"'Survivor' never stops, man," said Burnett, 40. "It's out of control. They call me all day long."

But the charming Burnett is no stranger to the spotlight. Since founding the Eco-Challenge in 1992, and staging the first race in 1995, he's become the kingpin of the sport known as adventure racing, or, as he prefers, "expedition racing." Through elaborately produced Eco-Challenge television shows on MTV, ESPN and, most recently, the Discovery Channel, Burnett has grown the Eco-Challenge into the most recognized event on the sport's rapidly expanding circuit.

"Eco-Challenge is like a 12-day mega adventure," said Burnett, a British ex-pat who now makes his home in Los Angeles. "The racecourse is compelling and it's hard and it's a great adventure. But on top of that, the whole aura surrounding the Eco-Challenge, this big large-scale adventure, is attractive."

Born into a working-class British family, Burnett served in the British Army as a paratrooper in Northern Ireland and the Faulkland Islands. He did not attend college, but has said that since high school, he's, "earned a PhD in results." After finishing his military tour, he moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as an au pair, in telemarketing, and as an insurance and credit card salesman. Along the way, he amassed a fairly significant amount of personal wealth and a reputation as a hard-nosed businessman.

After a Tony Robbins motivational seminar encouraged him to redesign his life, Burnett, who himself enjoys backcountry adventure, set out to find a business linked to the outdoors. "I read a story about the New Zealand Coast to Coast race, which was like taking triathlon to the back country," he explained. "And I read a story about Raid Gauloises in France, and thought, you know what, this kind of thing, differently produced, different format, would work well in America. And I decided to do it."

Burnett, now married with two young children, competed three times in the Raid Galouises -- a similar expedition format race founded by Frenchman Gerard Fusil -- in the early 90s, finishing once, but gaining valuable experience that would later shape his own enterprise. With partner Brian Terkelsen, an investment banker (now a vice president at Quokka Sports), he founded Eco-Challenge Lifestyles out of his Santa Monica, Calif., bedroom in 1992.

Burnett's timing could not have been better. Extreme sports were on the rise and adventure travel was in vogue in the United States. Audiences and endurance athletes alike were ready for new experiences. By 1994, the persuasive salesman had a deal with MTV Sports; the first Eco-Challenge took place the next year in Moab, Utah.

Now, with the success of "Survivor," Burnett insists his Eco-Challenge races will stay the same while the television show, produced by the Discovery Channel last year and USA Network this year, will improve. "The TV show will probably start to change and get much better -- stories about people versus on Discovery Channel it was more about location and the natural history."

Burnett's plans to expand Eco-Challenge are aggressive. He hopes to develop a network of franchised Eco-Challenge qualifier races. "Right now, we have 250 franchise applications," he explained. "Our goal is to have eventually 20 worldwide national qualifier races. That's how you find Team Argentina, Team France, Team UK and Team Canada. And then the world championships has one team from each nation."