PERSONAL AND PRACTICAL INSIGHTS FROM THE THREE-TIME ‘NAKED AND AFRAID’ STAR

BY MICHAEL D’ANGONA

Concerning all things outdoors, Amber Hargrove is a force to be reckoned with!

This adventurous and highly active former U. S. Army sergeant has tackled nearly everything wild. She has caught fish with her bare hands, hunted small game with crossbows and shotguns, conducted camping and survival training, even taken several little back-to-nature excursions called “Naked and Afraid.” Amber has been through the mill.

Although she’s as tough as nails in the woods, Amber has a softer side. One that translates to teaching others, including her own children, about the wonders that nature has to offer, as well as leading and teaching Boy Scout groups about the basics of self-reliance in the outdoors.

Her training was reinforced and expanded during her 11 years of service in the Army, including two deployments to Iraq. After she left the Army, her experiences were useful in her role as an instructor for active-duty Army troops, where she shared techniques and tips that helped motivate and push them to help make them the best they could be.

Today, Amber opens up in an exclusive interview with American Survival Guide, where she is a social media contributor, about her early hits and misses as she developed her outdoor and survival skills. We’ll also learn about her other current and future projects as she continues to learn and grow as a survivalist, instructor and caring mother.

AMERICAN SURVIVAL GUIDE During your younger years, was the outdoors a large part of your regular daily life? And how did it shape you into the person you are today?

AMBER HARGROVE As a child growing up, that’s all we ever did was stay outdoors. There were no video games. There was never a time we came inside unless it was snowing outside. My siblings and I would build shelters, forts and go fishing in all the ponds nearby, bringing home crawfish or snakes.

Being taught basic survival skills as a child growing up is one of the greatest things a parent can give to their children to survive in life. I was very lucky, and I’ve been fortunate to have a father who would hunt and go fishing all the time and a mother who always went out of her way to provide for us.

ASG Everyone must start somewhere, no matter what field of interest. Do you recall during your earlier years any time that you felt you took on more than you could chew while out in the wild?

AH There’s one moment where I was in the Everglades. There was a wild 12-foot alligator that I thought I was able to handle. It was breeding season and they are abnormally aggressive. It almost destroyed me. I could barely pull it out of the water. It slapped me on the ground with its tail and in that moment, I realized I bit off way more than I could chew.