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View Full Version : How to get on History Channel's Alone Season 6



Zachary Fowler
01-16-2018, 01:30 AM
This is an extended cut of the interview i did with Aaron Phillips on his Life Survival show about how to get on History Channel's Alone Season 6 . This also apply to how to get on Discover channels naked and afraid. From first contact with the casting directors and how to make a casting video to how to win the harts of the producers. Good luck guys You win and your will have to go up against me on All-Stars some day ;) !!!! Fell free to ask me any more question you may have bout how to get on the show.

Video Link>>>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw0rTYCJJ54&index=22&list=PLjSScLBAtGMi8JMuzDzZjtkECKBy0hiSg

Antonyraison
01-16-2018, 01:50 AM
Maybe one day Fowler :) I simply cannot give up my normal life for the amount of time one needs to set aside for this.. Bills must be paid family must come 1st.

Zachary Fowler
01-16-2018, 01:33 PM
There is a weekly stipend thats more then enough to cover your time away even if you don't win !!

hunter63
01-16-2018, 03:25 PM
It's good to have some inside advice....
Lots of people coming thru for time to time to time....that advice will be helpful.
Thanks for posting.

hikermor
01-18-2018, 12:13 PM
Are we talking real world survival or survival as entertainment/competitive sporting event? There is a world of difference between the situation faced by the Kim family versus competing in a rough camping situation where, when you are not having fun anymore or you perchance get into real trouble, you can just push a button and solve the problem.

I have never experienced a long term survival situation, although I have gone through some unplanned nights and a few days where I was completely dependent on my own resources. I have also picked up the pieces from some survival situations that did not end well.

The pseudo-survival, Alone!, playground, made for TV stuff, is just a load of crap. It has only a passing resemblance to legitimate survival situations, which do not come with a weekly paycheck....

Zachary Fowler
01-30-2018, 04:04 PM
Are we talking real world survival or survival as entertainment/competitive sporting event? There is a world of difference between the situation faced by the Kim family versus competing in a rough camping situation where, when you are not having fun anymore or you perchance get into real trouble, you can just push a button and solve the problem.

I have never experienced a long term survival situation, although I have gone through some unplanned nights and a few days where I was completely dependent on my own resources. I have also picked up the pieces from some survival situations that did not end well.

The pseudo-survival, Alone!, playground, made for TV stuff, is just a load of crap. It has only a passing resemblance to legitimate survival situations, which do not come with a weekly paycheck.... Alone is so much more real then just survival not only are you actual alone but you are limited to 10 itam and an area not of your choosing and you have to film for at least 40 hrs a week while trying to survive on top of Everything else. There is no Camera crew Steel snacks from We've bear grills doesYou're on your own. And paycheck or not money means very little Well you're spending 87 days alone Eating only 63 Fish two birds A couple cups of dandelion root and Grubbs And wishing you had a pizza. ;) Just because production Dramatizes the footage that we hand over to them Doesn't mean it's not as real as it Could ever be. And fun as heck and i didn't even have to get naked :0

Rick
01-30-2018, 07:02 PM
Well....You could have if you wanted to. You were doing the filming. All you had to do was turn the camera off and run willy nilly through the woods. Probably a regret that needs to go unmentioned though.

Antonyraison
01-31-2018, 02:08 AM
I believe it to be as close as to a real situation as one could likely be in, with out really accidentally being in one.
Anyone that is saying its all for show or whatever well I suppose there is a point for entertainment, but its certainly not a joke.
I have a lot of respect for you guys from alone.

Graf
01-31-2018, 02:47 AM
As much as I would jump at the opportunity to be on Alone, my first priorities are family, income. I’m also confident my employer would not allow the required time off. That being said if anyone doesn’t have the above responsibilities then I say go for it in a heartbeat. I’ll settle for my goal to complete the Appalachian Trail at retirement. I’ve worked towards building my stamina on hiking excursions for years

crashdive123
01-31-2018, 06:54 AM
Of all of the "survival" shows, I believe Alone to be the one that puts participants into a survival situation much more than the others.

There are two factors that I think play the biggest role on the show for contestants leaving early. One is being truly alone. A lot of people have not experienced that for an extended period. The other is distraction. Not many people are used to filming and narrating their activities. It seems (to me) that many of the injuries experienced may have been caused by the distraction of filming and narrating.

hikermor
01-31-2018, 01:56 PM
You are limited to ten items of your choosing plus a basic kit and you get regular medical checkups (per Wikipedia). And when you are no longer having fun, you just pic up your sat phone and call the enterprise off? Not exactly like real survival. More like rough, expedient camping.

