Sharpsville mother to star in Discovery's "Naked and Afraid"
She's served as a U.S. soldier in the Middle East, scares the scales off of any fish with her gaming skills, and plays mamma bear to four young cubs.
SHARPSVILLE, Pa - She's served as a U.S. soldier in the Middle East, scares the scales off of any fish with her gaming skills, and plays mamma bear to four young cubs.
Sharpsville's Samantha Ohl does not shy away from adventure.
When the Army vet caught the eye of producers on social media, she quickly found herself starring in the Discovery Channel's survival show, "Naked and Afraid."
"It wasn't a dream to be on national television or do that. It wasn't. It's just if there's opportunity in life and it comes to you, then take it," said Ohl.
And with her husband's blessing, that's exactly what she did.
The show drops contestants in the wilderness with a partner they've never met. Then challenges them to survive for 21 days. And if that wasn't hard enough, the contestants do it all naked.
"I don't hunt primitive here, so it was like oh man, a whole new world for me!" Ohl said.
Ohl says her partner was her polar opposite. While she's outdoorsy, her partner was more of a city boy.
Ohl didn't go unprepared. She studied up on survival and even toughened up her feet walking on the gravel driveway.
"I did fire starting, learning how to do all that. Just to familiarize and get comfortable with it. I did a lot of survival stuff in the military, but I wanted to make sure I got a few primitive things under my hands," said Ohl.
Ohl cannot reveal where the survival show placed her, but she said they did put her somewhere in the mountains somewhere in Europe.
She says the hardest part was not knowing if her four children at home were okay.
While we'll have to watch the show to see how she did, Ohl says the experience shaped her soul. And yes, being naked had something to do with it.
"You know what, I don't need to worry about body shaming. I have four kids, I can stand by them and feel proud of myself," Ohl said.
Her kids are proud of her. They are playing the game "Naked and Afraid" at home with clothes on. "First we meet each other and we get little walking sticks," said the children.
After hearing about her adventure on "Naked and Afraid," they look up to their mom as someone who's not afraid at all, but brave. "We want to be like our mom."
As for living in the wilderness on national TV? Ohl says she'd do it all again.
The show airs August 13th on Discovery Channel at 10 pm.
