INTERVIEW: No obstacle is too difficult for this contestant on ‘American Tarzan’
Discovery’s new competitive survivalist series, American Tarzan, puts a bunch of strangers on a breathtakingly beautiful Caribbean island not to enjoy the surroundings but survive against the elements, the physical obstacles and one another. It’s a gruelingly difficult reality series that airs new episodes Wednesdays at 10 p.m.
Maria Herrera, a bartender originally from San Diego, is one of the competitors depicted on the show, and when she was making her way through the obstacle course, she was determined to survive and win.
“I’ve been camping pretty much every year since I was about 3 months old with my family, very much into the outdoors,” Herrera said recently in a phone interview. “I grew up watching Swiss Family Robinson, so I’ve always wanted to do something like that, just live out in the middle of nowhere. A couple of years ago I went to Peru out into the Amazon rainforest with practically nothing and stayed there for a week just to see if I could. I do stuff like that for fun anyway, so it was right up my alley.”
When Herrera first arrived on the remote Caribbean island, she didn’t exactly want to race through the environment. The majestic locale was worthy of taking a pause and soaking in the sunshine, but her mission was clear: Win.
“It was just physical after physical after physical activity, pretty intense,” she said. “But I enjoyed every minute of it, and there were parts where I was suffering. I was pretty miserable, but all in all I had a great time.”
Before the reality series started filming, Herrera knew she had the physical strength to master the challenges. She also admitted to being stubborn, which helps her accomplish tasks when she sets her mind on a goal. What was surprising to the contestant was how difficult the swimming activities were and how much she took to the outdoors.
“I think the most I learned is how much I’m feral, how much I really just like being out in nature, and I love not having a phone, or social media or the electricity,” she said. “Just nature and just me, just alone with my thoughts, and I like that.”
The other competitors, including a personal trainer from Seattle, professional timber sports athlete from Wisconsin, emergency room nurse from Pennsylvania, stay-at-home father from Colorado, security contractor from Texas and small business owner from Buffalo, New York, were strangers to Herrera before the contest began.
“We really didn’t even meet until we got on the island,” she said. “Even if we saw someone on the plane that looked like maybe they could be competing against each other, you weren’t supposed to really talk to anyone just in case. So I mean we didn’t know anything about each other until we were thrown into it, so it was kind of cool to learn that way.”
Herrera’s family and friends are used to her risk-taking lifestyle. Her favorite saying is “making people nervous since 1982,” and she’s prone to thinking up “crazy” activities on a whim. American Tarzan certainly fit into her wheelhouse. “As parents obviously they’re nervous, but for the most part everyone was really happy and excited for me because they know this is what I love to do,” she said. “We may have a viewing party at my gym with all of my gym-mates.”
She added: “I want people to obviously watch the show and really enjoy it, but I want people to go out there and appreciate nature, appreciate being without a phone. … I learned to appreciate that exponentially more than I ever did.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
American Tarzan airs new episodes Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on Discovery. Click here for more information.
