Can Indy Man survive Bear Grylls? We'll see in his TV debut

Sean Tucker works in financial services, and runs a competitive dance team.

Neither of those things scream nature or survival.

Why, then, will we see him on TV with adventurer Bear Grylls testing his abilities to survive in the wild?

The Indianapolis man will bring his skills to “I Survived Bear Grylls” a survival game show  competition in an episode airing Thursday (June 1) on TBS.

Tucker, 38, will square off against four other contestants in the new show that has average Joes and Janes compete in a series of challenges – the first episode saw them eat fish eyes, oxlips, pig uterus, cow penis and an ostrich egg; all raw – in an effort to win $10,000.

A synopsis of the episode titled “I Ain’t Cosplayin’” says it will have Tucker’s contestant group  drinking a signature Bear Grylls cocktail and being stuffed in a blacked-out box to simulate an avalanche.

This is the third episode in the series, which premiered May 18 and was filmed just outside of Atlanta.  The season has eight episodes.

IndyStar talked to Tucker about the experience and learned:

He runs a dance team.

While working as customer service rep for a financial services company, Tucker co-founded the Diamond Divas of Indy, a majorette-style competitive dance team with children and adult members in 2014.

“I always had a dream of opening a dance company and starting a team here to give back to my community where I grew up,” he said. “I wanted to start something positive; to give the kids opportunities to travel and to see new places that they wouldn't see on a regular basis.”

Team members have gone on to join dance squads at Kentucky State University,  North Carolina A&T, Tennessee State University, Hampton Univesity and Alabama State University.

The Johnson & Wales University graduate has been a dancer for nearly 30 years, specializing in modern, jazz and contemporary.

Dancing keeps him fit.

Tucker said that made him an ideal candidate for the new Bear Grylls show.

”With me being the physical, athletic person that I am, I'm really an adventurous person,” he said. “I used to be a bigger size than what I am now, and even now I’m still husky; but I've never allowed that to stop me from being the fit person that's going for everything and able to last through different activities. So dance plays a big role; but I also stay in the gym a whole lot.”

He proudly reps the LGBTQ community.

“Being a black male is tough in itself, and when you add being gay to it, it makes it even harder. A lot of times, we are not included in certain opportunities because of who we are. So I’m able to project that on the television or just anything that I do; knowing that this doesn't stop me,” he said. “It actually pushes me even more to go harder for everything that I feel I deserve, just like everybody else. It shows you can do anything if you put your mind to it regardless of who you are.”

The show tested more than the physical.

“I went into it not really knowing what to expect. But when we actually got there and got started, it was definitely tough. I left bruised and sore and everything else. It was definitely physical, but it was a good time,” Tucker said.

Tucker said contestants also had to use their noggins to get through the challenges.

“It was definitely a physical thing; but it's also a mental thing. You had to really think of how you were going to survive and make it through each task that was put before you,” he said.  “Mental and psyche valuations were part of our process and casting.”

Reality TV suits him.

Tucker went through a months-long interview process for the show before he began filming in November 2022.

It's far from the first reality TV show he’s attempted to get on. Tucker applied for “Big Brother,” and said he made it pretty far into the casting process for Netflix’ “The Circle,” as well as a show called “Secret Dancer” to be shot in the U.K. before the coronavirus pandemic put the kibosh on that project.

“I receive an email probably at least three to four times a week letting me know about a new show to apply for.  But, of course, you don't fit every show,” Tucker said.  “I think this was just the right opportunity and stepping stone into the industry for me.”

He wants to act.

Tucker sees his debut on the TBS show as a way of breaking into acting.

“I've always wanted to step into that realm. I love being in front of a camera. It’s just an exhilarating thing for me,” he said. “This is just the beginning for me and I think more and more opportunities are liable to come from this.”

With “I Survived bear Gryll’s” under his belt, Tucker recently applied for “The Amazing Race” and other reality TV shows.

“I'm going for it. I love it,” he said. “Being in that environment was just an amazing feeling. That's something that I want to continue to experience.”

Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on Twitter:@cherylvjackson.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Can Indy Man survive Bear Grylls? We'll see in his TV debut