Joshua “Bam Bam” Brown has paid tribute to his brother Matt Brown following reports that the former “Alaskan Bush People” star was found dead at the end of May. Matt Brown, one of the original cast members of the Discovery Channel reality series, had been reported missing by family members on May 27. Later reports said his body was allegedly seen in the Okanogan River. His brother Bear Brown said on TikTok that Noah Brown recovered Matt’s body from a river and suggested the death involved a self-inflicted wound, though an official coroner’s report has not yet been completed.
In a lengthy Instagram statement, Bam Bam Brown spoke on behalf of the family and remembered Matt as much more than the person viewers saw on television. He described his brother as intelligent, curious, creative, and deeply interested in the world around him. According to Bam Bam, Matt was a gifted outdoorsman, fisherman, boatman, and artist who loved adventure, nature, and learning new skills. He said Matt taught himself sign language, studied Egyptian hieroglyphs, petroglyphs, and Sanskrit, learned conversational Spanish, and could spend hours mastering a new skill simply for the joy of understanding it.
“Alaskan Bush People” aired for 14 seasons from 2014 to 2022 and often highlighted Matt Brown as the family’s black sheep. The show also addressed his struggles with addiction, which eventually led to his departure in 2019. Matt had been estranged from several family members in recent years, and his passing comes after the death of family patriarch Billy Brown in 2021.
Bam Bam’s tribute also focused on Matt’s efforts to help others. He said that during periods of sobriety and recovery, Matt openly discussed his struggles with addiction and mental health through videos and personal outreach, encouraging others to seek help and reminding them they were not alone. He added that the family experienced years of hope, recovery, setbacks, heartbreak, and reconciliation, and said Billy Brown never stopped believing Matt could heal and find peace.
The message also acknowledged painful parts of Matt’s past, including accusations made against him in 2020 by a former assistant and manager. A district attorney declined to prosecute. Bam Bam said the family did not want to minimize any hurt caused by those events, but also did not believe a person should be defined only by their lowest moments. He remembered Matt as someone who loved the wilderness, could navigate rough waters, drew for hours, and made his family laugh unexpectedly.
Matt Brown’s death comes amid a difficult period for reality television and follows other recent losses in the genre. For the Brown family and fans of “Alaskan Bush People,” Bam Bam’s tribute offers a personal and complicated portrait of a brother whose life included talent, struggle, recovery, and deep family bonds.
