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SIPA Paranormal Chronicles S1 E9 Mike Familant Producer and Bigfoot Researcher
21 Plays1 month ago
In this episode we speak to Michael Familant, a full-time bigfoot researcher, producer and lead investigator from Northwest New Jersey.
His interest started after an encounter on a camping trip in 2011. Since then, he has made it his personal goal to find out exactly what is roaming the woods of America.
In 2016, after becoming frustrated with the lack of true research expedition shows on TV, he created his own show, called “In the Shadow of Big Red Eye.” The show is currently filming their 9th season.
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Transcript
Intro
Introduction and Guest Appearance
00:00:12
Lee Hatfield
Good evening, everybody, and welcome to another exciting episode of SEPA Paranormal Chronicles. Tonight, we have a fantastic guest by the name of Mike Familant, I hope I've pronounced that correctly, who is a full-time Bigfoot researcher.
00:00:30
Lee Hatfield
We're going to go more into what he's doing and how we he's doing his investigations a bit later, but I'd like to and introduce my regular co-host, Megan.
00:00:43
Megan anderson
Hello?
00:00:44
Lee Hatfield
And Mike, thank you for being one of our fabulous guests on this new podcast.
00:00:51
Mike Familant
Well, thank you for having me. This is this is this is awesome. Thank you. This is great.
Mike's Past and Bigfoot Interest Begins
00:00:56
Lee Hatfield
So I'm going to start off on something that's a complete tangent and got nothing to do with Bigfoot. But are you still an EMT and firefighter?
00:01:05
Mike Familant
No, I don't do that anymore. No, used to.
00:01:09
Lee Hatfield
Because I'm in the same boat. I was a firefighter for 12 years and power medic for 13. So we have that in common.
00:01:18
Mike Familant
Fun fact for you. Do you know what the average over the the span of an EMT or paramedic's lifetime is being a paramedic or EMT?
00:01:30
Mike Familant
12 years.
00:01:30
Lee Hatfield
About, yeah.
00:01:32
Mike Familant
So, you and I both nailed it right the head there, sir.
00:01:32
Megan anderson
Wow.
00:01:32
Lee Hatfield
Well. Yeah, my excuse is I came to Canada and married a Canadian. So that's my excuse.
00:01:39
Mike Familant
Oh. I just got burnt out.
00:01:42
Lee Hatfield
Oh, yeah, I can understand that.
00:01:42
Mike Familant
Ha ha.
00:01:43
Megan anderson
yeah
00:01:44
Mike Familant
Ha ha ha.
00:01:45
Lee Hatfield
Okay, Mike, so you started approximately in 2011.
00:01:52
Lee Hatfield
Is that correct?
00:01:53
Mike Familant
Yes. Yeah.
00:01:54
Lee Hatfield
So you had an experience that I'd like you to tell us about if you could, please.
00:01:54
Mike Familant
Yeah.
00:01:55
Megan anderson
good.
00:02:00
Mike Familant
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So I, I was working in down at a beach resort in Sarasota, Florida, which if you guys don't know, it's like the most beautiful place you've ever been before, before.
00:02:15
Mike Familant
And the boss was like, hey, I want you to lock up and watch the sunset on the beach with a guest. I'm like, dude, you don't have to tell me twice. No. there And I'm living down there. And I'm watching one night I was bored and I was watching Finding Bigfoot on TV. Have you guys seen Finding Bigfoot?
00:02:42
Lee Hatfield
I think I've seen it advertised because obviously you get different TV shows in the
00:02:44
Megan anderson
No.
Impact of Bigfoot Expedition on Personal Life
00:02:46
Lee Hatfield
UK at the time.
00:02:47
Mike Familant
Yeah, yeah.
00:02:47
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:02:47
Lee Hatfield
so
00:02:48
Mike Familant
it's It's a show over here. It's on Animal Planet. And it's it's it's basically a show where they go out and they look for Bigfoot. they They investigate Bigfoot and they also speak to Bigfoot witnesses, which is really cool.
00:03:01
Mike Familant
it's It's very similar to my show, except my show is better.
00:03:07
Lee Hatfield
Of course.
00:03:08
Megan anderson
Yes.
00:03:08
Mike Familant
And so I was watching it one night and they were like, hey, if you want to go out with these researchers, you can. And I was like, oh, my good God, there's no way that that's not going to happen.
00:03:23
Mike Familant
I'm going out with them, you know. So I signed up that night. I got two tickets, one for me, one for my fiance, whom i did not tell.
00:03:36
Mike Familant
we were going to go on a Bigfoot expedition.
00:03:40
Lee Hatfield
Nice.
00:03:41
Mike Familant
This is going to be our little pre-wedding surprise, you know?
00:03:41
Megan anderson
That's pretty cool. yeah
00:03:47
Mike Familant
I think anybody would be happy with that, right? That'd be kind of fun.
00:03:49
Megan anderson
I would think that's so much fun. I love that.
00:03:54
Mike Familant
Anyway, so I had never been camping prior to this expedition. So I had to buy all the, like the tent, the that the sleeping bags, the headlamp that they require.
00:04:07
Megan anderson
Thank
00:04:07
Mike Familant
And I'm hiding this stuff in our little, we're living in a one bedroom apartment and I'm hiding this stuff in the patio closet underneath like the Christmas decorations.
00:04:19
Mike Familant
You know, there's no way she is going to find this stuff. So anyways, about three weeks before the expedition, and I come home from work one evening, and I'm met by her at the doorway, and she she had the face on.
00:04:41
Lee Hatfield
but
00:04:44
Lee Hatfield
oh
00:04:44
Mike Familant
Megan, do you know the face you give...
00:04:48
Lee Hatfield
yeah the face 100%
00:04:49
Megan anderson
Yeah. It's the face.
00:04:50
Mike Familant
Lee, Lee, you know the face that you acquired?
00:04:50
Megan anderson
Yeah. Yeah. yeah
00:04:53
Lee Hatfield
hundred percent
00:04:54
Mike Familant
Yeah. Yeah.
00:04:55
Megan anderson
yeah
00:04:55
Mike Familant
Well, I was greeted by that. And she had her hand on her hip and she said, Mike, she had did something that she had never done ever prior to this.
00:05:08
Mike Familant
She decided to clean the apartment.
00:05:14
Lee Hatfield
from shop
00:05:16
Mike Familant
And she found all this camping stuff. And she said, Mike, what are we doing? And I said, hon, we are going to North Florida and we are looking for Bigfoot.
00:05:31
Mike Familant
Then we broke up.
00:05:34
Lee Hatfield
Because of that?
00:05:35
Mike Familant
yeah Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.
00:05:37
Megan anderson
I did not see this coming.
00:05:40
Mike Familant
Yeah. So that was okay. You know, there was other, there was other stuff, you know, you know, but that was the, that was the straw that broke the camel's back was the Bigfoot investigation.
