On Saturday, Feb. 15 the reality TV show “Love Island” recruited potential contestants at Surly Brewing Co. in Northeast Minneapolis.

“Love Island” originated in the U.K. and has since expanded to include both an Australian and a U.S. version. The show features 25 young people who go to a secluded villa and try to find love over eight weeks, through a series of challenges and ‘re-couplings.’

“Love Island” contestants have a unique living situation. Contestants spend the entire show without their phone or access to the outside world. They often don’t know what time it is and are filmed 24/7.

Love Island USA season one winner Elizabeth Weber thinks the sequestering period that contests go through aids their transition onto the show. This is when contestants go to the filming location early to adjust to living without their normal levels of contact.

“It’s just a nicer way to ease you into everything,” Weber said.

St. Thomas senior and “Love Island” fan Lucy Post thinks the living situation adds a level of complexity to the show.

“It’s kind of like a big social experiment in a way,” Post said.

Post said these lifestyle changes also benefit the show because the contestants interact with each other in an unfiltered way.

“It’s pretty real,” Post said. “There isn’t anything else influencing it.”

Despite these challenges, Weber gained a lot from being on the show.

“My favorite part was probably all the people that I met,” Weber said. “Not just in the cast, but all the people that were there helping: all the set and crew people and all the producers.”

To anyone who auditioned for the show in the Twin Cities, Weber has advice.

“Have fun with it. Bring your personality, bring stories to tell, know what you’re about and things you’re interested in,” Weber said. “Just have things to talk about.”

Weber looked forward to the Minneapolis casting call.

“We’re gonna try to have a lot of fun with it,” Weber said.

Annie Terry can be reached at terr2351@stthomas.edu.