Porn documentaries, a painful wipe out and a cutthroat brother.

Who knew simply trying out for Mantracker would be so exciting?

Yeah, that’s right, I’ve applied to be on the hit reality show featuring Terry Grant (Mantracker) hunting down two glory seeking souls (aka “prey.”)

Now if you’re of my brother’s opinion you’re thinking, “What is she doing? There’s no way she can pull this off.”

Which is pretty much what my brother told executive producer, Ihor Macijiwsky Monday during try-outs at the Billy Barker Show Lounge and Casino.

“You said what?” I asked my baby-brother-turned-traitor.

“Why the hell would you do that? I mean seriously – why?”

Martin Edward leans forward, elbows resting on knees, hands clasped in front of him, looks me in the eye and answers:

“Because I don’t think you can.”

I believe I sputtered and squirmed at his blatant honesty before I pulled myself up,

cocked an eyebrow and opened my mouth.

“That’s not for you to decide,” I said calmly.

“And while my bush skills may not be up to par (inset brother’s snort) I hate to fail, I’m incredibly motivated and I don’t scare easily.”

He nodded his approval as I ticked off reasons why I should featured on the show – not him.

I paused to take a breath, which provided him an opportunity to launch into his compass abilities, complete with a physical fitness resume “12-hour hikes are nothing to us, it’s what we do.”

I countered with what I like to call my, emotional advantage, “I’m all over the map, somewhat paranoid and decidedly dramatic” I exclaim, my voice reaching an octave higher at each point.

“Come on! That’s good TV!”

In the end we decided if my application, with partner Rachelle McQueen Pucek and his application, with buddy Mike were denied we’d give it another go together.

It was sealed with a high-five.

And if the competition between brother and sister got a bit dirty, the 66 teams who tried out Monday speaks volumes for the shows popularity and competitive nature.

Macijiwsky said Mantracker’s success has grown steadily over the years. Now, in its fifth season, the Outdoor Living Network program is sweeping Western Canada.

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People just can seem to get enough of Grant’s piercing blue stare, his expert tracking skills and the pounding of hoof beats as he hunts down his prey.

“It’s pretty raw,” Macijiwsky said.

“It’s reality.”

Macijiwsky explained it’s his team’s job to set up the best framework possible to allow for full survival mode to kick in.

And this time the framework is the Gold Pan’s backyard.

The location, for obvious reasons, is top-secret. But Cottonwood River might have a been mentioned (hint, hint).

But why here?

“You’ve got rivers, bush, trails and bears,” he answered with a shrug and a smile.

“There’s certainly some interesting features.”

And he should know.

Macijiwsky’s done everything from shooting spot news for CTV, to porn documentaries, to overseeing Discovery’s Great Canadian Parks as the executive producer and director of photography.

This guy knows his stuff. And he knows what audiences want.

And in my humble opinion, Martin Edward MacDonald, that means me.

You can have all the compass and mapping abilities in the world, but as Macijiwsky said, “Mantracker’s old school. He has a lot of pride. He hates to lose – and if it’s a woman? Well it hurts even more.”

Now that’s good TV.

To check out our audition tape, log onto www.quesnelobserver.com and click on the video icon next to the story (my wipe out is second to none).

Mantracker auditions spark competition