Meet Matt Graham - The Super Human Tree Hugger

Matt Graham is a Primitive Survival Expert who specializes in long term survival. He is an expert in primitive weapon making and use.

There is no Wikipedia article on him that I can find so my research turned up information from a variety of places. This is what we know about him.

Matt is a staff member and instructor of the True Nature, Sustainable Farm and Education Center
www.truenature.org...

Matt was a climber and began studying primitive skills at age 17 in Yosemite Valley. At 20 he was doing search and rescue as a tracker in Sequoia while running and learning to travel the backcountry with no food or gear. Not owning a car, he travelled all over California and parts of Arizona on foot. At 23, he ran the length of California on the Pacific Crest Trail (1750 miles) in 58 days, a record at the time.

Matt moved to Boulder at age 24 and started guiding and teaching at Boulder Outdoor Survival School, teaching all the hunter-gatherer courses. Primitive hunting and living off the land became his passion. Three years ago, he walked off into the wilderness on the Winter Solstice and returned on the Summer Solstice. Living with the land for 6 months, Matt has been on many primitive walks and led about 50 hunter-gatherer courses ranging 4 to 33 days.

Matt has been a consultant for “Survivor Man” and many other TV productions, was featured in "Wilderness Way" Magazine, "Trail Runner" Magazine, and is a leader in his field.

www.truenature.org...

Graham lives solo in the wilds of Utah for six months out of every year, is a world-class spear thrower, a skilled long bow hunter, and endurance athlete who has studied Judo, Tae Kwan Do, Wushu Kung fu, and Jeet Kune Do.

tv.yahoo.com...

Here is a short video from 2011



That was then but Matt is in the limelight these days as Cody Lundin's replacement on the Dual Survivor tv show. So far two episodes have aired with Matt and they are both excellent.

A little more info this time from Discovery Channel.

Matt began teaching his primitive skills at the Boulder (Utah) Outdoor Survival School and guiding llama packing trips while continuing to compete as an endurance athlete. He then became an outdoor instructor for an at-risk youth therapy project known as the “Anasazi Outdoor Program.”

Matt is a world class master of the atlatl and started competing three years ago, recently defeating the world champion in seven straight matches

www.discovery.com...

So.. this guy is a world class triathlete, a long term survival expert - that lives in the wilderness 6 months out of the year In Survival mode and trains during that time going on 50 mile runs a day for breakfast - Most cannot fathom how he can live in Survival mode in the woods and train losing all those calories and having to replenish them without the comforts of civilization we have come used to.

What's WRONG with this picture? I'll tell you..

Matt makes living this way look super easy. Nothing wrong with that. The point is living this way IS easy - or can be at least as comfortable a life as the one you're used to now (once you learn it). I'm sure Matt doesn't consider his 6 month walks in the wilds a "survival situation" - Matt thinks of this as life the way it normally should be. Matt thinks of the woods as Home. And Matt has a point.

It has only been recently man has lost touch with living off the land. Our great grandparents knew how to do it, why don't many of us? This should be common knowledge and no one should ever Fear being in a survival situation due to lack of fire, water, food, shelter, first aid and navigation skills. This used to be the stuff kids learned growing up as a matter of course. It is only in these modern times with people living in cities we have shunned our heritage.

Matt has greatly impressed me from the little I know about him. This individual is truly Super Human but he's saying we can be Super Human too. We have it within all of us. That is an Amazing message I thank Matt for.

I'll leave you with what may soon be Matt's #1 top survival music video ( yes, he sings too!) If this don't move you, nothing will.

Matt Graham - This is me



Btw Matt, I hope if you see this I've done you justice. Keep on Rockin and Tree Huggin brother.

i saw the second episode the other day and it was so fake it was painful to watch. At one point they entered a cave system that was to dark to navigate and just by coincidence they found a backpack with a pair of glasses , some old jeans shorts and some suntan lotion in it. Wow that was lucky, they cut up the jeans shorts and soaked them in suntan lotion and set the on fire using the reading glasses to make two torches....ugh! fake , fake, fake!!

a reply to: PhoenixOD

I guess you didn't know. On the tv show they set up scenarios that parallel something that really happened. They try to leave some minimal supplies from the kinds of things those people were carrying, in the area for the team members to find. That's why they found a backpack and will find "something" in every one of the shows.

