‘Special Forces’: Maxim Naumov Admits Crying to the DS Was a ‘Turning Point’

Alyssa Norwin October 22, 2026, 1:38 pm

Maxim Naumov is taking on a challenge like he’s never faced before as a recruit in Season 5 of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test. The Olympic figure skater is currently one of 10 contestants left hoping to complete the course, and he recently had quite an emotional moment on the show when he was pulled in for tactical questioning with the Directing Staff (DS).

In 2025, Naumov’s parents both died in a plane crash, and he opened up about it on the show. It was a moment of intense vulnerability for the athlete, who unexpectedly started crying as he shared his story.

“I wasn’t expecting to cry, but it was quite something,” Naumov told TV Insider. “I remember coming back and sharing with everybody what had happened and the support that we had amongst everybody was very good. Everybody showed love, and it was a turning point for me and a good moment of reflection of what the show really was about for me.”

Naumov had heard from other recruits that time spent in the “mirror room” was emotional, so he “knew there was giong to be a level of that that I had to get to.” He added, “I’m somebody that doesn’t cry that easy. I was holding back my tears so hard. There’s these two guys sitting in front of you that were just busting your ass five minutes ago and all of a sudden, they really want to hear your story and get to know you and respect you in that way as well.”

He praised the DS for “taking the time to sit and listen” to his story and explained just how important tactical questioning is for him and the other recruits. “That can either be fuel for you or it can hurt you,” Naumov shared. “I think that the people that took that and did good with it and kind of improved on what they were supposed to and took the feedback from the DS are the ones that were very successful. I think that when you have other perspectives telling you things about what they see from the outside that you’re portraying, we don’t often get to see that. We know what it’s like internally, but seeing somebody say something from the side and kind of thinking about it… I went back, I remember going to sleep and being like, ‘Wow, OK, I got to really think about this and take away some of these lessons.’ Because all these guys, all the DS, they have just as brutal of stories and even tenfold in their own fields.”

Pete Dadds/Fox

Below (and in the video above), Naumov discusses his time on Special Forces, including the two contestants he formed bonds with and more.

Did you get a chance to talk to anyone who had been on the show before?

Maxim Naumov: No, I didn’t. I came in totally blind. I never watched a lot of reality TV before and I wasn’t really somebody that knew a lot of these characters and all these people that came in. And so I didn’t really know the space. I mean, I’ve seen athletes beforehand that were on it and I kind of wanted to go in blind a little bit just to experience it raw and real, and I’m really glad that I did. But I did watch a couple of videos. I remember Shawn Johnson was talking with Andrew [East] about their experience and that actually helped me quite a lot to see what really was going on and kind of see behind the scenes a little bit more. And I was like, “Hell yeah, this is what I want to do.”

I feel like when you watch it at home, you can get a little bit of an idea of how hard that physical aspect of it is. And I’m sure you can speak to that, but I don’t know if you can really understand how tough the mental aspect is and how draining it is. Was that something you were prepared for at all?

I mean, you can try to prepare as much as you can for these things, but you just won’t be able to because the activities you’re doing are so bizarre. You’re doing these ladder climbs from thousands and thousands of feet suspended on this bridge, you’re jumping out of helicopters. When do you ever get a chance to do that? So the physical aspect of my training helped me prepare for that. But the mental, you have to stay focused and not have fear rule your decisions and have to push emotions to the side. I’ve been doing that in my competitive career for forever, so I wanted to see if those tools would translate. And luckily they did, but some of the stuff, I truly was scared because it was new fears that you don’t really get exposed to on a day-to-day basis. So for me, I looked at it as an opportunity to face those and get over them, and this whole show was that opportunity. So that’s what drew me in so much as well.

Something I find interesting about this show is that you’re bringing together so many people from different walks of life, but a lot of them maybe know each other from doing past shows together, from just being in the industry. Were you familiar with anyone in the cast before? Did you know anyone personally?

