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the ‘story’ forward. All of our content at this point has
turned into these episodic bits of narrative...Some of the
bigger episodes, like elephants or lions, have more nar-
rative that runs through them.”
The four-person field team (including a location
specialist) is responsible for bringing content back to
the home team. Delivering “the goods” is a daunting
task for four people, but Coyote emphasized every-
thing on their channel is the real deal, “There are no
scripts in the field. Everything is improv. We don’t...
even [have] a shot list. Everything happens spur of
the moment, and everything I say on camera are
memorized facts that my wildlife biologist Mario and
I have researched in pre-production.
“There are rumors that some wildlife shows ‘can’
their animals...Literally taking captive animals and
placing them in the environment. We do none of
that. Everything we do on camera is 100% genuine.
When we get into post, I’m able to sculpt those stories
to really be accurate to what we capture in the field,
but also giving it that little extra cinematic pizzazz.”
When asked about his wildest animal encounter,
Coyote explained each location has its own unique
story, but a recent trip to South Africa saw them run
across a rogue band of elephant males, “It’s not often
you see a group of males traveling together and we
[found] ourselves right in the middle of this encoun-
ter where they sized up against us. Literally feet from
our open-topped vehicle.
“They could have crushed [it], but they ended up
getting in a battle between themselves! We foundourselves right in the middle of
this epic battle; we’re talking miles
and miles away from civilization.
If anything had gone wrong, that’s
endgame right there ... To have
captured it all on camera, compose
that story in post-production and
have it released to the audience
was pretty exciting.”ADVICE FOR OTHERS
Garnering such a following and
growing the brand to the point
where mainstream media (like the
talk show host Conan) takes notice
is the dream of many YouTubers.
As such, I asked Coyote if he had
any words of advice to offer up.
He explained there are three
components he uses to move Brave
Wilderness forward. Before get-
ting to those, however, he empha-
sized one crucial aspect, “You have
to have a good idea...An idea that
somebody else hasn’t done, and
[something] you are extremely pas-
sionate about because it’s going to
become your life...If you’re going to
turn this into your career, you have
to really stick with it...Imagine
yourself doing it on a weekly basis,
52 weeks a year, for year after year.
It’s not an easy thing.
“The three most important
things are: Consistency, quantity
and quality. Those three things
combine together to make you a
really successful YouTube channel.
What I think most people don’t
realize is that uploading a couple
videos on YouTube isn’t going to
turn your [channel] into a success-
ful enterprise.
“Every style of production has its
challenges; whether you’re vloggerCOYOTE PETERSON
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ourselves right in the middle of
this epic battle; we’re talking miles
and miles away from civilization.
If anything had gone wrong, that’s
endgame right there ... To have
captured it all on camera, compose
that story in post-production and
have it released to the audience
was pretty exciting.”ADVICE FOR OTHERS
Garnering such a following and
growing the brand to the point
where mainstream media (like the
talk show host Conan) takes notice
is the dream of many YouTubers.
As such, I asked Coyote if he had
any words of advice to offer up.
He explained there are three
components he uses to move Brave
Wilderness forward. Before get-
ting to those, however, he empha-
sized one crucial aspect, “You have
to have a good idea...An idea that
somebody else hasn’t done, and
[something] you are extremely pas-
sionate about because it’s going to
become your life...If you’re going to
turn this into your career, you have
to really stick with it...Imagine
yourself doing it on a weekly basis,
52 weeks a year, for year after year.
It’s not an easy thing.
“The three most important
things are: Consistency, quantity
and quality. Those three things
combine together to make you a
really successful YouTube channel.
What I think most people don’t
realize is that uploading a couple
videos on YouTube isn’t going to
turn your [channel] into a success-
ful enterprise.
“Every style of production has its
challenges; whether you’re vloggeror creating the episodic content
we’re creating. The toughest thing
has been keeping consistency...
Releasing at least two pieces of
content a week, every week no
matter what. Doesn’t matter if
we’re sick, tired or just feel like
skipping a week.”MAKING AN IMPACT AND
LOOKING AHEAD
Most may have heard about Brave
Wilderness through the channel’s
“extreme” videos where Coyote
subjects himself to painful bites
and stings from various species,
which he admits are great for
bringing in new viewers. Even
with those videos, however, the
goal of the channel remains the
same: education.
“The educational standpoint of
our content is first and foremost.
That was heavily pre-meditated
before we started our channel...
It’s about the education, it’s about
conservation, but in the YouTube
space, how do you make that
engaging and grip your audience?
Some of the more dangerous
things that I’ve done — the bites,
the stings — we realized was a
great way to bring education to
people in a very unique form.
“Even those intense moments
of my getting stung and being in
pain are still laced with a take-
away, that is [the audience] knows
something about tarantula hawks,
or bullet ants, snapping turtles...
Or even what to do in a worst case
scenario if you are stung.”
While he’s done plenty of fun
things in the last four years, Coyotetold me the educational aspect is
still his favorite part of the experi-
ence, “The ultimate reward is get-
ting an episode...on YouTube and
seeing the audiences’ reaction...
Recognizing that we are providing
the world with a fast-paced and fun
piece of educational, and some-
times conservation-based, content.”
Brave Wilderness now encom-
passes multiple shows, merchan-
dise and books, Coyote’s second
book launched this Holiday season
detailing his “King of Sting” en-
counters, and a third book is on
the way in September 2019. Even
with all this going on, Coyote and
his team aren’t slowing down.
They’re currently working with
Universal Pictures on Jurassic
World Explorers to craft digital
content for fans — a partnership
that will continue through the re-
lease of Jurassic World 3 — but the
most recent announcement may
be the most exciting:
“We will be producing the tent-
pole series for Animal Planet in- I’m now getting the chance
to have that coveted role within
Discovery Communications that
Steve Irwin once had...the chance
to have a show that will make
myself and my team...the face of
Animal Planet.”
Being able to take their brand
onto a traditional network space
is something Coyote was clearly
excited about for the team.
He was quick to point out that
YouTube subscribers shouldn’t
worry, “We’re not leaving YouTube
behind by any means. It’s just a
matter of now producing content
that fits in two verticals; digital
and linear television.”
It’ll be a tough balance, but
Brave Wilderness is always ready
for a challenge. Coyote’s love
of animals and enthusiasm is
infectious. It’s no surprise he’s
been able to capture the inter-
est of a new generation with his
educational wildlife content.
That passion is something other
YouTubers should take into ac-
count when deciding to make
their own channel.Jordan Maison is a video editor and VFX
artist who’s been working in the industry
for a number of years. He’s done web fea-
turettes for Disney and edits/writes content
for video game and movie websites.COYOTE PETERSON
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