Posted on 05/06/2015 by Elizabeth in Naked And Afraid and Cast Interviews

By Ashley Thompson

Alyssa from the Mayan Sacrifice episode of Naked And Afraid was kind enough to answer a few questions for us. She gives us some insight into the casting process, her experience and what it's like after the challenge.

RW: How were you cast?

Alyssa: Funny story, I hadn't heard of the tv show. I mean, when I first applied not a lot of people knew about it. My mom and sister saw a commercial for it and said, "Apply! You like being outside... this show is outside." So I applied and I think it was kind of a joke, the application I sent in, and it just kind of took over from there. Interview after interview, it was like a week long process. And then they flew me out to LA.

RW: So you weren't that familiar with it?

Alyssa: I hadn't seen any of the episodes until I got to LA. I was like, 'maybe I should see what this show actually is'. ::laughs::

RW: Did you do anything special to stand out?

Alyssa: I must have had to do something but I can't pinpoint exactly what it was. I'm not the most outgoing person, I'm actually pretty shy. So maybe me being shy worked for me.

RW: How far in advance did you know your location?

Alyssa: I think it was like 10 days. Not far.

RW: Since you only had 10 days, what did you do to prepare?

Alyssa: When I got to LA I made the decision to prepare there. But I didn't know the location so I couldn't specifically prepare. I just tried every way to make fire and really practiced my bow drill. I just tried a bunch of skills and gained a bunch of weight.

RW: Were you able to prepare your skin for the intense sun?

Alyssa: I did go outside more wearing tanning sunscreen. I also used this stuff on my feet to make them tough. I don't think I could've gotten over the coral if I hadn't used it. It's for humans and dogs. I actually use it on my dog and she does great with it.

RW: Given your experience and what you do/where you go with at-risk youths, which is harder? The Dessert or the Yucatan?

Alyssa: That's a tough question. They both have their different challenges. Survival-wise I think the dessert would be harder because there's not a lot water. If we hadn't had those cenotes we wouldn't have even gotten water, we would have been screwed. We were very lucky to have coconuts and water. If we were in the dessert... that would have been tough.

RW: Did you ever consider drinking your own urine for hydration?

Alyssa: ::laughing:: No. I don't think I ever really thought about drinking my own urine. I'm sure we would've gotten to that point. He would have said, "C'mon let's drink that urine!" and I would have been like, "Alright let's do this!" ::laughing::

RW: What were you most afraid of after you found out your location, before you arrived?

Alyssa: I think most people think they'll be most afraid of the animals. But the only thing I could think of was the present moment and leaving everyone, my boyfriend and my dog. It would be really challenging to be away for 21 days and them not knowing if I was ok or if I was sick. But I think leaving was the hardest part, knowing I was going to have to say 'goodbye' for a bit.

RW: Once you were there for a few days, what were your fears?

Alyssa: Oh my gosh, the hardest thing was the sun. Tee most terrifying was knowing there was the crocodile where we bathed. I don't like crocodiles, I don't want to bathe with them.

RW: Knowing all of your experience, were you disappointed in learning your PSR score after watching the episode?

Alyssa: No, I didn't really worry too much about that. The people that made those probably don't really know me. Whatever they say. It just a number to me. But I was thankful for what they think of me! It was very nice and generous.

RW: When in the challenge did clothing become a priority?

Alyssa: It was actually hourly. There was times of the day when I worried about clothing because I was going out or I was so sick of everyone being clothed and me being naked. But unless you really invest your time in making clothes... they're just going to come off. You're just constantly moving so your clothes are really scratchy or they hold you back. You don't even worry about clothes after that.

RW: Is that why you didn't make shoes to hike to your water source or for extraction?

Alyssa: We actually did make some shoes. They weren't the best shoes out there. To be honest it didn't really hurt my feet that bad. I had food and fire and other things on my mind.

RW: Speaking of food, since it was so hot during the day did you do most of your scavenging/hunting before the sun came up?

Alyssa: That's exactly what we did. We would wake up before the sun came up... we were awake all night because of the mosquitoes we really didn't sleep at all. Which we could have used to our advantage a lot more. But you're hopeful at nighttime that you'll get some sleep. You don't really tackle too many project. We couldn't get too much accomplished during the day. I was so exhausted in the hot sun.

RW: The fire didn't actually keep the bugs away, then?

Alyssa: No, it didn't. It actually invited them more. Basically what it comes down to is your shit out of luck when it comes to bugs. You just have to accept them.

RW: What was worse, the bug bites or the sand?

Alyssa: The bug bites! The sand made it better a little bit, it would scratch your bug bites when you'd move around a little bit ::laughs::.

RW: Most people are concerned about the being naked together, but what was hygiene like?

Alyssa: Actually there was a horribly good clip of me where I took the charcoal we used for our filter. Every five days or so I would brush my teeth and get the stuff out. I would feel so good after!

RW: We see you hunting at night for crabs, but normally the camera crews leave at night. Why did they stay that particular night?

Alyssa: We told them. I was like, "We're going crab hunting tonight, you might want to stick around." They got a few giggles in.

RW: Would you do all this again?

Alyssa: Absolutely! They ask us that once we're extracted and we're sitting there like, "Hell no!" ::laughs::. But most people four days later their ready to do it again.

RW: When do you get to shower and put clothes back on after extraction?

Alyssa: When you get back to the closest town. For us we were like two hours away. Once we got back... actually I had to wait a little bit. I got back to my hotel room and I was trying to Skype with my boyfriend and I heard a knock at my door and my mom had come to surprise me.

RW: Was she like, "I love you honey! Get in the shower."?

Alyssa: I was like, "I'm so glad you're here! I have to get in the shower." ::laughs::

RW: If you got to do it again what would you do differently?

Alyssa: I wouldn't do too much differently. IT would be different every where you go. I could try to do the same things but it wouldn't come close to working the next time. I would try to do more things I think. I would probably be just as exhausted, though. It's easy to sit back on the couch and say, "You should do this... you should do that..." but in reality you would take it moment by moment.

RW: Is there something that was edited out that you wish would have been shown?

Alyssa: I mean... of course all of the cool things we made. We made a coconut ladder because I couldn't climb the tree. All the trips to the cenotes. One night Luke and I were trying to sleep and the mosquitoes were bothering us so we tried burying ourselves. ::laughing:: He was neck deep in sand I put the bag over his head and he looked terrifying like I had kidnapped him. We had some good times. There's so much footage.

RW: Do you have any plans to visit the Yucatan again as a tourist?

Alyssa: I would love to. I still know some people down there that were helping out that said they could get be back out there to the site so...

RW: We saw a little clip of you back home really enjoying ice cream after the challenge. What's your favorite flavor?

Alyssa: This summer it's mint chocolate chip.

RW: Because you didn't get to brush your teeth with anything but charcoal for 3 weeks?

Alyssa: ::laughing:: Exactly!

Photo credit: Discovery