@Taji Graham So you’re telling me a polar bear’s life is most important and precious than a human’s life? Man I’m really sick of you sensitive animal lovers like really, the man just wanted to go on a trip to visit the landscape etc it’s not illegal to want to travel, but if you come up in a situation like that where you have to defend yourself it should be the number one priority.
Flare guns?? Oh, what it Must be like living in this world as a Liberal Democrat. NOT One with a firearm? How has humanity sank to this level of pure ignorance of Reality . . . that is rhetorical because I Know what the cause is and it's Not political, but to hear the ONLY words 'Matt' was repeating over and over when the bear walked away . . . . momentarily till it began to finish what it had started until the Trip Organizer came out with his . . . . flare gun 🤣 😂 🙄 just Seals the Case here for me and proves Matt Didn't learn the Most Important lesson he was called to . . . . GOD. But I guess that Never entered Matt's crushed skull and probably Still hasn't. BYE!!
@tehfuq izg0inon even though you need protection I feel like that’s a messed up thing to do. When you go into another animal’s natural habitat, you put yourself at the risks to die. I don’t feel like killing an animal in that habitat is a humane thing to do considering it’s a remote area, and it’s their natural habitat
If you got something out of today's episode, and you haven't done this already, the next time the like button wants to go on vacation, send him to the Torngats without a polar bear protection plan.
Flare guns?? Oh, what it Must be like living in this world as a Liberal Democrat. NOT One with a firearm? How has humanity sank to this level of pure ignorance of Reality . . . that is rhetorical because I Know what the cause is and it's Not political, but to hear the ONLY words 'Matt' was repeating over and over when the bear walked away . . . . momentarily till it began to finish what it had started until the Trip Organizer came out with his . . . . flare gun 🤣 😂 🙄 just Seals the Case here for me and proves Matt Didn't learn the Most Important lesson he was called to . . . . GOD. But I guess that Never entered Matt's crushed skull and probably Still hasn't. BYE!!
Odd and frustrating that the experienced campers didn't realize the importance of distance from water, even after the bears themselves warned them. God Bless Matt, and Rich and the doctor who saved him.
@Galaxy Animal I think it has to do with the fact that bears’ sense of smell is exponentially better than ours, so less spicy stuff is needed. People, although less physically imposing, can be more determined, especially if they’re amped up on drugs or having a psychotic episode.
@SSPspaz I guess that makes sense. A human could be more stubborn but physically weaker than a wild animal (so they might keep going if you hit them with something weak but aren't as dangerous up close).
@Galaxy Animal believe it or not, bear spray itself actually has less oleo capsicum (OC) than the pepper spray that LEOs use or that people buy for self defense. Bear spray is technically weaker, but it has a stronger stream with a much longer range.
@Colleen Duke He's considered a local hero in our city for helping folks here. Several years ago, he helped families who lost their homes due to a fire that destroyed many apartments, find their forever homes.
@Randi Mitchell Not surprised, what a remarkable man! As MrBallen said at the start of this story he took on legal cases to help low income folks. That alone makes him pretty damn special. He's never played the victim card, didn't 'blame' the bear, took ownership of the consequences of his decision to go there, even had the guts to go back & revisit the site. Respet from Canada - you Mainers are a tough breed:)
I’ve heard him talk about this experience before and it’s horrifying. Even scarier is while they were trying to stabilize him and wait on help, multiple other polar bears were stealing them throughout the night.
@Mary-Jane (really not Sarah) The after-sadness of it is that most of the population is so brainwashed by the campaign by McDonald's (their P.R. people and attorneys) that it is still believed it was nothing at all - twenty years later! People don't even understand a jury would not have awarded anything to her if it had been just a cup of coffee spilled, even a hot cup of coffee. The woman was horribly injured - eight days in the hospital and multiple skin grafts does not happen from a simple hot cup of liquid. However, the public relations campaign did not even mention she was hospitalized, multiple skin grafts, and two years of followup care. Of course, those responsible for working so hard to make her look foolish would have felt quite differently if their genitalia had been damaged needing skin grafts - considering most of those were men, you can imagine the outrage if it had been a male victim under the same circumstances. The mean part of me wishes it happened to whomever made the decision so smear the name of an elderly woman seriously injured by their refusal to fix something for which they had received hundreds of complaints. There real irony is she didn't even start a lawsuit until they refused to pay her medical expenses, offering only $500 for what she endured. They took a stand that left her no choice. Frankly, I am surprised they didn't tell her to have the auto insurance pay it! That is what the insurance company of the woman who drove into the side of my house told me initially, to have my car insurance pay it - seriously. And we wonder why people sometimes sue.
