Zachary Fowler, a boatbuilder from Appleton, survived 87 days in the Patagonia region of South America to earn $500,000 on the TV show “Alone” on the History Channel.
Fowler grew up in Vermont and came to Maine to pursue an interest in boatbuilding. He put down roots when he was 21, purchasing a 2½-acre parcel of wooded land in Appleton. Zach and his family started a self-sufficient lifestyle living in a yurt.
Fowler and other contestants on the show were scattered in the rugged Patagonian terrain miles from one another. They never saw each other during the competition, and were tasked with videotaping themselves. There were no camera crews. The only human contact came from medical personnel, who checked in for signs of starvation. The last person standing would walk away with the half-million-dollar prize. After 87 days surviving alone eating only 63 fish and 2 birds, the producer and Zach’s wife showed up to tell him that he was the winner.

Upon returning home, and after the show aired, the family chose to move out of the woods and buy a home. Fowler has also left the boat building industry and is a full time YouTuber, Producing a series called “87 Days”, reviewing all the Survival and Bushcraft tricks that kept him alive for so long. He also produces videos about slingshot shooting and Vlogging about what it is like to win $500,000.

A New Hampshire native and 2010 graduate of Northeastern University, he came to Maine in September 2016 after four years at the Concord Monitor, where he covered NASCAR, University of New Hampshire hockey and high schools and won a NH Press Association award for his work. He also worked for two years as a college co-op at the Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Mass. An avid golfer, frequent skier and consumer of sports, movie and music trivia, he’s a fan of the New England Patriots, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Flyers and Miami Heat – and yes, he’s aware of how random those teams seem.