Quince Mountain has passed more than his share of survival tests. As a kid in Northern Illinois, Mountain endured intense and violent bullying while he worked to understand his gender identity.

As an adult, Mountain and his wife, Blair Braverman, 31, endure life-threatening arctic conditions to compete in grueling sled-dog races across Alaska and the Yukon.

So, when it came time to test himself once again, this time on a 21-day expedition in the Honduran jungle where he would become the first openly transgender person to participate on the survival show “Naked and Afraid,” Mountain was ready for the challenge.

“Being trans and surviving what I did gave me a leg up on coping skills,” said Mountain during a phone interview from his home in Wisconsin. “I think I have a lot of mental toughness.”