00:05:47
Lee Hatfield
so
00:05:49
Mike Familant
So yeah, there I was, I found out these tickets come to find out they're non-refundable.
00:05:51
Lee Hatfield
away, get out here.
00:05:57
Mike Familant
I spent a lot of money. I did not want to go on this Bigfoot expedition anymore. Right. This was like, not a thing I wanted to do after this breakup.
00:06:04
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:06:08
Mike Familant
So i moved to Tampa, the city of Tampa in Florida. I got a job working on the ambulance for the city, which is a really awesome job and a terrible job at the same time. It was a you know love-hate relationship. And i had three ambulance partners.
00:06:26
Mike Familant
And I had picked the weirdest partner because, again, these tickets are non-refundable. And I had to go on this trip. So I said, Jimmy, that was his name. I said, Jimmy, man.
00:06:38
Mike Familant
I got a tickets and we got to go look for, for Bigfoot North Florida. Do you want to come with me? And he said, and he was, he's my best friend to this day. He said, Oh man, I've always wanted to do that.
00:06:52
Mike Familant
And I said, nice.
00:06:52
Lee Hatfield
Oh, man.
00:06:54
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:06:55
Mike Familant
Right.
00:06:56
Megan anderson
yeah
00:06:56
Mike Familant
We'll bring in. So we go up to Torea State Park. It's in North Florida. It's in the panhandle of North Florida. It's 30 miles from Georgia, about 60 miles from the Gulf of Mexico.
00:07:08
Mike Familant
It's very beautiful. It's squatchy as anything. We get up there and there's like 60 other people looking for Bigfoot. And I said, oh my goodness, how are we going to find Bigfoot with 60 other people here?
00:07:22
Lee Hatfield
laughter laughter
00:07:24
Mike Familant
Right? This is kind of like, this is kind of getting ridiculous, right?
00:07:25
Megan anderson
yeah yeah
00:07:28
Mike Familant
So anyways, we camped kind of far away from everybody because we thought everybody was going to be weird.
00:07:36
Megan anderson
Thank
00:07:38
Mike Familant
That was it. Yeah, it's a Bigfoot expedition. Everybody's
Strange Experiences During Bigfoot Expedition
00:07:40
Mike Familant
going to be weird. We're the only sane people here. So we camped away from everybody. Anyways, it was a cool expedition. Nothing happened. It was three nights, four days of camping in Florida's wilderness, speaking to Bigfoot witnesses and researchers and hiking and stuff.
00:07:53
Lee Hatfield
Thank you.
00:07:59
Mike Familant
But we didn't find anything related to Bigfoot, nothing at all. Until our final night. It was actually, excuse me, I'm going to get my props out here.
00:08:14
Mike Familant
It was our final night and it was about, I don't know, maybe one o'clock in the morning, 1.30. And Jimmy and i were up, we're watching a meteor shower.
00:08:27
Mike Familant
Beautiful, celestial.
00:08:28
Megan anderson
Oh,
00:08:29
Mike Familant
i mean, you know, being from the city of Tampa, we couldn't, you know, we we didn't have have any respect for the night sky. So anyways, we're just up there and all of a sudden, you hear knock.
00:08:45
Mike Familant
Bam! Come from one side of camp. And I immediately thought, I was like, oh my goodness. It's these people.
00:08:56
Mike Familant
that put on the expedition. You know what I mean? That are knocking, you know, it's, it's, it's just, you know, somebody messing with us.
00:09:00
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:09:06
Mike Familant
It was hoaxers messing with us. So I didn't think twice about it. So I said, okay, whatever.
00:09:11
Lee Hatfield
So you're finishing a morning meeting.
00:09:12
Mike Familant
And about two minutes later, we hear a knock from the complete opposite side.
00:09:13
Lee Hatfield
It's about to start day.
00:09:17
Lee Hatfield
always find
00:09:18
Mike Familant
so I said, oh man, these people got to be pretty good. You know, they got to be hoaxing us really, you know,
00:09:24
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:09:25
Megan anderson
yeah
00:09:25
Mike Familant
You know, they got to have radio, you know.
00:09:28
Mike Familant
So anyways, about five minutes goes by and all of a sudden, excuse me, you hear come crashing down through the canopy of the pine forest.
00:09:28
Megan anderson
yeah
00:09:42
Mike Familant
one A fist sized rock.
00:09:46
Mike Familant
Now, it was at this point in my life where I said, nope, nope.
00:09:46
Lee Hatfield
help your
00:09:52
Lee Hatfield
hundred dollars
00:09:52
Mike Familant
This is how horror movies start. I am getting out of here.
00:09:55
Megan anderson
I can't.
00:09:59
Mike Familant
Jimmy was like, well, if you want to sleep in the car, you're more than welcome to sleep. And by the time he said that, I had my sleeping bag and I was just beelining it right to the car, you know?
00:10:11
Mike Familant
he comes up to the car and he's like, Mike. you know, listen, man, big like Bigfoot throw rocks and Bigfoot knock on trees. Like, that's the whole, this is the whole point of why we're here.
00:10:25
Mike Familant
We're here to look for Bigfoot evidence. And this is what they do. So I'm like, yeah, I suppose you're right, you know.
00:10:30
Lee Hatfield
wow
00:10:32
Mike Familant
So I went back by the campfire. Over the course of the next 15 minutes, four more of these fist-sized rocks come crashing down.
00:10:37
Lee Hatfield
you
00:10:41
Lee Hatfield
yeah
00:10:43
Mike Familant
land five to ten feet away from us.
00:10:46
Lee Hatfield
wow
00:10:48
Mike Familant
Now, my buddy, Jimmy, after about, you know, 20 minutes, he's after, the you know, this hole is unsettling. He comes up to me and he says, Mike, I got an idea.
00:11:01
Mike Familant
um'm going to throw a rock back at it.
00:11:03
Mike Familant
I say, Jimmy, man, I don't think that's the best idea.
00:11:08
Lee Hatfield
Typical power medic move that is.
00:11:09
Megan anderson
yeah
00:11:10
Mike Familant
Yeah. yeah Right? Yeah, well, yeah, you know. so So he takes a rock, chucks it back in that direction, and I swear to you, a 15-pound laptop-sized boulder came crashing down, landed five feet from us.
00:11:28
Megan anderson
Wow.
00:11:31
Mike Familant
That was it.
00:11:31
Lee Hatfield
i would
00:11:31
Mike Familant
Yeah.
00:11:32
Lee Hatfield
I would be, would be like New York state by this time. I'd be like, I'm going home.
00:11:35
Mike Familant
Yeah.
00:11:36
Lee Hatfield
I'm going home.
