teimojin_tan:
Sounds good.

dave_morrow:
You’re a pro at this anyways, so we’ll roll right into it.

teimojin_tan:
Yeah, let’s do it.

dave_morrow:
And three, yeah, three, two, one. All right, buddy, team engine, this is round two on the Hard to Kill podcast. Welcome back. I had to have you back on because you got some serious updates. I saw you on TV. So

teimojin_tan:
No, it’s crazy.

dave_morrow:
spoiler alert, spoiler alert. The cool thing about what you’re doing is that, well, I’ve seen it pretty much since the start on socials like world famous and kicking ass taking names and you’ve got a whole bunch of stuff on the go so for those that didn’t listen to the first episode uh which was man it’s like two years ago it’s crazy let’s uh let’s start with uh who you are and then we’ll get into the cool stuff you’re doing

teimojin_tan:
Yeah, so my name is Timijin Tan. I was a corporal in the same army regiment as Dave over here. And he

dave_morrow:
Sergeant

teimojin_tan:
was actually,

dave_morrow:
more is still Sergeant Morrow.

teimojin_tan:
it was

dave_morrow:
Still

teimojin_tan:
still

dave_morrow:
Sergeant

teimojin_tan:
sergeant

dave_morrow:
Morrow.

teimojin_tan:
before you commissioned. So it was a long time ago and you were one of the first people to train me. So I think it was actually my basic infantry course that you were training me on.

dave_morrow:
Yeah.

teimojin_tan:
So long time ago. And

dave_morrow:
Mm-hmm.

teimojin_tan:
between my training in the military and what I’m doing now, to both survival aspects of things and also helping things. I found every time I was in that two IC or IC position, I was more geared towards helping people adjust, helping people with minor illnesses and stuff like that. So I really geared towards the medical side of things and then kind of dove into that soon after I decided to out clear. Got my physician’s degree in Michigan and then really was scratching my head on how I could combine those two, that big love for the outdoors and survival and helping people. And what I’ve come across is how can people best help themselves in emergencies with limited resources. And that’s kind of the niche that I’ve carved out for myself. I want people to not only help themselves on operations, but also in everyday life. We see it on the news, we see it in accidents, and unfortunately we see it that the people who are close to us. the people I want to help the most. So with Survival Doctors, that’s the business I run right now. It’s all about training in survival and training your medical skills. So not only could you save a life, but you can also survive extended amount of times. And if you don’t know the show that I was on, it’s on the History Channel. It’s called Alone. I’m on season nine. And the whole premise is you take basic items, so 10 basic items, and you survive as long as possible. And you basically compete and you’re self-filming. You’re trying to and all that and you still have to set up that stupid shot to make sure everything’s caught on camera and if you mess up like that’s just calories spent.

dave_morrow:
All right, let’s dig into that, man. The show is cool. I’ve been watching it pretty regularly since it was a thing. I think it’s what, it’s a few years in. I can’t remember exactly how many years, your season, what was it? Three, that one that just went by.

teimojin_tan:
So it’s season 9 so a lot of seasons

dave_morrow:
Oh,

teimojin_tan:
have

dave_morrow:
season

teimojin_tan:
passed.

dave_morrow:
nine, man.

teimojin_tan:
Yeah

dave_morrow:
I’m so, I’m so, I’m so far behind. I’ve been in the dad bubble for six years. Okay, so that makes sense. So season nine. So that was the one that just passed. Now, how do you end up on a show like that?

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
Because there must be some sort of rigorous application process. Cause they don’t want just some ding dong showing up being

teimojin_tan:
Thank

dave_morrow:
like,

teimojin_tan:
you.

dave_morrow:
yeah, I’m a survivalist. I know, and then they show up and then day one

teimojin_tan:
Yeah.

dave_morrow:
they’ve got frostbite and they’re freaking shivering to death in the middle

teimojin_tan:
you

dave_morrow:
of like the frozen tundra Labrador. So take us on like the journey. Like, how did you get from you know, what you’re doing? Like you’re a medical doctor doing medical doctor stuff. You have your survival company and then now you’re on a Yeah, internationally acclaimed TV show that is putting you out in the middle of nowhere. And haven’t you survived? So how do you even get on that?

teimojin_tan:
Yeah, so it was a combination of a few things, and I think things just lined up for me where I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do in life, trying to reconcile my passions for outdoor survival and medicine. It was at a time where I felt incredibly lost, to be honest. I was in my first, going on to second year of medical school, completely burnt out, 100 hours a week. So not much more than what we would do

dave_morrow:
Oh.

