16 survival experts see if they have what it takes as a part of the Outlast Season 2 cast.
The hit Netflix reality series from executive producer Jason Bateman (read more about Bateman's involvement in Outlast) sees groups of contestants dropped into the Alaskan wilderness, where they are teamed up and forced to survive for as long as they can for a $1 million cash prize.
Following a successful first season in 2023, Season 2 kicked off with its first six episodes on September 4. Thus far, several big names in Outlast Season 2 have already been sent packing, with only two teams left standing heading into the two-part finale.
Meet Every Contestant in Outlast Season 2
Bayardo (Bayo) Hernandez
Instagram: @florida_state_hunters
Calling Miami, Florida home, Bayardo (Bayo) Hernandez is a python removal specialist and professional hunter, tracker, and trapper. He enters the wilderness in Outlast with a whole tool belt of valuable survival skills, making him an invaluable asset for Team Alpha.
To prepare for the series, Hernandez has taken on hog and gator wrangling and even spent several days surviving alone in the Florida Everglades, where he had to build a shelter, hunt for food, and brave the elements.
Brendon Ash
Instagram: @idaholobopro
Brendon Ash - a member of Outlast Season 2's Team Delta - hails from central Idaho, where he works as a professional trapper and hunting enthusiast. Under Brendon's watch, his team will not be going hungry as he has experience trapping big and small animals.
Ash's passion for the outdoors dates back to when he was 19 and carved his first short bow, which he used to hunt elk and local squirrels. While he has graduated to bigger game, Ash believes his foraging skills will be useful in the Alaskan wilderness.
Bri Walston
Instagram: @briwalston
After her time in the Air Force, Las Vegas native Bri Walston has developed a liking for survivalist activities, with a particular propensity for bow hunting and fishing.
She joins Team Charlie as an accomplished outdoorsperson who has braved the elements in Alaska while working with the U.S. military.
Deontre (Tre) Thomas
Instagram: @mr.afro_indo32
Deontre (Tre) Thomas is uniquely equipped for the challenges that may come during his time as a member of the Outlast cast. This glazier (glass fitter) and arborist focuses less on taking down big game deep in the wilderness but rather on foraging from the earth.
That is not to say he is no slouch with a bow. He has studied the ways of his Native American ancestors, researching various snares and traps and how to take down large animals with a hand-crafted longbow.
Drake Vliem
Instagram: @dvliem12
For Drake Vliem, survival is a family affair. Before joining Team Brave in Outlast Season 2, Vliem could be seen making a living as an oil field technician in Midland, Texas and imparting his outdoorsman knowledge to his four children.
Vliem is a well-known member of a local Texas group who travels annually to Wyoming to hunt big game. As a hunter, he has taken a liking to building blinds (be they at ground level or high up in a tree), something he hopes to show off on-screen in the Netflix reality series.
Drew Haas
Instagram: @drewhaas1
During the week, Drew Haas works as a commercial helicopter pilot in Hallettsville, Texas; however, in his spare time, he furthers his passion for primitive hunting techniques like bow hunting and animal dressing (where one cleverly camouflages oneself as the game one is hunting).
Haas also hopes to showcase his love of crafting elaborate shelters based on what he has around him in the wilderness during his time as a member of Outlast's Bravo Team. Hopefully, these skills and his mental toughness will prove successful.
Emily Johnston
Instagram: @impromptu_em
Emily Johnston, a data analyst from Boulder, Colorado, may not be the one to draw back a bow and strike down some big game to survive, but that does not make her skillset any less valuable in the field. Johnston is a renowned forager and plant specialist who can identify local flora simply by looking at it.
She also loves to show off her knowledge of cold-weather survival, which she has practiced and trained in for years. She teaches various clinics and leads groups on the subject in the Boulder area.
Eric Shevchenko
Instagram: @eric_chefchenko
Eric Shevchenko joins Outlast Season 2 as the resident foodie. He is a chef and farm-to-table restaurateur from Central Michigan, serving snapping turtles, porcupines, and raccoons on his eccentric menu.
Shevchenko is the team leader of Team Delta, and he ensures his team will never go hungry thanks to his ability to prepare just about anything into a hearty and delicious meal that is seasoned perfectly. His knowledge of the botanical world is also on display.
Joey DiDesidero
Instagram: @joey_didesidero
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, the outdoors has always been important to Joey DiDesidero. This Washington-based radioactive/hazardous waste construction management worker has studied his Chickasaw Indian heritage, learning how his ancestors lived off the land.
DiDesidero arrives on Team Charlie in Outlast Season 2, coming from the hobby farm he and his family live on, where he and his wife hope to live and be self-sustaining for an entire year.
Joseph Malbrough
Instagram: @smiley_outside4reel
A mechanic and outdoorsman from Lafayette, Louisiana, Joseph is not one to be trifled with in the wild. Malbrough knows his way around a rifle and a bow and is renowned for his hog-hunting capabilities.
The Team Delta member also has a particular knack for tracking prey (both big and small) and building survival-ready shelters.
Julio Laboy
Instagram: @xplorin.life
Julio Laboy is ready to fight for survival in the courtroom or the wilderness. Laboy is a defense lawyer in the Buckeye, Arizona area who is well-rounded in his survivalist capabilities.
Whether building A-frames in the woods or primitive fire-making techniques, Laboy has plenty of tools in his outdoorsman tool belt that he can pull out at any time. He has devoted himself to his survivalist training, taking classes at the Pathfinder School in Arrizona's Nordic Village and the Survival University in Colorado.
Meghan Buchanan
Instagram: @ggrit
Few people on the Outlast cast have the endurance of Meghan Buchanan (at least according to her). Buchanan is a rocket scientist in Vail Valley, Colorado, where she found a passion for adventure athletics.
She is an avid fisher, polar explorer, backpacker, Nordic skier, and mountain biker. She hopes to bring her survival skills and athleticism to Team Charlie on the hit Netflix series.
Sammy Norris
Instagram: @sammysmokies
Sammy Norris joins Team Bravo in Outlast, bringing some fun to the wilderness. While this Flag Pond, Tennessee resident can hunt, fish, and forage with the best of them, he believes high morale among its members will bring his team to victory.
The video creator and bushcrafter loves using traditional snares and traps to catch game and even uses materials he can find in the bush to create makeshift instruments.
Tina Grimm
Instagram: @tinagrimm
One key to survival in the wilderness is knowing where you are and where you have been. Lucky for her teammates, Tina Grimm is a noted navigator with a keen sense of local geography.
Grimm works as a model and artist in Simi Valley, California and has taken a liking to the practice of thru-hiking (long-distance hikes on established backcountry trails).
Tonia Willman
Instagram: @bigfoot_boerboels
Tonia Willman is a fabricator, former mental health therapist, and archer from Molalla, Oregon. When it comes to knocking an arrow and letting it fly, few can do it quite like Willman. That, along with her self-proclaimed 'animal-whispering' abilities, makes Willman a valuable asset anywhere in the backcountry.
Having worked in therapy for years, Willman also checks in on her teammates on Alpha Team, knowing that a strong mind can make a strong person.
Zach Owens
Instagram: @beyond_the_backcountry
Zach Owens is not one to be trifled with. Hailing from Molalla, Oregon, Owen is a former MMA fighter and avid gymgoer, making him a physical specimen ready for anything the Alaskan backcountry may throw at him.
He works his days as a social media manager but is also known as being in the top percentile of bow hunters in the world. Some of his survivalist accomplishments include taking on 14-day Alaskan moose-hunting trips.
Outlast Season 2 is streaming on Netflix.
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