00:11:37
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:11:38
Mike Familant
Yeah, it was a sleepless night. It was a very sleepless night. We went the next morning. We asked yeah we asked you know our camp neighbors, hey, did anybody you know see?
00:11:48
Mike Familant
We had all those camp neighbors. Somebody had to hurry or hear or see those things.
00:11:51
Megan anderson
Mm-hmm.
00:11:52
Mike Familant
Nobody did. So we want we wanted to be like all scientific and stuff. So we want we wanted to measure how close this thing could have been to us.
00:12:03
Mike Familant
And the closest this thing could have been, 75 yards. So, I don't know. Unless Nolan Ryan is out there throwing rocks.
00:12:14
Mike Familant
I don't know if you guys...
00:12:15
Megan anderson
Oh,
00:12:15
Mike Familant
Nolan Ryan's a baseball player for the young people.
00:12:18
Lee Hatfield
Oh, that's for the young people, yeah.
00:12:20
Megan anderson
no.
00:12:21
Lee Hatfield
i say I'm so used to cricket, you see, not baseball. but
00:12:24
Mike Familant
Oh, cricket. I have no idea what cricket even is, sir.
00:12:26
Megan anderson
you no
00:12:29
Lee Hatfield
Remind me to where send you a instructions. It's really interesting and funny.
00:12:34
Mike Familant
Send me a YouTube video, actually.
00:12:35
Megan anderson
yeah
00:12:36
Lee Hatfield
yeah yeah yeah
00:12:36
Mike Familant
That'd be more, yeah, I'd like that.
00:12:39
Lee Hatfield
We can do that, definitely. So after after that love-filled night, and another fun fact, you went on a romantic weekend with your buddy Jimmy.
00:12:40
Megan anderson
Thank you.
00:12:49
Lee Hatfield
I got invited on a honeymoon with a friend of mine that split up a month before his wedding, and he went, I've got two tickets. Does this sound familiar? yeah like I've got two tickets. you want to come to Yugoslavia before on holiday for a week? Yeah.
00:13:03
Lee Hatfield
Yeah. So I went on a guy's honeymoon. So we have a another thing.
00:13:06
Mike Familant
Did you find Bigfoot?
00:13:08
Lee Hatfield
Funnily enough, no. but one But we weren't looking for him at the time either. Oh,
00:13:15
Mike Familant
That's cool, though. Yugoslavia sounds like a nice trip.
00:13:18
Lee Hatfield
yeah, it was like 10 cents for for a pint of beer. And I was like 17 at the time. It was really cheap. So that was really cool.
00:13:26
Mike Familant
That is...
00:13:28
Lee Hatfield
So after your initial... Dirty week, I mean i mean camping weekend. how How did you get from there to deciding that I want to make make this my entire life?
00:13:45
Mike Familant
Yeah, it was, so so we went into that expedition thinking, and this is a very, I want to make this a very important point. We went into this expedition not thinking there was a Bigfoot.
00:14:02
Mike Familant
we We didn't think there, we went into this weekend, we were going to make fun of all these people that thought there was Bigfoot out there.
00:14:12
Lee Hatfield
as you do.
00:14:12
Mike Familant
And we left this expedition knowing that there's something capable of throwing a significant sized rock at us in the woods.
00:14:22
Mike Familant
So that's a significant change of of thought process in a 72 hour period.
00:14:25
Megan anderson
All right.
00:14:30
Mike Familant
That's that's a 180 degree change. So leaving this expedition, Jimmy and I made it our personal goal to figure out what through those, what was throwing those, those rocks at us, right?
00:14:47
Megan anderson
right
00:14:47
Mike Familant
So we started researching everything we could about Bigfoot. I mean, we started talking to all the researchers, all every eyewitness we could get our hands on. We started looking to hotspots and in about a two week timeframe, we decided that we are now professionals.
00:15:12
Lee Hatfield
In two weeks.
00:15:14
Mike Familant
So, QN Colt Creek State Park. We go out by ourselves because that's the best thing to do, right? And we go into this place called Colt Creek State Park. It's in the Green Swamp in Central Florida. It's really cool.
00:15:30
Mike Familant
Very squatchy. It's just me and Jimmy, and we get there, and it's one night, and I'm doing big foot calls like it's my job.
00:15:43
Mike Familant
Right? Every, well, every two feet I'm doing a Bigfoot call. Anything with a brain would know that there's two idiots running through the woods doing these vocalizations, right?
00:15:59
Megan anderson
Oh my God.
00:16:00
Lee Hatfield
I
00:16:02
Mike Familant
I get it. So anyway, Jimmy is not scared at all because he's got his six foot tall machete. And his 10 million lumen spotlight that he's got shining through the woods, you know?
00:16:17
Mike Familant
So anyways, we're about a mile and a half from camp. All of a sudden, Jimmy's spotlight comes across two pairs of reflecting eyes. One pair, fire engine red, just like this.
00:16:34
Mike Familant
The other pair, aqua blue.
00:16:34
Lee Hatfield
Wow.
00:16:39
Mike Familant
Intriguing.
00:16:40
Megan anderson
I pass out.
00:16:41
Mike Familant
So anyways, us, in our infinite wisdom of everything in the woods, we thought it was people.
00:16:47
Megan anderson
Yep.
00:16:49
Mike Familant
We didn't realize people don't have eyeshine, right?
00:16:49
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:16:51
Mike Familant
we don't we We can't see, you know.
00:16:52
Megan anderson
yeah
00:16:53
Lee Hatfield
yeah
00:16:56
Megan anderson
yeah
00:16:56
Mike Familant
and So we start yelling, hey, we're just looking for Bigfoot.
00:16:58
Megan anderson
but
00:17:03
Mike Familant
And there's no reply, just those eyes looking back at us, right? So we think at this time, they're poachers illegally poaching animals.
00:17:13
Mike Familant
And we're like, oh man, this is not a good scenario. We're about to get shot right now. So we say, hey, we're just going back to camp. It's all good. You know, we'll leave you guys alone.
00:17:24
Mike Familant
And then the red set turned, looked at the blue set, turned and looked back at us, and then blinked. Another nope moment. We were out of there.
00:17:39
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:17:42
Megan anderson
I don't blame you.
00:17:42
Mike Familant
Next day, well, we Jimmy put a notch in the tree. We went back the next day to see you know exactly where we saw those eyes, and those eyes were seven and a half feet tall.
00:17:54
Mike Familant
So, yeah it was cool.
00:17:55
Lee Hatfield
Wow.
00:17:56
Megan anderson
wow
00:17:57
Mike Familant
That was the the second thing, and then I've been hooked ever since.
00:18:01
Lee Hatfield
That is crazy. but And it's it's really funny because, yeah, when you see the red and the blue eyes, the first thing you do is respond to it.
