Petaluma singer-songwriter Sebastian Saint James is no stranger to challenging himself, artistically and otherwise. From founding and leading the band Highway Poets to countless other projects, the hardworking musician knows a thing or two about putting himself out there to succeed.

But when he decided last year, on something of a whim, to submit himself as a contestant in Netflix’s popular “Squid Game: The Challenge” — an actual reality TV game show based on the hit Korean drama about a deadly television program — he knew it could possibly turn out to be among the biggest challenges of his life were he selected to compete.

He was. In fact, Saint James is Player 345. And he’s got the iconic green track suit, with that number on the front, to prove it.

“I’ve had to keep it a secret until today,” Saint James said last Friday morning, announcing his participation in the show mere days before “Squid Game: The Challenge” returned to Netflix on Nov. 4. It was a full year ago, he can now tell people, that Netflix flew him to London, where he was introduced to 455 other contestants all competing for a $4.56 million jackpot.

“This was by far the wildest thing I’ve ever been a part of,” Saint James said, adding, “All I can say before the show airs is that my strategy was to lay low and stay out of drama, so who knows how much screen time I’ll get?”

Noting that he is not allowed to give any additional details until after the show airs, Saint James can only say that he was selected out of a pool of 20,000 applicants, and that while he admits he doesn’t carry a “starring role” in the program, the experience was never about achieving worldwide fame so much as it was a chance to help his family financially, and a reflection of the creative struggle every artist faces.

“When I was in the Squid Game Challenge, you could feel the tension in the room,” he said. “It was much like a life as a struggling artist — uncertainty, finding out who’s a real person and who’s being friendly but ultimately wanting everything for themselves. That same ‘human fight’ shows up often in my songs.”

The original “Squid Game” series debuted on Netflix in September 2021, instantly becoming a global sensation. The game show version, which replicates details of the drama, omitting the part where the losers are instantly executed, requires contestants to participate in classic children’s games like Red Light, Green Light.

On the show’s website, which gives the basic details on every player, Saint James is quoted as saying, “My personality may be my best asset: I’m kind, honest, and loyal.”

Saint James told the Argus-Courier that once the show runs, he’ll be free to talk about his behind-the-scenes experience in more detail. One can only hope that his participation in “Squid Game” has inspired at least a song or two.