teimojin_tan:
in the army, but you are in a role where you can be responsible for either someone’s good outcome or someone’s big fuck up or someone actually gets hurt or dies. So in all of that, I think the hardest part for me, and I remember this in my transition to my fourth year of medical school, I remember And at that time, I was so, so engulfed in what I was doing, that I just let go of all my relationships. You just got to be a doctor. You spent so much money. You got to do that. And you got to put on a smile and basically get recognized by everyone around you. That kind of spun into the ending of what I thought was a good relationship. And that spiraled into me myself, you don’t deserve a place to stay. You don’t deserve a roof over your head. So I ended up losing my home. I ended up losing like a bunch of stuff and I ended up not being financially stable enough to have a home myself. So I was living in Windsor and commuting to Detroit prior to that when I had that house. So when all that was gone, I was like, took my old army rock, shoved it into my, my old van. And I was like, you know what, like I’m just gonna live out of my band and I have a shift tomorrow. So like, I can’t think about anything else. I just gotta show up at five and do what I need to do. So it was actually that year that gave me a lot of insight into who I am as a person, what I deserve and where I wanna go with things. You know, so it took me a year to realize that I’m worth something, you know. After eating plant fitness like pizzas on Fridays and like scavenging and like hoarding shit like a homeless person for almost a year and still getting the job that I wanted, the job that I thought was kind of a reach for me for my residency training. That was like the first moment. It’s like, okay, now you can, you can like have an apartment. Now you can like start eating properly. And I think that was the first big wall for me. And the second one, and that’s where I started to get noticed by other organizations outside of just the medical field is okay, like I get this job, I’m getting my training, I’m getting paid now, which is phenomenal. But I can’t find a mentor that is absolutely happy with their life I have everyone around me is miserable and recommending for their own kin You should not be a doctor or you should second-guess

dave_morrow:
Hmm.

teimojin_tan:
that because if you’re not sure this is not a great gig whether that’s financial whether that’s like sacrificing relationships or so forth and to spend almost like 400 grand us in training and time and sacrifice and in dead relationships I was like shit like that’s that’s such a dead end And I was working these long shifts and I remember Driving down after like a 36 hour shift and just blacking out So you think you’re you’re good to go your windows are down. You’re drinking your coffee You’re listening to a podcast and lights are out because your brains like you’ve worked too much like let’s turn off And I ended up driving into like almost a median scraping the shit out of my my car And that wasn’t the scariest part The scariest wake-up call for me is when I came back home I was so tired I couldn’t even make it to the bed. I just like kind of sat down on the floor, collapsed, and when I woke up I was like, okay, I almost died, but that was my biggest concern. Is my car able to drive me to my next shift? Like that was my biggest thought, and it took me a few days to kind of realize that is not okay, you know? And

dave_morrow:
Hmm.

teimojin_tan:
to realize that some doctors are working like this, I was like, that is not okay either. So when I started to niche down and be like, we need to find an out, we need to find somewhere to wrap my business around a passion that’s deeper than just helping people. And that’s where I started to look into the medicine side of survival. Do people know how to improvise tourniquet properly? Are they giving good advice about water purification and all these things? And after looking at a lot of so-called experts out there and talking to a lot of people, the answer is no. There’s a lot of outdated information out there. information out there. And after posting some good stuff, some like this is what we do in actual rescue and search and rescue stuff, and out of hospital medicine, I got to get noticed by History Channel, another networks, another few networks that I can’t mention at this time. And because of that, I got on the radar from the alone people. And sneaky me, I was like, okay, like, it would be so and he was like a big influence when I was first learning survival in bushcraft I was like it would be so cool to be on a show like that to truly test yourself, you know and

dave_morrow:
Mm-hmm.

teimojin_tan:
and I was very fortunate to catch the eye of some past contestants to interview them some champions and to To spark the attention of not only them but the casting directors who casted them because they’re like, what’s this? Doctor doing interviewing our champions, you know And

dave_morrow:
Right.

teimojin_tan:
I got a phone call And that

dave_morrow:
Mm-hmm.

teimojin_tan:
was the first step to an even better journey. Cause at that time I was like, okay, I like survival. I like medicine. Can I make this something? And I had no idea. I just dove in, tried to learn how to make a business happen and how to be on social media. And it slowly grew.

dave_morrow:
Yeah, dude, I didn’t know that story about living in your van. That’s incredible. That’s, um, yeah, that’s something. And to put that in context of, you know, being a doctor, like you’re literally, like you said, working in life and death situations in your whole support structure is gone, like you’re just

teimojin_tan:
and I’ll see you next time. Bye.

dave_morrow:
going in, doing the work, but almost seems like you’re a drone, like you’re just

teimojin_tan:
Yeah.

dave_morrow:
working on autopilot. And isn’t it, was it something like the, there’s a term for medical mistakes that cause death. I heard on Peter Atiya’s podcast, and it’s way up there. It’s way up there with leading causes of death in the hospital, which was like, oh crap. I’m like, man, that’s wild. And a lot of it’s attributed to poor sleep

teimojin_tan:
Yep.