However, Matt doesn't live like that, it's the producers doing that. This is about Matt his abilities and his message.

He was also on another show a while back and done a great job. Many things ccan b learned from watching him and he if at the top of the game. This is a topic that i am glad to see here. I do have to think that the turkey was tied up on the last episode because if he really spared a rattler and asked for a turkey and got one the next day by crawling on all fours and dog attacking the turkey then wow. Something spiritually simular happened on the other show where he spent a whole night meditating then was found by a band of herders the next day. When you take into account their location then the question of it being staged goes away somewhat.

Thanks for sharing! More people need to know this way of life. Matt rocks!

a reply to: deadeyedick

Thanks..I have seen all 7 episodes and loved them. I didn't mention it because I think they aren't making any more and the Op was getting kind of fat already LOL. (by the Op I mean Original Post, not Matt the subject)

The show is called Dude, You're Screwed! and it's awesome.

It's about a bunch of survival expert friends who kidnap one friend at a time and leave him stranded alone with minimal gear in very dangerous remote locations around the world. Out of the 7 shows I think Matt has two episodes in which he's the stranded fellow. The 'victim' has to abide by the rules and let themselves get taken - no matter when or where it happens. They never know. They get searched because they are not allowed to bring survival gear on them but they are all masters at hiding stuff.. er.. use your imagination LOL. They do get some minimal equipment. each member of the group contributes something they think may or may not help the fellow.. It's very funny sometimes because a resource could be a giant plush bunny rabbit or a bowling ball LOL.

After they are dropped stranded they have 100 hours to find civilization or they lose the game. The body temperatures of the guys are measured constantly and if they fall too close to a life threatening temperature 96.6 they are disqualified. I suppose it's a good safety measure but it forces the contestants not to be lax about dehydration, too much cold or warmth etc because some of their buffer zone is gone.

There is a thread about it here: www.abovetopsecret.com...

a reply to: JohnPhoenix

I seriously doubt that specific scenario really happened... I mean parallel to "finding a backpack with a pair of glasses , some old jeans shorts and some suntan lotion in it" really? Believe me if it was me to find that backpack, I wouldnt make torches, I would actually try to find the guy and the towel, sure he couldnt be far. lol...

a reply to: JohnPhoenix Yes i seen those and could not remember the name. I think the producers owe matt and that cowgirl a date. Fate working it's magic then here comes his buddies in a helo to run her off. The guy certainly brings a serious spiritual aspect to the whole setup survival game that is unlike an other. I just hope everyone is picking up on what is being shown.

a reply to: deadeyedick

Well.. ( Wait.. I'm still laughing my azz off..) You are right.. that was awesome.. that was charisma. Matt walks out of one of the worst situations you could put him in, suddenly miles away from known civilization, he comes across this band of ranchers. The one he speaks to is Ultra hot and the team swoop down thinking to rescue Matt. Well, this dandelion of a babe is the first person Matt has seen in 3 days. She seems obviously impressed with him (and who wouldn't be.. the guy is the real Tarzan for goodness sake) Because he makes contact with even a small band of unknown civilization it still counts and Matt wins the game. If his friends had been prudent, Matt might have won the girl too.. Remember all the james Bond 007 movies you ever saw? LOL They could have given him a few hours at least. LOL

I'd like ATS to do an AMA with Matt and find out what are those two things that keeps him going like it does - his diet and exercise. He has to be able to replenish major calories in training even though he's living off the land through miles of different countryside.

Living like Matt does most would think is a survival situation in itself, but for Matt, it's child play. The scenarios he has with Joe in Dual Survivor are easy to him because he lives it - Joe is only trained to rescue people from it, thus he wants to bug out to "safety" when he didn't realize he was in safety all the time. This is the tree hugger difference vs the military difference as least as represented in this show, IMO.

Matt will thus thrive and survive where Joe cannot despite his training IMO.

This doesn't represent a division in their skills but in their mental attitudes at looking at the situation.