American Grit

Did You Know?

• The second season took place in Hampton Island, Georgia at a location called 'Camp Grit.'
• Grady Powell, a Cadre in season 2, previously won NBC's Stars Earn Stripes alongside Eve Torres.

Premise

The show splits sixteen contestants into four teams of four, each guided by a military veteran serving as their Cadre. They face a series of Team Challenges known as "Evolutions." The entire winning team moves forward safely, while each losing team’s Cadre picks one member to enter an Elimination Challenge. That challenge continues until someone quits, fails, or can no longer physically proceed, leading to their removal.

Before leaving, eliminated contestants ring a ship’s bell, a tradition borrowed from Navy SEAL trainees who "ring out" when they withdraw. In the final episode, all remaining competitors tackle an elimination challenge, and the last one standing wins $250,000. Filmed near Mount Rainier in Eatonville, Washington, the first season aimed to push teams to their limits, featuring contestants with diverse fitness levels. During the Elimination Challenge, it begins with a fixed obstacle course called "The Circus," followed by a different endurance test each episode.

The endurance portion starts only after all three participants finish the obstacle course; the first and second finishers get an edge over the third. A team member cannot be sent to two straight Elimination Challenges as long as their team still has at least two people. The season finale uses an extended Circus where all remaining contestants compete until three teams have lost every member. At that point, the surviving members of the last team each receive $250,000. The winners of the first season were Clare Painter and Mark Bouquin from Team Noah.

Season 2

The second season contains 17 contestants, ranging in age from 20 to 48. John Burk is a US Army Infantry Drill Sergeant who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and now is an entrepreneur. Riki Long is a US Marine who handled legal administration at the largest Marine Corps personnel center, now a fitness nutrition specialist and weightlifter. Chloe Mondesir is a US Marine Ammunition Technician, now working with a non-profit to raise money for Veteran Affairs programs. Grady Powell is a US Army Green Beret with the 10th Special Forces Group with tours in Iraq and Africa, now runs a firearms training facility and won NBC's Stars Earn Stripes alongside Eve Torres. George was originally on Team Grady but later became a member of Team Burk.