Season 3
Who is it about? The alternative contestant Jan Schlappen (25) desperately wanted to be part of the third season of 7 vs. Wild. Now he threw in the towel on day 7 and was picked up by the organizing team via helicopter. The freerunner was only an alternate contestant and found out shortly before the suspension.
This is especially bitter for Joey Kelly, the team partner of Jan Schlappen. The outdoor expert counts as eliminated due to the pickup of Jan Schlappen, even if he chose to stay alone in the wilderness.
The bonus episode, showing the rest of the adventure from Joey Kelly’s perspective, will be released on YouTube after the regular Season 3.
One of the participants in Season 3 is the Twitch streamer Jens “Knossi” Knossalla. You can see more about him in our video.
Exhaustion as the main reason led to elimination
Why did Jan Schlappen have himself picked up? In a video statement on YouTube, the freerunner spoke about his exit from the show. Above all, exhaustion troubled the 25-year-old.
The little food available on site and the hard work on the team’s cave, which they wanted to develop into a shelter, drained the contestant.
Loneliness and boredom were also important points in his decision. According to his own statements, the 25-year-old got along well with Joey Kelly, but it would have been easier for him to cope with someone he knew better.
Since there was nothing to do besides exhausting work, the participant found the time mentally draining.
It has increasingly developed that I no longer saw any sense in this hard work and this physical decline, but thought, okay, on day 3 day 4 we somehow have to spend our time nicely together, go food searching and get along well with each other. Because this endless boredom, this toil, which was completely in vain in my head, increasingly led me to feel uncomfortable and I didn’t know how to kill time.
Jan Schlappen in his video statement
What was wrong with Joey Kelly? Jan Schlappen said in the video statement about Joey Kelly: “Joey wasn’t a big help to me in that case, because it was something very normal for him already. […]”
Looking back at the time, Jan Schlappen feels he had “a huge problem opening up to Joey […]”
Many different factors led to Jan Schlappen’s exit. In addition to physical and mental exhaustion, the loneliness he felt due to the not-so-good connection with Joey Kelly was another reason for Jan Schlappen’s exit. Another ex-participant is currently going viral with a new project, but the founder of 7 vs. Wild is not really pleased with it.