dave_morrow:
and just not being able to fully rationalize And the fact that you came home and you’ve been tired, like I’ve seen you exhausted

teimojin_tan:
Yeah.

dave_morrow:
on exercise, but to

teimojin_tan:
Absolutely.

dave_morrow:
think that you would have to, I mean, I wouldn’t have as a leader ask you to do any kind of medical procedure on any of the troops at that

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
state, because I know that it’s not going to go well because you’re

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
exhausted, I wouldn’t expect that. But in your profession, that’s an expectation. And

teimojin_tan:
Absolutely.

dave_morrow:
that’s pretty wild. the good that came out of it was, you know, you got introspection into yourself and what it meant. And you said, I want something more, something better. I want to take this and use it in another medium, which is in the survival space, which is really cool. It’s really commendable that you went out and did that because the amount of people you’re able to, you’re able to help people at scale now, which is really

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
cool because what you’re doing is giving people just the tools, is I can watch your reels and learn how to like take care sucking like pneumothorax in this injury, right? Like, that’s

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
cool. And I don’t know, I don’t know many others that have taken that on, or at least been as good as you have been in the social media space. So tell us then like you got on to the show. Awesome. What’s it like getting prepped for that? Because, dude, I’m watching it. And I’m like, how does this guy

teimojin_tan:
Thanks for watching!

dave_morrow:
is in Labrador, right?

teimojin_tan:
Yep.

dave_morrow:
So the ecosystem there is obviously different than, you know, this part of Quebec, like Montreal, it’s different than like Michigan is different. You know, every ecosystem is a little different. How do you know what you’re going to encounter? How do you know what berries you’re gonna eat? Cause you’re like, oh, those are bunch berries. I’m like, what’s a bunch berry?

teimojin_tan:
I’m gonna

dave_morrow:
I

teimojin_tan:
go

dave_morrow:
don’t

teimojin_tan:
to bed.

dave_morrow:
think that’s the thing. Like what’s the level of prep you need to do

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
know, okay, I know I can eat these things. I know I can eat those things.

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
I know there’s likely going to be this and I’m going to be able to survive off that. What’s the process on that and how did you plan for doing that episode or doing that show?

teimojin_tan:
Sure, you can always plan, you can always do your research, but the reality is, just like in ops, you get dropped and the situation’s completely different. And I think that’s true for a lot of people on the show and true for a lot of people on operation to a certain extent, because we had not a lot of time to prepare and the location wasn’t available to us in a full extent. So

dave_morrow:
Oh.

teimojin_tan:
I can’t disclose how long preparation we have, I’ve

dave_morrow:
Mm-hmm.

teimojin_tan:
been studying this thing. I know this plan over here and oh, we’re in a completely different location and maybe one out of the 30 things I just learned is relevant, you know So it’s like okay. That’s a big kick to the nuts I think the biggest thing is a combination of life experiences, you know because When you’re trying to adapt when you’re trying to improvise It doesn’t necessarily matter

dave_morrow:
Thanks for watching!

teimojin_tan:
if you know what resources you absolutely need but the fact that you’ve had a bunch of failures, you’ve had a bunch of obstacles and you’ve overcome it, you just figure stuff out on the go. And as you are in a situation where every calorie counts and you feel the chill to your bones, your observation and your introspection just is so heightened. So I think one of the biggest disadvantages I had going into a challenge like this is I’ve never hunted before. I’ve never shot at a living thing for. And it was a big, big challenge for me because I was basically banking on fish. So I was there, I was

dave_morrow:
Hmm.

teimojin_tan:
researching how to fly fish because that’s the only type of fishing you can do there. You can’t do a net, you can’t do any passive fishing, you have to fly fish with an artificial lure. And if the fish goes deep, you got to go deep with them or find a way to get deep. So I felt really good. First few days, caught three fish, which And after that, the water level sunk about two or three feet, and it got cold really fast. And for some reason, my spot, the first few days I was getting bites with every cast. And then day five onwards, nothing, not even a bite, not even any sign. So I think that was a big moment for me where I was like, okay, I might starve out here and I don’t know when my next meal is going to be.

dave_morrow:
Mm-hmm.

teimojin_tan:
I target shot, you know, I’ve been target shooting for recurve for about seven, eight years at that time. So I was like, okay, I can shoot straight. Just using same marksman principles, do the same thing. And it was all up to can I observe and be mindful enough to understand what animals are doing and to take that opportune shot. And the first first thing I got was a grouse out there and

dave_morrow:
All right.

teimojin_tan:
Basically Lord of the Rings type of style. I was like shooting like 20 arrows at this thing and you only come with

dave_morrow:
Thanks

teimojin_tan:
nine.

