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MANILA | 8 MAY 2025
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Survival TV produced illustrious names like Les Stroud, Ray Mears, Bear Grylls, Mykel Hawke, Cody Lundin, Dave Canterbury and others and have spurred reality-TV shows like the highly-rated Survivor®. As if that is not enough, there are many survival videos produced professionally that are uploaded on YouTube, Vimeo and other dedicated sites which command a good following.
Mattew Everett
Matthew Everett, an independent film maker and a product of Bridgwater College in England, decided to organize his own production outfit in Southeast Asia where he was able to produce and direct indie short documentaries about Philippine culture. When not filming, he goes back home each winter to work in a power plant to raise the money he needs for his film projects.
Taking it a step further, he began mulling of a survival-cultural-adventure made-for-TV series. When Everett met Wil Rhys-Davies and Jing de Egurrola of Snakehawk Wilderness School, he felt he is catching on to that dream and named this project as “Native Instinct”. He explains that it is a bit like a survival show but it demonstrates cultural differences between the lead casts with some humour in it.
In fact, he had already made two test shoots at Kinatarcan Island in Cebu and in an Aeta village of Bataan. This reality TV show aims to educate its viewers on survival techniques along with Philippine culture in an exciting and fun way. It will follow Rhys-Davies and De Egurrola, both wilderness instructors, as they travel through the islands, dealing with different survival situations and learning new skills.
with fellow iSTORYAn contributor, pinoyapache
What makes it different from the rest of the survival TV genre is that both Rhys-Davies and De Egurrola have good chemistry since both are good friends for years. Both enjoy poking fun at each other, on and off the camera, and it is this playful banter that will set it apart from the rest.
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Rhys-Davies is raised on the periphery of the rugged Brecon Beacon Mountains in Wales and have wandered considerably the local woodlands of his childhood, it just seems natural that, one day, he would be an outdoorsman and wilderness traveler. He spent ten years with the British Armed Forces serving in a variety of environments, at home and abroad.
A trained mountain leader, wilderness medic, Outward Bound instructor and avid wilderness traveler; has travelled and worked in a multitude of environments in many countries, such as deserts, jungles, high mountain ranges; and in all seasons as a backpacking guide, climbing instructor, desert survival technical consultant, mountain biker, adventure-cycle tourer, and canyoneer.
He has worked with various clientele, from gang members, wealthy clients, drug and alcohol rehabilitation patients, and individuals who seek his knowledge. He is especially fond of the Aeta people of Zambales, the Philippines, whom he describes as amazingly friendly and one of the best jungle people he has met.
He is always passionate to see young people challenge themselves through outdoor activities. He is currently working on a multi-discipline adventure trip for 2014. Currently residing in the Philippines, he works with Snakehawk Wilderness School and consults with Silangan Outdoor Products.
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The other cast is a Filipino and is a native of Cebu. He is a former SWAT operative and police investigator and had been taught woodcraft by his grandfather as a child. He used to be a recreational climber and free-lance mountain guide before shifting to bushcraft and survival and teaches these to aspiring woodsmen during weekends as well as urban survival techniques for corporate functionaries.
He uses the jungles and woodlands of the Babag Mountain Range as his playground and as location of the annual Philippine Independence Bushcraft Camp of which he is the convenor and main instructor. Apart from that, he organized and founded the first and only bushcraft and survival guild in the Philippines called Camp Red.
He is now working for the completion of the Cebu Highlands Trail in 2015, a project patterned after the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail of the United States and is also engrossed in outreach projects that benefit the children of the mountains and the environment. He is married for 24 years now and a father to two adult sons.
He is presently managing a top-rate private security agency in Cebu and is the partner of Rhys-Davies at Snakehawk Wilderness School. He is a product endorser of Silangan Outdoor Equipment, Bamboo Military Shoes and AF Knives. He tests gears and equipment which are then given review on his blog. He maintains a free-platform blog named Warrior Pilgrimage. (Click on this address: www.pinoyapache.blogspot.com)
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Native Instinct is programmed to be filmed as a TV series but lack of funds hampered its shooting and is presently campaigning in Indiegogo.com to raise Ł2,000 to propel it into finishing the first six episodes, which would include a re-shoot of the island escapade and the Aeta cultural immersion. The money would be spent for travel, equipment and production expenses.
Prospective investors will be able to choose their perks according to the various donation packages indicated at its Indiegogo.com project page. As you read this, Native Instinct is asking you to please help your fellow Cebuano – Jing de Egurrola – by supporting for the completion of the show in the form of donating any amount at its Indiegogo.com page.
Below are some video clips of Native Instinct under the “Jungle Survival with the Aetas” episode. It is like Dual Survival® of Cody Lundin and Joe Teti but with a twist. What would that be? It is for you to distinguish! Please enjoy - - -
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/native-instinct
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Jing Lavilles de Egurrola
Living- Travel and Adventure
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