Tropical cocktail stirs experiment

Being confined to a tropical island surrounded by beautiful, bikini-clad girls would be almost any man's dream.

But for WA's two bearded Beauty and the Geek nerds Nathan Glover and Matthew Witham, landing a spot on Seven's social experiment, as well as a free trip to Fiji, was just as exhilarating.

This season sees a major location shake-up, with the dolled-up beauties and fashion-challenged geeks bunking down on the South Pacific island instead of the opulent mansion where the series has previously been filmed.

IT technician Glover and chemical engineer Witham told AAA Weekend that they were unaware of the exotic change of scenery until the first day of filming.

"We were all pretty excited about it," Witham said.

"It was my first time going to Fiji and we were all gobsmacked," Glover added. "We were expecting something so different and to find out we were going to Fiji was really exciting."

Both were fans of the show before applying for the fifth season.

"I'd thought about it myself and then I had friends who were encouraging me to do it," Witham said. "I did it because I was sort of stagnating in my job and I wanted a bit of change in my life."

Glover was given an encouraging nudge from his sister: "I did willingly apply, but my sister did pressure me a little bit, but I'm very thankful she did," he said.

"I've always enjoyed watching the show; I thought it'd be a lot of fun."

Witham's last serious relationship was in high school and he hopes his experience on the series will help him get back into the dating game.

"I had a girlfriend for a couple of months when I was about 17," he said.

"Other than that, I've only been a couple dates. I just really want to open up my confidence socially. I mean, I can talk to people about my work and any common interest we have, but in a social situation I usually freeze up."

Glover admits he's never had to "chase" the women he has dated over the years, but hopes the show would teach him to "man up".

"I'd never really actively looked for a girl before, so I was hoping this experience would help me with that. But I want to be more confident within myself," he said.

"I've been trod upon by a lot by people who've taken advantage of me, so I wanted to grow a bit of a spine and stand up for myself.

Joining Witham and Glover on the series this year is another West Australian - self-confessed shopaholic Ntula MacDonald, who hails from Dalyellup just south of Bunbury.

Beauty and the Geek returns to Seven/GWN7 at 8.30pm on Thursday.