Colorado Springs woman to star on Naked and Afraid

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - You might remember Mandy Horvath from our previous coverage of her treks up the Manitou Incline, Pikes Peak, and then the tallest mountain in Africa — all done with no legs. Now, she’s taking on the popular reality TV show Naked and Afraid.

It’s all part of her mission to empower the amputee community.

Mandy was raised hunting, foraging, and fishing in Missouri.

“It was very much a part of my life,” she told KRDO.

That’s until a night at the bar in 2014 when her world came crashing down.

“I stepped outside to smoke a cigarette because that’s what I did at the time and the world went black,” Mandy explained. “I woke up later in an ambulance and I had no legs.”

Mandy was hit by a coal train in Nebraska. She believes she was drugged that night but has no memory of what happened.

Mandy told us the grief took over, but a move to Colorado Springs two years later gave her a fresh start.

“As a young amputee, I had nobody to look up to," she said. "There was nobody in media doing the things I wanted to do.”

Mandy decided to raise money for different charities by challenging herself physically – and to do it all without her prosthetics since so many amputees don’t have that option.

“I’m trying to show people the capability of their own body," she went on.

After climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, she figured, next, she’d try what some call the Everest of survival challenges.

“It took years of convincing to show the producers that I am capable of taking on this challenge,” said Mandy.

The training became her full-time job for six months, tanning, studying hundreds of flashcards, and practicing her fire-making skills.

But, some things you just can’t prepare for… especially in the jungles of Belize.

“I’ve gotten way worse questions,” she said after we shyly asked how her butt held up. “My rear definitely took a beating. There are snakes and ants. We have bullet ants and fire ants and leaf cutter ants,” she laughed.

Mandy is a fierce competitor. It should come as no surprise she’s already planning her next endeavor. 

“I would not say that my story with Discovery is over,” she hinted.

Sunshine Studios here in Colorado Springs is hosting a watch party for the Naked and Afraid premiere this Sunday at 6:00 p.m. Anyone who wants to support Mandy is invited!