After David Vobora arrived back home in Dallas after a week in the Bermuda Triangle, he consumed 13,000 calories in 24 hours.
He had just spent a week filming for a man versus water-type reality show called The Raft for National Geographic. The concept is essentially where he and one other person need to survive on a raft in the middle of the ocean for one week.
A former NFL linebacker and now founder of Adaptive Training Foundation, a nonprofit that helps physically impaired individuals reach their health goals, Vobora knew The Raft would be good for him.
"I love to look for ways to test myself," he says.
However, as viewers will see Sunday night when his episode airs, his partner, Jackie Person, a former police officer, thought about quitting at one point.
If one partner taps out, they are both out.
"I think everybody thought about quitting at one point," Vobora says. "You would be lying if you said you didn't. You're at such odds against the elements. It's about extreme oppression. Extreme heat during the day and extreme cold during the night and lack of food and really just the threats that are constant out there, especially at night. I think everybody thinks about it. My experience with football and being the team captain and dealing with adverse situations and learning how to motivate those who are on your team really benefited me."
During Person's difficult moments, Vobora helped out with words of encouragement first, and then some tough love second.
Vobora can't give too much away before his episode airs, but says his third night on the raft was his most challenging.
"I lost, like, 23 pounds during my time on the raft," he says. "Physically, you're aware of what can happen to you out there, but you don't really realize how fast it can happen. So for example, the salt sores, the abrasion, the salt water gets in your clothes, you're wet constantly for six days and it's very much like having a skin rash and lying in hydrogen peroxide with salt just constantly attacking, so you're covered head to toe in salt sores and your body is shutting down. You're so tired and the fatigue can totally make you lose your thought."
Vobora's episode airs 9 p.m. central time Sunday on National Geographic.
