Gabriel Lansinoh
Polar Bear
Male | 29 | Animal Enthusiast & YouTuber | Fairbanks, Alaska
Personality
Adventurous | Charismatic | Honest | Childish | Loner
Adventurous//Daring//Brave
Since he was very small, Gabriel has always had a sense of adventure. Whether it was to climb the tallest tree or swim in the fastest rivers or spend the whole winter out in the snow for the sake of finding the rare sights, it was often a guarantee that he was out there, trying to discover the world. He was never one to be afraid of the dark, for the dark often brought about the most fascinating of things. He wasn't afraid of hurting himself, for he trusted his body to heal and his knowledge to help it along. Though he often worried his mother, Gabriel was never afraid to try something new and exciting.
Charismatic//Fascinating//Charming
Though he was never one for the social life, Gabriel's natural way with words were what would eventually get his YouTube channel, "Earthly Wilds," to be as big as it is today. His athletic appearance granted him many looks of interest, and while he liked to spend a great deal of his time alone, he often found himself speaking to various people and learning lessons from them. Many find his adventurous nature to be fascinating, and while he's not one for flirting, he has been described as charming before.
Honest//Trustworthy//Ethical
Gabriel is certainly not the kind of person to lie or turn against another being. He is known to be rather good at keeping secrets, and his moral compass points more towards the side of treating others equally. While he does agree with hunting to survive, he has a strict rule of using every part of an animal and is very against trophy hunting. He often advocates animal sanctuaries and donates to helping endangered wildlife species.
Childish//Boyish//Foolish
When he gets excited about certain things, Gabriel takes on a more childish and immature nature. He takes unnecessary risks and often goofs off when he should be more serious. Some say he has a more boyish nature and could do with some growing up while others enjoy the simple charm that comes along with his excitement.
Loner//Reserved//Withdrawn
While he regularly finds himself among many other people, there are times when Gabriel prefers the simple peace and quiet that comes with being alone. He can sometimes be found wandering away from the crowd to be by himself surrounded by nothing more than the sounds of nature. Though he was not always this way, it has become a hallmark in his personality over the last few years.
Strengths
Foolishly Brave | Patient | Kind-Hearted
Foolishly Brave
Gabriel does not have a natural sense of fear that is seen in most other people. He is a daredevil, finding himself with an intense desire to do the unthinkable. He is especially happy exploring areas of the world that have not yet been explored much.
Patient
While he can be very foolish when he's excited about something, Gabriel is quite patient when it comes to spotting and getting close to animals. His patience lies with nature, though, not so much with people.
Kind-Hearted
Whether it comes to the needs of animals or of people, Gabriel has a naturally kind disposition to him. While he has little patience for the antics of people, he does his best to try and listen to others when he can, especially when he cares deeply for those people. His kind-hearted nature goes even deeper into the needs of animals, and he'll always care more deeply for animals than he will people.
Skills
Cold-Climate Survival | Athleticism | Hiking/Endurance | Basic First Aid | Animal Knowledge
Cold-Climate Survival
Having lived his entire life in Fairbanks, Alaska, and spent the last three years exploring the northern region and the Arctic whenever possible, Gabriel has learned a thing or two when it comes to surviving in the cold. In fact, he's even done a few videos on them. How to build a snow shelter, how to keep from freezing to death (the key is to keep from sweating), how to build a fire, and how to find food. By far, this is possibly his most valuable skill.
Athleticism
Growing up a military brat with a thirst for adventure, Gabriel has learned how to hone his body in a way that allows for a more athletic shape and skill. He is, by no means, weak in terms of being able to lift or run or climb. One of the things he cannot do, however, is swim. He never learned.
Hiking/Endurance
When hunting for wildlife, one must have a great deal of endurance and be able to trek for extremely long periods of time. One of the key components, of course, is good hiking shoes. But the other key would have to be the actual ability to do so. With his athletic nature and the fact that he's been doing it for most of his life, Gabriel is very good at hiking for long periods of time. He even enjoys it.
Basic First Aid
When on the field, where there are no hospitals or clinics nearby, one must know how to patch a wound. While he wouldn't know what kind of plants to use if he runs out of bandages, he does know how to apply a bandage and what medicines are good for what ailments. He is especially good with a trauma kit.
Animal Knowledge
Of course, being a wildlife enthusiast, Gabriel is very good at understanding the basic behavioral tendencies of most animals found in cold climates. From small to large mammals, the very few amphibians around, and even some birds, Gabriel has studied many different kinds of wildlife using books and his own eyes to see what makes each of those animals tic. Whether or not this will actually help in an unknown world has yet to be seen.
Weaknesses
Risk Taker | Loner | Morals | Seizures
Risk Taker
Being as bold as he is, Gabriel is very well known to take very unnecessary risks. Be it jumping on ice, getting very close to a dangerous animal (like a polar bear), or handling a venomous animal, he has been known to do all sorts of things that would end with most in the hospital. While this has backfired on him before (see polar bear moment in history), he has quite often come out unscathed...which only boosts his confidence more in taking such risks.
Loner
After the very hard breakup with his girlfriend of seven years, Gabriel began to withdraw himself from others, and while he still made friends, he has found it harder and harder over the years to make more. Perhaps it is more his lack of willingness to get to know more people, or perhaps it is simply his desire to spend most of his time in nature. He isn't really sure why he's become such a loner.
