Escape artist Dean Gunnarson takes adventures on road from Manitoba

WINNIPEG — Dean Gunnarson, who bills himself as “the world’s greatest escape artist,” is returning home to Manitoba with a daring new documentary television series.

Escape or Die, which premiers April 14, follows Gunnarson to exotic locations around the world attempting various escapes. Each journey starts here in Manitoba — something he told Global Winnipeg’s Morning News he loves.

“I’m really excited that this is a Manitoba production, produced by Farpoint Films, in Winnipeg,” said Gunnarson. “I’ve been escaping around the world all my life, but now people in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada can see the stuff that I do.”

WATCH: Escape artist Dean Gunnarson talks about TV, Variety Club shows

Whether he’s being chained to a moving rollercoaster or facing the jaws of death, Gunnarson said it’s all about channeling your courage and strength in that moment.

“Overcoming some fears — it’s all mental,” he said.

Gunnarson said he’ll face his biggest fear — snakes — during the series’ 12-episode run. But one of his biggest feats is taking another shot at an escape he attempted 30 years ago here in Winnipeg.

When he was 19, Gunnarson was nailed into a wooden coffin and thrown in the Red River in front of a crowd of about 10,000 people. After four minutes submerged in the water, rescue crews pulled an unconscious Gunnarson out of the water.

“They pulled me out and the Winnipeg ambulance service brought me back to life,” said Gunnarson. “I saw the lights at the end of the tunnel. I was blue. I was unconscious. I was dead.”

This time around he ups the stakes and is thrown into shark-infested waters in the Bahamas while attempting the same escape.

“If I don’t escape, I die. I have died. I’ve broken every bone in my body at one point or another,” he said. “It’s kind of a cross between Houdini and Evel Knievel.”

Gunnarson resides in his hometown of Riding Mountain National Park. He said all of his escapes start out in his home workshop, which he calls “The Morgue.”

Gunnarson returns home again when he headlines the Come One, Come All gala fundraiser for Variety, the Children’s Charity of Manitoba, on May 9 at the Delta Hotel.