Survival of the Fittest

Veterans found a survival skills company and become Netflix stars along the way

By Jennifer Williams

What began as a survival training company started by two combat veterans has evolved into much more, with the founders currently cohosting the surprise Netflix hit, Snowflake Mountain.

Matt Tate and Joel Graves founded American Survival Co to teach wilderness survival, urban survival, mental toughness, team building and leadership development. The company has locations in Northwest Arkansas and Jacksonville, Florida, with satellite base camps in Maine, Georgia and Oklahoma. They also often travel to teach if those trainees want to utilize their own property. Speaking engagements have become more of a focus since their Netflix show premiered in June.

“We’ve been blessed to work with some amazing professionals in the survival industry,” said Tate. “And through networking, [we] have had some amazing opportunities come our way. Joel and I both were invited to star in Discovery Channel’s Bushcraft Build Off in 2017 [which led to the Netflix series]. [Snowflake Mountain] was an amazing opportunity for us to spread our knowledge and mentor today’s young adults in what turned out to be in the top #3 on Netflix within four days of its release and ultimately rank in the Top 10 globally for Netflix.” The two have also consulted with networks including Disney, The History Channel, and TLC. 

But the pair never intended to become streaming service stars. They just wanted to share their skills and knowledge with others interested in learning about basic and advanced survival. 

Back to the Beginnings

In 2014, Graves and Tate both attended a Wilderness Survival School Instructor course that included spending 40 days and nights living in the wilderness and completing a rigorous testing phase to become certified as Survival Instructors. During the training program, Matt and Joel both excelled in the course and became fast friends. After completing training, they each ran satellite schools in Arkansas and Florida for the certifying organization they’d trained with, but after three years, they decided to open their own school and American Survival Co. was born.

Graves grew up as a military kid and learned independence from a very early age. Joel’s father served in the Navy Special Operations community as an E.O.D (Explosives Ordinance Disposal) Technician and as fate would have it, Joel’s path led him into the same career. Once completing the rigorous E.O.D. training, he spent most of his Navy career working with the Secret Service, various other three-letter agencies, and serving on Seal Team 2 and Seal Team 4, completing 355 missions and serving multiple combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  

While in Afghanistan, Graves observed something that captured his attention and that would ultimately result in a shift in his life’s trajectory. “I saw how truly self-sufficient the people in the mountain regions were,” he said. “They built their own houses, they raised their own food and were able to meet their own basic needs without any kind of supply chain. They were tough and they were very resourceful.”

Graves’ bushcraft and survival skill set is equally impressive. Following his retirement from special forces, Joel spent six months in a long-term survival program where he slept in the field for five months, living off the land and honing his craft. He currently lives in Jacksonville, Florida, and spends much of his time fishing on the coastal waters, gator hunting, building bows, and keeping his self-reliance skills sharp. 

Today, Graves leverages his tactical and combat experience to prepare civilians, military personnel and organizations for international and domestic threats. Training and consulting opportunities with Joel include: international traveler, SERE, active shooter preparedness, self-defense and organizational security. 

Tate grew up in the middle of nowhere--on top of a mountain in Northeast Oklahoma--exploring the woods and hunting through his early years. With few options for work in his small town and an interest in serving his country, Tate enlisted in the Oklahoma National Guard as a Combat Engineer. He experienced multiple stateside missions, including the response for Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Tate also served overseas, deploying to Iraq attached to the 1st Marine Division in the Anbar province. He served in Fallujah from 2004 to 2005. 

After leaving the service, Tate worked in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government, but longed to spend more time in the great outdoors, so he looked into a career as a Wilderness Survival Instructor. 

Today, Tate uses his wilderness and tactical experience to provide civilian, military, and organizational training domestically and internationally. He is also a Lead Instructor for Salvo Security Group and is passionate about teaching team building and leadership development.

In addition to consulting with multiple major television networks, Tate has designed multiple blades with world-famous Dozier knives specific to survival training, and has contributed to publications like Backpacker Magazine, Survival Dispatch and others. “From combat in Fallujah, to the remote mountains of Afghanistan and the jungles of Costa Rica, we have trained for and actively survived in some of the world’s most unforgiving environments,” the pair explain on their website. “We understand how knowledge, honed skills, and mindset will work together to determine your response and success in any emergency…[We are] passionate about preparing you to survive emergency situations, creating more self-reliance and increasing your confidence and safety.”

“We take a calculated approach to training, says Tate. “We, of course, have developed curriculum for classes that are open for anyone to attend and can be found at americansurvivalco.com but, we also host quite a bit of private training. The great thing about small group private training is that we can meet the students where they are and really tailor the training to their specific needs and their current level. This can range from tactical training (in NW Arkansas) plant medicine, area, or site security assessments as well as the typical things you’d expect in terms of learning to live off the land primitively and with minimum tools or gear.” 

Conquering Snowflake Mountain 

It was the small group private training model that Tate and Graves used in the Netflix show Snowflake Mountain, a reality series that brought 10 unsuspecting “hopelessly entitled or spoiled young adults” to the mountains of Northwest England’s Lake District. Tate and Graves used their tough-love approach (including piling up their considerable luggage and having as large bonfire) to challenge the contestants and soon had them climbing mountains, scaling trees and caring for chickens.

Tate and Graves have been asked if the reality show was in fact, “real,” and while the challenges for the contestants were pre-planned, the reactions of the participants was genuine. Without giving too much away, several of the contestants say they found their confidence during the course of the show and have made positive changes in their lives and become more independent—a testament to the effectiveness of Tate and Graves’ skills. 

Visit https://americansurvivalco.com for more information.