‘Naked And Afraid’s Ky Furneaux And Bulent Gurcan Talk Stripping Down, Near Death Experiences And Becoming A Survivalist

Do you have what it takes to be the last one standing? Naked and Afraid: Last One Standing is coming back for its second season. Featuring many fan-favorite all-stars, including Ky Furneaux and Bulent Gurcan, this competition may be the most brutal yet.

“I think it’s going to be bigger and crazier and way more skill-based than last season,” Furneaux, the female competitor with the highest assigned PSR (primitive survival rating), told DECIDER via Zoom.

“Not only do you have to work with people, but you’re working against the other people,” Gurcan said, speaking of the unique competitive nature of the challenge, which he went on to call an “eye-opening” experience.

While Naked and Afraid may just seem like a less-than-glamorous reality TV show, many people don’t realize just how real it is.

“We are the baby seal being chased by the Orca while the documentary crew watches on,” Furneaux explained. “There’s no interfering with the experience unless your life is threatened out there.”

Ahead of the season premiere, DECIDER sat down with the two five-timers to learn a little more about why they became survivalists, their craziest experiences in the wild, and what it’s really like stripping down bare on-camera.

DECIDER: What made you decide to become a survivalist on the show, and what made you want to come back for this Last One Standing season?

Ky Furneaux: I’ve always been an outdoors person, and I was an outdoor guide when I was much younger, taking people rock climbing and kayaking, bushwalking and things like that. But then I went into the stunt industry for a while and I was looking at getting back into the outdoors, so I ended up walking across the Sierra Nevadas in California. There I did 100 miles with just a pocket knife to try and see if I could survive. And I got addicted to this idea of going out with nothing and seeing if I could survive in any environment, and I filmed that trip.

And so Discovery had a brand new show that they were trying to pitch to people and get people interested in and they saw the press that I did for the hike across the Sierras. Twelve to 13 years ago, no one had ever heard of Naked and Afraid. And they called me up and they’re like, “We really want you to do this show, this new concept that we’re doing. And it’s called Naked and Afraid,” and I was like, “No way. What? We have no clothing?” and then I thought about it and it’s always been my dream to be put somewhere like a deserted island like Swiss Family Robinson and try and survive, and they were offering me this opportunity to really test my skills in the outdoors, which I love. And after a few times of saying no, I decided that I couldn’t say no.

I ended up being on the first season of the show way way back when, and over the years, I’ve done five other ones for them. When Last One Standing was presented to me, I’m like, “Ah, that’s a lot of people.” It just felt like the last season was very male-dominant at the end, and I wanted to get in the mix and see if I could prove that women are great in this kind of activity. 

Bulent Gurcan: The shortest answer I can give you is a challenge. Because I’ve done quite a bit of different things in my life. I’m originally from Turkey, obviously I had to swim through an entire ocean to get here, that was a challenge, and then went to war. I did two tours in the army … I became a federal agent for Homeland Security, did that for about 11 years. I’ve seen things that most people don’t. And for me to be able to entertain myself at that point, I had to find something that [makes me say], “You know what, yeah, that will push me to that limit.” I’m one of those guys that I get hangry when I’m hungry. I found myself thinking if I would end up in jail if I didn’t eat for 24 hours. In a challenge in Mexico, I didn’t eat for 18 days. I’m not in jail. That’s awesome. So what else can we do? What else can we get better [at]? How else can we push my limits so I can know more about myself? That was the challenge.

Ky, your background has to be one of the most unique on the show. What possessed you to transition from Hollywood stunt woman to becoming a survivalist?

KF: Well, I must say, the outdoors was my first love and Hollywood was actually the hard place for me to be. When I started doing stunts, I’d been in a position where I was running 10 to 12 day trips where I wouldn’t even look in a mirror, and then suddenly, you’re plunked in front of lots of mirrors, the glitz and glam, beautiful clothing, lots of makeup, and so Hollywood was the foreign thing for me, but I love doing stunts. So when I was trying to get out of stunts towards the end of my career, it just seemed the better fit to go back to my first love.

Bulent, your nickname on the show is the barehanded killer, which is something you’ve embraced. Are you proud to have this reputation?