00:18:12
Lee Hatfield
And that's like all these horror flicks where there's a murderer in the kitchen and the first thing you do is, hi, anybody here? Sort of like, I'll be gone.
00:18:21
Megan anderson
Yep. Yep.
00:18:22
Lee Hatfield
I'll be like... in like
00:18:23
Megan anderson
yeah
00:18:24
Mike Familant
Yeah, that that that that was a good intro to a horror movie.
00:18:25
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:18:28
Mike Familant
You're right. Now that I think about it, yeah.
00:18:29
Lee Hatfield
yeah
00:18:32
Lee Hatfield
So you could have been one of these famous actors in a horror movie dead in the first took five minutes of the movie.
00:18:41
Mike Familant
Yeah, you're correct. Yeah, I would have been that person.
00:18:43
Megan anderson
yeah
00:18:43
Lee Hatfield
but i least But at least both of you being paramedics, if one of you got eaten, then you could have tried to save the other and then you'd have been a kind of a hero.
00:18:45
Mike Familant
Yeah, yeah.
00:18:52
Lee Hatfield
But
00:18:55
Lee Hatfield
Wow, that is that is crazy. So at what point did you decide to start doing your YouTube series
Bigfoot Research and Public Perception
00:19:05
Mike Familant
Yeah, i was I was... I was watching all the shows on TV, like Finding Bigfoot and Expedition Bigfoot. that That was not the time that I started my show. But there's a couple other Bigfoot research shows on TV at the time.
00:19:05
Lee Hatfield
and the in the shadow of the grid eye?
00:19:20
Mike Familant
And I was really like... like taken back by like, man, these are all designed for ratings and for making money and for the, you know, for the, for the networks.
00:19:29
Lee Hatfield
Thank you.
00:19:32
Megan anderson
Right.
00:19:34
Megan anderson
right
00:19:34
Mike Familant
I'm like, this is not how Bigfooting is all about. So, you know, four or five years after i my initial Bigfoot encounter, I decided to start my YouTube series in the shadow of big red eye, which was designed for getting people off the couch and into nature to try to,
00:19:53
Mike Familant
find, try to see something that you wouldn't necessarily see sitting on the couch every day. And that's what I've been doing for nine years now, ever since.
00:20:04
Lee Hatfield
So why do you think it's so successful? Because I think you you're in your ninth season now, is that correct?
00:20:10
Mike Familant
We're filming season nine. We've been doing nine years.
00:20:12
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:20:13
Mike Familant
It's, it's crazy. Why, why is it so successful? I think it's because it's, there's no, uh, one on the only, uh, current show weekly show on YouTube.
00:20:28
Mike Familant
that's about Bigfoot. So that's cool. Uh, two, uh,
00:20:30
Megan anderson
Right.
00:20:32
Mike Familant
I'm not like like we kind of just mentioned, I'm not designed for ratings or for making money or anything like that. My show, we don't get good activity every episode.
00:20:45
Megan anderson
right
00:20:45
Mike Familant
That's not what it's about. It's about, it's like I said, it's about getting people off the couch and into nature. And and I think that's what people really relate to and find most most important about it.
00:20:56
Lee Hatfield
So one thing that i I find intriguing, there's a lot of videos out there that people say are Bigfoot, Yeti, Sasquatch, Mothman, or whichever cryptid you want to talk about.
00:21:01
Megan anderson
Thank you.
00:21:11
Lee Hatfield
But the first one that was ever caught was the Gimlin video. So you must have seen that how many times? yeah Hundreds by now, but I would imagine.
00:21:25
Mike Familant
Sure. Yeah, no, I do. I think that Patterson and Gilman is legitimate film. Yes, I do. I have a display cast from Cliff Brockman and Dr. Meldrum, respectively, that I've i've gotten. from the day after the film was taken and then nine days later, which shows a left and right right foot, which is really cool.
00:21:49
Megan anderson
Oh.
00:21:49
Mike Familant
You can note some some in the video, there's there's many things that would relate it to be a legitimate video.
00:22:00
Mike Familant
I think it is, if if that's what you're asking out.
00:22:04
Lee Hatfield
Yeah, because I say, yeah, that is the, yeah, if you put Bigfoot video into any search engine, pretty much the first one's going to be the Gimlin video.
00:22:14
Mike Familant
Sure, yeah.
00:22:14
Lee Hatfield
Yeah. i Yeah.
00:22:16
Mike Familant
yeah I think just looking at the video, like Patty, or the the the the subject in question, if you will, has a tumor on its thigh.
00:22:27
Mike Familant
I mean, first of all, in that era, you're not going to make a female Bigfoot costume.
00:22:32
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:22:33
Mike Familant
And if you are going to, you're not going to put a tumor in its thigh, right? And then respectively, you're going to put Bigfoot's hairs, as you can see, padded down as as she was swinging her her arm back and forth.
00:22:51
Mike Familant
Very intriguing.
00:22:53
Lee Hatfield
yeah
00:22:54
Mike Familant
You can watch the video yourself. There's actually a very new stabilized version that just came out, which is really super cool. You can get some very cool detail about that.
00:23:04
Lee Hatfield
that yeah i like to say there's a the amount of people that have discussed that that video and like you say if you're going to go go into that fine detail yeah people weren't probably thinking like you know let's go into this expert detail that exact yeah time time in life yeah
00:23:19
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:23:22
Mike Familant
And do you know how much it would it would cost to make a costume like that back then?
00:23:28
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:23:28
Lee Hatfield
you'd have to get one of
00:23:28
Mike Familant
it would they they
00:23:29
Megan anderson
That's a good point.
00:23:29
Mike Familant
They said it would be it would it would be it would like the Hollywood movies couldn't do that at that point.
00:23:38
Lee Hatfield
That's crazy, isn't it?
00:23:39
Megan anderson
yeah
00:23:41
Lee Hatfield
That's crazy. Right, Megan, over to you then.
00:23:45
Megan anderson
Well, I guess one big question I have, other than red eyes and blue eyes and everything, what do you find is the most common physical characteristics that witnesses have reported to you or that you've seen?
00:24:00
Mike Familant
Okay, I just noticed your cat behind you, and that's adorable.
00:24:04
Megan anderson
There's my Bigfoot.
00:24:05
Mike Familant
Oh, hi. Hi, baby.
00:24:08
Lee Hatfield
Or small foot, as the case may be.
00:24:11
Megan anderson
Yeah, well, she's big. She's 15 pounds, so she'll come with me.
00:24:15
Mike Familant
Oh my goodness, that's that's a very big
00:24:17
Megan anderson
She'll come with me in the woods.
00:24:24
Mike Familant
Physical characteristics of Bigfoot that I've noted, what we look for the most is vocalizations. That's the best way that we're going to get evidence of Bigfoot.
00:24:32
Megan anderson
Okay.
