In the first episode of Outlast Season 2, Drew, a commercial helicopter pilot from Texas, is the first to pick a teammate for the Bravo Camp. “My first thought was: I want the big dude from Texas,” Drew tells Tudum, referring to Drake, the 6-foot-7-inch oil field technician. “He just looked like my kind of people and I just felt a connection with him.” 

Turns out, that connection would not only become especially strong, but also lucrative: The Texan duo went on to win the competition and split the million-dollar prize money. 

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A friendship between the two blossomed almost immediately after meeting. “It was like being with your best friend, feeding off of each other, quoting movies, and laughing,” Drew says. “There’s no better way to bond than through laughing, especially in the woods.” And despite being in a cutthroat environment, both Drake and Drew say their lighthearted attitudes ultimately helped them stay on course. “Drew and I just went out there with the intention of enjoying it day by day and not trying to take it too seriously and it really paid off for us in the end, the fact that we never got into arguments,” Drake says.

In Outlast, however, maintaining an easygoing spirit can only take you so far. Just a few of the dire conditions of the Alaskan wilderness include freezing temperatures, minimal sunlight, no clean water, and limited food options. So while the Bravo duo did their best to keep things light, they did so while enduring drastic physical changes. Despite gaining 10 pounds to prepare for Outlast, Drew lost 30 during the competition, and by the time the pair reached the final challenge, his body was in a lot of pain. “It felt like my legs weren’t under me. I was running off of 100% adrenaline there,” he says. Drake, on the other hand — who before filming went on what he calls “the everything diet, where I ate everything I could fit in my mouth” and lost 52 pounds in total before leaving Alaska — says his body “held up phenomenally” and still felt strong by the final challenge.

But even then, despite having maintained some physical stamina, Drake still credits Drew for the much-needed emotional support that helped them both reach the finish line. “I had a really strong feeling that as long as I had Drew with me, [after we] established that bond in those first couple days, we were going to win, just me and him,” Drake says. And the two walked away with more than a wad of cash: For Drake, it was an enriched sense of compassion. “[Drew] taught me a lot about going into other people’s situations with an open mind and to not judge, and that’s something that I’ll keep with me for the rest of my life,” he says. For Drew, he says witnessing Drake’s homesickness and his devotion to his family is what has stayed with him since Outlast. “All the guy talked about was his kids and how much he loved them and how he couldn’t wait to see them. While I was out there, I was like, ‘Man, I want to be that for somebody one day,’ ” Drew says.

But back to the cash: How have the two winners spent their prize money? Drew paid off all his debt and plans to backpack around the world for a year by himself, which he says is something he’s wanted to do his entire life. After that, he plans to invest the rest  and try his hand at entrepreneurship. Similarly, Drake is paying off property debt first, then setting up accounts for his four children so they can experience a bit of financial freedom. As a treat, Drake also plans to buy a new boat.

Now that some time has passed since Season 2’s wrap and both men have fully settled back into their routines, Drew and Drake are able to reminisce about the whirlwind moments immediately after winning Outlast. “Man, let me tell you about that first shower,” says Drew. “I watched all of the dirt go down the drain and I cried happy tears. I sat in there for 45 minutes, cleaned the tub, took a bath for an hour, and then got up and showered for another 30 minutes.” The competition still took its toll on Drew, who went on IVs for the first days back and had neuropathy in his fingers and toes for a month. He also says he threw up almost every day for two weeks because his stomach wasn’t used to processed food anymore, although that didn’t stop him from eating a plate of brisket nachos to celebrate his first meal back in civilization.

Drake, who felt healthy (if not healthier) by the end of the competition, says he returned to work in the field within 36 hours of being at home “as if nothing ever happened.” Post-Outlast, one thing he doesn’t take for granted is his wife’s cooking — her chicken and dumplings was the No.1 meal he thought about constantly while in Alaska. And like Drew, he went in full R & R mode that first night as a winner, running a bubble bath even though his large frame doesn’t exactly fit into a tub. “I just laid there and soaked it in,” he says. “It was a huge sigh of relief, seeing the black water down that drain. As soon as I got out, I told Drew, ‘Dude, I feel like a million bucks. And he was like, ‘Well, you should because we just won a million bucks.’ ”