Morals
Gabriel was raised on the acronym, "LDRSHIP," which stands for the seven moral values wrapped around the words of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. When another person does not hold true to these values, Gabriel can grow to be quite irritated and even angry. The lack of values seen in others sometimes makes him a little temperamental.
Seizures
Throughout his life, Gabriel has suffered from Atypical Absence seizures. When he was very young, they were horrible, lasting as long as 30 seconds each with more than twenty per day. At age five, his parents started him on various forms of medication until they found the one that worked, and as medicine got better, his epilepsy also got better. Now, he is on a medication that completely keeps the seizures at bay - one he has been on for almost five years. But it's kind of hard to take such medication if it's not going with him to a magical world.
History
[spoili]
Having been born and raised in the Golden Heart City of Fairbanks, Alaska, just outside of Fort Wainwright, Gabriel was destined to be a boy with a mind for out of the box thinking. An Army brat by his very definition, he feasted on the thoughts of adventure that came with stories of flying.
His father was an NCO assigned to the 1-52nd Aviation Battalion as a CH-47F "Chinook" crew chief, having served three years previously in Fort Drumm, NY before transferring to Fort Wainwright and meeting Gabriel's mother. As Gabriel grew, his father grew in the ranks, and by the time the boy was five years old, the soldier had been accepted to the Warrant Officer Candidate School. With the soldier mentality in the house, Gabriel learned the importance of leadership, integrity, and hard work. He learned about all of the words in the acronym, "LDRSHIP," and to live by each and every one of them. Yet, still a part of him was a free spirit unlike his father.
His parents never had any other children, so all of the duties of the child rested solely on his shoulders. He was a B student in school, and despite his father's efforts to ensure he paid attention to detail, the house was rarely spotless. But one thing that the boy always excelled at was his ability to find, safely handle, and release small wild animals. And when he did get bitten, thus causing a freak-out session from his mother, his smooth words of kindness and calm disposition was almost always able to keep him from getting in trouble.
At the age of six, after having begged for over a year for a pet of some sort, Gabriel was finally gifted a tiny malamute puppy. From day one, he was expected to feed it, water it, walk it, and train it. Taking to heart the meanings of selfless service, duty, and integrity, the boy did his best to give the puppy, which he named "Chew," a good life. The pair grew inseparable, and before they knew it, Chew was learning how to pull a small sled.
Fast forward to the age of fifteen, Gabriel got his first job working at the on-post Commissary as a bagger, working only for tips. It was at this point in his life that the boy came to realize his natural ability to talk to people. Within a week, he had easily earned nearly $900 working 30 hours, almost $300 more than the second best bagger in the store. At this age, he didn't really dislike talking to people, for most military families had great stories to tell. Yet, every chance he got, he made sure to make his way outside to explore.
His senior year of high school was when he met the girl who would become his long-time love. The girl's name was Caroline, and she had the most beautiful green eyes he had ever seen. For Gabriel, it was love at first sight. Naturally, the first thing he wanted to do was show her his world. She was enchanted by the way he saw nature and wildlife, and his love for animals fueled her desire to see them the same way. They graduated together, and instead of leaving, they remained in Fairbanks to continue exploring together. By this point, Gabriel's father was retired, and his parents returned to the contiguous 48 to live the remainder of their lives together.
As the couple grew, their interests slowly began to change and take a different turn. Caroline began to look towards the future, the need to start a family rising into her thoughts. Meanwhile, Gabriel wanted to branch out and explore other parts of the world's wildlife. Sadly, at the age of 25, this difference in desires finally forced the couple apart. Gabriel moved out, found a job as a veterinary assistant, and worked his way towards new goals. Shortly after, Chew finally passed away at the age of 19.
In the old dog's memory, Gabriel finally decided to try something new. He started a YouTube channel called Earthly Wilds, and with nothing more than a GoPro camera, he began making videos about all of the interesting plants and animals found in Alaska. For a little while, he was small, with no more than a few thousand subscribers.
After a year, he began monetizing his videos, placing advertisements on them to make a little money. Despite the setback, the subscribers still came in. The comments would explode with questions and feedback on possibly making it better. When he felt he was making enough of a profit, he finally decided to hire a couple of his coworkers from his vet office to help him out when making shots and the like. Around this time, his channel took off like a skyrocket.
However, with the intense breakup still on his mind, and still so many hours put into working at the vet clinic, Gabriel began to realize that he wasn't much of a people person any more. While he could still put on a smile and talk to people as needed, he much preferred the silence of nature. So, for the big videos and trips outside of home, he took his crew of three, but for the simpler videos near home, he stuck by himself.
By year two, he had traveled to the Arctic to watch polar bears and seals. It was here that he earned his nickname. His crew tells the story of a polar bear walking right up to him and smacking him across the back, saying he "picked a fight with a polar bear...and won." Of course, it wasn't that simple. The giant bear did smack him across the back, but he almost immediately lost consciousness as the massive paw easily sliced through his thick coat. The crew did manage to chase the beast off with gunfire, but Gabriel had to be air-lifted to the nearest hospital, which he remained in to recover for two weeks before going home. The video of the attack as well as the educational video that came after about how important it was to be mindful of one's surroundings were huge sensations, gaining their first million views.
From that point, on, everyone called Gabriel "Polar Bear," or "Bear" for short.
Now, he and the crew are on their way to their first out-of-continent trip to Siberia, Russia, in hopes of spotting the extremely rare Siberian Tiger in its natural habitat. With such a long flight, it's only natural that Gabriel would find himself to be falling asleep.
[/spoili]