BG: It’s a nickname they gave me. That happened the first time I was in Africa because I was able to utilize my hands more than the other people, let’s just put it that way. And because you have a limited amount of tools, one or two at the most, you have to find ways to process food, catch the food, preserve the food. It was given to me and I took it because it wasn’t something that I came up with and said, “You know what, this is who I am.” I’m not one of those people who brag. So if the people that enjoyed my presence gave it to me, I’ll take it, that’s fine. 

Ky, you only had five weeks in real-life to transition from your challenge in Colombia to the one in Africa. What was that like, and how do you think that helped or hurt your performance?

KF: I hadn’t planned on doing Last One Standing, so I had agreed to doing a mentor challenge. And then suddenly I got out and there was a lot of talk and they were struggling to find women to do the challenge. I think traditionally females are the team builders, and so the idea of going out and fighting against everybody else for a prize and for a number one spot doesn’t sit with them. I was having chats with a few people and then I was like well, I’m not really doing anything else. I mean, I probably should have given my body a little bit more time to recover, but I thought what the hell, I probably still got the calluses on my feet, I might as well just head out there and do it again.

Is there anything you can tease to viewers about this season?

KF: I will say that I think it’s going to be bigger and crazier and way more skill-based than last season. I feel like the things that producers felt they didn’t get quite right, they corrected, and this is probably the ultimate test of your survival skills that occurs anywhere outside of a real-life survival scenario. It’s action packed, the tensions are high, and the skill sets required to get through these challenges are out of this world.

BG: Everybody knows I already have problems with people. But I was in South Africa last time, we were in a group of people and I said you know what, you guys go ahead. I’m just gonna do this alone. And I did 30 days alone and I was comfortable, and what most people don’t know is you have to keep a fire on. It’s 130 degrees during the day, it’s probably about 95 degrees at night. You have to keep a fire on while you sleep, that’s your protection from the jaguars, the lions, the hyenas that actually circle around my camp. I had to wake up every 30 minutes to feed that fire, 30 days straight every night, all night. It’s not an easy thing to do, but I was not comfortable keeping myself responsible and trying to take a chance on other people and their work ethics. So my challenge has always been with other people, but this one, this is a different kind of challenge. Not only do you have to work with people, but you’re working against the other people, and it’s constantly changing. And that was eye opening, nonetheless. 

Do you have an all-time favorite moment from your time on Naked and Afraid? 

KY: I think in the Amazon, in my lion episode. Quite often what you see on the episodes are the painful struggles and the hardships, and I remember I finally got my shelter waterproof. It’s wet season in the Amazon, the rain is like someone just pouring buckets of water over you, and there was this lightning storm going on. And so the wind was howling, trees were falling down around me, it was pitch dark and there was lightning going off and there were fireflies just coming into my shelter to shelter from the storm. And I’m just like, “Who gets to do this?” I’m sitting butt-naked in the wildest moment possible and I actually have never felt more alive. So I would say that was a real big moment for me.

BG: Oh my god, I almost face planted into a fire. So we are in Panama, and that was a completely different challenge as well. There are these creatures called tsetse, they border the size of a mosquito. They travel in packs of thousands and they come and bite you, and their bite hurts like hell. Imagine getting bit one thousand at a time, non-stop and all night long. So we are out there swatting, and it’s probably about right before the sunrise, we haven’t slept all day, and it was probably an entire day to get there. We’re tired, and my body says I had enough and somehow my eyes closed and I almost face planted into the fire. My teammate actually did fall. So that was like whoa, dude, don’t do that again. But now, I know I can be up for 48 hours and still somewhat function, because of that.

Obviously a big part of this challenge is being nude. Do you find any specific challenges come with this, or have you acclimated after five seasons?

KF: What people don’t really understand is that clothing is your first form of shelter. If you start a survival situation and you have clothing, you’re ahead of the game, you’re sheltered from the elements. And taking that away is most definitely challenging, but it’s the little things that people don’t understand. We’re used to clothing being between us and the ground when we sit down, so you actually end up getting calluses on your butt cheeks and things like that, so you have to really adjust. But then I think I’m probably more used to it now, this is my sixth challenge. I never liked that moment where I have to take off my clothes, but once it’s done, my brain just switches into survival mode. And I’m like right, we’re into this now.