Consider the case of Poon Lim, the sole survivor of a British ship torpedoed in WWII. He drifted alone of a raft for 133 days, picked up at last in fairly good condition. He was fortunate in that the raft he found after being in the water did have some water and rations, but he had to catch fish and at one point drank shark blood in order to survive. But he didn't have to run a camera, thank goodness.

The essence is not having a guaranteed outcome in 'real" survival. The "Alone" game makes for good entertainment, and it has its challenges, but you also have your handy dandy sat phone. There is just no comparison.

hunter63
01-31-2018, 02:52 PM
You are limited to ten items of your choosing plus a basic kit and you get regular medical checkups (per Wikipedia). And when you are no longer having fun, you just pic up your sat phone and call the enterprise off? Not exactly like real survival. More like rough, expedient camping.

Consider the case of Poon Lim, the sole survivor of a British ship torpedoed in WWII. He drifted alone of a raft for 133 days, picked up at last in fairly good condition. He was fortunate in that the raft he found after being in the water did have some water and rations, but he had to catch fish and at one point drank shark blood in order to survive. But he didn't have to run a camera, thank goodness.

The essence is not having a guaranteed outcome in 'real" survival. The "Alone" game makes for good entertainment, and it has its challenges, but you also have your handy dandy sat phone. There is just no comparison.

That's an opinion....
You can easily solve the "fake show"

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y139/hunter63/funny%20stuff/l_11267664_001_zpsvimeg0p2.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/hunter63/media/funny%20stuff/l_11267664_001_zpsvimeg0p2.jpg.html)

hikermor
01-31-2018, 03:45 PM
I use that a lot - never watch "Alone." I have more challenging projects and trips to undertake.

crashdive123
01-31-2018, 05:25 PM
The same can be done with threads that you don't care for.

Phaedrus
02-01-2018, 05:13 AM
Kind of harsh!:laugh: Hikermor is somewhat beyond the "duffer" stage when it comes to the woods. He was a salty dog before I was born! Yet he's still far less curmudgeonly that most of you folks! Certainly he's not as hard on the show as some other members here. Speaking for myself I like some elements and dislike others. While it's cool to see some beautiful woods and some skills in use it's hard to get past the game-show/reality show element of it. Some of the contestants don't seem to have much business being out there at all! Others I kind of felt bad for. For example Joe Robinet seems like a pretty decent guy with reasonable woods skills. But the game show element seemed to have overwhelmed him. Certainly Les Stroud talked about how much harder it was to shoot a program while you're trying to stay alive!

Antonyraison
02-01-2018, 07:15 AM
I use that a lot - never watch "Alone." I have more challenging projects and trips to undertake.

well then please do share the video of these experiences.

Antonyraison
02-01-2018, 07:23 AM
You are limited to ten items of your choosing plus a basic kit and you get regular medical checkups (per Wikipedia). And when you are no longer having fun, you just pic up your sat phone and call the enterprise off? Not exactly like real survival. More like rough, expedient camping.

Consider the case of Poon Lim, the sole survivor of a British ship torpedoed in WWII. He drifted alone of a raft for 133 days, picked up at last in fairly good condition. He was fortunate in that the raft he found after being in the water did have some water and rations, but he had to catch fish and at one point drank shark blood in order to survive. But he didn't have to run a camera, thank goodness.

The essence is not having a guaranteed outcome in 'real" survival. The "Alone" game makes for good entertainment, and it has its challenges, but you also have your handy dandy sat phone. There is just no comparison.

For all intents and purposes, most of us guys do carry kit with us... in the car, in a bag, in our pockets, at home..etc. However if One is likely going to find ones self all of a sudden kidnapped and left in the middle of nowhere well now that maybe a different story I suppose.... however you still going to find a lot of rubish and debris in even very isolated places and do something with that I suppose.
The point is this is a T.V show, there are liability issues, and I really don't think they want huge law suits, so well you Do have a sat phone to tap out.. you do get medical checks.. That part seems fairly obvious as to why that must be.
10 items in the bush might sound like a lot, but it really is not.
anyway... I still find this show to be fairly good, and pretty close to a modern situation one may find ones self in...
but your welcome to your views..
I just want to See what it is you can do with a typical 10 piece kit in a bear/wolf infested place alone for months.. and video that..

Most the other guys here seemingly agree with me, why? cause I assume they actually have tried similar things and know its really not that easy.
just my 2 cents.
your welcome to your opinion though.

I think what we have here is called the dunning-Kruger effect going on here.

