Maple Valley Represented on National TV

Just in case you haven’t heard the news:

Two of the contestants on Bear Grylls’ new survival show, Get Out Alive, are Maple Valley natives!

This is exciting because:

1. We know we all love Maple Valley
2. As if all the school and family-friendly living awards were not enough, now “Maple Valley, Washington” shows up beneath their names on national television…
3. It’s a father-son duo, and their story is very touching:

The son, Austin, is the 24-year-old fourth of five children. He initially asked many of his friends to join him in his quest to survive the worst Bear Grylls could put him through. And that’s pretty bad.

He wanted to show people he was not some ordinary computer junkie, but that he had real guts. (We believe you, Austin). His friends, however, were too busy, as were his brothers.

So he asked his Dad, Jim, to join him. Despite being 61 and having 7 grandchildren, he is confident he can beat out the under-30-year-olds that make up the majority of the contestants. After all, he was part of the Seattle FBI Joint Terrorist Task Force for seven years.

Where the story gets moving (grab a Kleenex) is when you hear them talk about the bonding opportunity that comes with an experience like this. Jim admits on camera that he feels he didn’t give Austin the attention he deserved as a child, but hopes that can be overcome by this shared adventure.

Watch them talk about how excited they are in the video below, between 0:40 and 1:10:

Cheer on your Hometown Heroes by tuning in Mondays at 9pm, or watch online. Don’t worry – you haven’t missed much. The show just premiered yesterday!

(Also, apparently Jim is from Fresno, CA originally, but they currently live in Maple Valley. (Take that, Fresno).

You got this, guys.