Surrey to "Squid Game": Contestant recounts gruelling Netflix experience

From Surrey to "Squid Game": Contestant recounts her gruelling experience on Netflix show

Darylle Johnson

We’re nearing the finale of Squid Game: The Challenge, a game show based on the hit Netflix series, and we connected with a Surrey woman whose life took many twists and turns to where she became an unlikely contestant.

“Every hardship we go through makes us stronger,” she told Daily Hive.

But the hardships she endured on the show aren’t for the faint of heart.

We spoke with Darylle Johnson, the contestant in question, about her journey before getting on the show and some of the gruelling behind-the-scenes conditions she had to work through during production. And while some of it was difficult, she doesn’t believe production crossed any lines.

Somehow, a lifestyle pivot that found her working in the card and board game industry led her to try to survive the real-life board game.

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Johnson grew up in Surrey, BC, working in the dance industry for 27 years since she was just seven years old. In 2020, she realized she was ready to make a change.

Like many, Johnson wanted a remote lifestyle and started learning about e-commerce.

“My friend had the crazy idea of making a card game,” Johnson recounted, adding that this was a world she knew nothing about.

Johnson told Daily Hive that’s just the kind of person she is; she commits and then figures it out later. Something she also had to do after committing to being a contestant on Squid Game: The Challenge.

Johnson never aimed to become a contestant on a reality TV show, but she found out about the casting through TikTok. She took a chance, not believing she’d get the show’s attention, but a video she made and sent to the producers seemed to do the trick.

The show is filmed in London, and we asked Johnson what she was thinking on her way to being part of a spinoff of the most popular Netflix show of all time.

“It was very hard to wrap my head around the fact it was even happening. I’m just a Surrey girl.”

Johnson went into it with the right approach. While she was in it to win it, she also just wanted to have fun. And while the gruelling conditions were maybe too harsh for some to endure, she thrived on it.

She looked at this opportunity as a final test in overcoming and conquering the challenges she had endured due to social anxiety. She questioned her ability to succeed due to her 4’11” frame, but anyone who watched Squid Game knows it wasn’t always about size and strength.

Condom lip balm?

Darylle Johnson

Well, that took a strange turn, huh?

We asked Johnson about some harsher conditions she and fellow contestants faced. Much of it was due to the weather at the time, which was usually below freezing.

“Our lips started chapping so bad they were bleeding.”

She mentioned some things the crews provided contestants, including socks, granny panties, and condoms. But, no lip balm.

So, people got creative, and some started taking condoms and using the lubricant on their lips.

“The tampons and pads we were using, we were breaking them off as earplugs.”

Some used the material as eye pads because the lights would cause contestants trouble sleeping.

Johnson also mentioned how Red Light Green Light was nothing like it was on the show because the clock was not running the entire time, so instead of five minutes, it felt like an eternity, all while in freezing conditions.

She mentioned that people were passing out or having seizures, with sometimes hundreds of people yelling for medics.

Contestants had to sign a waiver, so anyone considering suing the producers over the conditions would likely have lousy luck in court.

Johnson doesn’t believe anything that happened during production was unreasonable or that the crew did anything wrong.

Oatmeal and water

When it came to food, it wasn’t exactly gourmet.

For breakfast, it would be oatmeal and water. And we don’t mean oatmeal and a glass of water. But, literally, oats with water in them. It’s not something you’d find at a brunch spot.

Johnson lives with a vegan/vegetarian diet, so for meals, she’d have rice and tofu or noodles and tofu, and it sounded like it was enough for her to get by.

Everyone got the same portions, whether they were 4’11” or 6’7″, so she wasn’t surprised to see some people trying to steal food.

“I can do anything that I put my mind to”

Darylle Johnson

While Johnson admitted that it might sound cheesy, following this experience and her goal to conquer her social anxiety, she thinks now she can do anything she puts her mind to.

Johnson said she couldn’t have imagined this experience, especially if she were “to circle back two years ago and think about all the things that have happened leading up to being on the biggest reality TV show.”

She wants to inspire people with this experience and help them realize they can do whatever they want.

Johnson grew up in the Guildford area of Surrey, and a tough road to this point helped build her resilience.

“Every hardship we go through makes us stronger; it builds our character, and that allows us to have cool opportunities and a cool life in the future.”

@daryllejohnson My dreams are fulfilled #boardgames #sgtc ♬ original sound – Darylle 🦑 Player # 273