Growing up Woody Kaminer of Grovetown went camping most weekends with his family, but those trips didn’t exactly prepare him for a new reality show he’s part of.
“We were dropped off and told to survive,” said Kaminer about “Extracted” that airs on at 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10, on Fox.
Kaminer, a 50-year-old former police officer, and the 11 other contestants had no food, no water, no gear and no survival training at the show’s start.
He spent his days “searching for food – anything in the wild that we hoped was edible, the same thing with water. I’d boil water to drink it, so it was safe,” he said. “I built as many fires as I could. It was a huge morale booster to have a fire. It brightens your day when you can have a fire.”
He did have a few little adventures on his walks in the woods when he wasn’t foraging for his next meal, but for the most part, he spent his days trying to conserve his energy.
Along the way, there were chances to gain needed items that were dropped for them.
The premise has a few differences from other types of reality shows.
It’s been described as “Hunger Games” meets “Big Brother.”
In addition to the survival contestant vying for the $250,000 grand prize, there are two family members monitoring from a headquarters’ location. For Kaminer, it was his son, Blake and nephew, Collin, who kept an eye on him. There’s no communication between those two groups, and unlike other types of reality shows, contestants can’t tap out on their own. It’s up to the family members to determine when they’ve had enough and extract them.
That’s where much of the drama lies.
“Tensions mount and strategic alliances are forged, as the opposing families negotiate and compete to send essential lifelines and resources to their competitors in the wild, to help them endure the harsh conditions they are faced with. Pressure reaches a fever pitch as each family is faced with the critical decision – will they push their loved one to the brink or push the Button?,” according to a news release.
Kaminer said not being able to quit is a game changer.
“You think about ways to survive and not quit,” he said.
And the mental aspect was one of the most difficult parts because the mind can play tricks when under such extreme conditions
“The biggest thing I gained and learned from this experience was that we as humans can push ourselves so much further than we imagined,” he said.
It was a case of mind over matter in many situations. When he got hungry, he said he knew he had to go beyond that and not listen to his stomach growling.
“Your mind is in charge. You can win a battle or lose a battle in your mind,” he said.
Before he left, his wife, Laura, told him that she’d hold down the home front and not to worry. He took comfort in that, but there were times when thoughts turned to home. Not knowing what was going on with her and their 12-year-old daughter could weigh on his mind.
And the elements brought their own challenges.
“Every day wasn’t sunshine and pretty skies. It was cold and rainy lots of those nights. When the sun went down, it went down quick. It would get pitch black dark. Some of it was scary,” he said.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years and is a Georgia Press Association award winner. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
Great article Charmain! I love how you always seem to capture the details!