Antonyraison
02-01-2018, 07:33 AM
Kind of harsh!:laugh: Hikermor is somewhat beyond the "duffer" stage when it comes to the woods. He was a salty dog before I was born! Yet he's still far less curmudgeonly that most of you folks! Certainly he's not as hard on the show as some other members here. Speaking for myself I like some elements and dislike others. While it's cool to see some beautiful woods and some skills in use it's hard to get past the game-show/reality show element of it. Some of the contestants don't seem to have much business being out there at all! Others I kind of felt bad for. For example Joe Robinet seems like a pretty decent guy with reasonable woods skills. But the game show element seemed to have overwhelmed him. Certainly Les Stroud talked about how much harder it was to shoot a program while you're trying to stay alive!


whahahahahah. mmmeeeeh He just is coming across like an 17 year old that once read an article in a magazine about wilderness survival, and seems to be the expert all of a sudden, I heard he was on the beach of Normandy also..

Antonyraison
02-01-2018, 07:47 AM
Are we talking real world survival or survival as entertainment/competitive sporting event? There is a world of difference between the situation faced by the Kim family versus competing in a rough camping situation where, when you are not having fun anymore or you perchance get into real trouble, you can just push a button and solve the problem.

I have never experienced a long term survival situation, although I have gone through some unplanned nights and a few days where I was completely dependent on my own resources. I have also picked up the pieces from some survival situations that did not end well.

The pseudo-survival, Alone!, playground, made for TV stuff, is just a load of crap. It has only a passing resemblance to legitimate survival situations, which do not come with a weekly paycheck....

And there we have the answer... you haven't experienced a long term "survival" situation. I don't feel the show is at all a load of crap, its a real wild place, you really are alone, you really have to plan and secure various things to ensure a long stay.. sounds like survival to me...

What would you prefer, the darn hunger games? I am not entirely certain. what exactly you trying to say...
Look its fairly obvious to 99% This is a TV show contestants going up against others, in a wilderness "survival"/home steading challenge with a 10 piece kit. IF you or anyone actually wanted to do this, they better be well practiced in wilderness survival and outdoor living and have a lot of knowledge about the out doors. Its a very entertaining Show to watch a lot can be learnt from it.

theJman
02-01-2018, 05:25 PM
I use that a lot - never watch "Alone." I have more challenging projects and trips to undertake.

From the sound of it, the trips are likely to the grocery store.

hikermor
02-01-2018, 05:48 PM
I was 17 a mere 64 years ago this month! If only one could combine the vitality and energy of 17 with the experience of 81! You seem to be requesting a resume on my survival experience, so here it is....

Last month we had to leave our home at 2 AM, faced with a rapidly advancing wildfire. I was very glad that I slept with my EDC at hand, including a really good headlamp, since the power was out in our neighborhood. Also glad that both our cars were equipped with basic survival stuff. I only had to grab my CERT pack, our financial records, and our cat and we were on our way out of danger. Our house still stands and we suffered no hardship, so it was definitely 'soft survival" - although we are still cleaning up the ashes. One learns to be prepped...

More challenging and instructive has been my SAR experience, beginning on November 16, 1958 and basically ending in 1985, although there were a few ops after that. Some ops were incredibly trivial, while others were extremely demanding, lasting for many days. I soon got in the habit of keeping a packed bag (= bug out bag) ready to go at all times, because we got the call at all hours of the day or night, often with the request to assemble immediately. We often began our mission at insanely illogical times or places, starting out at midday June in desert heat or starting as the sun was setting in freezing temps. I spent the latter part of Christmas 1983 walking with my partner into a gathering storm, beginning the search for a young teen who had wandered away form her picnic. We walked most of the night, bivouacking briefly, and finding her at dawn, spending most of the day walking her out. We operated in caves, deserts (Tucson, AZ), high mountains, and often proceeded with technical high angle rescues, often at night.

You asked about videos. I didn't usually have time to spare for that, but I understand that the local station took a video of me rappelling into a waterfall to retrieve the body of a young woman who had perished in a flash flood the day before. I understand that footage aired nationally on ABC thee next day, but I didn't see it since we were still retrieving victims.

SAR ops shares with survival situations the need for immediate action and the unannounced nature and time of the emergency, and, often, the need to improvise and make up procedures on the fly.

Personally, I have dealt with injuries to me or others in my group while climbing or hiking. On at least two occasions, I have spent the night our unexpectedly. The most serious of these was a solo climb of Mt Humphreys (AZ) in thigh deep snow and -30 degree temps. I dug a crummy snow cave, put on everything I had and spent a miserable night. Despite that, with the dawn, I was rested and able to get off the hill. It was entirely too close.

