BACK UP A COUPLE OF WEEKS. THERE IS A SMALL COMPANY IN HONG Kong, Docastaway, that specializes in dropping people on desert islands in Asia, Oceania, or Central America to survive by their own wits for as long as they want to, or can bear it. (They also offer “comfort” packages, featuring all of the seclusion and none, or at least far less, of the hardship.) Maxim thought I might like to give it a shot. Why me? Because I have essentially no survival skills whatsoever. That is, unless you count a ninja-like ability to ride 16 stops in a packed A train without physically touching another human. I’m a creature of the city. On the whole, nature in the raw holds little appeal for me. I just don’t really know what to do with it. I’m also a profoundly pale man, paler than the ass of an Irish ghost in January. And a ginger. My brother once said I look like a marshmallow topped with carrot shavings. Which means that in addition to my issues with nature, I also hate the beach. And seafood.
Still, the idea of coming here was appealing, as I’d imagine it would be to all men. Most of us suspect, and a few know with certainty, that if the shit really came down, we’d be able to summon some dormant primordial power, some untapped cunning and resourcefulness and grit, and conquer the situation, whatever it was. We’d show what we’re really made of. We’d tap into a vestigial wildness. We’d survive.
This story is from the August 2015 edition of Maxim.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 2015 edition of Maxim.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Enzo on the Silver Screen
Michael Mann’s new biopic of Enzo Ferrari starring Adam Driver is set to make the legend burn even brighter
Some Like it HОТ
We piloted Ferrari's fantastie new open-topped grand tourer through the craggy hills of Sardinia
THE LEGEND OF ENZO
DURING HIS LIFETIME FERRARI FORGED THE ENTIRE PANTHEON OF MOTORSPORTS
THIS SIDE of PARADISE
A landmark new exhibition of Ellen von Unwerth’s work is suitably playful and provocative
FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA IN BELIZE 10-MS
The famed director of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now tells us why the Central American country has captured one of the world's greatest imaginations,
WEAPONS of WICK
Meet master engraver Melissa McMinn, who created Keanu Reeves’ dueling pistols for the hit franchise
SUDDENLY This SUMMER
Model, influencer and actress Summer Soderstrom is the blonde bombshell we're keeping our eye on
VIVA LAS VEGAS
We wade into the spectacle that was the reborn Las Vegas Grand Prix
DRINKING La DOLCE VITA
From pioneering distilling methods to the massive success of Martini Racing, the story of the most iconic name in aperitifs
FIVE-STAR STYLE
With an impressive roster of ultra-high-net-worth clients, i design powerhouse Rigby Rigby is making waves Bei on the Riviera and beyond