dave_morrow:
for watching!

teimojin_tan:
So I was literally running through the forest, picking stuff up and actively shooting. And this is kind of the worst way to do it. You know, you want one shot, one kill. But I was running

dave_morrow:
Yeah.

teimojin_tan:
through and, cause I was so excited. This is the first time in like 10 days where I saw a living thing that I could potentially eat. Fish was gone, I was foraging

dave_morrow:
Mmm.

teimojin_tan:
some berries and berries for like a week as your only sustenance, real fast. So after that first grouse, it was such a big game changer because I was like, okay, I can hunt now. And that was the first

dave_morrow:
Mm-hmm.

teimojin_tan:
big click. Say like, okay, that’s on the menu. And besides grouse, like there was a plethora of squirrels there. And it took me a while to figure out how to get them, both with snaring and for shooting because they’re incredibly fast, and sometimes unpredictable.

dave_morrow:
Right.

teimojin_tan:
But once I was finding these patterns, I would only take shots if I saw that pattern that would be a perfect setup for a shot. And that just made it so that it felt like to me, I was thriving. And I think that puts an important point to how we kind of view our lives and how we operate in our everyday life, because we’re always comparing ourselves to other people. I think if I knew how well the other people were eating, I would have been destroyed,

dave_morrow:
Uh huh.

teimojin_tan:
You know, but I was only saying like, okay, I’m 10% better today, 10% better, this much closer to my next meal, this much closer to building a better shelter. And keeping that mindset very positive and very constructive and being kind to myself the way I was talking to myself, I felt like I was living like a king out there and eating like one up until I couldn’t walk anymore, basically.

dave_morrow:
Yeah, so that was cool to see. I mean, like you said earlier, like you got to set up your own shots on top of survive and do all the stuff that’s required of you to literally live out there. So you only get a snapshot of what you’re actually up to.

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
Because, you know, the way I saw it, you were just fricking a marksman, like a sniper with your bow and arrow. Like you were just like picking off grouse. And I’m like, hey man, and bang on, look

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
at that. And not knowing that you’re launching arrows and running around the forest like a madman,

teimojin_tan:
Yeah.

dave_morrow:
trying to hit these grouse. And then with the squirrels, the way I hear it, it’s almost like your primal DNA kind of took over

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
and you’re recognizing patterns because you’re hungry.

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
And you start to focus in, you’re like, oh, I know he’s gonna move this way and I’m gonna be able to put the snare here. And that’s fascinating just to hear from

teimojin_tan:
and

dave_morrow:
a guy like you because I’ve never been in that situation. but I haven’t had that like belly empty feeling

teimojin_tan:
Yeah.

dave_morrow:
where I need to do this. And if I don’t, I’m not going to eat. That’s, that’s a whole other level of

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
being a human,

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
which I don’t think many people ever get to experience. Um, so from what I saw, your living quarters seem to be pretty plush

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
in comparison to some of the others,

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
uh, especially as some of the contestants that, that left earlier, um, and that was just like, I mean, I wouldn’t have first idea of getting that sorted. So before we get to, you know, when you finally decide to pull a pin, how was it? So I mean, when you decided, okay, I’m going to pick this spot, and then I’m going to set up camp,

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
like, what’s going through your mind at that point? Are you like, man, I better not screw this up? Because eventually, the weather’s coming in, eventually,

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
you know, if you want to stay, let’s stay the course that you’re going to be there for a long time,

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
it’s going to get freaking cold. Yeah, how do you mentally prepare for that? Not just the eating part, but just the shelter part and the warmth part

teimojin_tan:
and I’ll see you next time.

dave_morrow:
because

teimojin_tan:
Bye.

dave_morrow:
it’s cold and there’s nobody else there. So how did you dig deep to make sure that you didn’t just fall apart and just say, fuck it, I’m done with this.

teimojin_tan:
Absolutely, so it’s cold. It’s incredibly wet and the temperature changes and ranges Were the the worst that I’ve seen so you would be in your parka pants in the morning frost and like slipping all over place and in the evening like day 40 I was in my shorts at night like just before a sundown taking a bath in the in the river So it’s like a huge differential of temperatures for me I I knew that I wanted key resources. I wanted to be close to firewood. I wanted to have things that I could use for materials that I wasn’t lugging a far distance and I wanted to be close to water source and potentially a clay source as well. And for me, if

dave_morrow:
Hmm.

teimojin_tan:
I could find that perfect home or at least a close to perfect home that is also a hunting blind, that would be ideal. Now I didn’t want to be at the top of a mountain. Some people chose the top of the mountain. You just get whipped by the to be close to the river as well because same issue you’re kind of exposed to the elements even though you’re closer to the water. So I scouted for about three days because all you need is a hooch, you know, you have a minus 40 bag. I didn’t even use my sleeping bag for the first 10 days. It was just the same military army park that we are issued, army surplus got that and I used that

dave_morrow:
Thank you.