00:24:35
Mike Familant
we Every time we go out, we have our digital voice recorder. And we try to elicit vocalizations from said Bigfoot.
00:24:40
Megan anderson
Okay.
00:24:47
Mike Familant
And we do that by making either tree knocks vocalizations ourselves to try to mimic what we think Bigfoot would sound like. And when we get a reply back, we're able to record that and then be able to send that off to professionals.
00:24:59
Lee Hatfield
Thank you.
00:25:03
Mike Familant
I have like a sound guy that's a linguist in the military.
00:25:03
Megan anderson
ye
00:25:07
Mike Familant
and he's able to say that this is & Z yes this is a human this is an animal or in one really cool case we got this is not a human this is not an animal which is pretty cool and that's from a scientist in the military
00:25:23
Megan anderson
Wow.
00:25:28
Megan anderson
Does it sound creepy? feel like I'd be so creeped out if it was talking.
00:25:32
Mike Familant
if you go on to my YouTube channel you can hear it's called best Bigfoot vocalization
00:25:34
Megan anderson
Yeah. Got it.
00:25:38
Lee Hatfield
So kind of going along the same question as as Megan asked, if I were to report that I'd seen a Bigfoot to yourself, do you kind of assess the credibility to...
00:25:59
Lee Hatfield
do you it's like like a checkbox. Okay, this has happened, check. This has happened, check. This has happened, check. yeah So how how can you by differentiate between somebody that's had a legitimate sighting and then somebody that has, you
00:26:14
Mike Familant
Yeah.
00:26:17
Mike Familant
Well, that's the problem and when it comes to Bigfoot field research, because there's no set criteria for questions that you ask a witness, right?
00:26:30
Mike Familant
So when it comes to EMT work and paramedic work, we have a set criteria that you have to you have to you know go through the checkboxes and stuff and say this happened, this happened, this happened.
00:26:36
Lee Hatfield
So. Yeah.
00:26:41
Mike Familant
Okay, check. You may have a Bigfoot or you may have COPD, whatever. It's the same thing. Unfortunately, we don't have that for Bigfoot field research.
00:26:49
Lee Hatfield
yeah
00:26:55
Mike Familant
So there's there's nothing... Any interviewer, any witness, I mean, there's there's there's no set standard for interview processes when it comes to field research, which which is really unfortunate.
00:27:12
Mike Familant
There's been people that have tried to get that, you know, across the board, but it just unfortunately doesn't happen.
00:27:22
Lee Hatfield
Cool. So, Megan, over to you again.
00:27:28
Megan anderson
What is the biggest challenge you face when i'm trying to investigate Bigfoot?
00:27:29
Lee Hatfield
She's got to read.
00:27:36
Mike Familant
Oh, that's a okay great question. Biggest challenge I face is, and roll with me on this one, is I'm a Bigfoot field researcher.
00:27:44
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:27:46
Mike Familant
I'm out in the woods. I spent 139 nights last year tent camping looking for Bigfoot.
00:27:53
Megan anderson
Wow.
00:27:56
Mike Familant
I'm going to be the one that gets evidence of Bigfoot, correct? Correct.
00:28:01
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:28:01
Mike Familant
Let's just say it.
00:28:01
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:28:01
Mike Familant
I mean, you know, odds are in my favor that I'm probably going to get evidence over then somebody that's not in the woods at all.
00:28:02
Megan anderson
yeah
00:28:02
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:28:03
Lee Hatfield
yeah
00:28:03
Megan anderson
Yeah. Yeah. Right.
00:28:10
Mike Familant
So if I get the clearest evidence of Bigfoot, say a, you know, 20 second long, hey, I'm shaking hands with Mr. Foot type of thing, and I get that on video, right?
00:28:22
Megan anderson
yeah
00:28:24
Mike Familant
Right.
00:28:25
Megan anderson
yeah
00:28:27
Mike Familant
I'm going to be the one that's hoaxing it. That's going to be not, that's that's not going to be, I'm the one out there looking for Bigfoot. So of course I'm going to get big evidence of Bigfoot.
00:28:40
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:28:40
Mike Familant
That's a problem that Bigfoot inherently, Bigfoot researchers have.
00:28:45
Mike Familant
Second problem is what do we do when we get evidence of Bigfoot?
00:28:45
Megan anderson
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:28:52
Mike Familant
When I get clear and total evidence Evidence of Bigfoot, because I think it's going to happen one day. I i do think I'm going to be able to see Bigfoot one day.
00:29:04
Megan anderson
Yep.
00:29:05
Mike Familant
What am I going to do with that?
00:29:08
Lee Hatfield
That's it.
00:29:08
Mike Familant
i want to do I want to do what protects the species most.
00:29:08
Lee Hatfield
Yeah. yeah
00:29:13
Megan anderson
Right.
00:29:14
Mike Familant
Preserve the species. i want to im go to I want to protect that species.
00:29:15
Megan anderson
Yep.
00:29:16
Mike Familant
I want to save that species.
00:29:19
Megan anderson
yeah
00:29:19
Mike Familant
Do i release that evidence and do I say you know to the government and say this is a new species that we now have to protect?
00:29:29
Megan anderson
Yep.
00:29:30
Mike Familant
Or do I not release that and let the species be that's been going for how many years and years and years by itself?
00:29:42
Lee Hatfield
That's it. And that's the million-dollar question.
00:29:42
Megan anderson
I never thought of it that way. Yeah.
00:29:44
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:29:45
Mike Familant
That's an inherently great question, isn't it?
00:29:47
Lee Hatfield
Yeah, that is that is fantastic.
00:29:48
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:29:49
Lee Hatfield
Because at the end of the day, if you give away that location, you can guarantee within a few days you're going to get trucks and trucks of people but shock with shotguns, nets, whatever.
00:29:54
Megan anderson
Yep.
00:29:58
Megan anderson
Yep.
00:30:00
Mike Familant
And not not only that, you're going to get moms and dads in their woods trying to get a trophy kill of Bigfoot.
00:30:06
Megan anderson
Yes.
00:30:06
Mike Familant
And what does Bigfoot look like in the woods? It looks like a guy in a ghillie suit. You're going to get people shooting people.
00:30:14
Lee Hatfield
Yeah, exactly.
00:30:14
Megan anderson
Yep.
00:30:17
Megan anderson
So true.
00:30:17
Lee Hatfield
So, yeah, I would kind of, because we do a lot of paranormal investigations and people say to me, well, it's all fake.
00:30:28
Lee Hatfield
And I go, well, yeah I've got this evidence, I've got that evidence. But if I know what I experienced is genuine, that's all that matters to me.
00:30:40
Mike Familant
For sure.
00:30:40
Lee Hatfield
i I saw that or I heard that. I don't care what anybody else thinks. And it's the same for yourself. If you've experienced it, even if you've gone up to Bigfoot and shook his hand, that's a personal experience for you and something that you should keep close to your heart.
