Jivoin teaches his students how to secure a tent to a tree trunk properly.

WARSAW — Wilderness survival teacher and a contestant on the show Naked And Afraid, Clint Jivoin brought his experience and knowledge to a group of young men and women Tuesday, July 21 at Lucerne Park.

Jivoin has been a survival instructor professionally for four and a half years, but he’s been learning how to survive in the wilderness his entire life. “I grew up in southeastern Indiana, where I spent the majority of my time out in the woods. A lot if it was camping and building forts, you know, doing stuff that kids do … I’ve been doing this stuff my entire life … My life hasn’t been centered around the woods but that’s always been the highlight,” Jivoin said.

His real world experience wasn’t limited to camping with little help as a child, either. “I’ve been in a lot of situations that I’ve have purposely put myself in or I’ve been placed in a situation where I knew ahead of time it would be a survival situation … I’ve never been to where I’ve feared for my life, but I have been in situations where it could have gone very, very bad … The longest stint I lived in the wilderness was six months straight out in the woods of Arkansas,” Jivoin said.

The time Jivoin spent on the reality show Naked And Afraid was a three-week span of roughing it without the help of any modern comfort. The contestants meet for the first time on the show completely naked and with only a rough satchel that has only one helpful item inside of it. The contestants must work together in an attempt to survive for the three week period.

“I absolutely loved it [the experience of Naked And Afraid]. It was really enjoyable for me. It was easy at times and hard at other times but it was really fun … my partner and I are still in touch, we’re still really close friends,” Jivoin said.

Even though putting his skills into practice is an enjoyable pastime, helping others learn what he has remains one of his strongest passions. “I love it [teacher others]. Even beyond that, I like teaching them wilderness living techniques … that has more with long time living survivability,” he stated.

“I think everyone should have these skills because I think everyone should go into the wilderness and have fun.”