NBC.com

GLASS WALKING

YOU WERE PROBABLY TOLD GROWING UP NEVER TO WALK BAREFOOT ON BROKEN GLASS, BUT HERE AT FEAR FACTOR WE ENCOURAGE IT. HERE'S ONE CONTESTANT, DERRICK FLOWERS, WHO BROKE THE RULES AND SOME GLASS TO GO FOR THE $50,000 DOLLARS.

FEAR FACTOR: Was this stunt at all what you were expecting?

DERRICK FLOWERS: No. When I saw the stunt my heart dropped. It completely dropped to my stomach and I'm like, "God, I cannot believe I have to walk across glass. Really, Derrick, what have you got yourself into?" I figured it was going to be something to eat. I was thinking something gross. I was not expecting glass whatsoever.

FEAR FACTOR: So you were wishing you could have done something else?

DERRICK FLOWERS: Looking at the stunt, I would rather have eaten rat's butts than walk across glass. I'm not a pain person at all.

FEAR FACTOR: What were you thinking as you were preparing to walk on all those shards of glass?

DERRICK FLOWERS: I was looking at the glass and saying, "God, I do not want to cut my feet up. I really do not want to mess my feet up." I knew I was going to have to get through it, I want this money so bad. I want this fifty grand. Fifty thousand dollars could do so much for me right now. It's just a matter of sucking it up and doing it, pain or no pain.

FEAR FACTOR: So what is your tolerance level for pain?

DERRICK FLOWERS: On a scale of one to ten, my pain tolerance is like negative five. I'm not a pain person at all. I'm not a crybaby or anything, I rarely shed a tear, but when I saw that glass, I just figured I was going to start bawling walking across the glass.

FEAR FACTOR: What was your first step like?

DERRICK FLOWERS: I think I had every muscle in my foot as tight as it possibly could be. Thank God I'm flatfooted. So I just flattened my feet and tightened up every muscle and took that first step. It was really difficult because you didn't want to push your weight on your foot to go too far on the glass.

FEAR FACTOR: What physically happens to you when you walk on the glass?

DERRICK FLOWERS: My back and the bottom of my feet were dripping in sweat. Just pouring sweat, and I didn't even think my feet sweat, but they were dripping.

FEAR FACTOR: We noticed at times that you picked up your foot and tried to brush off the glass. What was that strategy all about?

DERRICK FLOWERS: When I felt the glass on the bottom of my foot, I had to wipe it off -- I did not want to get cut walking across this glass.

FEAR FACTOR: Were you worried about losing your balance?

DERRICK FLOWERS: No, I'm a pretty good balancer. I've never done tightrope or balancing beam or anything like that but I'm a pretty good balancer. The only thing I was afraid of by picking up one foot, and it just went through my head for one second, was, "Derrick, what the hell are you doing? You're going to fall on your face and you're going to mess your face all up and have hundreds and hundreds of cuts all over your face and your body." And that's just the one thing I don't want to mess up is my face. I do not want to cut my face. I'd rather cut the bottom of my feet than my face.

FEAR FACTOR: You and the other contestants played a game to determine whether you'd have to walk anywhere from 5 to 10 feet of broken glass. Do you think it's a big advantage to only have to walk 5 feet?

DERRICK FLOWERS: Five feet seems like a mile when it's just hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of pieces of broken glass.

FEAR FACTOR: What sets you apart from the rest of the contestants?

DERRICK FLOWERS: I'm not a big, huge, buff stud, but competitively, I think my size and the fact that I'm gay gives me a little bit of a edge over everyone else. I can squeeze through places that big, huge muscle dudes couldn't get through, and I'm flexible. I can maneuver my body in other ways that most people can't maneuver the body.

FEAR FACTOR: Do you feel as though you have something to prove here?

DERRICK FLOWERS: I think a lot of people underestimate gay guys. I'm gay, but don't underestimate me. I grew up on a tobacco farm. I worked in the fields and helped my grandfather in construction my whole life. I can do the same thing any other guy or girl can do, straight, gay, bisexual.

FEAR FACTOR: If you win, how will you spend the $50,000?

DERRICK FLOWERS: Fifty-thousand dollars could do so much for me right now. It could pay off my debts, help me get a new car, and it could also help me get plastic surgery that I've been wanting for a long, long time. I really want to get a butt implant. I used to be a lot heavier. I used to weigh 240 pounds and was a 42-inch waist. And when I lost all my weight, it came all out of my butt.