Jake Nodar is among the dozen former Naked and Afraid survivalists heading to South Africa for a 40-day survival experience in Season 2 of Naked and Afraid XL. Nodar conquered Amazonia in an episode of Naked and Afraid episode that aired in March, but the horse trainer is no stranger to extreme adventures or reality TV. In 2009, Nodar appeared on Discovery’s Out of the Wild: The Alaska Experiment and has the designation of being the first openly gay man to appear on the network’s programming. He’s also appeared on History’s Full Metal Jousting and in the Logo documentary, Bad Ass Gays. “I try to do something a little adventurous once a year,” Nodar shared, “so when the opportunity for Naked And Afraid arose it was right up my alley. I love being outdoors, and I’m very comfortable out there. The nakedness was new to me, but it seemed like a really cool challenge.”
In a special Naked and Afraid XL preview episode that aired on July 3, Nodar made the statement, “Survival is 80% mental and 20% skill.” The adventurer shared four mental skills he thinks are needed to become an ass-kicking survivalist.
- Get Real. Nodar explains, “I think for starters, people need to realize the seriousness of this situation. I’ve seen some people, like my partner in Amazonia. It was very clear the first several days, she was a sweet girl and she had done a lot of survival training, but when you get out there and production leaves at 5pm and you’re out in the middle of nowhere by yourself, it really hits hard. I think you have to be prepared for the worst, and then anything that comes along that’s good, you feel like you’ve won a small victory.”
- Break it Down. Nodar is a firm believer in “being able to break things down day by day. I see a lot of people start panicking, because they’re like, ‘Well if things are this rough now, how bad is it going to be in two weeks?’ Whereas my mindset is, ‘Okay, things are bad right now. What can I do in the next several hours to make things better for myself?’ It’s just trying to break things down step-by-step and not get overwhelmed.”
- Work it. The on-the-go adventurer says, “I’m a big fan of working my butt off. I think some people didn’t really agree with that, but I feel like you gotta give it your all.”
- Laugh it off. Nodar is serious about survival, but adds, “I also swear a sense of humor is the biggest key to it all. Being able to make jokes even in the harshest of situations. It helps me, it helps the people around me, and it seems to be a really valuable tool.”
Watch Jake Nodar dominate South Africa on Naked And Afraid XL, Sundays at 10pm ET/9pm CT on Discovery.