Kaila Cumings was thrust into the harsh Colombian jungle, armed with nothing. No food. No water. No clothing. Nothing but a custom-built machete she made specifically for the journey.
To survive 21 days, Cumings — a 28-year-old single mother and Jaffrey resident — knew that a durable machete would be paramount. Rather than going to the nearest sporting goods store, Cumings crafted her own blade.
“A knife is super important to have with you, but I’m a knife maker, that’s my thing,” said Cumings, who traveled to Colombia in July 2015 to be a contestant on the reality television show “Naked and Afraid.”
“I knew I was going to be out in the jungle, so I wanted to make something that would be good for chopping. I made a really big machete that was blade heavy, so that even if it started to dull, the weight from it would still help chop.”
Cumings’ episode of “Naked and Afraid,” titled “Arachnid Overload,” will air this Sunday on the Discovery Channel at 9 p.m. “Naked and Afraid,” currently in its seventh season, tasks a male and female survivalist to work together and survive 21 days in the wilderness. Each contestant is able to bring one survival item and must find and/or make food, water, shelter and clothing.
The custom machete was not Cumings’ first: she has been making knives, machetes, multi-tools, hatchets and other bladed instruments for a living for almost four years. Currently, Cumings crafts her blades in a small shed behind her parents’ Troy home.
On a given week, Cumings makes five to 10 knives. A self-taught knife maker, she oftentimes starts by scribbling a rough pattern on a piece of metal and then will cut, grind and polish until she gets the desired shape. Cumings also makes the handles for her knives, using a similar process.
“It’s super relaxing, it’s like my second home,” said Cumings. “I throw my headphones in, listen to my music and grind. It’s super rewarding because you start with something so basic — a big piece of metal — and you make it into this fully functional, creative weapon.”
Prior to creating her own knives, Cumings reviewed knives and other blades on her YouTube Channel, which currently has over 41,000 subscribers. Her most popular video, a knife-making video posted about a year ago, has over 430,000 views. Cumings also has over 35,000 followers on Instagram and over 46,000 on Facebook, where she markets her products.
Cumings said it was her knife making, coupled with being a part of Facebook survival groups, that got the attention of the people at “Naked and Afraid,” who eventually courted her to be on the show.
“Honestly, I thought it was a joke at first so I kept blowing it off,” said Cumings. “I was excited, but I honestly didn’t think anything would ever come of it.”
Prior to landing on the show, Cumings said she had to submit to several rounds of testing, interviews and a psych evaluation.
“They don’t want to put someone in a dangerous situation if they don’t know what they are doing,” said Cumings.
Cumings didn’t train too much for her expedition, outside of gaining five pounds – “I ate a lot of cookies and ice cream,” she said – and doing research about Colombia.
The five pounds gained for the show would quickly vanish, according to Cumings, as her diet of snakes, mangoes, yucca and coconuts would cause her to lose 15 pounds before returning home.
“I was so skinny… it did a number on my metabolism,” said Cumings.
To this day, Cumings says that her metabolism has still not normalized, to the point that she has to watch how much she eats even when she eats healthy.
“I love ice cream, I ate it for a month straight when I got home,” said Cumings, who said she had regular dreams about the sweet treat while on the show.
Cumings admits that being naked on the show was kind of “gimmicky,” but she was OK with shedding her clothing.
“Clothing is such a huge, essential key to survival,” said Cumings, who said she continually covered herself in mud for protection. “When you think about it, [clothing] protects you from the cold, it protects you from bug bites, it protects you from scrapes and scratches. So when you strip someone of that, you are really exposing them to all of the elements.”
During filming, Cumings said she had to deal with being covered in ant bites, deadly coral snakes, aggressive and poisonous spiders that were “bigger than my head,” hot days and cold nights, and working alongside her partner, David Michael Scott, a yoga instructor from Colorado.
Cumings said that Scott “drove [her] crazy a lot” but the two developed a strong relationship. On the first day, Cumings said she and Scott agreed to be a team and not fight.
“We developed a crazy bond,” said Cumings, who recently flew out to Colorado to stay with Scott for a week. “He’s like a brother to me.”
Cumings’ survivalist ways can be traced back to her childhood, as she has long enjoyed camping, hunting, and fishing with her father, Doug Cumings, and other family members.
“She started going out hunting with me when she was 4 or 5, without a gun,” said Doug. “Anytime we are out in the woods together, or out ice fishing, we have had a great time. She really took to all of it.”
While Cumings has been taking part in survivalist activities “since I could walk,” she admits that anyone can survive in the wilderness if they have the right mindset and knowledge of the land.
“Being a survivalist is all about being knowledgeable and being self-sufficient,” said Cumings. “It all comes down to staying calm and using your head.”
Cumings said without hesitation that she would “go back in a heartbeat” but for now, will have to settle with reminiscing with her family about the trip this Sunday while watching the show.
Doug Cumings said he and the rest of the family are “extremely proud” of Cumings and have been eagerly anticipating the show.
“At first, I wasn’t too crazy about the naked part, but clothing is actually a big part of survival, so it makes sense,” said Doug, who began watching the show when Kaila tried out. He now considers himself an “avid” watcher.
“Her mother and I, and her brothers and sisters, are very proud of her. There has been a lot of excitement and anticipation around the episode.”
Nicholas Handy can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 235 or nhandy@ledgertranscript.com. He is also on Twitter @nhandyMLT.