Why Max Djenohan Thinks 'Race to Survive: Alaska' Is Harder Than 'Naked and Afraid'

While everyone on “Race To Survive: Alaska” has some expertise in the world of survival and adventure racing, no one has put their past qualifications on full display for the public quite like Max Djenohan. Despite previously appearing in the intense series “Naked and Afraid,” Max notes that his latest adventure was much more challenging in many ways. 

For those who don’t know, “Naked and Afraid” takes survivalists and puts them in an inhospitable location for several days with no clothes and only one item of their choosing. It’s up to them to set up a camp in that area and simply survive off the land for that whole time. Max previously appeared on the show and its spinoffs, “Naked and Afraid: Alone” and “Naked and Afraid XL” where he successfully survived 156 days in total across four different countries throughout the franchise.

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Although being able to not only have clothes but a full pack of gear and a partner may make “Race To Survive: Alaska” seem like a walk in the park for Max, he explained in a recent interview with Distractify that Alaska is no park. 

"[On] 'Naked and Afraid,' you show up, you have your item, you're in one location, you study one location, and then you could just attack that one problem. Here's like multiple problems on the fly throughout the entire six weeks plus that we were out there," Max told the outlet.

It seems that the USA Network original series’ gimmick of never letting its participants stay in one place for long took its toll on Max and his racing partner, Christian Junkar. After all, those who race are forced to move at as quick a pace as possible across six legs, only stopping for a day or two at Survival Camp to recuperate their energy and resources before moving on to the next totally different and inhospitable environment. 

"When your physical body starts to break down to when you're almost like, I have the will to want to continue, now I can actually feel like my mechanics slowing down and you know, just feeling just totally wrecked," Christian explained. "But that's kind of where that mental strength and having a partner who can uplift you and give you that positivity, it allows you to just soak in the moment and be like, 'OK, let's just see how I feel tomorrow, and take it one step at a time.'"

So far in the competition, Max and Christian have been highly competitive, keeping a solid pace alongside frontrunners and brothers Oliver and Wilson Hoogendorn, while simultaneously thriving when it comes to finding food and keeping their bodies in somewhat competitive shape. 

Catch “Race To Survive: Alaska” Mondays at 11/10c on USA Network. You can watch more survival shows on Peacock right now.