BG: Every time, this is my fifth time, every time when you take your clothes off, throw it in the back of the truck and walk to meet your partner, there is this awkward moment of three minutes and it is really weird. You don’t even know what to do. At one point, I said, do I look up, don’t look up? And I’m like dude, that’ll be disrespectful, like there’s a person in front of you, look them in the eyes, and then you look them in the eyes, and they’re like, “Why are you looking at me like that?” The eyes talk without the mouth doing anything. After about the third minute, you start sweating because you just realize that it’s humid as hell. Imagine being outside under the sun, naked. The sun beats you. The humidity just makes you drip sweat and then you realize oh shit, dude, we need to get somewhere. We need to get there fast. We need to start a fire, we need to find some frickin’ water. We need to make a shelter. All those things take over so quickly, you forget you’re naked. Until something bites you and then, oh yeah, we’re naked. Oh shit. And that continues the entire night long, every night. 

Any behind-the-scenes tidbits you’re able to give viewers? What are you told before the cameras start rolling, what happens when the cameras stop rolling?

KF: On something like Last One Standing, there is always a camera rolling. We have cameras all around the campsite, sometimes your partners are rolling their cameras and you don’t know. There’s not a whole lot that goes on behind the scenes. But I do know in the moment when we can sort of get away from the view of the cameras, it’s a little bit more relaxing. In Africa, there was a Warthog hole that was a little bit of a walk away and I would just go and lie in the Warthog hole, like it was full of cold water, and just relax because no one’s watching and you don’t feel any pressure of being filmed or being around people. So I really did enjoy those moments. But there’s not a lot that we get told that that you don’t see. I mean, that’s the thing with this Last One Standing, they tightened up the rules and they took all of the uncertainty out of the situation and that meant that the drama isn’t coming from, “is this the rule?” —  the drama is coming from how people perform within those rules.

BG: Oh, the camera never stops rolling. You take a break, because most people, not including myself, are emotional people. They grab their camera, they go vent and do whatever they do. You think you’re taking a break? No, that camera watches you. It’s like Big Brother. It watches you at all times, hears you at all times. But you know, it’s part of what you signed up for. It is part of the challenge for you to be able to work with these people, with the crew, and not say, “Screw you guys. I’m out.” That is part of the challenge here. And you have to acknowledge that it can break you.

Viewers can feel a very real sense of danger come through while they watch the show. How intense is that in-person, and how do you navigate not letting the fear become your downfall?

KF: I mean, I’m probably not the best person to ask that because I was a stunt performer for 16 years, so I actually have a really probably unhealthy relationship to fear, like I absolutely am not scared of anything out there. In fact, I don’t even think about it. There were times when I was speaking to some of the other girls out there and they’re like, “I am terrified all night, every night” and I’m like “Of what? I slept like a baby.” Honestly, I love it out there.

BG: I’m gonna give you a story. This is the last time I was in Africa. After the show wrapped up, I’m waiting for my flight. I’m sitting with this gentleman, and I told him I saw wild dogs, and he said, “I never seen anybody who saw wild dogs and lived,” and this dude is 80-something years old. This [happened] after the sunrise. I’m by the water source, I heard a commotion. I get up, turn around and I look. There’s a deer about 20 feet from me, looking at me. I turn back and look about 20 yards, there’s about five wild dogs. Imagine a German Shepherd that is really tall. There’s five of them. I look up, and in about 50 yards, there’s about eight more. There’s a total of 13 or 14. A human does not stand a chance, even if you have guns, because you can only shoot so many at a time. They looked at me, they looked at the deer, and apparently, I must have smelled so bad, they said no, this is probably dead. They just turned around and walked off.

I really don’t know why they walked off but I’m glad they did. The danger is that real. The same location, I’m in my boma, I had to go through a little ravine to get to my water source. I get up for some odd reason after two weeks, I look up to the tree that shades my boma. There’s a dead carcass up there. I start circling around the boma, there are prints about this big. There’s a leopard that lives on that tree that takes his kill, chews on it, and eats while I’m sleeping. Hence the fire being so important. Those are the dangers that you can see. The dangers you can’t see are dehydration, hunger. And imagine being outside in this weather the entire day, day after day for over 30 to 40 days. That’s the one that will get you killed in a heartbeat, because you don’t think, so it is definitely dangerous out there.

What is it like going back to “real life” after doing something like this? Is there something you miss most when you’re in survival mode?

