Dave faces Dual Survival debacle head-on in YouTube video

Dave Canterbury has finally addressed the public turmoil swirling around his disappearance from the popular Discovery Channel series Dual Survival.

Many people have speculated as to whether or not Dave lied on his resume, i.e. did he embellish his experience? Discovery Channel has never formally addressed the issue, which has done nothing but fuel the fires of online chats and message boards. And, many fans have angrily expressed their disappointment in the one-time reality star, others indicating hurt feelings and sadness over the situation—at least, the situation as it has been rumored to be to this point.

“I did,” Dave says honestly in a YouTube video posted on January 3, 2013, regarding whether or not he embellished some points on his resume. “I didn’t do it to hurt anyone,” he explains, “I didn’t do it to make things difficult for anyone in my family. I actually did it to, number one, better my family,” he says, “and, number two, to be able to bring the skills that I teach to a mass audience.”

Upon applying to be a part of the show and sending the resume to the Discovery Channel, Dave says that he thought it wasn’t a big deal. “There was nothing sinister in my plan,” he explains. “I was naïve to television, naïve to the entertainment industry, naïve to the way things work, and I just thought, ‘no harm, no foul.’”

Yes Harm, Yes Foul

Dave says emphatically that, yes, “Absolutely,” he regrets the embellishment. But, he goes on to add that he is not perfect—none of us are—and that he has “tried to live past it and live through it as best I can. In my school of thought, you don’t go backwards, you only go forward.”

In going forward, Dave has drawn heavily on his Christian beliefs to see him through the darker days. “I have asked forgiveness from God, from Jesus, I have asked forgiveness from my family, and now I’m asking forgiveness from my subscribers and from my friends.”

Dave Emphasizes Real-Life Experience

Fans are now wondering just how much actual outdoors/survivalist experience Dave actually has, but he indicates that he has been working in harsh, outdoors situations, on and off, since he left the military in 1988. “The reason I started the Pathfinder School to begin with was to help pass on some of the things that I have learned, and to learn along the way with the people on YouTube. That is why my motto has always been, ‘Let’s learn together,’” indicating that he learns from his YouTube subscribers every day.

It is clear that Dave is learning from his mistakes regarding the Dual Survival debacle, and is, hopefully, taking what he has learned with him as he goes forward and is putting it all into practice. Closing the video, he states, “I will strive every day for the rest of my life to be a better man, a better Christian.” Additionally, he thanks God and again apologizes for any wrongdoings he has done, and for any hurts he has caused along the way during this more-than-trying time.

Will Fans Forgive?

Many fans have been harsh, but others have been understanding of Dave's situation. Perhaps we should all ask ourselves at least one question: Who among us HASN’T embellished a resume at some point? If not for a formal work resume, shined ourselves up to make a better impression for some other important aspect of our lives? Perhaps, if we really think about his words, we will be better able to understand and maybe even forgive.

Just a thought.

Dual Survival airs on Tuesday nights on the Discovery Channel at 9/8c.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons