Who Is Chris Bakon from Alone Australia Season 1? What Happened

Spoiler note: this covers Chris Bakon's outcome on Alone Australia season 1.

Chris Bakon is one of the more visible contestants to come out of Alone Australia's first season, an army veteran from Tasmania whose background is described in our data simply as military service, though his post-show media presence has filled in a good deal more detail since. He was 39 during filming and part of the original ten-person cast dropped into the South West Tasmania wilderness for the show's debut season in 2023.

His run lasted 12 days, placing him 5th in the field of ten. The tap-out reason on record is notable for how candid it is: he wanted to leave the field on a high after experiencing post-traumatic stress symptoms, rather than waiting for the show to force a medical evacuation or pushing through toward a worse outcome. That framing, choosing the moment to step away rather than being pulled out, is relatively uncommon in how tap-outs get described across the show's contestant pool. His contestant page has the exact placement and day count on record.

A tap-out that became part of his public story

Since his season aired, Bakon has been open about the PTSD symptoms that shaped his decision, and has become a mental health advocate who talks specifically about recognizing symptoms early and seeking help rather than pushing through in silence. That advocacy work traces a direct line back to the reason he gave for leaving the show, which is part of why his season 1 story gets referenced in mental health coverage of the franchise more than most single-season tap-outs do. It also reframes what a day-12 exit means: rather than a failure of bushcraft or endurance, it reads as a contestant recognizing a psychological limit and choosing to respect it, on camera, in a genre that doesn't always reward that kind of self-awareness.

Our records don't have an itemized gear list for his run, which is the case for most of the season 1 Australian cast in our current data set. What's better documented is the aftermath: his season became a reference point in Australian coverage of veteran mental health specifically because he named PTSD directly rather than framing his exit around homesickness or physical hardship alone.

Where he is now

As of mid-2026, reporting describes Bakon, sometimes referred to as the "Tassie Adventure Man," as having built a media and outdoors career since the show, including work connected to fishing-focused programming and food review content. He continues to be associated with mental health advocacy tied to his military service and PTSD, a throughline that appears consistently across coverage of him rather than a one-off mention. Specifics about current projects beyond that general description should be treated as loosely sourced rather than fully confirmed.

Quick reference

Detail	Chris Bakon, season 1
Age at filming	39
Hometown	Tasmania
Placement	5th of the season's field
Days lasted	12
How it ended	Voluntary tap-out, PTSD symptoms

For the rest of the debut Australian cast, see the season 1 page. Our FAQ has more on how tap-out decisions differ from medical evacuations, and where to watch covers current streaming access to the season.