KF: I think part of the reason I’m really good at these challenges is I’m really good at compartmentalizing when I’m there. I think your biggest undoing is to miss things. So I just don’t miss things. But coffee was a real big one for me this time. Mainly because the African Savannah, gorgeous mornings, all I could think of was, “Wouldn’t this be way better with a beautiful cup of coffee?” But I think the [key] in a survival scenario is to not focus on what you don’t have. You can see it in people’s eyes when they start to miss their family, they want their bed, they want to wash their hair, all of those things. I mean, I must admit though, I did want to wash my hair for a while there as well.

BG: I know I can tell this about myself and most of the people I work with, we do get stuck on one item, and my item is normally donuts. I don’t eat donuts, like period. As a matter of fact, I haven’t had a donut in a couple of years. But you just dream about donuts. You talk about donuts, chocolate covered donuts, the cream-filled donuts. Beside the food item, you become very grateful. You can grab a glass, fill it up, and you can see through that water and you know you’re not going to get poisoned to get a parasite from it, that is such a great feeling. So you become really really grateful.

Ky, you’ve made it clear that while you’re not a doomsday prepper, you encourage everyone to learn how to live off their land. What tips would you give to people who want to start learning these skills but don’t know where to begin? 

KF: Experiment for yourself. With the age of the internet and AI that we have, there’s a lot of misinformation out there. I mean, at the risk of promoting my own stuff, I would say read my book. I have a book called Survive, which is all about getting yourself prepared for the unexpected. And that’s the hard thing is like these, the Bible scenarios and natural disasters are things that come on you completely unexpected. So I don’t like that people are scared of what the future might bring. But I think if you can be a little bit prepared for a “What if?” situation, then when something does happen, you’re going to be far more proactive than reactive. So I always say don’t be scared, be prepared. 

Being in the hot African sun everyday, how do you protect your skin? Is sunscreen considered one of the emergency items you’re allowed to get from the crew?

BG: Somebody said we get emergency supplies? They didn’t tell me that part. No. You deal with it. As a matter of fact, there was a gentleman that did 21 days on an island, he was a force recon Marine. I will never forget the guy, he had pale skin. He got second degree burns from the sun. You find a way to deal with it. He was down about three, four days. He got back up and contributed to the team and he finished his challenge. It was amazing because the sunburn was raw, but you aren’t getting any supplies, unless the medic says, “Yeah, this might actually die in about a couple of minutes.” Then you might get something, but it’s not sunscreen.

What’s one thing you’d like to warn aspiring Naked and Afraid contestants about before they apply to the show?

KF: It’s real. I feel like with reality TV these days, people expect to walk in and there be a modicum of producing involved. Day one there is, because obviously you have to get from point A to point B and then beats that they have to get, but once day one is over, you are in the very realest of survival situations that you can be in. So I think that’s what tends to happen to people who end up quitting the show, is the expectation that things get given to you out there. Or that producers will interfere in some way, shape, or form. I’ve seen it in people’s eyes when they suddenly realize that, you know, we are the baby seal being chased by the Orca while the documentary crew watches on, you know, there’s no interfering with the experience unless your life is threatened out there.

BG: The show is only about what you want to do and how much you want to push yourself. It’s not about pointing fingers. You can’t blame anybody. You can’t point fingers at anybody. It’s all about you. And what you want to accomplish with your life. That’s it, and trust me, I do not have anything more than anybody else…If I did it, so can you, but you’re gonna have to want it bad enough and you’re gonna have to want to put in the work for it.

If you could be on one fully clothed reality TV show, what would it be and why?

KF: I actually did my own TV show called Outback Lockdown. And that was me and my partner surviving off grid in the outback on my cousin’s sheep station, and I really enjoyed that. So I would love to do more that showcased the amazing natural world and the characters that inhabit it. The wild and crazy people that make the wild their homes would probably be one I would like to do. Or Dancing With The Stars, to be honest. Because I could do choreography. But having to follow someone’s lead, you know, as the female you have to very much follow the male’s lead, I’m like, gosh, it would be fascinating to see me struggle with the sexy movements, the ultimate feminine dance moves.

BG: It would be Alone. I actually enjoy being alone. I’m very self-reliant, and I actually probably will not come back, wherever they dropped me off from, because I almost moved to Alaska. Because of that I think I would be great on the show.

Season 2 of Naked and Afraid: Last One Standing premieres Sunday, July 14, at 8/7c on the Discovery Channel.