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Where Does ‘Raising Wild’ Film – Who Is Brett Hines – And Is This The Same as ‘Alaskan Bush People’?

Kelly Joyner 5555 Views ,

Raising Wild is the docu-series on Brett Hines, wife Wendy Hines, and their brood of seven plus their son-in-law. It’s the latest in Discovery Channel’s reality offerings. It’s obviously intended as a companion series to Alaskan Bush People, airing directly after. But it seems far more genuine. The first thing people want to know is where does Raising Wild film – and whether the Hines family’s nearby the Brown brood from ABP. Here’s the scoop on where they are homesteading.

Raising Wild – Brett Hines Family in Okanogan County, Washington – So Are The Alaskan Bush People

When you think of Washington State, Seattle and the Space Needle spring to mind. But the Wild crew is far from the vegan-friendly, gluten free city on the shores of Puget Sound. It’s a rugged four and a half hour drive if you go South and skirt the Snoqualmie National Forest. The drive’s closer to five hours if you head straight through the forest and across the mountains. Okanogan County is massive and takes up about 10% of the state.

Where Brett Hines and his family are homesteading is called the Central Highlands and it’s essentially dead in the middle of Washington and nudged up against the Canadian border. It’s rough and tumble out there with mountains, lots of wildlife and only about 40,000 people across 5,400 square miles. Interestingly, that’s the spot where the Alaskan Bush People also call home. It makes you wonder if Discovery Channel was out there filming the one bunch then ran into the Hines family and signed them up. It can’t be chance, right? Raising Wild hits episode six tonight.

Who is Brett Hines?

There’s a lot of spotty stories and fakery accused against the ABP clan. Some even claimed Billy Brown and his family don’t own their mountain. The unseemly chatter is that the network is “renting” it for them. However, there are property records for Billy Brown showing he owns the property there. As for Brett Hines, he definitely owns property there and so it literally might have been small town talk that led Discovery Channel to find this new family to film.

The Hines clan are radically different than the Browns. Dad Brett Hines is ex-military and some have criticized him on social media for leaving the military with a handful of years left until retirement. But as Brett explains on the show, he was hit with friendly fire that caused medical trauma. While it’s not laid out specifically on Raising Wild, it seems likely he left on a medical discharge, and since he was injured in the line of duty, that means disability benefits for life.

Brett’s chatted a little on the show about his career in the Army and showed some photos. His background check shows them moving around some for military service. But more often than not, the family was in the suburbs while he was off fighting for his country. Now, he’s determined to pass on some of his knowledge to his seven kids (and one son-in-law) while he’s still physically able to get around. The after-effects of his injury and his aches, pains, and limitations figure into many storylines on the show.

Are The Raising Wild People More “Real” Than the Alaskan Bush People?

The narrative on Alaskan Bush People is that the family’s always lived off the grid. And true enough, when the show began, they were in Alaska. Now, they’re not and each of the family seems to have fallen into a prescribed role. There’s also a lot of talk about them living in town when the cameras aren’t rolling and their antics being mostly for TV. Only the Discovery Channel and the Browns know for sure. But there’s been enough exposed to make you question.

In contrast, Brett Hines, Wendy Hines, and their seven kids admit they’re suburbanites changing how they live to bond deeply with their kids by Raising Wild. Brett spent a lot of time away from home with the military and is scrambling to make some of that up since he was gone so much. Also along for the ride are oldest kid Michael Hiines and second oldest Nathan Hines. Then there’s Sarah Hines and her hubby Drew who’s pretty funny. There’s also Joshua Hines, Evelyn Hines, Ariel Hines, and Daniel Hines. And don’t forget Gideon – the talkative goat that rode shotgun for the drive from Texas.

Tune In Now – Season One Still Has a Way to Go

The younger Raising Wild kids are honest about missing their tablets, tech, and video games. But they all seem up for the challenge. Also, Brett Hines and his family spent the last few years traveling back and forth from Lubbock, Texas to Tonasket, Washington laying the groundwork. They’ve got a big barn that doubles as a living space, a well, and some animal pens. Then, with the cameras rolling, they added a root cellar made from a semi and a greenhouse like he’s seen while serving overseas.

If you’re into this kind of thing, jumping in at Season 1 makes sense. Because they’re building their lives from the ground up with the cameras rolling. This reality show feels “real” with no antics, no screaming matches, and nothing that feels overly staged. Then again, perhaps the Discovery crew’s just perfected their techniques. Watch the show Sunday nights right after Alaskan Bush People.

Check with Soap Dirt for all your Discovery Channel reality show news and other Raising Wild updates.

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