INDYSTAR.COM

As the first Indiana resident to compete in the hit television show "Survivor," Rupert Boneham believes his experience in gravedigging, camping and mentoring troubled teenagers will give him the right combination of physical and mental skills to win the $1 million prize.

The 39-year-old Indianapolis resident will join 15 other competitors in "Survivor: Pearl Islands," the reality show that will take place just off the coast of Panama during its rainy season.

It's the seventh installment of the CBS program, in which a group of regular people are "stranded" in a remote location. They'll be alone . . . except for host Jeff Probst, camera and sound technicians and all the other people needed to make a TV show.

They are faced with various physical challenges each week, and vote one of their fellow contestants off at the end of each episode. The program has consistently ranked in the top 10 programs on network television.

The first episode will air at 8 p.m. Sept. 18 on WISH .

While the series' 16 castaways aren't allowed to speak to the media until they are voted off the show, the bearded Boneham described himself as strong, smart and brave in a biography released by CBS.

The former bartender and nursing student who now counsels troubled teens also prides himself on supporting his family "while not having to live the 9-to-5 world."

Boneham, who's also a scuba diver and coin collector, lives on the Northside with his wife, Laura, and their 4-year-old daughter, Raya.