Lafayette native competes on Netflix survival show ‘Outlast’

LAFAYETTE, La. ( KLFY ) — From hunting with his dogs to taking on the Alaskan wilderness, Lafayette native Joseph Malbrough said being a part of the Outlast cast was nothing short of life-changing.

Malbrough said the adventure brought him new experiences. Such as it was his first time flying, being away from family and being in an outdoor environment other than Louisiana’s “swamps, bayous and cane fields.”

“So, like, it was just very, very uncomfortable,” he said.

Malbrough said he has spent his entire life hunting and fishing. When producers contacted him to take part in the second season of Outlast, a survival competition set in Alaska, he embraced the new challenge. In the competition, Malbrough and 15 other outdoor enthusiasts were taken to Alaska to see who could outlast the rest.

“Everybody else out there has this cool, ‘ Oh, I climbed this mountain, and I did that,’ and I like to catch and kill stuff. That’s it. So I probably was the least prepared for the show because man, I don’t do stuff like that,” he said.

Even with his lack of experience in the mountains, Malbrough said his faith led him to step up to the challenge: spending weeks away from his family to go into the wild and do whatever it takes to survive.

“There’s nothing staged about it. Like, you’re really suffering,” he said.

He was away from the world, isolated, with no cell phone. And through that experience, Malbrough said he learned about himself, God, and to slow down.

“Before I went out there, I would just go, go, go. Hurry up, hurry, hurry. You know, and thinking I’ve got time. But then, man, missing people and understanding, while I’m out here, I could die. While I’m out here, somebody’s back home could die and I ain’t spent enough time with them,” Malbrough said.

“So, when I came back, it was just like, man, love all your people. And that’s basically what I’ve been doing… I got to think clearly on what I’m pretty much here for on earth and how I’m supposed to live and the people I’m supposed to love on,” he continued.

Malbrough said a highlight of being back home is watching his kids react to seeing him on the show, like he’s a superhero.

The first six episodes of season two of Outlast are available on Netflix right now, with the final two episodes scheduled to be released on Sept. 11.

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