teimojin_tan:
just to cover myself for the first 10 days, you know, because my job was to secure a fishing spot, see what the animals were doing and So I scouted for three days. I found not at a high point, not at a low point, but I saw this 12-15 foot plateau on on the side of a mountain Creek right next to it and when I’m looking in all locations, the wind is blowing in my face So I know my scent would be potentially down and then just sitting there

dave_morrow:
Mm-hmm.

teimojin_tan:
I sat there for an afternoon and just noticed some of life around me some of the noises and stuff and I was saying This is pretty darn active something over here and just sit and shoot from my front lawn and get food, like that’s a good start.

dave_morrow:
Thanks for watching!

teimojin_tan:
That’s a good start, you know, because you want to reduce as much travel as possible. And you can kind of compare that to some of the other people who got a lot of food. But again, they were they were rocking like a good six to seven clicks a day for something that

dave_morrow:
Oh

teimojin_tan:
may

dave_morrow:
wow.

teimojin_tan:
be in total less than 500 calories, you know.

dave_morrow:
Hmm.

teimojin_tan:
So they were getting a lot, but also spending a lot. And the way I kind of designed my shelter was a combination of a few things. And I’m sure you’ll appreciate this because I kind of designed it off of like a winter warfare bunker, basically, where you’re combining a lot of different materials with the intention that eventually you’re gonna freeze all that together to make like a really strong structure.

dave_morrow:
Mm-hmm.

teimojin_tan:
So I basically rolled big blocks of moss about two feet by one feet thick, just downhill onto my shelter location laid it on as bricks, shoved a bunch of sharp sticks in it to connect them in a solid matrix. And then after that, I had my roof up and my tarp was like on top of things. So I had my temporary shelter on top of me, building my permanent shelter below it. So you’re not moving around or anything like that. And because you’re spending so much time there, you notice the slightest little thing and you’re adding to that, adding to that, adding to that. For me, if I was dry and I had a fireplace, okay for at least 40, 50 days.

dave_morrow:
Yeah.

teimojin_tan:
Because that’s really the crux of it. If you’re wet, then you’re done pretty fast. So I spent a lot

dave_morrow:
Yeah,

teimojin_tan:
of time

dave_morrow:
no kidding.

teimojin_tan:
making my fireplace. And it’s the same kind of concept you would do in winter warfare when you’re in your 10 man tent and you’re digging down so deep and your stove is down there, your lantern’s down there, because where you’re sleeping, it’s just nice and warm and toasty. So I knew I wanted

dave_morrow:
Mm-hmm.

teimojin_tan:
to be there for the long run in winter warfare and all that. I wanted to see the snow. I wanted to thrive in the snow. I wanted to be there. So I was like, I want to make this comfy. And I dug down into the earth to make that fireplace. And I used almost like a 45 degree angle in the soil base that reflect all that heat up to me. And I had a nice big old clay chimney too. And because,

dave_morrow:
So cool,

teimojin_tan:
yeah,

dave_morrow:
man.

teimojin_tan:
yeah, it’s really cool to combine some of the concepts.

dave_morrow:
So cool. You guys gotta check out the episode. It’s wild, man. It’s the fact that you built that all yourself

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
and just from your imagination and obviously experience is just, it’s a testament to just your ingenuity but also your ability to just stay focused. Cause like, dude, after three days of being alone

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
in the woods, I don’t know if I’d have the ability to like, keep on going. Like just the mental fortitude alone, most of us never experienced that. So, I mean, I could start playing on your mind. So like what, like, you said three days, kind of like, I was just three days, I was just kind of chilling and like seeing what was going on with nature and stuff like that. But you were there a hell of a lot longer. So you got the shelter set up, you got food coming in. How long were you out there total?

teimojin_tan:
So out there total, I was out there for 63 days. Um, and yeah,

dave_morrow:
Oh my god.

teimojin_tan:
yeah, that was a big X, big X.

dave_morrow:
I had no kidding. The longest Winter X ever, oh my God.

teimojin_tan:
Yeah.

dave_morrow:
And there’s no comms, right? Like the only comms you have is like, if you need help, you gotta, I assume a sat phone. So

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
like you don’t, I assume there’s check-ins with

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
staff, or is it really like, you’re just out there like, and then

teimojin_tan:
You can assume

dave_morrow:
they come get

teimojin_tan:
that

dave_morrow:
you if you need help.

teimojin_tan:
they do like safety checks and that type of stuff, but they really limit

dave_morrow:
No.