About videos -My projects have been occasionally recorded by others - I was briefly in a Nova show on PBS, about a project I directed in Canyon de Chelly (1973). If you come to the Visitor Center at Channel Islands National Park, you will see a large exhibit (including video) of a project I worked on in 1994. . "West of the West", a PBS documentary done about three years ago, also has me ranting about the wonders of the Channel Islands (CA) Two years ago, I worked on another major dig in the park and it was filmed, but I don't have the rights to the footage.

My critique of Alone! is that it is staged, escape from the situation is always possible, you are watched over, and that these factors make the reality show quite different from the conditions faced by people in a legitimate survival situation. Alone is entertainment, but not the real thing. Need I mention that sometime, perhaps often, people in real survival conditions do not survive....I have loaded up lots of body bags in my time.

hunter63
02-01-2018, 06:55 PM
I was 17 a mere 64 years ago this month! If only one could combine the vitality and energy of 17 with the experience of 81! You seem to be requesting a resume on my survival experience, so here it is....

Last month we had to leave our home at 2 AM, faced with a rapidly advancing wildfire. I was very glad that I slept with my EDC at hand, including a really good headlamp, since the power was out in our neighborhood. Also glad that both our cars were equipped with basic survival stuff. I only had to grab my CERT pack, our financial records, and our cat and we were on our way out of danger. Our house still stands and we suffered no hardship, so it was definitely 'soft survival" - although we are still cleaning up the ashes. One learns to be prepped...

More challenging and instructive has been my SAR experience, beginning on November 16, 1958 and basically ending in 1985, although there were a few ops after that. Some ops were incredibly trivial, while others were extremely demanding, lasting for many days. I soon got in the habit of keeping a packed bag (= bug out bag) ready to go at all times, because we got the call at all hours of the day or night, often with the request to assemble immediately. We often began our mission at insanely illogical times or places, starting out at midday June in desert heat or starting as the sun was setting in freezing temps. I spent the latter part of Christmas 1983 walking with my partner into a gathering storm, beginning the search for a young teen who had wandered away form her picnic. We walked most of the night, bivouacking briefly, and finding her at dawn, spending most of the day walking her out. We operated in caves, deserts (Tucson, AZ), high mountains, and often proceeded with technical high angle rescues, often at night.

You asked about videos. I didn't usually have time to spare for that, but I understand that the local station took a video of me rappelling into a waterfall to retrieve the body of a young woman who had perished in a flash flood the day before. I understand that footage aired nationally on ABC thee next day, but I didn't see it since we were still retrieving victims.

SAR ops shares with survival situations the need for immediate action and the unannounced nature and time of the emergency, and, often, the need to improvise and make up procedures on the fly.

Personally, I have dealt with injuries to me or others in my group while climbing or hiking. On at least two occasions, I have spent the night our unexpectedly. The most serious of these was a solo climb of Mt Humphreys (AZ) in thigh deep snow and -30 degree temps. I dug a crummy snow cave, put on everything I had and spent a miserable night. Despite that, with the dawn, I was rested and able to get off the hill. It was entirely too close.

About videos -My projects have been occasionally recorded by others - I was briefly in a Nova show on PBS, about a project I directed in Canyon de Chelly (1973). If you come to the Visitor Center at Channel Islands National Park, you will see a large exhibit (including video) of a project I worked on in 1994. . "West of the West", a PBS documentary done about three years ago, also has me ranting about the wonders of the Channel Islands (CA) Two years ago, I worked on another major dig in the park and it was filmed, but I don't have the rights to the footage.

My critique of Alone! is that it is staged, escape from the situation is always possible, you are watched over, and that these factors make the reality show quite different from the conditions faced by people in a legitimate survival situation. Alone is entertainment, but not the real thing. Need I mention that sometime, perhaps often, people in real survival conditions do not survive....I have loaded up lots of body bags in my time.

All that is impressive and interesting....deserves a thread of it's own.
But:
Does to occur to me that your several posted attacks, on the thread posted by the participant and winner of the fake show.....to advise others and allow those to try their skills for real.... rather then hack at the OP....is a bit low rent.

Just my opinion.

hikermor
02-01-2018, 07:07 PM
I don't understand your comment at all. My criticism is of "Alone," alone, and has little if anything to do with the OP. As far as that goes, it is great that he won and got a significant payday. My point is that the "Alone' environment is quite different from real world survival, where a good, non fatal outcome is far from guaranteed. It is entertainment,all right, but it is far from the real thing.

crashdive123
02-01-2018, 08:29 PM
Let's remember fellas - no personal attacks. Just debate the ideas.