No, I didn’t know anybody. I’ve heard of some people. I never got to meet anyone face to face, but I think that was actually kind of a good thing because I got to see their true character. And that’s the beauty of the show. You have your TV personalities, you have your social media influencers from other TV shows. They have a personality that they show out there and this show just strips back all those layers completely and you get to see people for who they really are and you see the character shine through or crumble when it comes to certain things. It really gives you a second to be like, “Wow, I didn’t expect that,” or “Yeah, I anticipated this person would be this way.” And that’s why I love the show so much. It’s so real. There’s no quicker way to bond with somebody or with a group of people than doing the most intense things ever.

Was there anyone specific who you kind of bonded with out there and got particularly close with?

Well, definitely Collin [Gosselin]. Right away I bonded with Collin because we’re the closest in age. Again, I didn’t really know him and his experience and his story. I remember us just bonding very, very quickly because we had each other’s backs. We had to do something, I think, in the very beginning and we just kind of locked eyes. We’re like, “Yeah, bro, we’re in this.” We had this camaraderie right away. And it’s funny because they pitted us against each other when it came to the fighting. So you had to kind of put your emotions to the side and get the job done. And then after, we hugged it out and we had even more respect for each other. But he was someone that guided me and helped me and we gave each other advice. I helped him out sometimes on certain things and he told me what to do as well.

Is there a group chat to this day? Do guys all keep in touch?

There is a group chat, yes, yes. We do keep in touch. After every episode, it just lights up. My phone’s blowing up and we talk and we discuss and then people are like, “I can’t believe that happened. I totally forgot about this.” So it’s reliving that. You’re reliving that entire experience when you’re watching the episode. Sometimes I try so hard to refrain from even watching the clips beforehand because I want to see it and experience it live. I’ve been doing a little thing, inviting my friends and showing people. I’ve been spreading this show on my story, on my Instagram, everywhere. It’s just so people can watch it because it’s the best show ever.

Who would you say of your fellow cast members kind of surprised you the most out there and maybe did better than you expected?

Well, I would say for sure Candace [Cameron Bure]. Like I said, we bonded all of us as a group, but there were a few people that stood out. Candace was somebody that really stood out to me and I was really shocked because we were paired together for the ladder challenge and she was deathly afraid of heights, I remember. I tried so hard to assist and support while I’m also nervous getting down this ladder. So that was a difficult moment for us, but we did it together and she overcame and crushed it. It’s funny, while we’re going down the ladder, I remember hearing DS Billy, which is shocking, but he was like, “I have to say I’m a little bit impressed.” And you never hear that. You never hear that. It’s one or two sentences that the DS give you that just can motivate you for the rest of the task.

Pete Dadds/Fox

And Candace was definitely one of those people and we bonded very, very much so. She’s great. She’s wonderful. And we did a lot of things together as well.

What else are you looking forward to in the next coming months?

I mean, I love the show. I’ve been watching it a lot. I’ve been watching the entire thing. Like I said, reliving it all. But now that I’ve done one, I’d love to do some more. I’d love to get involved in some other shows, perhaps, and see what that can be like. This is my first time and I’m very, very intrigued to do more. I’ve had such a positive experience this whole go around and much love from all the producers and whatnot, too. I love showing my friends because it’s really cool to be able to compete in the sport that I’ve been doing my whole life and be able to share that with people, but also do that in other avenues. Skating is doing really good right now because Amber [Glenn]’s doing Dancing with the Stars and she’s repping the skating community, doing great by the way.

I’m kind of doing my part, I guess, from the other side with Special Forces. So I’m glad skating is getting a big representation in this field and I want to continue to do that. Hopefully, I’m the first of many to do stuff like this and Amber as well and Johnny [Weir] and Tara [Lipinski] doing Traitors. It was cool. I love that and I want to keep pushing that as well. That’s my goal.

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Are you still skating? Do you have anything that you’re looking forward to in that?

I took the entire year off this season. I’m really thinking and considering coming back in the following season and getting ready for the next Olympics. That will be in 2030. But that’s a decision you have to really sit with because it’s not a year at a time. It cycles and it would be three more years after that. So I’m definitely considering now what that’s going to look like if that’s the path I want to take. I’m 25. I’ll be 28 during that time. My body’s still feeling OK, so perhaps. I got to really sit on it, but I love skating and it’s been part of my life forever and it will always be part of my life, whether I’m coaching, whether I’m skating, whether I’m doing shows, I’m going to see what the future looks like for me in that.