Cody Lundin is an American television personality, survival instructor, and motivational speaker, perhaps best known as the co-host of the Discovery Channel series “Dual Survival”. The show, which aired from 11 June 2010 until its final season in October 2016, documented the struggles of two survivors placed in predetermined scenarios, as they overcome difficult environments while fighting for their own survival.
Lundin and his co-host, Dave Canterbury featured in “Dual Survival” for the initial three seasons of the show, until Dave was replaced by Joseph Teti during the third season, and Cody was replaced by Matt Graham in 2014 during the fourth season of the series.
While the show received a popular reception among audiences, Lundin most certainly enjoyed a lot of exposure from the show. At the time, Lundin was a somewhat well-known survivalist, but following his appearance in “Dual Survival”, became a household name among many fanatics of the survivalist genre.
However, since his departure from “Dual Survival” in 2014, Lundin seemingly disappeared off the grid, and as such, many of his fans and followers have been wondering what exactly happened to their favourite naturalist.
Well, they need no longer question that, as we take a look at the life of Cody Lundin, and see what he’s been up to since “Dual Survival”.
Who Is Cody Lundin?
Born on 15 March 1967, in Yavapai County, Arizona USA, the only child of a military family, Cody’s early life was spent migrating with his family from one place to another, which includes various cities and towns in the US and Europe. It was not until Cody reached Junior High that his family finally settled down in Laramie, Wyoming, where Lundin attended High School.
As a young child, Cody’s first experience with the naturalist lifestyle came from his grandparents, who resided in a rural part of South Dakota, where they lived off the land, getting by with little except through their own efforts.
This homesteading is often referred to as ‘the good ol’ pioneer way of life’ by Lundin’s family, and as he grew older, Cody also accepted this lifestyle.
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After matriculating from high school, Cody spent time on the road, travelling the states, and living on nothing but wits and self-sustenance, though he often stated that his connection and bond with nature began during his early years of migrating with his parents. With no fixed location to call home, Lundin took consolation by accepting nature and the wilderness as his only home.
During his teenage years, Cody’s interest in self-reliance training grew, as he would often go on lone hikes into the Wyoming wilderness with nothing but a fishing line and what he would call ‘Spartan Gear’, living on brook trout, and sleeping as close to nature as one possibly could; as Cody would often admit, he learned a lot about nature and himself during these early adventures.
Then, after completing his basic education, Lundin compiled his first survival kit for living on the road, and boarded a bus heading further west. However, as he would later reveal, it was a decision that nearly cost him his life.
As a rookie survivalist fresh out of high school, he hardly knew anything about surviving while travelling the roads of America. For some time, Cody lived in the city streets with nothing but a duffle bag and a guitar, at one point forming part of a rural commune near the Mexican border.
However, despite it being difficult, Lundin often refers to this dark period in his life as his warrior training.
Following his initial adventure into the life of a vagabond, Lundin travelled to Arizona, where he lived in the red rock wilderness and discovered a new calling in life. It was here that he came to the decision to share his knowledge of survival and his love for nature with the rest of the world. Cody enrolled at Prescott College in Arizona, graduating with a degree in Holistic Health and Depth Psychology.
While attending college, Lundin lived in a brush shelter and survived by living off the land. Following the completion of his tertiary education in 1991, Cody started his teaching institute, the Aboriginal Living Skills School in Prescott, with nothing but $10 to his name.
Ultimately, the school became a success, eventually attracting hundreds of students, and even a couple of government institutes.
According to Cody’s personal web page, he’s trained numerous private, corporate and government agencies, as well as dozens of national and international media sources on wilderness survival, primitive living, bushcraft, and urban preparedness.
Some of his long list of impressive appearances in media include “History Channel”, “Dateline NBC” and “The Today Show”, among many more.
In 1999, Cody became the third person to appear on the cover of “Backpacker” magazine, which Cody view as a great honour. In due time, Lundin’s philosophies and survival skills grew in momentous renown, as he became one of the world’s leading experts on survival.
