From 2012-2015, Search4Hurt was a popular show on ESPN as contestants were pushed to their fitness limits.
The brainchild of Erina Heights local Adam McDonald, the show has returned after a hiatus of almost a decade, screening live at 1.30pm each Saturday on 7 Mate Live.
The new version has resulted from McDonald’s own health journey and follows four contestants as they undergo a series of extreme challenges presented by trainer Matt Moore and Commando Steve Willis of The Biggest Loser fame.
“We stopped doing the show for a myriad of reasons,” McDonald said.
“It ran for three seasons and Disney presented re-runs in 2016, but Matt Murphy, who was the star of the show, wanted to move to Victoria and our potential viewing audience diminished as viewing habits changed.
“Also, I was extremely unwell and decided to focus on my own health.”
McDonald was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, fatty liver disease and high cholesterol after what he describes as “a decade of destruction”.
“I was travelling a lot, eating out too much and consuming too much alcohol,” he said.
“I noticed I was putting on weight and was not as fit as I used to be and an emergency trip to a doctor resulted in blood tests revealing how unwell I was.
“Twelve months later I felt a lump in my neck and discovered I had thyroid cancer.”
With his health now back on track following treatment, McDonald decided the time was right to relaunch Search4Hurt.
“When the show was picked up by Channel 7 I came into the relaunched season (Season Four) with a new mindset, which is all about helping the general population to become more healthy,” he said.
“I wanted to do things a bit differently and Channel 7 was keen on a new format.
“Matt Moore, who is the presenter, trains people for extreme events and Steve was keen to get back on TV.
“Next year he will be even more present in Season Five, which we are hopeful of expanding into hour-long episodes.”
More than 300 fitness enthusiasts who applied to be on the show were invited to participate in a gruelling 24-hour Hurt Camp at Industree Group Stadium, with four people chosen for the series – two men and two women.
They are three-time F45 world champ and owner of two F45 Studios in Sydney Peter Day, NSW firefighter Lachlan Dansie (who featured in Season 2 a decade ago), owner of BFT Indooroopilly Sammy Hankins, and special ed teacher and pro adventure racer Laura Newton.
Over six months they trained with leading experts to prepare them for some challenges designed to mentally and physically push them to their limits.
These include a backyard ultra, powerlifting, Xterra, beach obstacle racing, turf games, chase the sun, hyrox and obstacle enduro.
Search4Hurt Season 4 comprises nine half-hour episodes, which screen live at 1.30pm each Saturday on 7 Mate Live and are then available for streaming on 7 Plus.
Terry Collins