What Naked and Afraid is really like – by British survivalist Steven Kelly

What Naked and Afraid is really like – by British survivalist Steven Kelly

If you’ve ever watched Naked and Afraid from the comfort of your sofa and thought, “I could do that”… this is for you.

I’m Steven Kelly, a British Commando, survival instructor and the bloke from Naked and Afraid and Naked and Afraid: Apocalypse. I also run South West Survival and host The Survival Debrief Podcast.

People always ask me the same question:

“What is Naked and Afraid really like – is it as brutal as it looks, or is there more going on behind the scenes?”

Short answer: it’s harder than it looks on TV – especially in your head.

In this blog I’ll walk you through what Naked and Afraid is really like from my perspective as a British survivalist – from stripping off on day one to the quiet, messy aftermath when the cameras stop rolling.

Who I am – and how I ended up naked on TV

I’ve spent over two decades in the British Army, serving with 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery. I’ve trained in jungles, deserts, Arctic conditions and everything in between. Survival and fieldcraft are literally my day job.

Outside the military, I run a survival and bushcraft company in the UK and teach everyone from kids and families to veterans and corporate teams how to be more resilient outdoors.

So when the opportunity came up to test myself on Naked and Afraid, it wasn’t just about TV. It was:

• A chance to measure my military skills in a completely different environment
• A way to push my mindset beyond its limits
• And, if I’m honest, a bit of a laugh… right up until the moment they told me to take my clothes off

The moment you actually get naked

Let’s start with the obvious.

You can train for hunger.
You can train for heat and cold.
You can’t really train for walking onto a location stark naked with strangers and cameras watching.

The first few minutes are pure vulnerability:

• No uniform, no rank, no kit to hide behind
• A stranger standing opposite you, also naked, judging you and being judged
• Camera crew and producers capturing your every reaction

Your brain is screaming: This is wrong.

And that’s exactly the point.

Once you get past those first 10–15 minutes, something shifts. You go from embarrassment to problem-solving:

• Where’s the water?
• What’s the terrain like?
• What can I use for shelter?
• How much daylight have we got left?

The moment your survival brain kicks in, you forget you’re naked. It becomes just another environmental factor – like the heat or the bugs.

What you really get to take in with you

Viewers often ask, “Is Naked and Afraid real? Do you secretly have loads of kit?”

Here’s the truth in simple terms:

• You really do start with almost nothing.
• You’re allowed a very limited number of personal survival items (knife, fire starter, pot, etc.), depending on the challenge.
• Anything else – shelter, bedding, cordage, tools – you make from the environment.

A few realities that don’t always come across on TV:

• Every choice matters.
  Pick the wrong tool and you’ll pay for it every single day.
• You will regret not training more with your chosen item.
  If you bring a bow, you’d better be able to shoot it under fatigue, hunger and stress.
• You lean hard on fundamentals.
  Fire, water, shelter and mindset are everything. Fancy gear doesn’t replace basic skills.

I’ve been living and teaching this stuff for years and I can tell you: Naked and Afraid has a way of showing you exactly where the cracks in your skillset are.

How much help do you really get?

Another big question: “Is there loads of help off camera?”

There is safety, but there is not comfort.

Yes:

• There is a camera crew, but they’re there to film, not feed or guide you.
• There are medics on standby. If you’re seriously unwell or injured, they can and will pull you for your safety.
• You do regular medical checks, because extreme weight loss, dehydration and infections are very real risks.

But:

• The crew does not help with shelter, fire, water, food or navigation.
• If you’re cold, hungry and exhausted, you stay cold, hungry and exhausted until you fix it or tap out.
• You quickly realise the only person who is going to save you is you.

As a British soldier, I’m used to having a team, a chain of command and a support system. On Naked and Afraid you have:

• A partner (who may or may not be on your wavelength)
• Your own skillset
• Your mindset

That’s it.

The truth about hunger, weight loss and exhaustion

The show does not exaggerate the impact of hunger. If anything, it underplays it.

What you don’t fully see on TV is:

• How constant the hunger is
• How your world shrinks to: find calories, conserve energy
• How quickly little tasks become huge missions

Things that are simple at home:

• Boiling water
• Gathering firewood
• Rebuilding a shelter after a storm

…become serious calculations when you’ve had almost no food for days.

Your body starts feeding on itself. Muscles ache all the time. Your brain fogs up. Small decisions become big risks:

“Do I spend energy hunting and risk finding nothing, or do I stay put and conserve energy?”

I’ve done long exercises and operations in the military, but the combination of nakedness, constant filming, isolation and hunger is something very specific to survival TV.

The biggest challenge isn’t what you think

Most people assume the hardest part of Naked and Afraid is:

• The wild animals
• The weather
• The lack of clothes

For me, the hardest part is what happens in your head.

You’re stripped of:

• Your normal identity (no uniform, no job title, no phone)
• Your usual coping mechanisms (no music, no scrolling, no quick escape)
• Your normal support network (family, friends, your usual team)

You’re left with:

• Your thoughts
• Your fears
• Old stories you tell yourself when things go wrong

That’s when your mental training kicks in:

• Can you stay calm when you’re cold, hungry and frustrated?
• Can you regulate yourself when your partner is panicking or negative?
• Can you keep going one more hour, one more night, one more day?

That’s the same mindset I leaned on when I nearly lost my eye and faced being medically discharged from the Army, or when I found out scammers had used my photos to con people out of thousands of pounds. Different situation, same mental muscles.

What TV can’t show in 45 minutes

An episode compresses weeks of 24/7 challenge into under an hour of television. Naturally, some things get lost:

1. The sheer boredom between crises

You see the big drama – storms, arguments, medical checks.

You don’t see:

• The long hours of just sitting, shivering, thinking
• Endless small tasks: repairing, tidying, gathering, repeating
• Moments where you question why you’re there

2. The small wins that keep you going

TV shows the big milestones – first fire, first big meal.

But the real fuel is:

• A slightly better night’s sleep after improving the shelter
• Finding a tiny extra food source
• A joke with your partner that cuts the tension

As a survival instructor, I tell my clients:

“The small wins are what keep you alive.”

That’s never more true than on a show like this.

3. The emotional crash afterwards

When the challenge ends, the audience moves on to the next episode.

You, on the other hand:

• Go through re-feeding, which can be physically and mentally rough
• Re-enter normal life with a head full of intense experiences
• Often feel a mix of pride, relief and weird emptiness

You’ve spent weeks with one simple mission: survive and adapt.
Then suddenly you’re back in a supermarket surrounded by 20 types of cereal.

It takes time to process.

What Naked and Afraid taught me as a British survivalist

Going on Naked and Afraid reinforced some truths I already knew from the Army and from running South West Survival, and revealed a few new ones:

1. Mindset is the real survival tool.
   You can have the best kit in the world and still fail if your head goes.
2. Simple basics beat fancy gear.
   Fire, shelter, water, signalling and calm thinking matter more than anything else.
3. Communication can save or sink you.
   The way you talk to your partner when you’re starving and stressed can be the difference between carrying on and tapping out.
4. Everyone has more in them than they think.
   I’ve seen people – on TV and on my courses – go far beyond what they believed possible when they’re focused on the next small step.

How to build a “Naked and Afraid” mindset without going on TV

You don’t need to strip off in the jungle to build a survival mindset. Start with these simple steps in normal life:

1. Get comfortable being uncomfortable

• Take a cold shower now and then
• Leave your phone at home for a walk
• Sleep outside in a bivvy or tent, even if it’s just in the garden

2. Learn one practical skill at a time

Instead of binging survival videos, actually do something:

• Learn to light a fire safely in the rain
• Cook a full meal outdoors
• Navigate a simple route with map and compass

3. Train your mind under stress

• Breath work (box breathing, 4–7–8) when you’re stressed
• Short, sharp workouts where you practise staying calm when your heart’s pounding
• Journalling after challenging days: What did I learn? What did I handle well? What can I improve?

4. Spend more time outside

Your nervous system isn’t designed for constant screens and fluorescent lighting.

Regular time in the woods or on the moors does more for your resilience than you think.

Final thoughts – and where to find me

What is Naked and Afraid really like?

It’s raw, exposing and at times miserable.
It’s also one of the purest tests of mindset, skill and spirit you can put yourself through.

For me, as a British Commando and survival instructor, it took everything I’ve learned in over 20 years of service and turned the dial up to 11. And it confirmed what I now teach every day:

You’re capable of far more than you think, when you strip everything back and focus on the next right move.

If you’d like to:

• Train survival and bushcraft with me in the UK
• Build a stronger survival mindset for yourself, your family or your team
• Or hear more behind-the-scenes stories from survival TV, the military and real life

You can:

• Check out my courses at South West Survival
• Listen to The Survival Debrief Podcast
• Or follow me on social media and say hello

Stay sharp, stay curious – and remember: the real survival game is the one you play every day.

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