Spokane artist Hazen Audel to host survival TV show

Hazen Audel, a Spokane artist and former Ferris High School teacher, can now add cable TV host to his resume. He’s the host of the new reality show “Survive the Tribe,” which makes its U.S. premiere tonight.

You’ll likely know Audel from his architectural contributions to downtown Spokane – he designed the Montvale Hotel sign and much of the interior metalwork in Steelhead Bar and Grille – but he has also worked as a rainforest guide and served as a consultant on Bear Grylls’ survival show “Man vs. Wild.”

On “Survive the Tribe,” Audel travels to remote areas around the world, including Ecuador, Mongolia and Namibia, to meet the indigenous people that thrive there, involving himself in their daily customs.

The series’ first episode, “Blood Warriors,” concerns a nomadic Kenyan tribe, and Audel must assist them in herding cows from one pasture to another. “Surviving the Tribe” airs at 10 p.m. today on the National Geographic Channel (Comcast 273/Time Warner 166).