INTERVIEW: ‘Naked and Afraid’ returns with Everglades adventure

Naked and Afraid, a show with perhaps the most self-explanatory name on television, returns with new episodes 10 p.m. Sunday, April 19 on Discovery Channel. The reality series teams up two partners, strips them of everything except one item of their choosing and drops them in the middle of harsh terrain. The season premiere features Amber Hargrove and Ryan Holt in the swampy Everglades of Florida.

Before the 21-day adventure, Holt served eight years in the Marine Corps and had recently completed a yearlong survival and guiding school. “To me, this felt like the ultimate test of everything that I’ve learned in my life,” he said in a joint phone interview with Hargrove. “And it was real. They literally strip you of everything, and you’re left with only the skills and the knowledge you have in your head. You have to be able put that stuff to the test. So it was just about being able to do it. There was really no other motive. There’s no prize, or possession, or reward challenges or anything like that.”

Hargrove had recently finished serving 10 years in the Army, with a couple deployments as well. “I love being outdoors,” she said. “I’m definitely a country girl. I’m that type of girl that will go out there and go fishing with no shoes on. I like catching fish with my hands. I like spear-fishing. I’m just an outdoor fanatic, and I was a huge fan of Naked and Afraid. And I watched the season finale back in April, and it like broke my heart watching how that female, how crappy she did. And I looked at my husband, and I said, ‘I’m going to go apply for that show, honey.’ And he said, ‘OK, whatever, go ahead.’ Well, I did.”

Hargrove said the “naked” part of the show was not a problem. Instead both partners reported that mosquitoes were the real issue. “I don’t think anything I’ve done physically or mentally could have prepared me … for the amount of mosquitoes, the amount of mental toughness that we had to harness in order to deal with those little buggers,” Holt said. “They were relentless, and it was a nightmare trying to sleep every night.”

Previewing the episode, Hargrove said by day three she had many bites. By day seven, they were even worse and had become her “worst nightmare.”

In addition to the mosquitoes, the partners had to deal with venomous snakes like water moccasins and alligators. “When you’re out on a challenge like this, you’re out there for 21 days, you have nothing but time,” Holt said. “So to be able to take your time, walking through everything, being meticulous about it, doing everything right the first time, go slow moving, and watch every single step you take, making sure you’re not going to step on a snake or making sure that there’s not an alligator sort of lurking in the tall grass.”

Hargrove agreed and said the wildlife was “amazing.”

“Everything was beautiful out there,” she said. “Being out there for so long, you make your house your home, so that’s your comfort zone. And it was nice. You could go outside by the fire, and one night we were eating, and we’re looking across the canal and there’s this 10-point buck just staring at us. It was amazing, and where are you going to see a beautiful 10-point buck like this just watching us? … It was just sitting there watching us forever, and at times, at nighttime, there would be alligators fighting over territory right behind our feet. And the water was literally 4 feet from us, from the end of our shelter. And we could hear them thrashing and fighting and growling, and that was so intense and amazing, and having to deal with the snakes in the water or anytime you would bathe in the water, the gators would come to you.”

Holt said he relied on his military training to survive in the wild, and one of the challenges was dealing with complacency over the three weeks. “[In the military] everyone sort of drops their guard a little bit, and the minute they do that, that next room they go through, there’s an insurgent in there,” he said. “And now apply that same mindset down in the Everglades. Just because nothing happens to you the first week, then you don’t want to start tromping through thinking that nothing is going to get you, and there’s no snakes. The minute that you let your guard down, the minute you get complacent about it, maybe you’re going to get bit by a water moccasin, or maybe there’s going to be an alligator swimming up behind you while you’re walking through the creek.”

On Naked and Afraid, the partners usually have a few breakdowns in communication. Living together for three weeks can be difficult under normal circumstances, let alone when survival is also a component.

“Ryan and I, we actually had our highs and lows,” Hargrove said. “We were like an old married couple, if that makes sense. We have our moments where during the day we have a disagreement. We would argue, and then in the evening with our fire time, we would just sit there, and lay, and look at the stars, and just talk. And it was like nothing happened during the day, and we were very quick to like apologize to each other because I know that he’s my battle buddy. And he’d have my back even at war time. I knew how important he was in my life at that time, and he still is a good friend.”

Holt said they are both outgoing and positive people, so awkward moments and disagreements were solved rather quickly. It would seem that Holt and Hargrove were near-perfect fits to take on the Everglades. Hargrove’s husband, however, was apprehensive after his wife secured a spot on the show. It took some bribery to convince him.

“He already told me I could apply for it, but when I told him I got accepted to go and be on Naked and Afraid, he said, ‘No, you’re not going. This isn’t happening,'” she said. “I’m like, ‘Whoa, whoa, you said I could go.’ He’s like, ‘I was just telling you what you wanted to hear.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, that sucks because I’m going.’ And then it was really hard on us, and I thought what’s something that can occupy him when I’m gone. So I bribed him with a Harley.”

Holt’s family and friends were excited for him, although there was some shock at first.

“They know the skills and the knowledge and everything I have acquired from the survival and guiding school and how fresh it was,” he said. “They thought it was kind of humorous, and they were excited for me. They had never seen the show before, so once they found out I was going on it, they watched half a dozen episodes in a row, one of the marathons. And you can see the concern on their face, but I definitely had their confidence and their support.”

Hargrove’s grandparents were supportive. She remembers them saying: “Good luck, and you rock it.”

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Naked and Afraid airs new episodes 10 p.m. Sundays on Discovery Channel. The Everglades special airs April 19. Click here for more information.