Wow, yeah that's amazing that he survived the bite on his head, a lot of the apex predators in our world have incredible jaw pressure that you just don't want anywhere near you. Idk how these people were affiliated w/ the Sierra Club, but they're an org that's been around forever, it's surprising to hear their name associated with such a gratuitous flub as to ignore safety warnings.
You are such a good and consistent story teller and it's very nice! It gives the feeling of sitting around the fire and sharing information with family like cavemen. You were even able to express the fear and quickness of the situation. These things happen so fast while adrenaline slows it down and this is the first time I've ever heard somone explain and pace something so well it comes through. Thank you for this! Super interesting
Wow the irony. I’m literally fishing on a shrimp trawler off of the Torngat mountains and looking at them right in front me. Followed you for a while now and to hear a story of a place that’s literally where I am is mindboggling! From Nova Scotia here!
By the way, the word you're looking for is 'coincidence' instead of 'irony' (in "Wow the irony.") I hope I don't come off as too pedantic. 😬 Editing a second "by the way": Happy new year!! 🥳🍾🥂
@Dennis Wagner The internet is so insane when you think about it. We’re talking right now but you’re in Nova Scotia in the ocean, and I’m sitting on my lounge in Sydney Australia on Christmas Day. Hope you have a good Christmas out there bro. Really appreciate your comment. ✌️
@Elijah Warnell lol now talk about a coincidence. I’ll see you there. I have to take a trip off for a doctors appointment so I’m sailing on the Maude, which I’m assuming you are as well?
“… went back, but this time he was accompanied by an armed polar bear expert” Yeeeah, I think Matt went back there for revenge. Wanted to use that polar bear as his new rug. 😂😂😂
@Briattny Brittany It's a bear. It's an animal. It doesn't have the faculties to differentiate what's "right or wrong". Obviously it's not its fault. For something to be your fault, you have to have morals and the ability to have consequence-based thinking. It's a freaking bear, obviously it can't be it's "fault".
I was listening to some of his old videos around 9 pm before going to bed, then next thing I know its 3 am and I didnt feel tired at all because of how excited/intrested I was because of his story telling
It mentioned that the trip leaders prepared a big feast for the group. In any area where there are bears present it’s not a good idea to cook, eat or store food at your campsite where you sleep. A polar bear has the most powerful sense of smell of all bears and can smell your camp up to 20km away. I’m just glad Matt survived to tell the tale. 🙏
Love your videos! ☺️ But i must say, as a finnish person myself, that was some next level epic finnish 😂 have not laughed this hard as I did today! Thank you for making my day a happy day! ❤️
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I loved this one. I am 1/3 Skolt Sami through my father. We didn't know until we did ancestry DNA. My father passed away this year from thyroid cancer, but I intend on doing a trip to meet our distant family in Northern Finland. Thanks again for being an inspiration. You have the best add segments.
@etjetjtej We used Ancestry. They didn't used to have the markers, but when my father first took it he got three from Finland. Western Finland, Eastern Finland, and the Northern Sami. You sound like you are more knowledgeable than I as far as research goes, but this is what they told us. They updated it again not long ago, so it may be even more accurate now.
i thought sami wasn't something they can test for? what dna test did you do?? they give different results depending what one. I was told ny finnish last name is common for sami by a customer that had the same last name. it was kinda odd because its so rare to meet another finnish person nevermind one with my last name. its not a common one.
@The Excel Project Thanks for asking. No, probably would have taken some pretty risky surgery. It hasn't bothered me for several years, now that I'm retired.
I'm canadian, an avid outdoorsman, I try to have as much extensive time in remote wilderness when I can, and I always have a rifle on me. The fact that not even the leaders were equipped with protection other than a flare gun; is incompetent in such a rugged environment.. I know guns aren't allowed in national parks, but I feel like the torngats are an exception..
I imagine the polar bear walking right through the electrical fence, getting shocked before laughing, "Oh, thanks, I had an itch there" 😳 The fact Matt survived a polar bear attack is absolutely insane
@Michael Moorrees Ow at the drive thru I bark growl snarl shout scream bang my head on the steering wheel dribble swear and cry when ordering my portion off small fries...