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In 2009, Cody was handpicked to star as one of the hosts of the Discovery Channel series “Dual Survival”, and remained a cast member until 2014. Unfortunately, due to a dispute about safety, Lundin left the show – according to several reports, the dispute was related to Cody’s habit of appearing barefoot and in shorts, which in some ways, became his personal trademark. but he’s continued to pursue his passion, and still teaches people about surviving in the wilderness.
In 2003, Cody published his first book, “98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive”, then in 2006 released a second book, “When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need To Survive When Disaster Strikes”.
Both books focus on Cody’s expertise in survival, and being prepared for surviving the worst possible scenarios – they’ve been translated into several languages, as well as being listed among Amazon’s top-ten bestsellers in the survival genre.
Aside from all this, Cody has consulted for the National Geographic Channel, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, British Broadcasting Corporation, the National Park Service, and numerous other organisations, about survival basics and primitive living skills.
Needless to say, Cody’s experience and knowledge of surviving the wilderness and disaster scenarios has earned him widespread fame, both in the US and abroad.
In addition to teaching at his private institute, Cody is also an assistant faculty member at Yavapai College, Prescott College, and Ecosa Institute, where he teaches survival and sustainability courses based on his field of expertise. According to his personal page, Cody’s teaching style incorporates strong, passionate intensity with a touch of humour.
What Is Cody Doing Today?
Following Cody’s departure from “Dual Survival”, he released a statement on Facebook that he’d been fired from the show due to disputes with the producers, but also claimed that his new co-host, Joseph Teti, made him feel endangered while filming.
According to Lundin, Teti threatened him on two occasions, once with an ice axe in Norway, saying he would bury Cody beneath the mountain, and the second incident happened in Hawaii, where Teti threatened him with a spear.
However, the producers of “Dual Survival” later released their own statement, in which they claimed that Cody left the show of his own accord, that he wasn’t fired from the set.
Of course, this angered Lundin, and in return, Cody criticised the producers for making false claims. According to Lundin, the producers insinuated that he quit the show because he could no longer keep up with the increasing difficulty of the survival scenarios. Naturally, Cody took this as an insult to his professionalism and eventually filed a defamation lawsuit against the producers.
Unfortunately, Cody’s case against “Dual Survival” couldn’t hold up in court, as the judgement ruled that Cody willingly participated in the show, and he couldn’t provide any sustainable proof of an act of defamation by the producers.
Ultimately, the court ruled in favour of Discovery Channel, and Cody lost his case. However, this wasn’t the only scandal to rock “Dual Survival”.
According to reports, two of the new hosts, namely Canterbury and Teti, lied about their qualifications, which resulted in their removal from the show. Both claimed that they’d served in the military, but background checks on both showed their claims to be false.
Teti was also forced to leave the show following a violent outburst, during which he allegedly killed a dog on set. According to reports, the dog chased a couple of kittens onto the set, and in trying to save the kittens, Teti hurt the doggy.
However, the reports are confused about the details of what happened, as one report claims that the dog died, while another suggests that the dog was only injured. Nonetheless, “Dual Survival” became short-lived as these scandals eventually led to the cancellation of the show.
Since his appearance in “Dual Survival”, Cody has continued his profession as a teacher, and currently still resides in Prescott. According to his personal page, Cody is living the life of a naturalist in his self-designed earth home.
New 2022 ALSS survival courses are here with early enrollment discounts! Enroll before November 23, 2021 and get 10% off course tuition. Check out courses on our website at https://t.co/6u9IQyXMZI. Hopefully we’ll train with you next year. Always stay safe and prepared! Cody pic.twitter.com/tjXHGQI55z
— Cody Lundin (@codylundinalss) November 1, 2021
His home is self-reliant, as Cody captures rainwater for his needs, and relies on solar energy to warm or cool his house, so spending no money on cooling and heating; he turns all his waste into organic compost used for living off the land.
While Cody might no longer be appearing on television or media, save for the odd consultation on YouTube videos and other media outlets, Lundin is happily living – some would say surviving – in the relative wilderness of Arizona.
He also continues to teach people in his field of expertise at both his private institute and the numerous other faculties of which he’s a member. Other than that, Lundin inspires change by encouraging people through motivational talks to pursue sustainable living, and ultimately seems content with the life he’s chosen.
