‘Special Forces’ Contestants Are Being Put Into ‘Survival Mode’

ByAllie Johnson
Rudy Reyes appears in Special Forces | Courtesy of Fox

Rudy Reyes reveals that the show restricts celebrity contestants’ food intake to put them into “survival mode” for a realistic experience.

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test is just a reality TV show. Everything that viewers at home see is just pretend. Just typical Hollywood tricks. They can’t possibly be putting all of these contestants through the wear and tear of an actual military boot camp, right?

Well, according to Rudy Reyes, one of the four directing staff on the show, what you see is what you get. And what viewers are getting is the brutal reality of boot camp. Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test puts celebrity contestants through a set of special forces training challenges that push them to the brink. The ultimate challenge isn’t about just one particular task. It’s about finding out who has the strength to make it to the end.

Switching On ‘Survival Mode’

Rudy Reyes knows a thing or two because he’s seen a thing or two. Reyes joined the United States Marine Corps in 1998. He then served in both Afghanistan and Iraq in the early 2000s. In 2008, Reyes portrayed himself in the HBO mini-series, Generation Kill.

Rudy Reyes portrays himself in 'Generation Kill' | Courtesy of HBO
Rudy Reyes portrays himself in ‘Generation Kill’ | Courtesy of HBO

Now working as a member of the directing staff on Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, Reyes puts celebrities through experiences that he once faced himself. While speaking to The Sun, Reyes says that the challenges that each celebrity faces are authentic as they come. “They’re living hard in the field. They eat gruel, rice, potatoes, some meat. And as the course goes on, less and less food,” he revealed.

“It puts them into survival mode and really switches them on. We run an authentic course. There are no reshoots. There are no niceties. We are legitimately running a course. And that’s why this show is so different and why it’s doing so amazing in the ratings. It’s real documentary adventure filmmaking, and I’m very proud of it.”

Contestants Have Been Through Hell

For the celebrity contestants who have appeared on the show, the experience is as real as it gets. While speaking to The Wrap about leaving the show, Savannah Chrisley noted just how tough her experience was. “I was just like, ‘‘’Alright, this is too much.’ You have to be in wet clothes. Sure, they gave you something to change into, but you still had soaking wet boots and I was at my breaking point,” Chrisley said.

According to Chrisley, her goal wasn’t to make it all the way to the end. To her, just being there was an accomplishment in itself. “I was like ‘I barely had any food. I’m tired. I’m cold. I miss the kids. I showed up and I proved to myself that I can do it and now it’s my time to go.'”

Reyes says that Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test doesn’t care where contestants are from. The objective of the show is to see who is able to turn that “survival mode” on. “Whether it’s your personal life or your physical fitness or what’s happening to you psychologically, it’s all revealed because we pushed them so hard,” he explained. “In the end, it doesn’t matter what’s holding you down, you got to get over it to go forward. And that’s what the show is all about.”

What are your thoughts on Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test? Do you think you’d be able to make it through?

Allie Johnson
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