I know this is off topic, but I love Mr Ballen strange, dark, and mysterious stories. The problem is I hate our people just ripping off his stories, to include his own setup as if it was him. If you want other people to see his videos just share his site. I had to just put this out there.
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i’ve always been a story teller, and i really enjoyed how you told and delivered these stories, i always tell my ex a story before bed, and she always seems so excited when i do these kind of stories, i took from your stories also and delvered just like you also, and she always loved it, sometimes i use games and movies as stories, and from your video obv, and she always ask “where you get this kind of stories from?” and i said, “i made it up”. it’s always funny to see how she react about the plot twist and many other things in the story, after i break up, i never watch your video again because it’s always remind me of her, how i always told your story to her before we go to bed, but i realise and forgave myself to let her go completely, and finally i did it, thank you for making these beautiful memory, i’m not sad that it’s over, im glad and grateful that it’s happen, wish you the best mr ballen, thankyou for your amazing story telling video, you don’t know how many ppl that you help through your videos.
I swear you tell the best stories and I have no idea how you get through the funny parts of your video’s without falling out of your chair laughing, it’s like the best part of my day no matter my mood 😂😂😂
I recently read Matt's story after curiously Googling for survivors of polar-bear attacks, _bearing_ in mind the old adage: "If it's black, fight back, if it's brown, lie down, if it's white, goodnight" (or "don't fight.") His story exemplifies a LOT, but I like that it's an uplifting reminder of how unexpectedly tough humans are as animals. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Ballen treaded the nuances of this story beautifully, though I suspect that's where his a competitive advantage of being a former SEAL comes into play. This was a great upload.
apparently after Matt and the doctor were taken out in a helicopter the rest of the group had to wait 12 more hours for a boat to pick them up and they counted 16 polar bears watching them. They stated they felt like they were being hunted. They also were down to 3 flares, not enough to run off another bear if needed. What an experience that must have been, I wonder how many suffered PTSD. Just to update the facts, apparently the helicopter crew had an armed bear guard with them but I can't make out if they left him there while the rest of them waited. It is not clear to me but with 16 bears hunting them, one gun , while way better than 3 flares is still dicey. I have been so taken with this story that I can't stop .....
WoW!! That was terrifying to watch! I cannot even imagine going through this situation. I find it fascinating how when the body is being attacked by something horrific, it goes into shock and therefore doesn't feel pain. I believe that is by God's design because seriously who could even think while going thru that much pain!?!? Great story and great ending I am so happy he survived!!
You did a pretty good job with this Mr. Ballen. You’re a good story teller. Here’s some clarification for the haters. Yes, we put way too much faith in the bear fence. We should have moved the camp sight. None of us had experience with polar bears. Firearms are not allowed in the park unless you are indigenous. It’s a deal Canada and the tribes made when the park was established. Even if we could have brought guns, none of us had any interest in killing anything up there. I hope our ordeal winds up saving other hikers who might have made the same mistakes we did.
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If I have learned anything from these kinds of stories it's to stay away from places such as these. I'm not a hunting, fishing, camping kind of person. It's too scary and I don't like doing it. I like to keep things simple and safe. That man was very lucky. I can't imagine how painful it was for him to go through that. Imagine the pain of being eaten alive. Horrible. You're an awesome storytelling man.
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Thank you Mr Ballen! Always deliver great stories. I want to know how many flannels he has in his collection . I bet it’s over 500 from over how many videos I’ve watched!
I'm SO happy John still does some stories in front of the camera. Whilst the podcasts are still great, I do miss watching the storyteller. Thanks for these!
I love these videos too, getting to see real photos of places and items from the stories really adds to it, but doesn't hurt if I'm too tired to open my eyes and look lol
I agree 🙂 whenever I’m listening to podcasts I end up having to keep going back to listen because my mind wanders but when I’m watching these particular story time videos it’s easier for me to lose myself in the story because I’m able to focus on the body language which definitely enhances the experience 🙃
OMG!! I thought his name sounded familiar!! I have ond of the Dyers as a customer of mine here in Maine! Wow!! I never knew this!! Thank you for sharing. Also, shredded wheat biscuits bring back the best memories for me!! We lived on a dairy farm and so grandma made fresh butter and we had fresh raw milk. On cold winter mornings, while waiting for the fire in the cook stove to heat up the house, grandma would boil some water and pour the hot water over shredded wheat biscuits that had sugar and homemade butter on top of them! She would then add a little of the fresh raw milk to cool it down just a little and man was that the best breakfast in the world!! Warmed us right up and tasted so good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I still do that occasionally but somehow it just doesn't taste the same. I guess it is missing grandma's love from the recipe now. Thanks for sharing. God bless.