00:30:50
Mike Familant
hmm.
00:30:56
Lee Hatfield
I know it sounds a bit cheesy, but it's true. Rather than spoil that species itself.
00:31:01
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:31:04
Lee Hatfield
spoil what they've had for the last X amount of years living in relative peace. Like you say, you're going to get every man and his dog turn up to try and capture it and either put it in a zoo or put it in a, you know, mount it on a wall.
00:31:19
Mike Familant
And that begs you to ask the question, how many people have evidence of Bigfoot that they've never released before?
00:31:27
Megan anderson
yeah
00:31:30
Lee Hatfield
That's a very good question.
00:31:31
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:31:33
Lee Hatfield
but we're the one asking the questions, not you.
00:31:36
Mike Familant
Yeah, but think about it though.
00:31:36
Megan anderson
But it's true.
00:31:38
Mike Familant
Have your fans think about that.
00:31:39
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:31:39
Mike Familant
make
00:31:39
Lee Hatfield
Yeah, exactly.
00:31:40
Mike Familant
ands
00:31:40
Lee Hatfield
Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's, yeah, that, that is, that, that is, yeah, exactly.
00:31:42
Mike Familant
Like crap, that's a good question.
00:31:47
Lee Hatfield
Yeah. it's like Don't take my last comment the wrong way, but joking, but it's, yeah, but, but it's right though, isn't it?
00:31:51
Mike Familant
oh No, you're good
00:31:53
Lee Hatfield
It is. How many people have not released it?
00:31:54
Megan anderson
Yes.
00:31:56
Lee Hatfield
That's, that's crazy. That's crazy.
00:31:59
Megan anderson
Yeah, and I've seen it and have everything.
00:31:59
Mike Familant
you're good.
00:32:00
Lee Hatfield
Uh,
00:32:02
Mike Familant
You know somebody has evidence of Bigfoot and it's you know the the positive proof that we need.
00:32:04
Lee Hatfield
yeah
00:32:09
Mike Familant
You know if somebody does.
00:32:10
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:32:10
Mike Familant
it's it's There's no question about that.
00:32:11
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:32:12
Mike Familant
If Bigfoot's out there, somebody has proof positive evidence.
00:32:12
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:32:19
Mike Familant
Just a matter of who, who.
00:32:20
Lee Hatfield
That's it. And the thing is, yeah, yeah, exactly.
00:32:22
Mike Familant
but
00:32:24
Lee Hatfield
And even if you're thinking about this on a logical wavelength, if you give away a location, know, you may not get the hunters or the, or the families going Bigfoot hunting, but if you get the film crew, the film's crew is going to turn up with two or three, three vehicles, loads of cameras and lights.
00:32:43
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:32:45
Lee Hatfield
So if there is Bigfoot close by, With all the noise that a film crew makes, they're just going to yeah, I'm not umm not showing myself to these people.
00:32:54
Mike Familant
See you later. Yeah.
00:32:56
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:32:56
Lee Hatfield
I'm going to have an early night.
00:32:59
Megan anderson
yeah
00:32:59
Mike Familant
Mm-hmm.
00:32:59
Lee Hatfield
and I'll wait i wait until they've all disappeared.
00:33:03
Mike Familant
Yep. You want to know just another subtopic off of that?
00:33:06
Lee Hatfield
Go for it.
Skepticism and Future Plans
00:33:08
Mike Familant
You know, the reason why the United States government is never going to acknowledge the existence of Bigfoot is because look at where Bigfoot has been seen in the Pacific Northwest.
00:33:21
Mike Familant
If Bigfoot is noted to be new species, it's going to be an endangered species which needs protecting.
00:33:29
Megan anderson
Right.
00:33:29
Mike Familant
That means environmental protection. That means protecting the land that Bigfoot is known to exist in. What is the Pacific Northwest in the United States known for?
00:33:41
Mike Familant
Logging. That's our biggest problem.
00:33:43
Megan anderson
oh
00:33:45
Mike Familant
biggest export in the United States that's going to be shut down in the Pacific Northwest if Bigfoot is known to exist. That's why the government is probably, unless without a reasonable doubt, is going to acknowledge the existence of Bigfoot.
00:33:59
Mike Familant
100%.
00:34:00
Lee Hatfield
Yeah, so it's always always dollars before anything else into at the end of the day.
00:34:04
Mike Familant
Yep. yeah
00:34:06
Megan anderson
always well that brings us I guess to the next question what is the most compelling piece of evidence you've ever found while investigating Bigfoot
00:34:07
Lee Hatfield
Okay, Megan.
00:34:18
Mike Familant
that's That's a great question, too. I mean, we found some really cool stuff. I get I don't get evidence. You know, a lot of people say like.
00:34:28
Lee Hatfield
Thank you.
00:34:28
Mike Familant
I get evidence every time I go out or every other time I go out and, you know, that's if you get evidence like that, I don't think you're a very good researcher because I don't think you know what you're looking for.
00:34:31
Megan anderson
yeah
00:34:42
Mike Familant
I get it one in ten times. Maybe, at best, I get some sort of maybe something. And that's because I go into the hot spots of the country.
00:34:55
Mike Familant
You know, I i i dive into the hot spots of the the Bigfoot.
00:34:55
Megan anderson
Right. Mm-hmm.
00:35:00
Mike Familant
Anyways, the best piece of evidence I've probably come across was... up at High Point State Park in, in Northwestern New Jersey, which is up by me.
00:35:12
Mike Familant
we, we came across a, there were, there were five of us and I did a barred owl call, which I don't know if if you're familiar with. It goes, whoa whoa walk walk and I did one of those things, uh, excuse my accent, but I did one of those things.
00:35:29
Megan anderson
Mm-hmm.
00:35:30
Mike Familant
And, a Bigfoot got a respawned back. It was three howls. It was,
00:35:40
Mike Familant
yeah and then I said, that's not a coyote. And it, and it's all on my YouTube channel. You can, you can hear it. But again, like, i like I said, kind of, I alluded prior, I sent that away to linguish from the military. And he said, that's no known animal outside of human range.
00:36:03
Mike Familant
Additionally, we found footprints from High Point State Park, which are really cool. We found six six footprints over 70 yards that were, if you can imagine, like a gigantic bare double-step footprint, that's what it would be. They were 11 inches wide by fifteen and a half inches long
00:36:24
Megan anderson
Wow. Yeah. Wow.
00:36:28
Mike Familant
So if that was a bear double step, that would be a, because sometimes when a bear steps, it's actual, it's back foot will land on its front foot, look like very human-like.
00:36:36
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:36:40
Mike Familant
That would be a record-sized black bear in New Jersey plus 200 pounds. It would be a thousand pound black bear.
