After serving eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps, Starkville resident and Tibbee native J.R. Phillips grew accustomed to testing his survival skills.
However, his most recent survival test came with a catch — national television.
“Darkness,” a new series on The Discovery Channel inspired by the sensory-deprivation training often used by NASA and Special Forces, is scheduled to debut at 8 tonight.
Challenging both their mental and physical survival, three survivalists, including Phillips, 27, spent six days trapped inside cave systems, abandoned mines and other underground labyrinths searching for a way out.
At first he was unaware of the series, Phillips said, but after a casting director casually reached out through Facebook per an anonymous recommendation, he decided to join the cast.
“I still don’t really know who ratted me out,” Phillips said. “But I am so glad they did.”
Spending his childhood in Tibbee, a rural Mississippi town between Starkville and West Point, Phillips said he learned basic outdoor survival skills — including hunting, fishing and vegetable gardening — from his father Randy Phillips.
Spending much of his time outdoors, Phillips said, he learned how to “live off the land” alongside his eight brothers and four sisters.
Although the “Darkness” provided challenges, Phillips said, most of them were more frustrating than they were difficult, with only two that really stood out.
“First, going days on end without a drop of water was the worst. In the Marines, I went days without food and sleep, but we always had plenty of water,” Phillips said. “Not having a way to keep track of time ended up being a lot more frustrating than I anticipated, too.”
In order to make the experience fully-immersive, Phillips was provided a custom-designed suit with camera equipment to document his experiences without any added exposure to light. The Discovery Channel’s camera crew was also specifically trained to shoot in extreme environments with minimal interference.
Because of the amount of time he went without sight, Phillips said he relied heavily on his other senses to guide him.
“I learned that my brain is a lot smarter than I give it credit for,” Phillips said. “When you have no sight, it makes you lean on your other senses in ways that I’ve never had to for that amount of time. It’s given me a much deeper respect for those that don’t have sight.”
Phillips’ wife, Lexie Phillips, said she is excited for everyone to see what she sees in him every day.
“He is tenacious, patient, tough, kind and just so excruciatingly handsome,” Lexie said. “I can’t wait to see the looks on our children’s faces when they see their Daddy on TV. We’re all just so proud of him.”
After his experience with “Darkness,” Phillips said he hopes to encourage others to take time each day to put down their phones and computers and enjoy what is given to them without the distractions from technology.
“In this day and age, smartphones and social media tend to eat up so much of our precious time on things that don’t really matter,” Phillips said. “They distract us from enjoying the little things like watching the clouds and thanking the Creator that made them, the sound of fat little feet on a hardwood floor, or sipping a cup of coffee with the one you love. I just want everyone to be grateful for what they can see, touch, hear, smell and taste.”
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