Man arrested after giving ‘world’s most remote island’ can of Coke shares what really happened
A year on from his stint in an Indian jail, the man who tried to gift the world's most isolated tribe a can of Coke is sharing his side of the story.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov sparked uproar after he embarked on a dangerous excursion to North Sentinel Island - which is a place that people are strictly forbidden from even approaching, let alone visiting.
But the content creator, 25, still decided to try his luck in the hopes of 'introducing' members of the Sentinelese tribe to 'modernity and history' with a can of fizzy pop.
Polyakov landed himself in hot water in March last year after journeying to the restricted territory in a blow-up dinghy, while well aware of the consequences he could face.
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He estimated that there was a '30 or 40 percent chance' that he might be apprehended by authorities for his antics, but took the chance anyway.
The American tourist documented his high-stakes voyage on camera and filmed himself approaching the North Sentinel Island, before showing what happened when he reached the shore.
He reportedly spent an hour milling around on the sand without running into any tribe members - who notoriously don't react well to unwelcome visitors - before then deciding he'd had enough.
Polyakov did leave his mark on the place though, as he decided to leave behind a can of Diet Coke as an offering to the Sentinelese people.
In a clip documenting his risky journey that he recently uploaded to YouTube, the bloke was seen insisting that he 'never intended to meet them up close and never did'.
The ‘uncontacted’ group who live there are considered to be a particularly vulnerable to the presence of outsiders due to their lack of immunity from illnesses, while they are often described as being hostile.
The island was declared a tribal reserve in 1956, with the country's government prohibiting all travel within three nautical miles of the place.
Polyakov has now spoken out about what went down during his reckless trip before he was arrested by police in India - and he admitted he 'wasn't shocked at all' when he was detained in March 2025.
Speaking to The Sun, he explained that he 'was absolutely sh**ting his pants' when he touched down on the island and clarified that despite being aware of the peril he put himself in, he 'wasn't trying to die out there'.
"The adrenaline was a different octane," Polyakov said. "I knew the risk I was taking, I’d already made my peace with all the potential outcomes.
"In my situation, the risk was very low. I was more worried about crocodiles and the sea than the actual Sentinelese people.
"I won’t deny the risk was there, but people read headlines like ‘cannibal island’, and it shapes their perception of what’s going on. It’s a little bit more nuanced than that."
Polyakov spent three weeks behind bars following his arrest and shared some details of his experience of being locked up in a cell with a British man and two Burmese nationals.
He said that the Indian prison system was not as bad as he had thought it would be, as it was 'relatively clean' and he 'always had someone to hang out with'.
The 25-year-old went on: "I’d imagined it would be terrible. Things were relatively clean and it was very much an outdoor sort of plan, not like a closed jail block in a multi-storey, like in the movies – it’s not claustrophobic."
But after kipping on a concrete floor for three weeks, Polyakov admitted he was desperate to feel the comfort of a real bed and to contact his parents.
Unbelievably, his brush with the law hasn't put him off heading on more bizarre excursions, as he announced he has got three more projects in the pipeline.
Polyakov said he'd love to make a 'full-time career' out of sharing this kind of content online, adding: "I’m trying to do things people haven’t done before. My aim is to be creative and make it special."
Let's just hope he leaves other remote tribes alone while in pursuit of internet glory.
Why is it so important for the Sentinelese tribe not to be contacted?
The Sentinelese 'vigorously reject all contact with outsiders', according to Indigenous rights group Survival International, for a number of reasons.
Tribe members do not have immunity to a number of illnesses that strangers may be carrying - meaning the entire community could be wiped out by disease.
They view anyone who approaches the island they call home, which is roughly the same size as Manhattan, as a threat and often react with violence.
In November 2018, missionary John Allen Chau was killed while attempting to convert the tribe of people living on North Sentinel Island to Christianity.
Mykhailo claimed his trip 'was not comparable' with Chau's, saying: "He got warned off by the tribe twice before he came back. The third time he was killed."
Survival International adds: "The Sentinelese have made it clear that they do not want contact. It is a wise choice. Neighbouring Indigenous peoples were wiped out through disease and violence."
Despite the vulnerabilities of the tribe, the organisation says its members are 'clearly extremely healthy and thriving' without any outside interference.
Topics: World News, Crime, Travel, Weird
Olivia Burke