00:36:49
Lee Hatfield
And even so, you you wouldn't want to make that even if it was.
00:36:49
Mike Familant
So.
00:36:52
Megan anderson
No.
00:36:52
Lee Hatfield
it was like but so like It's like, I'm having it.
00:36:53
Mike Familant
No, no, no, thou no dead no, thank you. Nope. A thousand pound black bear. That's, that would be, that would be almost, I mean, almost impossible.
00:37:06
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:37:07
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:37:07
Mike Familant
Yeah. Yeah.
00:37:07
Lee Hatfield
and there would And there would be evidence. Yeah.
00:37:10
Mike Familant
Well, and this thing this this thing also, the the the the footprint didn't have any claw marks on it, which is intriguing because if you're a thousand pound black bear, you have to have your claws to to be able to survive especially in the winter when we found these tracks.
00:37:10
Lee Hatfield
For something.
00:37:18
Megan anderson
Oh.
00:37:20
Megan anderson
Yeah. Yeah.
00:37:26
Lee Hatfield
For sure.
00:37:26
Mike Familant
So, yeah, don't know.
00:37:28
Lee Hatfield
that
00:37:28
Mike Familant
So cool.
00:37:30
Lee Hatfield
That is crazy. So on a similar sort of question.
00:37:31
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:37:35
Lee Hatfield
What evidence would you hope to find if you could definitively prove Bigfoot's existence? Like you said, footprints, DNA example.
00:37:47
Lee Hatfield
well What kind of evidence would you really hope to find to say, yes, I've just experienced Bigfoot?
00:37:54
Megan anderson
Mm-hmm.
00:37:56
Mike Familant
i You know, and and and honestly, I think going back to kind of what we said before, I don't know if I'd want to, like, I have my evidence collection kit in my backpack, you know, and I would love to, you know, i you know I've casted footprints and stuff before. I would love to be able to grab some hair and shove it in a bag and then spend $4,000 and try to get it analyzed and have it come back to be black bear.
00:38:27
Mike Familant
You know, I'd love to do that.
00:38:27
Megan anderson
Right.
00:38:29
Mike Familant
That would be fantastic for me.
00:38:31
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:38:32
Mike Familant
The fact is, as a big, as Bigfoot field researchers, we are not in it nowadays to look for evidence.
00:38:43
Megan anderson
right
00:38:44
Mike Familant
we're not We're not in it to look for DNA. It's too expensive. We don't have that kind of money in our pocket.
00:38:49
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:38:50
Mike Familant
to you know to There's no fund that we can tap into to look you know to get our and analyze or our our evidence analyzed. So what it comes down to is video, pictures.
00:39:03
Mike Familant
That's what it comes down to. So that's what we try to really focus on nowadays when it comes to field research.
00:39:04
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:39:11
Lee Hatfield
Yeah. And I do have another question, but I think you've already kind of covered it because my next question was going to be, yeah what would be the potential implications for the scientific community and the public? But I think you've kind of already answered that one.
00:39:29
Mike Familant
Yeah.
00:39:29
Lee Hatfield
Definitely.
00:39:30
Mike Familant
Yeah.
00:39:30
Lee Hatfield
So, Megan, over to you for this one then.
00:39:41
Mike Familant
Can we swear on this program?
00:39:44
Lee Hatfield
Go ahead. Yeah, we've got the egg we've got the explicit button checked, so we're good.
00:39:46
Mike Familant
Screw them.
00:39:51
Megan anderson
Yeah, go ahead.
00:39:53
Mike Familant
I just did. No, I think...
00:39:54
Lee Hatfield
yeah
00:39:57
Mike Familant
No, i ah ah to to be dead honest, I hid the fact that I was into Bigfoot for a long time from my friends and my family.
00:40:05
Megan anderson
Oh.
00:40:06
Mike Familant
i big Being into Bigfoot is... Liking Bigfoot is weird.
00:40:15
Mike Familant
Being into Bigfoot is kind of weird-er. err Being a Bigfoot field researcher is really weird. Devoting your life to Bigfoot is absolutely batshit.
00:40:34
Mike Familant
How do I respond to critics is you give me a question, I'll give you an answer. And it's, it's I mean, i'll I'll go ring the, you know, punch to punch with you.
00:40:39
Megan anderson
Yep.
00:40:44
Mike Familant
It'll be fun.
00:40:45
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:40:45
Mike Familant
Let's do it.
00:40:46
Lee Hatfield
And funnily enough...
00:40:47
Mike Familant
i had i had I had somebody, one of my, because, so so I speak at libraries full-time.
00:40:48
Lee Hatfield
oh
00:40:53
Mike Familant
That's my full-time job is speaking at libraries about Bigfoot. And that that funds my way to to camp at state parks and national forests at night looking for Bigfoot and filming my show.
00:41:03
Megan anderson
Yep.
00:41:06
Mike Familant
One of the first programs that i put on was in Florida. And I did this, this guy came in 15 minutes late and he sat in the front row and I did my spiel and I was so nervous.
00:41:21
Mike Familant
And I was like, you know, does anybody have any questions? And he raised his hand first one. was like, yes, you, sir. And he's like, he stood up and he turned around to the audience and he said,
00:41:35
Mike Familant
Do you guys believe in any of this crap? And everybody just gasped. The whole audience just audibly gasped. And I was like, oh my God.
00:41:49
Mike Familant
Like, what are you, why are you why are you here?
00:41:50
Megan anderson
Yeah. Yeah.
00:41:53
Mike Familant
Like, what is the point you being here?
00:41:53
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:41:56
Mike Familant
And I should have said, well, if you didn't come in, I i should have. But I was so new. i was just was just like, sir, you just got to relax and look at the, you know, I tried spiel my way out of it, but I should have just threw him out.
00:42:01
Lee Hatfield
and
00:42:09
Megan anderson
yeah
00:42:09
Mike Familant
But that's that's what I get. that's that's That's a common occurrence. That's enforcement, though.
00:42:09
Lee Hatfield
but moment
00:42:13
Lee Hatfield
and i i think it's the same in no matter what you do within the paranormal
00:42:19
Megan anderson
yeah
00:42:20
Lee Hatfield
you kind of get a lot of people with the same response. I had a colleague last year when I told him there was a paranormal investigator. He went, oh, that's a load of crap. And I went, so what evidence do you have?
00:42:29
Mike Familant
Yeah.
00:42:29
Megan anderson
you know
00:42:32
Lee Hatfield
And went, what? And went, well, you've obviously done your research and you've yeah you've done all the science stuff. So what evidence do you have? And he went, well, I haven't got any. So went, okay. I went, so I've got some evidence.
00:42:45
Lee Hatfield
I says, I'm not saying it's paranormal. I'm not saying this goes, I'm saying it's unexplained and I've got evidence to prove it.
