When most people think of actress Kyla Pratt, they think back to her as perhaps a little girl in Love and Basketball. A teenager in Dr. Doolittle and its spinoffs. Or perhaps, most prevalent, as “It” girl Breanna Barnes on the hit sitcom One on One. But people who may be introduced to Pratt presently see her as one of the tough-as-nails contestants and stars of Season 3 of the Fox series Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, which airs on Fox and is preparing to conclude. The show currently features other big names, including former NFL star Cam Newton, former Olympic track star Marion Jones, influencer Kayla Nicole and many more. The competition series, which includes contestants partaking in some seriously intense training courses similar to what individuals go through in the United States Special Forces, is no joke. But Pratt actually jumped at the chance to do the series after being a fan of the last two seasons.
“And I like to be challenged. I like to try new things. Where else are you going to go and be able to experience the type of training that special forces get to do?” she tells ESSENCE. “I don’t plan on jumping off of a bridge anywhere else, or jumping out of a helicopter, so I really took advantage of the opportunity to do something that a lot of people don’t get to experience.”
The end result was plenty of bumps, bruises and cuts, but also a renewed realization that she is not to be played with.
“It just reminded me of how much of a bada– that I am,” she says. “I already know that I am strong in many ways, but for me, I’m always focused on my mental health. And even being there and not being able to complete certain physical tasks is difficult, especially when you’re not used to failing, when you’re not used to not doing well. And then to be surrounded by people who were doing well, you kind of get in your head a little bit. But once you get to a point of reminding yourself of what you can do, it’s like, all right, this is what it is, let’s go. Let’s do it.”
We spoke with the 38-year-old about her experience, being a “hands-on” mother of two girls, why you saw less of her on TV after One on One, and how a proper self-care routine, from cleanses to workout classes, is the key to her youthful glow.
ESSENCE: First and foremost, I want to ask you how things are. I know you’re based in LA; you’re from LA. How has everything been out there for you and your family?
Kyla Pratt: Everything’s okay. Fortunately, we didn’t have to evacuate because of the fires. We were kind of in the middle of all of them, so the kids’ schooling was affected—air quality of course. Kids felt like it was back to COVID-19 times because they had to wear a mask. And so I had a little PTSD from that. And then also, I’m a super empath, so just feeling a little survivor’s remorse. Luckily, my man knows a lot of people and organizations out here, so we were able to donate and help out a lot. That made me feel better.
So Special Forces. I was looking at some of the clips. I was like, “What in the world!?” What made you want to do this?
I’ve been a fan of the show for the past two seasons, and I really like competition reality series. I’ve always watched competition reality, and a lot of people don’t know how physical I am. My man’s an athlete. All my kids are athletes. We work out, we do things. Even though watching the show, you can’t really tell compared to all the NFL players and the Olympians that I was with.
I’m glad I did it, but it’s crazy looking back on it. Watching the show is hard, but we have a group chat, so we all try to text during the show and laugh about certain things because we did have fun as well. They’re not going to show you the laughing. A lot of people, you make jokes when you’re in pain, and we were all kind of trauma bonding. But I was very fortunate to be with a great group of people, and we supported each other in any possible way that we could. So, it ended up being a great experience.
Nice. Any bumps and bruises?
Oh, yes. No, I was climbing a castle. I bruised my chin as some people can probably see on some episodes. I get a really bad bruise. I think this week I had a really intense fat bruise on my thigh. I came home and I still have areas on me that are scarred just from being there. And when you’re at home, you’re like, “Oh, let me put a little Neosporin. Let me do this, bandage it up.” No, it wasn’t that type of party with Special Forces. It was like, “Oh, you’re hurt. Put some tape over it.” It was a real-life experience of not being on a set. It was not a set experience. It was living in their quarters and freezing.
You just said you’re a physical person, and I read that you don’t play about your fitness. What is your routine?
I haven’t perfected the gym yet. I’m still learning different things. I’m always asking my man like, “Wait, so what are you working on today?” But I’m really a big class girly.
