The Grizzly Dude

Keynote Speaker at the 2025 BCWF AGM "Jeremy Evans, known as The Grizzly Dude, is a survivor, storyteller, and speaker who transforms adversity into inspiration. After surviving a near-fatal grizzly bear attack, Jeremy turned his harrowing experience into a powerful message of resilience, courage, and mental strength. Through captivating storytelling, he shares hard-earned lessons on overcoming fear, adapting to challenges, and finding purpose in the face of adversity." His story is recorded in his book, "Mauled: Lessons Learned from a Grizzly Attack" by Crosbie Cotton and Jeremy Evans. Overview: "In August 2017, 32-year-old Jeremy Evans endured muiltiple attacks by a protective female grizzly bear while hunting in the Alberta wilderness. Jeremy's injuries were massive, his scalp and face destroyed, an eye and his jaw danglind down. The tendons on one leg had been fully severed during the mauling. His hands were damaged where he had physically fought the bear. It was more than a dozen kilometeres to where he had parked his truck. Thoughts of his wife and their eight-month-old daughter consumed Jeremy as he stumbled and crawled for hours back to his truck, before driving himself several kilometers to a backcountry lodge for help. Mauled carefully details what happened deep in an Alberta forest. Jeremy's miraculous recovery and life lessons learned when so close to death show that human determination can defy the greatest of odds. Despite the traumatic stress the encounter produced, Jeremy holds no animosity toward the bear and still enjoys spending time in the backcountry. To him the grizzly was doing what the best parents do: protect their young."