Interview with Scott McMinn (EAST SIDE)

Scott McMinn (42)

Beef farmer, Barongarook (AUS)

Scott is a no-nonsense, alpha male who plans to take charge in the Apocalypse. He is very direct and speaks his mind. Tragically, Scott lost his seven-year old son Henry three years ago and since then has dedicated his life to doing things that his son would have loved, including racing motorbikes. Scott is mechanically-minded   and built his own farm from scratch. He’s an experienced hunter with rifle and bow and arrows.

What made you want to take part in Apocalypse?

I just thought it sounded like a really cool thing to do. It's also something my late son would have loved, he was always into that sort of adventure. So I thought I'd go and smash it out for him. Really, I did it for him.

Is there anything you did to prepare before going in?

Honestly, no. It wasn't hard for me. It was just a normal day, just a bit colder than my house.

What about the weather? It's obviously not Australian weather. Was that something you were prepared for?  Did you think it would be tough?

Not really, there were some nice days. One day the sun was really strong, I washed my clothes and just lay out on a stretcher from one of the ambulances, sunbathing. Then other days it was properly snowing. The first night was pretty cold because we hadn't got the fire going yet, but I still slept fine, got enough rest. After that, once we got the fire going and gathered firewood, we kept the room nice and warm, somewhere between sixteen and nineteen degrees the whole time. I never let that fire go out once.

The survival side clearly came easily to you; it was basically second nature. Was it as easy on the social side of things?

That was honestly the hardest part. Especially with the group I was matched with, they weren't exactly my kind of people. It was a lot of left leaning personalities against me being more of a traditionalist. 

What skill were you most confident would help the group?

I'd say my strength, breaking and cutting firewood, and getting stuck into things like the supermarket raid. Maybe also my stubbornness when it came to rationing the food. I also did a fair bit of the cooking, which is funny because I don't really cook much at home, I mostly just barbecue. But someone had to cook.

What was eating Play-Doh like?

That was actually pretty good. I had about three pieces and thought, surely this can't be good for me, it's so salty. But I figured it had to have some calories in it at least.

I ate Play-Doh as a kid, come on, we've all done it.

What would you say was the biggest challenge you faced in there?

Probably just not being able to do it all myself, being reliant on the group. I'm usually fine in group settings, especially with people I know well or get along with, my kind of people. But being paired with such a mix of people from completely different walks of life, races, beliefs, all of it, that was the biggest challenge. That said, within about a week we all understood each other.

What was your first reaction when you arrived in the town?

I was genuinely thrilled. It was so cool. I was looking at all the places I could ride motorbikes, just taking everything in. Walking in for the first time, I couldn't believe it, I was thinking, how did they build this, this is amazing. I was buzzing, I just wanted to go exploring.

Did it shock you to discover there was a second group?

Not really, I already suspected it. 

How quickly did your camp start to feel like a community?

Very quickly, and honestly, we still are one. We've got a group chat and we still talk all the time. I'd actually love to see everyone again.

Were there any funny moments?

Winding up Stevie was always good fun, and watching the girls messing around, playing hide and seek in the hospital corridors, that was brilliant. And trying to sneak into the morgue on the first night we arrived, that was a good laugh.

Did you learn anything about yourself?

I think I've always been accepting of other people's beliefs and backgrounds, but this experience really broadened that even further. It showed me I can connect with pretty much anyone, from any walk of life, and just let them express themselves however they need to, and it's up to me whether I take that on board or let it go. 

Has it changed the way you think about contemporary life or the things we take for granted?

Not really, I've always lived pretty minimally. I don't even watch television normally, and I've lived out of the back of my truck before, so in a sense I was already done a bit of minimal living before I went in.

Honestly, I think people in the western world take far too much for granted generally. I spend a lot of the year living in Thailand, and people there have so little but always seem genuinely happy. Meanwhile here, we have everything at our fingertips and people are still miserable. I think life's just made too easy for us in a lot of ways.

Do you think a group of survivors would need a real mix of personalities, not just people like you?

Definitely. If we didn't have Stevie as our site radio, we would have really struggled, probably gone a bit mad without him. It would be pretty dull without him around.

So by the end, did that change your view on needing people like Steven in a survival situation?

Completely. I think in a real survival scenario you naturally bond with people and try to find what each person can contribute. You don't just abandon someone. I told him straight up, we're getting through this no matter what. And you'd do the same in real life, the last thing you want is people suffering or dying because nobody was willing to help.

Do you think human connection and having different personalities around is also important for actually surviving?

Absolutely, as long as everyone's willing to help out or willing to learn. We all pick up things from each other. In a real scenario, I think people would figure it out pretty quickly, it becomes a case of adapt or don't survive.