Yes, I love a class.
I like HIIT classes. I love Pilates, yoga. I like to go in and know that I have at least an hour there. I have to go hard, and then I’m done for the day. And I typically like to do it at the beginning of the day just because it sets the tone and makes me not want to eat things I’m not supposed to because I’m like, “Girl, you got up early and you worked hard. Why would you eat that?” Or why would you consume something that’s not good for you when you did all that work earlier? I’m in my class girl, classy, class, girl era right now.
I’m the friend that, those who want to try new stuff, they’ll be like, “Oh, I signed us up for this class.”And I’m like, “What?! All right, what time?” I like to try stuff. They know I’m going to go.
Nice, nice, nice. And so what did your twins, a.k.a. your daughters, because they look exactly like you, think about you taking part in Special Forces? I’m sure it was a considerable amount of time that you had to be away.
Well, no, actually, the whole course was 10 days. But the thing was that we had to travel out of the country, and then as soon as we got there, we had to get ready to be on the show. And as soon as you’re about to start, they take your phones. So you’re not allowed to speak with your family while you’re gone. That was the hardest part because my family is my safe place. If I’m spiraling emotionally, I’m having a moment, my man is the one that calms me like, “All right, bring it in.”
Or hearing my kids’ voices, it helps you remember what you’re fighting for every single day. So I had to adjust while being there and imagine what he would say to me in certain moments, or imagine what my kids are going to think while they’re watching this back. So that was the most difficult part. But watching it back, I don’t think my kids are surprised because we do physical stuff. They’re like, “Oh, that’s crazy.” They’re not super surprised. I’m adventurous.
What would you say the experience of doing Special Forces made you realize about what you’re capable of and your strengths?
So for me, I think just being a part of the whole experience helped me control my emotions a lot more. Like I was saying before, I was getting hurt every day, but it was hurt to me. To me, I’m in pain. My leg hurt. I think I pulled something. I got splinters in my hand. It is a piece of my skin missing on my leg. I got a big old knot and to them they’re like, “Oh, okay, you’ll be all right. Just try not to do X, Y and Z.” And I’m like, “Wait, what? But I’m hurt.” And they’re looking at me like, “No.” So it made me think, in our daily lives, we kind of make big deals out of things that are not really big deals. And so it just really put things into perspective for me. And of course, we’re human, we’re going to have those moments, but then it’s like, “Uh-uh. No, no, no, no, no. Get it together. What’s next?”
You spent the majority of your young life on TV. When you became a mother, with the exception, I want to say of you doing a couple of series including Call Me Kat, it seemed like you were more selective about your roles and more focused on being a hands-on mom. Why would you say that was essential to you to do?
It was essential, but it was also an up-and-down thing. With this industry you never know when work is going to come. Being an actress who consistently worked throughout my childhood, I want to say after One on One, good things were hard to come by. And I’ve been really big on not just working to work. I like to be a part of projects that make sense to me. Even though I love working and sometimes I’m craving it when I’m not doing it, having children has helped me learn how to balance my personal life and business. My kids will only be kids for a certain amount of time, and I cherish every moment I have with them. Even if I find myself overwhelmed and having a moment, I think, this is only for a second. In a little bit you’re going to laugh about this. I want to enjoy this journey and not take it for granted.
My kids are growing so fast, and I want to be around for any and everything. And my kids, I am so, it’s so many people who are like, “You’re so hands-on.” And I’m like, “What are you talking about? What do you mean? They’re my kids.” They’re like, “We know so many people who just are not this hands-on.” And I’m like, “No, these are my kids. I am making sure that they are being raised by their mother and their father.” And, of course, we have a village, but also, my kids know what mommy does for a living. If mommy has to get up and go for a little bit, they respect it because we have conversations. I talk to my children.