Finally a Strange, Dark, and Mysterious one. Been a lot of murder ones recently. Really missing the ones about people going places they shouldnt, or disappearing and then being found where they shouldn’t be. Those kinds of stories are truly what makes MrBallen the best. Wanting more like them.
For real man,I LOVED those kinds of unsolved mystery videos ,or at least solved mystery videos that did not involve a crime. Really wish he continued these types of videos
It’s probably an insane amount of research being done for each of these stories. I’m sure that includes stories he might’ve thought weren’t strange, dark or mysterious enough. I’m glad he’s taking the time to try and bring us all the videos we like. Many thanks, Mr. Ballen.
His stories are awesome but I SWEAR I watch to see if he laughs in his intros and sponsor sections. He has the most contagious laugh and mannerisms. I love it. You just can’t help but giggle. Or at the least, smile.
How a group can go hiking through polar bear country and not have a few high caliber rifles on hand seems completely nuts. I really do feel like our lives have been so sheltered that we do not appreciate how utterly ruthless nature can be.
He’s really dang lucky to have survived! It kinda blows my mind that the group set camp and STAYED there after having seen several polar bears (not to mention the warnings beforehand) - I mean, polar bears are known to actively hunt man. I’m glad he made it out alive!
ive been on Sierra Club sponsored events & they were well organized & responsible....i had a good time on both events.....this sounds to be downright irresponsible .... changes in overnight camping protocol must be made to insure a repeat of this near fatal event never happens again....without guns & bear spray i would not have gone into a remote park even for just a day hike....
I swear John is one of the only people I know of that can go from an eloquent, artistically intense master story teller to complete idiot in a split second. These commercials are so bizarre, offensive and hilarious. I almost love them as much as the stories.
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I 100% believe this story because it happened to someone i know as well in a small town in Nunavut Canada, and the only reason he survived the attack was because someone had an ax with them and they hacked at the bear and scared it away. The man that was severely injured came up to my trailer and we called in the helicopter medics. A terrifying experience but thankfully he lived to tell the tale!
7:34 Normally when you start with your commercials I always fast forward, that's because I PAY not to see commercials. Now, this was a special commercial by far, so I had to go and buy the product. It really was amazing. Mr. Ballen, I love the frog shielding you from everything going wrong, I think Amanda is going to appreciate this one too! Congratulations on being married for 15 years. I'm not that far behind you my husband and I are working on our 14th year of marriage, and I am very happy * Gákti Is a piece of traditional clothing worn by the Sámi in Northern areas of Finland. You speak Finnish so well. That is why I had to go and buy this product 😀 the best commercial you have done yet. I hope you have many more to come. I will not be going to fast-forward your commercials anymore if you get it, even better. Not sure if you could beat this one. You made me laugh so hard. I have been going through a rough patch. This was my Christmas Gift 🎁 to me. Merry Christmas Luggy (hope I spelled his name right. He not only saved OUR ONE AND ONLY TOP STORY TELLER .... he saved a 15-year marriage... I know Amanda is just as GRATEFUL!
This whole thing was so preventable! The egos of the guides are unreal! Great story per usual MRBALLEN. I miss the days of 3, 4 or even 5 uploads per week 😢
@cassi miano yes true but he's probably got a solid team of badass employees and brainstormers and researchers editors etc to take a great deal of workload off his back. I still agree though I kind of miss the good old days of the SD&M.
Yeah I'm only half way through the video but if you're going into territory with apex predators like bear/tiger/lions/cougars/hippos etc without a firearm you're asking to die.
@roadArt you must not have heard, he's only ramping up the content. But its happening thru Amazon prime only so you have to pay to play now. Only 1 TY vid a week going forward:(
freaked me out alittle when you spoke finnish, had to rewatch it lol, Im finnish Canadian and grew up with old finnish, its a bit different because its the same as my great grandfather would have spoken, In Canada we have alot of languages and many ppl past them dwn to their kids.
THIS!!!!! THIS IS WHY YOU ARE "THE GOAT" OF STORY TELLING. Wow. I could see everything, every detail in my head. I was in my head wishing that polar bear away probably as hard as Matt did while it was happening to him. Please, please, please tell more stories like this. This is why we fell in love with you way before the other podcasts and Amazon deal. I understand you're getting bigger and more popular. But please stay true to you MRBALLEN.
