Andrew Thomas Price: 71 Days on Alone and What TV Didn't Show | Steven Kelly

Seventy-one days alone in the Canadian Arctic, struggling to find enough food and watching his own body waste away. Welsh survival expert Andrew Thomas Price finished fourth on Alone Season 13: World Championship. I invited him onto The Survival Debrief to talk about what the cameras did and didn't show.

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From Swansea Bay to Alone

Andrew's interest in living off the land started as a youngster, when his grandfather took him to collect periwinkles around Swansea Bay. At 18 he travelled to Malaysia and experienced traditional wilderness skills among Orang Asli communities. It completely changed the way he saw the natural world.

He founded Dryad Bushcraft in 2004 and went on to spend more than twenty years teaching survival skills. But teaching skills and relying on them under extreme pressure are very different things.

Why finding food became his biggest battle

Andrew went into Alone confident about fire and shelter, but he knew bow hunting and trapping would be a challenge. He was banking on fishing to provide the fat he needed to keep going. The fish didn't come as easily as he'd hoped.

He caught hares but still lost weight. He tried different methods, invested huge amounts of energy and even built a traditional coracle to reach different fishing areas. Looking back, he says he made the mistake of ignoring small fish early in the challenge. Those fish could have been a vital food source or bait.

That was something we had in common. During my first Naked and Afraid challenge in Colombia, my partner Sunny and I gathered tiny fish, combined them with wild fruit and cooked them into small fish cakes. They weren't impressive catches, but they helped keep us going.

What starvation did to his body after 60 days

One of the hardest parts of the interview was hearing Andrew describe waking up around day 60 and seeing how thin his legs had become. He discussed periods when he was averaging roughly 200 calories a day, nowhere near enough for the conditions and work involved.

As his strength disappeared, even collecting firewood and walking to the river became difficult. He explained why he finally chose to leave on day 71: he could barely function and continuing would have put his health at serious risk. He'd pushed himself as far as he reasonably could.

The mental survival techniques that kept him going

Andrew believes challenges like Alone are largely won or lost in your head. During long hours inside his shelter he used box breathing to calm himself. When anxiety crept in, he'd focus on something practical, such as making snares or sharpening a knife.

He also limited his thoughts of home to a few minutes in the morning, rather than letting them dominate the day. I could relate to that. Across my 56 days on Naked and Afraid and Naked and Afraid: Apocalypse, keeping busy with small survival jobs helped me manage the harder moments.

The huge fishing success the cameras never showed

Andrew told me about a moment that didn't make the final television edit. After struggling for food, he checked his fishing lines and found two large burbot, one around 18 inches and the other around 24 inches. He said it was one of the most triumphant moments of his entire challenge.

The catch gave him food and a big lift in morale. For viewers, it's a reminder that the television edit only shows a tiny proportion of what actually happens out there.

Building a coracle and thinking about base camp

We also laughed about the temptation to head towards the production camp. Andrew could hear the helicopter from his location, although the base was a long way away. Building his coracle made him realise he could have travelled far downstream if this had been a genuine survival emergency rather than a television competition.

He didn't raid base camp, but it raised an interesting question: in a real survival situation, getting out safely could matter much more than staying in place and sticking to television rules.

Alone vs Naked and Afraid: which challenge is tougher?

On Alone, everything falls on one person. You build the shelter, gather firewood, find food, check traps and manage your own mindset. On Naked and Afraid you may have someone helping with that workload, but a struggling partner brings other challenges. I've seen how much difference a good partnership can make.

Both shows test people far beyond what most outdoor instructors experience on a normal training weekend. Watching from the sofa is easy. Trying to make the right decisions while starving, cold and exhausted is another matter.

Andrew's advice for beginners

Andrew finished with three practical points: read and learn, find affordable clothing that keeps you comfortable outdoors, and don't turn every trip into an endurance contest. Above all, don't get obsessed with buying expensive equipment before you've developed your skills.

That's advice I agree with. Get outside, practise the basics and enjoy learning. You don't need a fortune in kit to get started.

Watch or listen to The Survival Debrief

Watch my full interview with Andrew Thomas Price on YouTube or listen on Spotify. Let me know which challenge you'd rather attempt: 71 days alone in the Arctic or 21 days naked in the jungle?

More survival adventures

Watch my Scottish survival series Highland Reckoning and explore practical courses with South West Survival.

About Steven Kelly

Steven Kelly (Survival Ste) is a British television survivalist, former 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery soldier and founder of South West Survival. He has appeared in Naked and Afraid and Naked and Afraid: Apocalypse and hosts The Survival Debrief.