Triggering explosives on avalanches, protecting cowboys from 2,000-pound bulls, flying across the Mojave Desert – just “normal” days for the people who have some of the most dangerous jobs in the world. For the average person, it’s hard to imagine consciously risking one’s life on a daily basis.
Tim Kennedy in “Hard to Kill” on Discovery. (Courtesy of Discovery Channel)
Active duty Green Beret and Special Forces sniper Tim Kennedy doesn’t have to imagine – He went and found out for himself.
Tim Kennedy in “Hard to Kill” on Discovery. (Courtesy of Discovery Channel)
For his new TV series on Discovery Channel, called “Hard to Kill,” which debuts Tuesday night, Kennedy went and experienced a day in the life of six different extremely dangerous jobs. Kennedy, who has served in the military for 15 years and is also Ranger qualified, has served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as several other locations around the world. He was also a top five MMA fighter. He’s no stranger to hard work and grit, or finding himself in life-or-death situations.
“When you’re overseas and doing all these crazy things, it’s for a reason. That reason is the American dream. That dream is impossible without the men and women like this who do these jobs,” Kennedy recently told American Military News.
Tim Kennedy in “Hard to Kill” on Discovery. (Courtesy of Discovery Channel)
“They make it possible for us to drive our cars and eat sushi, and go get sandwiches, and safely fly to see grandma on Christmas,” among many other things, Kennedy said.
“They’re the glue that holds it all together,” he pointed out. “People don’t know about them, and that stinks. I wanted to show a different type of courage and hero. That’s these men and women: red-blooded, middle-class, blue collar [Americans].”
While Kennedy didn’t take any job lightly, he was also aware that he was attempting these jobs at a large disadvantage.
Tim Kennedy in “Hard to Kill” on Discovery. (Courtesy of Discovery Channel)
“They do these jobs for years, generations. I’m coming in, a moron trying to do a really complex, sophisticated job,” Kennedy said.
And, “None of these are stunts,” he pointed out.
Tim Kennedy in “Hard to Kill” on Discovery. (Courtesy of Discovery Channel)
While he didn’t prepare for each job specifically, he did mentally and physically prepare for whatever task might be ahead of him, Kennedy explained.
“I prepared my body and my mind. I trained tirelessly. You can never train too hard for a job that’s going to kill you, as Kyle Lamb said. I train to be as fit as I can, as mentally prepared as I can,” Kennedy said.
Tim Kennedy in “Hard to Kill” on Discovery. (Courtesy of Discovery Channel)
“I didn’t prepare to do the jobs. I wanted to show the regular, average person what it looks like for a regular average person to do these jobs,” he explained. “I didn’t learn to be a pilot. They just threw me in it. And I crashed catastrophically.”
Obviously Kennedy survived each experience and lives to tell the tale. But he can’t emphasize enough how the people who do these jobs for a living put their lives on the line every day.
Tim Kennedy in “Hard to Kill” on Discovery. (Courtesy of Discovery Channel)
“Everybody needs to see what this is. There’s no stunts. This is just me doing real peoples’ jobs that have insanely dangerous jobs,” he said.
“There’s about a million of those jobs out there. We did six. So I have 999,994 more to go,” Kennedy added.
“Hard to Kill” premiers Tuesday, July 31, at 10 p.m. EST on Discovery Channel.
