We do know our first responsibilities are to be dads and husbands and to return home. As crazy as it looks out there, we could actually go a lot crazier and a lot bigger and drop bigger cliffs and run farther, but we are thinking about our families at the end of the day. – Matt Galland
Matt Galland of Provo is perched on the side of an icy mountain.
“Every step you take, you’ve got to ask yourself, ‘Is this one I can bank my whole family on?’” he says to the camera in Animal Planet’s new series “100 Miles From Nowhere.”
Galland and two of his friends, Danny Bryson, also from Provo, and Blake Josephson of Orem, are the adventurous subjects of a new eight-episode series in their backyard. They run 100 miles through “every high peak from Provo to Salt Lake City” and film the voyage themselves.
"100 Miles from Nowhere" premieres Sunday, April 5, on Animal Planet.
The three, each married with children, describe themselves as “family guys.” They have 11 children between them.
Galland said they are constantly considering their families as they make every move, leap and jump. It's the reason they have been “relatively safe and had relatively little injury,” he said.
“This show isn’t about how dangerous we can be,” Galland said. “What this show is about is our friendship, obviously, and what to do in these kinds of circumstances, but it’s also about showing people Mother Nature and getting them to adventure.”
Just the nature of the show — going 100 miles into the untouched wild — is dangerous, Galland said. But the three friends were up for the adventures because they have been having them their entire lives.
“We do know our first responsibilities are to be dads and husbands and to return home,” Galland said. “As crazy as it looks out there, we could actually go a lot crazier and a lot bigger and drop bigger cliffs and run farther, but we are thinking about our families at the end of the day.”
Galland said they wanted to send a message with the show: “Hey, don’t go be dangerous. Go take your families out. Get out and have an adventure and see Mother Nature.”
While their children aren’t on the 100-mile journeys with them, they often spend time with them outdoors.
Josephson said his four children love adventuring, and they all have indoor climbing passes they use in the winter. They rock climb outside and boat during the warmer months.
“One of the most exciting things is when we’re done filming, I take a couple of them on miniadventures,” Josephson said. “I love raising my kids in this lifestyle.”
Galland said he has shared his passion for the outdoors and for filming. His children love to film and “do what Dad does.”
“Life with kids is about getting the whole family out together and going on little hikes,” he said.
For families looking to be more active, Josephson said, simply walking around the neighborhood is a great way to start.
“To get your kids on some scooters and a couple bikes and go hit the local bike path is an awesome way to start,” he said. “Go get out of your house and go see what there is to see.”
Galland agreed, saying “every picture on Instagram is yours for the taking” by being daring and not being afraid to start walking.
“Every cool place I go, you’ll see me run out my back door and you’ll see me run through the neighborhood,” Galland said.
Galland shared some important steps to take before undertaking any adventure:
- Bring the proper supplies — water, lots of food and proper clothing.
Always bring some way to make contact with other people, such as a cellphone or a spot beacon.
Take someone with you, and make sure someone knows where you’re going.
Never go beyond your comfort zone: “Go at your own skill level, and the more you go out, naturally you’ll go further.”
All three said their wives were supportive of their need to go on adventures.
For Josephson, a lot of his happiness depends on going outside, so he balances it with spending time with his family by making time for the outdoors when his children are in school.
Galland said his wife loves how excited he is when he comes home, which makes it “really easy to be a good husband when you come home.”
“We definitely see our wives as the heroes,” Galland said. “They’re tougher than us — we know it. They’re the best part of us, and really, we’re all super grateful when we’re out on the mountain that our wives actually let us go out because we’re probably not deserving of it. We love the support we get, and they can see how happy it makes us.”
Bryson said his love of the outdoors is what stood out to his wife in the first place, so “she knew what she was getting into.”
“She probably didn’t know that she was going to get into a TV show with me being gone a week out of every month, but she definitely supports what I do, and that’s one of things that drew me to her,” he said.
Because family is so important to them, Galland said, the hardest part of doing “100 Miles From Nowhere” was being away from them. So he “soaks up his family as much he can” and has all of his children sleep in his bed when he gets home from the trips.
“It’s a whole new experience, not only the TV show and doing 100-milers all the time, but being away from our family that long is actually quite taxing,” he said.
Galland said he and Bryson have been “good friends most of our lives” and grew up together in Provo. Galland started a YouTube channel about five years ago called “Matt in the Wild,” where he shared his outdoor adventures by carrying a camera on his treks.
After earning nearly a million views, Galland was approached about making a show and thought Josephson, who had gone with him on a run up Mt. Timpanogos, would be a good addition to the show.
Email: vromney@deseretnews.com
Twitter: GinnyRomney