When being naked is the least of your worries...

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Being filmed stark naked in the company of strangers is what nightmares are made of, but for an outdoorsy Gqeberha accountant, this was the least of his worries when he took part in Discovery Channel’s survival reality show, Naked and Afraid.

For Tanner Barclay, 25, the biggest challenge was the psychological strain of isolation in the coastal rainforest of Ecuador with just two fellow naked contestants for company.

Barclay, who is now in his second year of articles following a BCom degree, did not know what he was letting himself in for when he applied to be on Season 13 of the popular American reality show in which naked strangers must survive the wilderness for 21 days with little more than a pot and a knife to help them along.

Previous seasons have been filmed in mosquito-ridden jungles, sweltering deserts, murky swamplands, and lion-infested forests all over the world. Starving and exhausted, only a few make it through the full three weeks, with many beleaguered contestants tapping out before their 21 days are up.

Durban-born Barclay, who moved to Gqeberha when he was six and matriculated at Theodor Herzl High School, says he came across an application for the show on social media.

“To be honest I initially thought it was a scam. Then I got a phone call [from the producers] and the interview process began.”

Having spent holidays and weekends on a family smallholding building forts, fishing and hunting, Barclay considers himself to be a resourceful and sturdy outdoorsman, but nothing could prepare him for the rigours of Naked and Afraid.

“I thought I wouldn’t get it and when I did I though holy s..t. Being naked in a bush and surviving for 21 days!

“I knew it would be hard, but thought that there would be more help than there was. I thought the crew would be there permanently and not leave you on your own. I thought they would give you painkillers and that there would be more interaction, but the crew was not allowed to speak to us in order to make it more authentic; to cut human interaction.”

As for being naked on a television show, Barclay was unfazed.

I’m quite confident being naked. I have got naked at parties, been skinny dipping and am a bit of a wild child. A lot of people think it’s a sexual thing but the moment you are inserted [into the wilderness] you get over it very quickly

“I’m quite confident being naked. I have got naked at parties, been skinny dipping and am a bit of a wild child. A lot of people think it’s a sexual thing but the moment you are inserted [into the wilderness] you get over it very quickly. You don’t give it a second thought.

“My mom is quite a Christian, but she had no problem with this. Now if I’d gone on to The Bachelor, that would have been a problem for her!”

Barclay’s gameplan to pack on extra weight was scuppered when filming was delayed due to Covid and when he finally got the go-ahead to fly out, his slim form had no extra layers to speak of.

Then, having been flown to the South American country of Ecuador a couple of weeks before "insertion", Barclay found himself isolating in a hotel room without TV or Wi-Fi and being served light meals only, meaning he could not fatten himself up as planned.

“I was flippen hungry. I was not allowed to leave the room and it felt like forever. There was no interaction and I was in a foreign country. I was left in the dark. I was being tested for Covid regularly. I was going crazy and so mentally before insertion I was already freaking out.

“Then I was picked up at 5am by a crew who only spoke Spanish. It was a 10-hour drive and at one point I thought I was being kidnapped!”

Once he was dropped off, told to strip and given a bag containing a panga as his chosen survival implement, he wandered into the bush to find his fellow naked survivalist.

It was definitely awkward for a moment because there were a lot of crew there too so you are naked in front of a lot of people. I went in for an awkward handshake with the girl, but after that we just spoke about our game plans and forgot we were naked

“It was very hot. I was expecting the [usual] one partner [format] but there were two — a woman and a man. [American contestants Brittany and Ashao]. I was quite relieved there were two people. It was definitely awkward for a moment because there were a lot of crew there too so you are naked in front of a lot of people. I went in for an awkward handshake with the girl, but after that we just spoke about our game plans and forgot we were naked.

“We then descended through thorny bushes and the thorns grabbed in worst places possible.”

When the trio reached a high cliff edge, Barclay was shocked they would have to climb down it without help.

“I thought someone would chuck us a ladder, but the ladder was for the crew. I’m not exaggerating — you would die or break your back if you fell.”

Darkness had fallen by the time the three contestants reached their campsite and Barclay quickly realised he was to be the "worker bee" of the trio.

“I built the shelter, and Ashao the fire, and Brittany was supervising. You could tell it was the South African who would be working hard...”

Nestled beneath a jungle canopy, the rains were unrelenting and their initial shelter far from waterproof.

“It rained every day and that made me so depressed. There was no sunlight and I got super cold. I didn’t try to make clothes because leaves just made me colder. I would sit on my bag because my bum got so cold.”

Disaster struck on his first day in the jungle.

I was making a bamboo bed and on the first day I was splitting bamboo and it splintered and tore my left hand apart. The cameraman went white

“I was making a bamboo bed and on the first day I was splitting bamboo and it splintered and tore my left hand apart. The cameraman went white and was going 'medic medic medic'. There was so much blood that I thought I’d hit an artery.”

Once a paramedic arrived he too struggled to stop the bleeding.

“He was shaking because he couldn’t stop it. They had to phone an American paramedic to come but she was not on site and it took her about two hours to get to me.

“The producer wanted to tap me medically but I said I was not leaving. They wanted to drive me to a local hospital for an operation.

“The paramedic stitched me up and I vomited and almost fainted. It throbbed but I got no painkillers.

“It automatically threw me off because I had to hunt, climb and gather wood with one hand.”

Barclay and his jungle partners had to climb down a cliff to reach the seashore to hunt for crabs and periwinkles, a task complicated by his injury.

“I kept slipping but could not get it wet and trying to boil water was such a process with one hand. Mentally I felt like an idiot although Brittany and Aosha were very supportive.”

One night I had one a panic attack and mentally I was finished. The isolation before insertion and the loneliness got way too much because when your partners are sleeping you are alone

And so, although the intrepid team managed — with the help of flint — to start a fire on their first day and catch two snakes and a few crabs to eat, Barclay was hungry and freezing and his mental health began to deteriorate.

“My partners wanted to chill and rest because they were dizzy from lack of food and I wanted to do stuff. I struggled to sit and do nothing. I wanted to hunt and make things like traps. We did set some, but not complicated ones because of my hand. I spent most of my time collecting wood because I was scared of getting cold at night without a fire.”

Eventually it all got too much.

“One night I had one a panic attack and mentally I was finished. The isolation before insertion and the loneliness got way too much because when your partners are sleeping you are alone. I couldn’t face another night. Physically I was fine apart from the hand, but mentally I was completely destroyed.”

Though he felt guilty leaving his partners behind, Barclay tapped out on the ninth day of his coastal jungle adventure.

“The producers tried to talk me out of it, but I was stubborn and said I’m done.”

Eleven kilograms lighter than when he set off, he had to endure five flights home and that is when regret set in.

“I was so disappointed with myself. It was almost like one day of weakness... There is a lot of regret and I had to swallow my pride.

“Now I want a redemption opportunity to make SA and the Eastern Cape proud. If this opportunity comes along again, I will try to do things differently,” says Barclay who keeps in touch with his two Naked and Afraid friends, one of whom lasted the full 21 days.

“It was an amazing experience and I’ve never laughed so much in my life. It was Halloween while we were there and I pretended to be tokoloshe and ran around naked.”

The experience also jolted Barclay back on track with his career.

“Before the show I had been selling plastic disposable hair capes for hairdressing salons during Covid and had decided not to do accounting ever again, but the week I got back I applied for articles jobs and knew I’d become a CA so I can start my own business. Naked and Afraid gave me direction.”

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