Antonyraison
02-02-2018, 01:47 AM
I dont disagree that it is not the real thing.
My opinion is its as close to a real thing as possible, just with added safety measures like coms and extraction, and routine medical checks. ( for reasons that with in the scope of the show make total sense, and seem obvious as to why it must be so)
I am pretty sure that the show don't actually want people to die, they want it to be very difficult.
Is It dangerous? Of course it is, the likely hood you could die is quiet high, I am pretty sure there are various waivers and legal things that needs to be considered, but I am also sure they don't want contestants to sent in a certain death, hence you get the radios that you can quit when you feel you cant hold on anymore.

Its entertainment with the premise of hey watch these bunch of people try and "survive" in this wild place with just 10 items and whatever skills and mentality they have.

As far as survival Shows, it is one of my favorite ones and depicts likely the closest to what a person in the real world may do in a situation,
even yourself have just admitted that you have edc bags and kit,etc in case of emergency... and that's my point.. Preparedness 1st. failure to prepare is being prepared to fail.
Sure maybe in a real life situation, you wont have knowledge or experience and just be a passenger on a plane and just crash and have to work all that stuff out.
However this is the luxury of Sites like this for like minded people to discuss methods, share ideas etc. so that People can possibly be a bit more prepared in the event they may find themselves in a situation. You may feel the show is a load of crap, and well you entitled to that opinion, mine is different.

hikermor
02-02-2018, 12:48 PM
"I dont disagree that it is not the real thing." Total agreement on this point. I have always preferred to focus on the real thing.

Like the spring we experienced a late spring storm, dropping snow and freezing rain on a lot of picnics and outings. We were very busy and felt relieved that we experienced no fatalities - just cold, inconvenienced victims. At least that was the case until months later, a camp was discovered. complete with a human corpse, pretty clearly a victim of that spring storm. Among his goods was a book titled "Survival Made Simple." Evidently too simple. Extreme environments are not to be underestimated and should always be treated with respect. Survival is not a game.

Forums like this are useful in that useful techniques and strategies are discussed and debated. Still,most folks are generally unprepped for possible emergencies. Living in southern California, earthquake country, I took down the mirror on the ceiling long ago and made sure I have lots of water securely stored, among other things....

Antonyraison
02-04-2018, 01:06 PM
Well over here we worry mostly about crime. I have survive a mugging a hijacking by 3 gun men and i was tied up in a house robbery for 2 hours at gun point. We routinely have power outages that can last several days.. We routinely have drought and also can be with out water.. once had no running water at home well over 2 weeks. A pretty volatile political climate.. then well you step into the wild places of Africa (where I am) then it's well wild hahah

randyt
02-04-2018, 02:49 PM
I have read that South Africa ranks second in the world for number of rapes per 100 thousand people. Somalia is number one and Sweden number three.

theJman
02-04-2018, 04:30 PM
Well over here we worry mostly about crime. I have survive a mugging a hijacking by 3 gun men and i was tied up in a house robbery for 2 hours at gun point. We routinely have power outages that can last several days.. We routinely have drought and also can be with out water.. once had no running water at home well over 2 weeks. A pretty volatile political climate.. then well you step into the wild places of Africa (where I am) then it's well wild hahah

Sounds like the city is more dangerous than the outdoors down your way. Yikes... :no:

Antonyraison
02-05-2018, 01:09 AM
Sounds like the city is more dangerous than the outdoors down your way. Yikes... :no:

Yes the city is far more dangerous than the wild here

Antonyraison
02-05-2018, 01:11 AM
I have read that South Africa ranks second in the world for number of rapes per 100 thousand people. Somalia is number one and Sweden number three.

yes it ranks high on pretty much every single crime stat


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONs1gpwkCrk&feature=youtu.be

This is normal life here. Just the Tip of Ice Burg

https://laurensouthern.net/farmlands/

madmax
02-05-2018, 06:52 AM
I haven't commented on Zachary's threads or posts much, but I'm paying attention. I appreciate his coming to this forum and sharing his experiences and even offering a helping hand. I know that I'm not the only one. So keep posting Zach. Thanks for the input.

Phaedrus
02-06-2018, 01:10 AM
I get a kick out of Zachary's youtube channel! Kind of Dave Canterbury meets the Mad Hatter!:banana: In a good way.

Antonyraison
02-06-2018, 01:57 AM
I too enjoy His youtube..
His very entertaining, and Knows a lot of things I do not. Very useful