teimojin_tan:
interactions. So it might be the case where I don’t see anyone and magically batteries and stuff like that just shows up on the shoreline. I’m like, OK, like my batteries are done. I’ll switch them out and then like no contact.

dave_morrow:
Right.

teimojin_tan:
And to be honest, it was such a spiritual journey for me because of those first 10 days where I will like the pain you go through, is something that I think everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime to appreciate. It is a type of suffering that I can’t describe. It is like an emptiness almost that you can’t reach. And you know, it’s a pain that you can’t reach. It’s not like a stabbing pain or anything like that. It’s like a pure desperation emptiness. And after that, after you feel that, I feel like you are most open thinking about possibilities of any kind of health, whether that’s spirituality, whether that’s religion, whether that’s your ancestors, spirits of the woods, or like indigenous like things. And I was like, all right, I’ll throw it all out there. Like I was praying, I was like asking my grandfather who’s passed away for help, I was trying to respect the elders of the land, all sorts of stuff.

dave_morrow:
Jeez.

teimojin_tan:
when you do that. So if you are asking for one thing, animal protein or whatever you want in life, just one thing and

dave_morrow:
Mm-hmm.

teimojin_tan:
whatever in the universe delivers, that feeling is like no other. You get on such a huge high when you’re like, okay someone’s looking after me, someone’s feeding me, someone’s giving me little clues, you know, and every time I was asking for stuff it would literally be a day or so later and I was getting these signs, I was getting these massive I was like, someone’s got my back. And for me, that’s one of the reasons why I never felt alone out there. I would even argue that I’ve felt more connected to and more deeply connected to things around me, both spiritually and also just the animal environment and just myself so much more deeply than I ever have been in my life prior to that. And a lot of it had to do with that desperation to be open to trying to ask for help and vocalizing that and feeling what that felt like when I received it.

dave_morrow:
Oh my God. Wow. Dude, that’s trippy. That’s a, that’s a super spiritual experience, man. That’s, that’s something you’re right. I don’t think most people will ever get to, to experience that, especially here in, you know, Canada,

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
the U S right. Just to have that level of desperation and just praying to the gods,

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
right. Please give me some food. That’s so, that’s so fascinating to hear because like, that’s where your, your

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
there’s some sort of, I believe in the energies, right? Like universal energy, like vibrational energy, like

teimojin_tan:
share.

dave_morrow:
what you put out into the universe, you get back in return.

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
And in your case, like the vibrational frequency for you to want food was so strong,

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
there was a response. And that’s how I see things now,

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
that there is a response. Like it’s an actual response. We can’t see

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
it, but there is a response. And you experienced that with squirrels,

teimojin_tan:
Yeah,

dave_morrow:
grouse.

teimojin_tan:
absolutely.

dave_morrow:
whatever it was, and that’s so wild. But yeah, I mean, I can never understand, unless I ever go through that level of hunger, but the way you describe it, like, I mean, the longest I’ve gone is a three day fast. I’m hungry, but I’m not at the point that you just described where it’s this like religious experience where, oh my God, I’m begging,

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
I’m praying for food. I know that if I just decide, I’ll just go to the fridge and

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
have a sandwich,

teimojin_tan:
Yeah.

dave_morrow:
it’s over.

teimojin_tan:
Yeah.

dave_morrow:
that option. So that’s that’s a whole other level that’s that’s wild.

teimojin_tan:
Thank you.

dave_morrow:
So thanks for sharing that man that gives me a whole new perspective on things. So you ended up out there for over 60 days, longest ex of your life. I love the fact that you rep the guards.

teimojin_tan:
Yeah.

dave_morrow:
That was awesome.

teimojin_tan:
Yeah, that was

dave_morrow:
That was really cool to see.

teimojin_tan:
that I had to do it. You know, it was such a huge part of my morale and training out there to be representing Canadian forces and veterans who have suffered, who have had trouble coming back from from tours and finding purpose and meaning and connection. Um, and that was just my way of saying thank you to everyone. and trained me, you know?

dave_morrow:
Sure.

teimojin_tan:
And one of the biggest things is I wanted my journey to be a message from someone who probably shouldn’t necessarily have been chosen for the show, you know? It’s a doc with some military experience, and you know, like no hunting experience. Like that could have ended pretty shortly, you know? And I think the story that I wanted to share is that despite having some of those disadvantages and despite not knowing what to do every single step of the way, I figured it out and I just wanted people to know that they can figure stuff out too even though they’re scared, they don’t know what their next step is and they’re suffering, they’re in pain and to know what it’s like to appreciate things, to ask for things, to ask for help and I wanted to leave in a place of strength where I could still walk on my own two feet And it was

dave_morrow:
Mm-hmm.

