It’s back – the show that gave a platform to the men determined to track down some of the most legendary beasts of all time is officially back on our screens. August 21 marked the premiere of season 6 of Mountain Monsters, and fans are already dying to find out which mythical monsters the AIMS team will be on the trail of this time around. We’ll have to wait and see where the season takes us, but going by past episodes, we’re guaranteed to be entertained… and learn some valuable life lessons along the way.
Play Up to Your Strengths
While unity and brotherhood are key to the team’s success, each member brings a unique and distinct set of skills to the group. Founding member John “Trapper” Tice, a retired construction worker, is the heart and soul of AMS, bringing decades of experience and unparalleled tracking and survivalist skills into the mix. The show’s rookie, Jacob Lowe, meanwhile, brings the kind of gung-ho, enthusiastic attitude that keeps the team going, even when their investigations fail to turn up what they hoped for. Head of Security Joseph “Huckleberry’ Lott has 5 decades of experience in the US Marines to draw on as he works to keep the team safe in the Appalachian Mountains. Jeff Headlee, another founding member of AIMS, is the brains behind the operation, providing all the technical know-how needed to set up the thermal cameras and recording equipment the team relies on to track the mythical beasts. Willy McQuillian brings his master trap building skills to the show, while William “Wild Bill” Neff adds the experience that comes from being a 6-year veteran of the US Marines. The key takeaway? A team is only as good as its members. We all have unique talents and if we want to succeed, we need to play those strengths to the max.
Together We Are Strong
Yes, they’re all unique individuals with very different backgrounds and skillsets. But at its heart, the AIMS is a band of brothers; regardless of their differences, they come together as one in their mission. As the Travel Channel says, it’s this camaraderie that gets them through some of their biggest challenges. “The grueling work, terrifying encounters and daunting setbacks that come with hunting monsters inspire the team members to push forward. They know that if they stay together as a unit, they are sure to solve the mysteries of the mountains.” What can we learn from this? That no man is an island- by sticking together and putting aside our differences, we can achieve so much more than we could alone.
Don’t Give Up The Good Fight
No show is without its critics, but Mountain Monsters has more than most. Accusations of trickery, fakery, and downright buffoonery have been hurled at the show ever since it launched, with much of it coming from AIMS’ fellow monster hunters over on Finding Bigfoot. The war of words started in 2015 when one of the team members from Finding Bigfoot called out Mountain Monsters as a fake on Twitter. The men from Mountain Monsters responded in kind, calling their antagonists out for never finding anything on their show. The name-calling continued for a while before both sides presumedly got bored of acting like children and decided their time would be better spent chasing down imaginary monsters in the mountains instead. The rumors that Mountain Monsters is a bit of a fake haven’t died down, however, with many accusing the main characters of being actors (not helped by the fact their IMDB profiles list their occupations as exactly that) and of their official AIMS website being nothing more than a marketing ploy created and run by some unrelated company in Arizona. Heavily scripted episodes, photoshopped images and a group of cast members that claim brotherhood but who some suggest had never met before the show started are all just some of the shots the team endure. The team’s response? Just keep on hunting. Resilient to the core, the team won’t be defeated, given us all something to think about when it comes to how we weather adversities.
If It’s Not Broke, Don’t Fix It
How many of us are guilty of tinkering away at things when there was nothing wrong in the first place? That was certainly something the producers at Mountain Monsters were guilty of back in season 5. Rather than stick with the tried and tested format that had proven so successful in the previous 4 seasons, producers decided to mix things up by focusing on the Rogue Team that finally emerged after years of thwarting AIMS’ activities from the shadows. One fan, Stephen Sark, summed up fan’s displeasure with his Facebook comment “. I love the show .. love the guys.. but another season of the rogue team will kill it. Totally got away from what makes it great. Wrap it up in the first episode and get back to monster chasing.” Neill D’Naples shared Sark’s sentiment: “We fans want the show to return. I think the ratings were down because of the rogue team. The fans did not like the departure from the good-natured, good old boys premise. Air the show Wednesdays, it will do well.” Producers decided to listen, with the result that the show is set to return to its best in season 6, with the focus firmly back on what made it so great in the first place- the men, the monsters, and the mountains.
Don’t Believe The Rumors
Season 5 ended with the kind of cliffhanger that’s a dream come true for gossip queens. John “Trapper” Tice’s health condition at the end of season 5 left fans in such a panic, rumors began to circulate he’d died. People took to twitter in the droves to express their concern… so much so that producers on the show eventually had to step in and make a statement confirming he was alive and well. The takeaway? Check your facts before starting rumors, and don’t believe everything you hear (or read on the internet, for that matter).
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