Dan Becker Outdoors

Jordan Hatmaker survived what almost no one should survive. During a skydiving jump from 13,500 feet, Jordan’s parachute malfunctioned. Her chute became tangled around her leg, her reserve deployed, and the two parachutes sent her into a violent spin toward the ground. Seconds later, she hit the earth — conscious — with devastating injuries to her back, leg, and ankle. In this interview, Jordan walks me through exactly what happened in the sky, what she remembers from the impact, the fear of possibly being paralyzed, the long road through surgery and recovery, and how she found the strength to walk again.This is a story about survival, faith, fear, recovery, and what happens when the thing you love most almost takes your life.

Brady Lowry was attacked by a grizzly bear while he and his friend Kendell Cummings were out in the Wyoming backcountry. When Kendell saw the bear on Brady, he didn’t run, he jumped in and tried to pull the bear off his friend. The grizzly then turned on Kendell and mauled him too. Then it buried him alive.

Loren Schauers was an 18 year old construction worker whose life changed forever after a horrific forklift accident nearly killed him. But behind the headlines is a story far deeper than most people realize. In this episode, Loren and his wife Sabia sit down with me to tell the full story in their own words. From the moments before the accident… to waking up in the hospital… to the impossible decision doctors gave him… to what life actually looks like now. This isn’t just a survival story. It’s a story about resilience, love, identity, faith, pain, and choosing to keep living when everything changes in an instant.

Nicole Johnson set out for what should have been a normal kayaking trip near Ashland, Missouri — but when a flash flood hit, everything changed in an instant. Her kayak was ripped away, and Nicole was swept miles downriver, slammed into rocks, pulled under the water, and pushed to the edge of drowning. Somehow, a massive wave finally threw her out of the river… but surviving the flood was only the beginning. Injured, soaked, exhausted, and freezing, Nicole hiked until she found shelter inside a barn, where she spent hours battling hypothermia, hoping someone would find her before it was too late. This is her incredible story of survival, endurance, and the rescue that happened almost by chance.

*This episode contains discussion of rape and sexual abuse. Viewer discretion is advised*Elizabeth Smart joins me to share the story that shocked the country. At just 14 years old, she was taken from her bedroom in the middle of the night and held captive for nine months before being found alive. In this conversation, Elizabeth talks about what happened, what those months were like, how she survived, and what life looked like after the headlines faded. We also talk about trauma, healing, resilience, and the reality of moving forward after something unimaginable. This is a heavy episode, but an incredibly important one. I’m grateful to Elizabeth for her honesty, courage, and willingness to tell her story in her own words.