teimojin_tan:
so reminiscent to make a sled and make that setup and pull my kit out of there myself because a lot of people like towards the end, if you’ve been there a long time, it’s hard to rock up like 50, 60 pounds and walk out there. Like I was about like almost 1.2 clicks away on mountainous terrain in

dave_morrow:
Mm-hmm.

teimojin_tan:
like two, three feet of snow. I don’t think I could have walked out myself. So just having

dave_morrow:
Mm-hmm.

teimojin_tan:
that last push, I think is the way I wanted my story to end.

dave_morrow:
Mm-hmm. And you know what, man? Like impressive is I guess the best way I can describe it. Um, and yeah, I love that you pushed, you pushed, you pushed. And, uh, like you said, Dick, you were able to walk out on your terms, which was fricking really cool and, uh, what you did was impressive and now you’ve gone on and you’re doing even more impressive stuff. So why don’t you describe what you’re doing now on the business side of things and, uh, how you’re teaching others. you’ve learned.

teimojin_tan:
So my business, Survival Doctors, teaches everyday people who want to be more prepared for medical emergencies. Either survival situations or accidents or traveling or whatever. So we want to prepare people for any situation. And we both do that online. So if you want to learn all this stuff, come and do these virtual classes with me. That’s an option and you’ll get like over 40 hours of education. passionate about is the in-person training. You know, there’s a connection there and you’re passing on these physical skills and passing on the nuances of what it’s like to survive and what it’s like to give medical care and to diagnose things. So I’m very excited to partner with the Great Ape Empire, who’s a veterans group out here in Ontario, and they are nine veterans. A lot of them are specially trained, way more than I am. We’re talking about seesaw, pathfinders, and paratroopers, these guys know their stuff, these guys have put in their time, and they’re sharing all these information and skills with regular public people, which is a huge, huge benefit. I learn stuff from them every single time I work with them. So we’re doing a 10-day X basically, where they’re learning a bunch of survival stuff, a bunch of medical stuff, going through simulations, and then they’re doing like a 24-hour X at the end, really to grasp the whole multitude of that experience. going to a place, evaluating a victim, stabilizing them, managing them, getting a call saying rescue’s not coming, and then having to survive

dave_morrow:
Thank you.

teimojin_tan:
in that situation. And we’ve had students in the past October never made a fire before, making friction fires by the end of it, making fires

dave_morrow:
Wow.

teimojin_tan:
in the rain. Like it was raining the whole time. And these guys were pumping out amazing shelters, pumping out fires, and really doing an awesome little to no experience and it’s something that I’m really proud of, excited to collaborate further on and in the future after this basic courses we’re going to be starting expeditions both for veterans and also for other organizations as well.

dave_morrow:
Wow, dude, man, you’re crushing it. I love it, man. I love it. Uh, this is the type of stuff that I get fired up for, man. I, uh, I love seeing the, the ingenuity and the ability to utilize the skills that not only you have, but you’re leveraging all the skills that are just within the community,

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
you know, like pathfinders, man, I remember the odd time you’d see like the little like boot and wings on a guy’s D use, you’d be like, oh shit, like, Oh, he’s a pathfinder. Oh, you know, like it’s such a rarity. but the level of skill that those individuals have,

teimojin_tan:
I mean.

dave_morrow:
I’ve never, have I talked, I don’t even know if I’ve ever talked to one. That’s how like few there are,

teimojin_tan:
Yeah.

dave_morrow:
but it must be cool to be able to use your experience and then talk to these guys that have a different kind of experience in a more military

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
context and kind of marry that up. So what are you seeing as like similarities based on like what you’ve learned on like, you know, that you’ve done a lot of the civilians

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
side stuff and then these guys that have done it military context, like is there are there things that you’re just like, wow, I never really thought of that. And now you’re able to apply it in your in your own context.

teimojin_tan:
Definitely a lot of the signaling and navigation part of that. So we have people who do this so much more extensively than we personally were trained teaching signaling and navigation. So it’s really cool to see how they operate and how they optimize some of their navigation and signaling drills. And not only that, it’s what I’m excited about is hopefully we move on to training reserve units. So taking all these skills and combining

dave_morrow:
Mmm.

teimojin_tan:
it and training reserve units. Because I’m not sure about you, but unless you’re deployed, the medical aspect of things is pretty much overlooked, you know, and the survival components of things is not really existent unless you’re taking a specialized course or if you hire someone private to give like a guest lecture or something like that. So

dave_morrow:
Mm-hmm.

teimojin_tan:
we’re hoping to bring that to the reserve One of the cool things with working with people in the military, it’s like you have your own mini culture, your understanding and things click. It’s almost like you’re on a course, like a military course, and just the logistics and the camaraderie and the silent communication is just so cool to operate within. And it feels good to work within that team compared to working with

dave_morrow:
Mm-hmm.

