EDMONTON -- Michael Dietrich had never watched the show “Naked and Afraid” until he saw himself conquer it during a viewing party at a bar on Jasper Avenue Sunday night.
A local physical trainer and outdoorsman, Dietrich decided to try stripping down and surviving 21 days in a Colombian jungle last summer, after he was challenged on Instagram.
“Someone hash-tagged a picture of my dog and I when we were naked on a mountain celebrating a birthday shot,” Dietrich said, adding he didn’t apply, the show found him.
“I got recruited by an agency to come check it out. Next thing I knew, I was on Naked and Afraid.”
Dietrich had two partners taking the challenge with him. As is the show's tradition, they were not given any food, blankets or even clothing.
“I really don’t like being naked. For just one picture that’s fine, but I don’t even like being naked in my own house,” Dietrich said.
Still, agreeing to the extreme challenge was not actually that surprising to people who know him.
“He’s always taken things to the extreme,” Angela Dietrich, Michael’s mother, said about his love of sports.
“I was worried about him. I was just concerned about all the creatures that are out there.”
Despite personality conflicts with his partners, Dietrich survived to win the challenge, saying the only way he was quitting was in an ambulance.
But it wasn’t easy, and he doesn’t recommend it.
“Starvation is very, very real, to see what that is like. But a lot of it was just dealing with myself and the loneliness,” Dietrich said.
Angela Dietrich picked up her son at the airport in Edmonton in July. He was clearly skinnier she said, but all of the Dietrichs were happy and proud of his experience.
“It was absolutely wonderful seeing him. I’m so proud that he took on that challenge and he made it through. He’s very strong, mind and body,” Angela said.
Dietrich said he can’t speak about specifics, but he’s planning to take on similar challenges in the future.