00:42:50
Mike Familant
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:42:51
Lee Hatfield
and And then the way that we actually do our investigations where we will actually look at the scientific side of the paranormal first,
00:42:56
Megan anderson
Yeah. Yeah.
00:43:01
Mike Familant
Yeah.
00:43:02
Megan anderson
yeah
00:43:02
Lee Hatfield
before we go in before we go into the paranormal part of it.
00:43:02
Mike Familant
Yep.
00:43:06
Lee Hatfield
And people just start going, well, yeah that's a really cool way of doing it. So you look at the natural phenomena before you go into anything else. And that does, yeah, yeah that works too.
00:43:14
Mike Familant
Yeah, I'd just say s screw them.
00:43:17
Megan anderson
yeah
00:43:19
Lee Hatfield
So have you ever been north of the border to do any investigations?
00:43:24
Mike Familant
Nah, they won't let me in there.
00:43:27
Lee Hatfield
that's That's extremely rude.
00:43:29
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:43:29
Mike Familant
Yeah, no, no, I'm just kidding. No, I haven't been. I'm actually working on maybe 2026 getting up into Canada, but really far up there. Not like just like play Canada, like way up there.
00:43:49
Lee Hatfield
Yeah, out in out in out in the boonies.
00:43:51
Megan anderson
Yeah.
00:43:51
Mike Familant
Yeah, yeah.
00:43:53
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:43:54
Mike Familant
there was there I was actually just talking to a friend right before we got on the podcast. Big Bear Lake or something like that. I heard that's supposed to be really great for Bigfoot.
00:44:03
Lee Hatfield
That's...
00:44:06
Mike Familant
So I'm going to look into that. that's
00:44:08
Lee Hatfield
Can it...
00:44:08
Mike Familant
That's apparently a plane trip, though. So we got to figure that out.
00:44:11
Megan anderson
Yes.
00:44:11
Lee Hatfield
Yeah, exactly.
00:44:12
Megan anderson
Yes.
00:44:12
Lee Hatfield
You're talking to an Englishman that now lives in Canada. You mentioned places. I'll go, oh, is that in Canada? Yeah, it's like three miles down the road. Oh, okay.
00:44:22
Lee Hatfield
So one of our final questions for the evening, Mike, and I do love this question. I think it's fantastic. That's one of my personal opinion. you know If you found out there were no further sightings or evidence of Bigfoot, it just stopped for whatever reason, but you found out that another cryptid was a proven, which one would it be and why?
00:44:46
Mike Familant
Shit, that's a good question.
00:44:47
Megan anderson
you
00:44:51
Mike Familant
Tasmanian tiger. is that Is that a cryptid? Or no?
00:44:57
Lee Hatfield
Well, there's so many of them, it could be.
00:44:59
Mike Familant
The thylacine. I would... i would if if if If Bigfoot was done and I proved the existence of Bigfoot...
00:45:01
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:45:10
Mike Familant
I would go down to Tasmania and look for the Cylacine, the Tasmanian tiger, which is a dog-tiger hybrid that was was extinct, I think, back in the early The last one was was extinct in a zoo, but there's still sightings of it to this day.
00:45:16
Megan anderson
Wow.
00:45:30
Lee Hatfield
lot Yeah.
00:45:32
Mike Familant
And I would love to go down there and try to find it. Plus, I think the actions are pretty hot.
00:45:38
Lee Hatfield
Because I, yeah, I think because, yeah, because of my background, yeah, I'd have to go with Nessie. Yeah.
00:45:45
Mike Familant
Nessie's cool.
00:45:46
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:45:47
Mike Familant
You gotta love Nessie.
00:45:47
Lee Hatfield
What about you, Megan? Yeah.
00:45:49
Megan anderson
I don't even know.
00:45:49
Lee Hatfield
Megan's going to go. You're asking me a question on cryptids.
00:45:51
Megan anderson
This is me. don't know. kind of like, I don't know.
00:45:55
Mike Familant
Hey Megan, how many Bigfoot do you think there are in the United States?
00:46:01
Megan anderson
I'm gonna, I'm gonna go. I'm randomly guess. 103. There's guess. Yeah.
00:46:09
Lee Hatfield
ah hundred and three
00:46:10
Mike Familant
That's a good guess. I like it. Very specific.
00:46:13
Megan anderson
yeah
00:46:14
Lee Hatfield
so the final question of the evening unfortunately because this has been really fun is there a question know is there a question that you wish we'd ask you and didn't
00:46:20
Megan anderson
oh
00:46:21
Mike Familant
I was already over. oh no
00:46:27
Megan anderson
that's a good question
00:46:32
Mike Familant
Oh yeah This is a good, this is, this is good. I like this because these are questions I haven't been asked before. Now, is there a question?
00:46:43
Mike Familant
Ask it again. Ask it again.
00:46:45
Lee Hatfield
Is there a question you wish we'd have asked you, but we haven't?
00:46:50
Mike Familant
I mean, I could just spew all my stuff, but there's there's no reason to do that. if if you know If your fans like my stuff, they'll look it up.
00:47:00
Mike Familant
I think what I would love to leave everybody at, and it kind of like how I leave all my my presentations and and my speaking appearances at, and i think it's just a... it Think of this quote and...
00:47:16
Mike Familant
and
00:47:19
Mike Familant
Take it how you may, but if the possibility of Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster is far superior to one without, life with the possibility of Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster is far superior to one without.
00:47:39
Mike Familant
That's the truth.
00:47:40
Lee Hatfield
I think that is the perfect end to that podcast.
00:47:44
Megan anderson
Yep.
00:47:45
Lee Hatfield
It's a fantastic statement. So for all you guys that are listening, if you want to follow Mike further, he's got a fantastic YouTube channel called In the Shadow of a Big Red Eye.
00:47:47
Megan anderson
Yep.
00:47:57
Lee Hatfield
I highly suggest you subscribe to it. Let's get him lot more followers and you can hear more of his...
00:48:02
Mike Familant
New episodes every Monday.
00:48:04
Lee Hatfield
week today today's Thursday so we're okay with you I'm just checking because like doing these podcasts you forget what day it is but Mike I would like like to thank you you've been an absolute fantastic guest you've come out with some really cool stories and hopefully we'll come and see you again a location closer to you like New Jersey last time when we first met thank you my friend
00:48:05
Megan anderson
Every Monday. Today's
00:48:16
Megan anderson
yeah
00:48:28
Megan anderson
yeah
00:48:29
Mike Familant
Absolutely. na Megan, Lee, thank you so much. It's been such a fun time.
00:48:36
Lee Hatfield
Awesome. Thanks very much.
00:48:37
Megan anderson
Thank you. Bye,
00:48:38
Lee Hatfield
Take care all and we'll be back soon.
00:48:42
Megan anderson
everyone.