teimojin_tan:
any civilian group. before, and not only that, to be introduced to incredible human beings who’ve been through a lot and to see a spark in their eyes saying like, this is freaking fun. This is awesome. I could do this full of time. And to see them team up in an organization with a mission, with drive, with passion. And it’s just so incredible to see that post service. You know?

dave_morrow:
Mm-hmm.

teimojin_tan:
were trained in, all that brotherhood, all that teamwork, all that mind and skills and apply it into something that we think is worthwhile. That is just something that I’m so grateful to be a part of.

dave_morrow:
Yeah, no doubt man. You definitely embody what it means to be hard to kill. Like as much as I like doing deadlifts

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
and being able to run, my survival skills, I’m probably at like level one. You know, I’ve done my time as an infantry soldier, but like to think that like I can survive. Yeah, I definitely, I think I would last maybe two and a half days if I didn’t have like rear ash support. So it’s definitely cool what you’re doing. It’s definitely something that I think, even like the reserve level, but even at like,

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
implement things that would help kids be more resilient and harder to kill. Just things like basic first aid.

teimojin_tan:
Okay.

dave_morrow:
How do you live in the, like imagine how cool it would be if you just went out in the woods every few months and just did some basic survival stuff. But it’s only the kids that like join scouts and stuff like

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
that, they get any kind of exposure to that. But I think that’s just a life skill that should be passed on from the generations. But you know, that’s a lot of stuff in two generations. We basically lost it, right? We no longer are in touch nature and being able to survive. So what you’re doing is pretty cool. It definitely occupies a unique space in our, in our world, in our community. So good on you for that buddy. So what’s the best way that somebody can A, get involved and potentially be a member on the course and apply, or just start following you and looking at all the awesome stuff that you’re up to.

teimojin_tan:
Yeah, absolutely. So you can find me at www.survivaldoctors.com. That’s an S at the end.com. And if you are interested in the courses or just interested in what you’ll be learning, because it’s so extensive and includes like animal processing and trapping and fishing and all this amazing things, you can do that website www.survivaldoctors.com backslash Bruce, like Bruce Wayne, 2023. And that’s our next course in the May 18th to 29th and that will be up on the

dave_morrow:
Very

teimojin_tan:
Bruce

dave_morrow:
cool.

teimojin_tan:
Peninsula in Ontario and it’s going to be one of our best courses that we have to date. Yeah.

dave_morrow:
No doubt, man. You’re just going to keep on getting better, man. Like these things are going to, these things are going to blow up, man. I, I got a good feeling about this. Um, especially the more you get the word out and, uh, I’m definitely going to promote them, definitely going to send out the links, uh, on my email list as well. So, uh, folks definitely get on this. Uh, give a Timo a shout on, uh, Instagram. He’s got a great account. Make sure to go follow them as well. Um, and it’s in the Bruce. That’s where they just had the rock, the Bruce.

teimojin_tan:
Yep.

dave_morrow:
That was, uh,

teimojin_tan:
Yep.

dave_morrow:
great. the crazy guys from the the ruck to remember.

teimojin_tan:
Mm.

dave_morrow:
They did as 180 K or 190 K ruck. So definitely seems like a unforgiving terrain out there. And I’m sure you’re gonna put together something that’s pretty awesome. So Timo, what are some parting words for the audience before we wrap up here? So, we’re gonna start with a couple of words that we’re gonna be talking about. So, we’re gonna start with a couple of words that we’re gonna be talking about.

teimojin_tan:
I think out of all the things that I’ve learned from this experience and all the things that I’ve taken into this experience I would say your mindset is the most important thing So if you all want to be hard to kill focus on mindset focus on perspective focus on being kind to yourself and not being afraid of asking both yourself in the universe what you want and Not being afraid to chase that Because things sometimes just align the right way just get back up and if that’s the direction you need to be in that you feel that you need to be in just March forward

dave_morrow:
I love it, man. I love it. Spoken like a true Stoic, man.

teimojin_tan:
We made it.

dave_morrow:
Very well said, very well said. Thanks for that, man. It’s always a pleasure talking to you. And I’m sure you’re gonna be up to some pretty awesome stuff. So after you’ve done the next round of survival courses, we’ll have to touch base and check in to see how well that’s going. And likely, I’m sure you got some other stuff up your sleeve because

teimojin_tan:
Mm-hmm.

dave_morrow:
you’re a hard charter. So you’re definitely

teimojin_tan:
you

dave_morrow:
got an open invite here So

teimojin_tan:
you

dave_morrow:
folks go check out team engine stuff.

teimojin_tan:
you

dave_morrow:
It is amazing. His Instagram is amazing and get on board with the course if you can. That’s it for me. Don’t forget, train hard, fight easy. See you on the next one. Peace.

teimojin_tan:
Awesome, man.