Brad and Josh Richardson

Season 4

Brad Richardson
Age: 23
Fox Lake, IL
Blacksmith

Growing up in northern Illinois, Brad spent most of his childhood exploring the outdoors. His weekends were occupied with fishing trips in a canoe, and his summers were a time for practicing primitive skills in the boreal forest. Joining the Boy Scouts in grade school strengthened his love for the outdoors greatly. Brad would eventually discover a passion for blacksmithing and began a company with his siblings, specializing in hand-forged knives and tools. When he’s not crafting blades and equipment, Brad spends his time filming educational bushcraft and survival videos

Josh Richardson
Age:19
Fox Lake, IL
Blacksmith

From a very young age, Josh’s father took him and his brother Brad camping, fishing, and canoeing, which helped craft a lifelong obsession for the outdoors. Josh and Brad wanted to experience nature the way that their forefathers did, and eventually the two began implementing primitive shelters instead of tents, and friction fires instead of lighters or matches. From the moment Josh made the transition to primitive survival techniques — a switch that changed his mindset from that of entertainment to that of necessity — he has been on a quest to learn as much as possible about this discipline, and is eager to teach others via online videos. When he’s not enjoying solitude in the woods, he’s busy in the blacksmith shop, a passion that began when he and Brad started fixing broken tools.

Here are the ten items Brad and Josh selected to bring on their survival journey to Vancouver Island: