By Byran Fumagalli
Mission accomplished
When Yonkers resident Chev Dixon isn’t working in the wilds of Westchester or mentoring local youth, he is testing his physical and emotional limits on Discovery’s ‘Naked and Afraid.’
‘City Slickers in the Wild’ (Season 16, Episode 2)
“The first time the show reached out to me was in the Fall of 2021 after I finished the Caicos Challenge, where I kayaked across the Caicos Passage,” said Dixon, 34. “I auditioned – proving certain skills and abilities via video, undergoing a psychological evaluation, etc. They liked what they saw.”
To prepare for the show, which took place in a South African desert rife with leopards, wildebeests, scorpions and buffalo, Dixon worked with a mentor to improve his survival skills, fitness and diet.
By the fall of 2021, it was showtime, and he was dropped into the desert wearing next to nothing with a female stranger for a partner. Armed with a machete and fishing wire, the pair survived on fish and scorpions.
“South Africa was a struggle for a variety of reasons,” Dixon said. “I was unable to be myself because my partner did not have the survival skills –
the show must have been misled, or they wanted drama – and I suffered a leg injury. A storm hit with 40-degree temperatures at night, rain and 25 mph winds. When you are naked, alone and without shelter, that is tough to take.”
Lying on the ground shivering and by himself after his partner had tapped out, Dixon had to decide whether to stay put a few more days to reach his goal or live to fight another day.
“My body temperature kept dropping and I was not going to get hypothermia and kill myself,” he said. “The goal was to make 14 days out there and I made 11. That was disappointing.”
Disappointed but not defeated, Dixon eyed a return to the show.
“After South Africa I spoke to the show writer and he understood I had what it takes to make it,” recalled Dixon. “He told me to see what the reaction is when the show comes out and when it came out the world went nuts for me. Fans believed my partner sabotaged me and wanted to see me with someone who is good to see what I could do.”
‘Toxic Redemption’ (Season 18, Episode 7)
Fans of the show got their wish, as Dixon was brought back for an episode based in the Philippines consisting of three other men who’d similarly experienced disappointment on the show and were seeking redemption.
The set up was two teams, each consisting of two men.
The goal: Tough it out for 21 days.
The result: Mission accomplished.
“My partner Tray and I started out nicely and one of the contestants on the other [team] tapped out early,” Dixon explained. “Tray and I made shelter, ate food, built a raft and paddled it across a lake to another island to meet Andrew, the other contestant, and then the three of us paddled to an island in the middle of the lake where we lived until it was time to get taken out by airplane. I aced it. This was me coming alive with my skillset on full display – the fauna, digging mangold and yams out of the ground, fishing and finding mangoes.”
Working with local youth
When he isn’t on TV, Dixon works as a native plant field specialist for the county and runs Hudson River Riders, a Yonkers non-profit giving kids access to the river and Adirondack Mountains.
“We go kayaking, hiking, you name it,” Dixon said. “I enjoy teaching others what I know and sharing experiences.”
To learn more about Hudson River Riders and to donate, visit yprc.org/support (memo Hudson Valley Riders).