And whenever I’m not working, I’m in their face so much that sometimes they probably in their head like, “Ooh, lady, when are you leaving?” But I’m super hands-on. I’m like, “Oh, my babies have to go here. They have to do this, they have to do that.” We’re switching. We’re going back and forth. We’re making sure that they know that they are the most important things in our lives, but we also explain to them that your parents are human beings and we’re still growing as well. We still have goals that we want to achieve and things that we want to enjoy. And so just because you become a parent doesn’t mean that your life is over. You get to do all these things as well.
So it’s trying to just make sure you keep the balance of knowing that, reminding them that they are the most important things, but as a person, you as a parent are still important as well. So, let’s find this balance. It’s not always easy, but it’s great when you have the unit that we have and the partner that I have. I’m completely blessed.
Nice. So that communication, especially now that they’re older too, it sounds like it leaves no room for any kind of mommy guilt when you have to go do what you have to do.
There’s still a little. But sometimes I be tripping over stuff more than they are. I’m like, “But I don’t want to miss it.” And then I remember my daughter once was like, “But dad’s going to be here, right?” And I was like, “That’s right. You do have a loving father. I guess he can do this part.” So sometimes it’s me. I’m just trying to do the best I can. And my goal is to raise kids that have the least amount of things to heal from. They’re human beings. They’re going to go through their stuff. They will be mad about something when we all get older, but all we can do as parents is try.
How do you decompress when you get some time to yourself?
It depends on the day. It depends on how I feel. I try not to crawl in the bed too much. To me, keeping yourself physically moving helps you the most mentally. So working out is very important. If I’ve been eating crappy, I will do a cleanse. I am the cleanse lady. “Oh, what you got? 10 days, let’s do it.”
I just finished a 20-day one. I need to detox the BS out of my system and out of my head. A random vacation. Randomly be like, “All right, I’m going to go here.” Planning trips with my family, writing, and reading different things. A social media detox, playing board games with my children, talking to my kids about things that they want to try, new classes that they might want to be interested in.
For me, decompressing is organizing. I got a whole bunch of arts and crafts stuff right here behind me that I’m like, “Okay, these kids have too many color pencils, markers, pens, blah, blah, blah.” How do I organize this? I know that it doesn’t sound relaxing, but I know that when I see it organized, I’m going to be more relaxed. So for me, there’s so many different ways to decompress. Talking to my siblings on the phone, just kicking the sh-t and just being like, “Hey, how are you?” catching up. Spa. Love a good massage. Love a good, random date with my significant other.
How does your routine or your regimen keep you looking so youthful?
It’s crazy because I still feel young. I am young. But I feel younger than what I am. It just reminds me all the time when I look at my kids like, wait, who y’all mama? Oh, wait, hold on, wait a minute. For me, I don’t know. I think it’s a combination of genes and my mom looks really young, but also just trying to take care of myself mentally and physically.
I’ve always been very in tune with my body. And if I’m eating stuff that just tastes good, but I know the ingredients aren’t great for me, or if I’m emotional eating, after a while, I like to check myself. I’m the one that’s like, “Oh, no, you girl, you’ve been doing too much. You going cold.” And I’m a cold turkey person. I got to go cold turkey. I’m not one of those like, “Oh, I’m only going to have it three times a week.” I’m not that person. I’m lying. I’m not going to do it three times a week. I’m going to have it once, and I’m going to want it every day.
But ultimately, I would just say just trying to keep a peaceful mind. And there’s so many things in the world that stress you out and can run you low. There’s so many expectations from society. There’s so many things that you have to take control of and take care of. And I tell people, I drink my water and I mind my business.
I moisturize. That’s very important. There’s always debates about people showering daily, I guess I should say. That happens. I don’t know. I like to take care of my skin. I always tell my babies, “You look at this beautiful skin that you have, take care of it.” You know what I mean? Nourish, drink lots of water, drink real water, work out, get physical, get some sun.
Just don’t let yourself get down for too long. I think that is the ultimate practice. Allow yourself to have a moment, but then it’s time to get up and find joy in everything that you have going on.
The final two episodes of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test air on Wednesday February, 5 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.