Jeff Zausch and Yul Kwon know what it takes to succeed in reality show competitions in the great outdoors. Zausch is a Naked and Afraid and Naked and Afraid XL superstar who has clocked in more than 120 days, the most in show history over six rotations. Kwon is a Survivor champ, winning Cook Islands and participating in Winners at War.
Despite their impressive resumes, they’ll be the first to tell you Snake in the Grass is a whole different animal. The new series hosted by Bobby Bones sees four brave souls from different walks of life putting themselves to the test in each episode.
They not only have to overcome challenges and endure the elements in the Central American jungle. The foursome must do this knowing a saboteur is among them to prevent the group from succeeding. If the three can spot “The Snake” at the end, they’ll walk away with $100,000. Otherwise, the deceiver gets the cash. Zausch and Kwon are joined in their episode by Survivor alums Earl Cole and Malcolm Freberg.
Here the two reflect on their experience ahead of the USA Network airing on August 15.
Chase Bjornson/USA Network
How much did you know about each other before you met for filming?
Jeff Zausch: I really didn’t know anything. Me, I’m in the wild all the time. So I don’t watch as much TV as I probably should. I didn’t know who any of these dudes were. I just showed up, and the whole world knows who these guys are. I’m the one person who didn’t. I don’t know if that was an advantage or disadvantage for me.
Yul Kwon: I knew Jeff because I watched Naked and Afraid. I haven’t seen all the episodes, but I’ve seen multiple seasons. He was always someone I’ve had a huge amount of respect for. I always thought he was kind of crazy to be doing this stuff. The actual challenges he has gone through in the wild are pretty amazing. The funny thing is when I first saw him, I didn’t recognize him. I don’t think I recognized him with his clothes on. He opened his mouth and heard his voice. Then I thought. “That’s Jeff!”
Jeff, do you get that a lot?
It’s pretty strange that all I have to do to blend in is get dressed in the morning. It’s an easy way out. It’s good fun. This is actually my second show fully clothed. I feel like I’m working my way up in the world. The more clothing I get, the higher levels of success.
Do you feel you’ve bonded over this experience?
Yul: We are all incredibly lucky and blessed to get these opportunities. Any time you go through anything really hard, you either come out of it hating each other’s guts or bond. It was interesting between Jeff and me, within the context of the game, because there were a lot of accusations flying around. Jeff is a great guy, and I really like the friendship we’ve built.
How would you say your respective reality competition backgrounds prepared you for what you went through?
Jeff: For me, the survival aspect of this show was going to be the easiest part. Being out in the woods and in the jungle is my element. The whole gameplay and psychological element of this were going to be my weakness. On Naked and Afraid, I’m always one to ruffle feathers. I’m not out there to make friends or please people. I’m out there to win. On a show like this, you can’t necessarily have that attitude. You have to be more thoughtful and conscious of your words and actions. That was a challenge for me.
Yul: For me, it was quite the opposite. People think because I went on Survivor that I’m tough. I’m very fragile actually. I was kind of suffering out there. It was hot and humid. At one point I felt kind of sick. The guys of course didn’t believe me. They thought I was maybe trying to mislead them. The social dynamics, having come from Survivor, felt more familiar. It was a little different because on Survivor you’re trying to build these alliances. Here, it doesn’t matter if people lie to you or not. Here you have to find the truth. Even if you feel you’re tight with someone, you can’t really trust them because they might be the snake. It caused me to second guess myself.
What kind of mindset did you go into with this unique environment? Did you watch a lot of The Mole to prepare?
Jeff: I didn’t prepare at all. I’ve heard of the show The Mole but never seen it. For me, I’m naturally trusting of everyone as it is. That was going to be another struggle for me. I knew I was going to go out and be friends with the people out there and pick out the one person who is not my friend. We’re all friends now. Trying to decipher who the liar was is more difficult than I thought it was going to be. We’re all very close now. You have to really try to get to know each other on a show like this.
Yul: I had some inkling it would be like The Mole. I watched the first two seasons. The Mole is a longer period of time. Here you are so pressed with the amount of time you have to know each other. If Jeff and I got to know each other before, it might have changed things. Jeff is outgoing and extroverted and loud. I thought, “That can’t be right. I felt like he was projecting.” As it turns out, that’s how he actually is. I‘m more of an introvert. He saw that as me not being open or disingenuous. But in reality, I’m a really boring person. That’s part of the game.
Chase Bjornson/USA Network
How well do you think each other would do on each other’s respective shows?
Jeff: I clearly would suck at Survivor. I didn’t know how much I didn’t know until I met up with those three guys. They know what they’re doing and are experts at reading people and calculating. Every word leaves their mouth they think about. I’m just the opposite I would suck at that show.
Yul: I think Jeff would be much better at Survivor than any of us on Naked and Afraid. Jeff would pick it up. I think the fact he has good survivor skills would cause people to keep you around. I don’t think I would last for a minute. I am quite fragile. Even like that one night we spent in Costa Rica, I hated it. Bugs and overheating and feeling sick. I could never do what Jeff does.
Chase Bjornson/USA Network
What will you take from this experience?
Jeff: This taught me how much Naked and Afraid does suck. It showed me maybe I do want to branch out and try different challenges and new challenges. Obviously, I’ve shown what I can do in the world of survival. This tested my limits in an entirely new way. It has inspired me to pick up new challenges and things I’m not so good at and push myself in those areas.
Yul: I would say this was fun. I won’t say Survivor was fun. Both times I’ve been on it was not fun. What I really enjoyed about this is meeting awesome people and forming bonds. Normally you meet people from interesting backgrounds. With these intense experiences, you share together. If you can come out of it keeping with you the friendships and relationships you made, it keeps it real. That’s what I treasure most about it. That’s what makes this so special.
Snake in the Grass, Mondays, 11/10c, USA Network
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