Andrew Price, an extreme survivalist and television presenter from Swansea, has become the first Welsh contestant ever to feature in the acclaimed US series Alone: World Championship.
The programme brings together ten elite survivalists from seven nations - spanning the US, Canada, Australia, the UK and New Zealand - all vying for a $500,000 prize.
This series unfolds in the Arctic Circle, across the Richardson Mountains in Canada's Northwest Territories, and premieres on 13 August on Sky History UK.
Harsh conditions and isolation
A synopsis reveals: "They will have to endure the unforgiving wilderness of the Northwest Territory of Canada, in the freezing mountains, 120 Miles inside the Arctic Circle.
"They will live off the land, in total isolation, surrounded by predators such as grizzly bears and wolves in the harshest climate yet, all while self-documenting their experience without camera crews."
In an exclusive interview with WalesOnline, Andrew, 51, shared details about filming the extraordinary series and how proud he is to represent Wales on such a global platform.
Representing Wales on a global stage
Andrew, who is also a long-standing presenter on ITV Cymru Wales series Coast & Country, said of representing Wales: "Well, it's a funny one because I think Wales is, you know, there are certain perceptions of what Wales represents, you know, it's rugby, it's choir singing, and, you know, we're very much a nation of sort of almost clichéd stereotypes.
"There's not really a kind of a perception that Wales is somewhere where people go off and do extreme sports. But there are, you know, we've got people like Edgar Evans, who's also from Gower. He was part of the Scott Expedition.
"I think Wales has produced a lot of explorers and adventurers over the years. So it's good to, you know, be held in that same category as someone from Wales that's sort of gone out and hopefully represented Wales positively in that world.
"But I think the funny thing is with Alone, it's a huge programme in the States, you know, massive following. But I think in the UK, it's very niche. There are people who are into it because, you know, the survival genre is quite popular within certain groups.
"But as a mainstream programme, it hasn't really hit. So I'm kind of hoping that me being on it and all these other international participants will help to make it grow the interest globally, which will be definitely something to be proud of."
Mental health and resilience
As well as his survival skills and presenting duties, Andrew is also passionate about working with mental health charities, working with the likes of Mind and other Welsh-based charities.
Andrew said: "So I take people outside, and we do a lot of different survival skills and bushcraft skills all outside in the woods. And it's very beneficial for mental health and wellbeing.
"It's been proven to affect things like depression, anxiety, and all of these things. It's become a really big part of what I do, and it helps to build resilience and confidence in people and to have those skills in the wild.
"So from my perspective, it was quite interesting to see how my mental health coped when I was away from everything and 99% of the time, I was absolutely fine. I was thriving off it.
"But it was just every now and then, something would creep in, and you'd have to really consciously put it aside and keep telling yourself, 'this is not relevant to the situation you're in at the moment.'"
Catch Andrew on Alone: World Championship as it begins Thursday 13 August at 9pm on Sky HISTORY.