This is literally the only channel that i don't skip sponsored content on. He makes it entertaining and his sponsors are happy because I'm sure he says way more than they want him to say Edit: love you too bro, thank you for doing what you do 🤙🏼
@santtu nen it's not Leggy. It's Lungie, aka good ol Seagull Lung! It's ok, you're probably just new here in which case I say Welcome. Stay awhile. You'll love it here! 😊
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13:50 - Na the only thing going through Matt's head were polar bear teeth, also these professional "outdoorspersons" went to one of thee most inhospitable places on the planet where they know full well what wildlife is there and nobody brought bear spray or a gun. Sounds like they all wanted to get eaten to me.
Oh man, that huge single biscuit shredded wheat cereal takes me back! Grandmother would either give us that, or sometimes we lucked out and got broken up graham crackers in milk. 😋
yeah and he gives us a 10 min videos lmao and 15 or 20. dude used to make 40 mmin vid now u have to pay for"good content"like that he bellow average nowadays smh was my fav now my least fav u tubers ong, and i luv u tube
HOLD UP So you're telling me... that 8 people - one of whom was a lawyer and another who was a dr, and all of which were avid hikers - didn't have the combined IQ to not set up camp in a PLOAR BEAR HIGHWAY without a gun????
I, and I'm sure others have all been wondering how Lungy has been faring. It's nice to see that he is still the hero we need, if not the hero we deserve. His selfless acts of bravery enables John to keep us enthralled with the strange, dark, and mysterious delivered in story format.
They went that far up north without an actual gun. Crazy. I am from northern Canada and assure you people don't go camping in polar bear territory unarmed.
I’m glad he’s alive, but honestly I don’t understand how people could go to a wild environment to the backyard of predators and not be armed to the teeth! I don’t understand what was the peoples mind sometimes, I’m happy he’s well and alive though 🙏
This was one of your greatest story telling events I have yet heard! I quickly realized the story was nearly over with and I had felt transported to that area in my mind and could see and feel many of the things that were happening to people in the story! I am so glad he survived but it needs to be said that when you go off into the Wild with someone else you are putting your very life in their hands! It isn’t like you can opt out if you don’t like the conditions or safety protocol when you get there! Please dig deep into any trip you want to go on and who is taking you what your options are once you get there and what safety precautions are in place! Remember at the end I f the day they want your money and aren’t insuring your survival!
Well, to be clear like everyone knows that bears are in these parts of the world and the risk of running into them is always there. Nobody plans on it ever happening to them though. Polar bears are among the most vicious and aggressive of all bears though, honestly forget the flare gun I would've taken a shotgun or something. Make sure each person or group of people has at least one at all times, there is no negotiating with predators like that. It's frankly a miracle that the dude had the sense to grab the flare gun when he did and it's also a miracle that the bear decided to back off, too.
I`m quite sure that there was/is a recent(within the last 5 yrs) true story of a fisherman from MASS that was actually swallowed by a whale(can`t remember the type)for approximately 10 mins. or so and somehow was spit out or escaped and survived the damn thing....I believe I heard this on the Howie Carr Show,out of Boston and was also discussed by a local radio news channel....Anyway,hope you check it out.....Greetings from the cloudy 19 degree coast of Maine.........Steve M.,Brooklin,ME
FINALLY we get a story like the old days!! Super happy for your success John but we need more stories like this! Or more of the scary kind you used to share!
I'm From Newfounldand and Labrador we have alot of crazy storys and ghost storys here & crazy beautiful scenery, I love how I recognize the names posted for photo credits!
Ballen talks about how Matt said he didn't feel much physical or emotional pain when caught by the polar bear because of the shock. I heard a Deep Green philosopher, Derrick Jensen, tell a story of how he was driving along a mountain road when rocks fell on the car infront of him. He got out of his car and ran over and could hear a person inside the wreckage calling for help saying that they couldn't feel their legs and was trying to help the person out of the wreck but then Derrick realised it was actually him inside the wreckage saying these things and when his car was hit his mind made up the whole thing. Derrick said how he imagines it's often similar experience when a deer is caught by a lion and so on. I believe Derrick was relaying this story in response to those who say 'Nature is brutal' etc downplaying things such as industrial farming of livestock or destruction of environments or such kind of pro-industrial civilisation arguments.