Dave Canterbury announced last month that he's leaving Dual Survival in order to focus on other commitments. Cody Lundin will remain with the series but Canterbury's replacement has not yet been announced.A rumor originating from the Discovery Channel is that Canterbury will be replaced by someone with a Special Forces background. I'm wondering if it's going to be Mykel Hawke from the now defunct series Man, Woman Wild? It'll be interesting to find out. We wish Dave Canterbury the best and hope he finds happiness in his new endeavors.
July 12th, 2015 UPDATE- Dual Survival canceled by Discovery Channel
April 23rd, 2014 UPDATE- Rocky Mountain Bushcraft Exclusive: Discovery Channel responds to Cody Lundin being fired from Dual Survival
June 3rd, 2013 UPDATE!- Has "resume embellishment" returned to Dual Survival? Bloggers claim Joe Teti is not a combat veteran
January 3rd, 2013 UPDATE!- VIDEO: Dave Canterbury admits to accusations, apologizes
January 2nd, 2013 UPDATE- How did Joe Teti do in his first Dual Survival show?
December 31th, 2012 UPDATE- VIDEO: Cody Lundin talks about new Dual Survival partner Joe Teti (also gives additional insight into why Dave might have been fired)
November 30th, 2012 UPDATE- Dual Survival announces replacement for Dave Canterbury
July 25th, 2012 UPDATE- Cody Lundin has released an official response to Dave Canterbury's departure:
Prescott, June 13, 2012 - As has already been publicly confirmed, Dave Canterbury is no longer a part of Dual Survival. This fact has been true since September of 2011.
I have faced many questions regarding this change and much has been said on the Internet as well. Any inquiries regarding this matter should be directed to Discovery Channel. However, since I have no doubt that the questions will continue, and I have an ethical and professional responsibility to do so, I am making the following statement.
The goal of the survival instructor is to keep people alive. To accomplish this goal, honesty, integrity, trust and competence must come first. These core values cannot be compromised or people’s lives are needlessly put at risk. In a profession where human lives are at stake, dishonesty about ones background and experience is an inexcusable breach of trust.
I have dedicated my life to this profession. It is my passion and livelihood and I have spent the past 23 years developing expertise in it. I hold the responsibility of being a survival skills instructor as sacred. It is incumbent upon all of us in this field to insist that the highest standards of honesty, integrity and honor are maintained at all times.
For all of the aforementioned reasons, I am proud to work with my new Dual Survival partner as we take the show to even greater levels. This is my final statement on the matter at this time. To my fans and to those who have offered support during this very challenging time, I offer my greatest gratitude and thanks.
Cody Lundin
ALSO- Wikipedia, under the "Cast Changes" entry for Dual Survival, paints a less flattering picture, saying:
"In April 2012, Canterbury falsely announced that he would no longer be part of the series due to family and business reasons. In truth, in September of 2011, Canterbury was fired by Discovery for misrepresenting his military and civilian background and experience. http://www.codylundin.com/wordpress/cody-lundin-press-release/
Canterbury's false military claims can be seen on the POWnetwork.org website under their "phonies" section, letter "C". Canterbury also falsely claimed to have 20 years of survival skills experience which was proven untrue by the surfacing of Canterbury's own 2008 bio in which he was a factory worker at an auto plant in Ohio the year before he signed to be on Dual Survival. This bio can be viewed on BushcraftUSA."
This is a statement Dave made publicly a few years ago on his Bushcraft USA bio profile, but then took it down once he was confronted with evidence that contradicted his claims:
"I was in the US Army from 1981-1988, and during this time I served in Central America, Grenada, Korea and the US, much of the time as an instructor for both US Troops and some allied forces in several specialty areas. I graduated from Airborne, Air Assault, Ranger, and Sniper Counter Sniper Schools while serving my country."
I went to POWnetwork.org and viewed Dave's military service records. From what I can tell, he was an MP in the Army for 6 years who was trained as a military police sniper and an SRT member, which is like an Army version of SWAT. There is no mention of Ranger, Survival, Scout, or Airborne Training. There is also no mention of service in Grenada or Central America, only in Korea, where his title was "ID Badge Clerk."
Obviously, the Discovery Channel and Cody figured this out last year and had to make a hard decision, or else risk losing the integrity of the show. This is really sad to hear. Dave did serve his country, but decided to embellish things which got him into trouble.
The moral of the story is, make sure to update your Bushcraft USA bio before becoming a famous TV survival show star!
Just kidding......It's always best to stay honest and keep it real.
Cheers,
Jason
About the author
Jason Schwartz is the founder and senior editor of Rocky Mountain Bushcraft. He is a former Red Cross certified Wilderness & Remote First Aid Instructor, and has taught bushcraft and wilderness survival techniques to the Boy Scouts of America, interned with the US Forest Service, and studied wilderness survival, forestry and wildland firefighting at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, Colorado. Jason has also written for magazines such as The New Pioneer and Backpacker, including writing the "Tinder Finder" portion of Backpacker's "Complete Guide to Fire," which won a 2015 National Magazine Award (NMA). Email him at rockymountainbushcraft @ hotmail.com (without spaces)