Andrew “Brody” Wilkes
Age: 33
Kentwood, LA
Industrial Project Manager

At the age of six, Brody went on his first hunting trip with his father and, by eight years old, had harvested his first deer. Since then, he’s continued to hunt throughout the course of his life. Once his father stopped hunting, Brody became the sole provider of the family’s meat, for both his wife and daughter, and his parents. He also maintains a garden, yet another way he fulfills his desire to provide for his loved ones. Although self-sufficiency and a desire to supply his family members with sustenance are his main motivations, Brody also has a keen interest in primitive skills and wilderness survival.

Chris Wilkes
Age: 44
Hattiesburg, MS
Psychotherapist

Chris spent his childhood exploring the farmlands and swamps of Southeast 
Louisiana, where he began his lifelong love of hunting, fishing, and trapping at a young age. He attended college in Mississippi, and began working in the behavioral health field. While witnessing the effects of natural disasters and developing a homeless tent camp ministry, he deepened his own understanding and interest in self-reliance, wilderness survival, and bushcraft skills. He believes his role as a therapist and his experience helping people to cope and make peace in the midst of suffering will be an invaluable asset. Chris currently practices his survival skills in the pine forest of southern Mississippi, where he lives with his wife and two children.

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

• Bivy bag – waterproof bivy for sleeping bag
• Ax – medium-sized
• Pot – 2-quart bush pot
• Fishing line and hooks – 50 yards 30 lb. test, 100 yards 100 lb. test, 150 yards 40 lb. test
• Tarp – 12′ x 12′
• Bivy bag – waterproof bivy for sleeping bag
• Pot – 2-quart bush pot
• Tarp – 12′ x 12′
• Saw – 18″ blade
• Gillnet