Kriti Mehrotra
As a reality competition series living up to its title in nearly every way conceivable, Netflix’s ‘The Trust: A Game of Greed‘ can honestly only be described as equal parts entertaining and intriguing. That’s because it revolves around 11 strangers from all walks of life as they receive $250,000, which they can either allocate among themselves evenly or vote each other out to increase their share. Amongst these 11 is actually Brian Firebaugh, whose sheer since sincerity at every step of the way won countless hearts.
Who is Brian Firebaugh?
From the moment Brian first came across our screens, he made it evident he was just a simple guy partaking in this experiment in the hopes of walking away with some cash to provide for his family. It turns out he’s a Marine Corps veteran turned cattle rancher in central Texas, but his establishment apparently doesn’t make nearly enough money to enable him to enjoy the fruits of his hard labor. “I’m a full-time rancher, and unfortunately, we have not grown to the point… that I can hire a cowboy,” he conceded. “So, I’m the cattleman, I’m the cowboy, I’m the cattle hauler, I’m the farmer.”
Brian thus looks incredible on paper and entirely deserving of as much of the final pot as possible, yet it was his character that genuinely won our hearts — he was sincere at every step of the way. He’d decided early on to be a team player by not accepting selfish offers or cutting fellow contestants out as long as they didn’t needlessly do the same and act like sharks, which is exactly what he did. This 42-year-old actually made it clear he’s a dreamer as well as an optimist because friendship, loyalty, and trust aren’t earned with him; they’re lost — so he will stand by anyone if they’re genuine.
In other words, even if Brian doesn’t completely understand a person or where they come from, considering he’s often in his own little bubble, he doesn’t judge; he forms an opinion after knowing them. The truth is he’s indeed this kind and full of integrity because he has witnessed the other side of it firsthand — “My biological father, he had a thing with money,” he said at one point in the production. “He used to steal. That is why I try to be truthful, try to be honest, and try to be exceedingly loyal. Because if I’m not, I’m more just like my father.” This is also why he believes “money is a poison.”
Brian candidly expressed, “Ultimately, I think you need to find that peace, that happiness first. The money can help you get there, but ultimately, it will try and poison you along the way.” This happiness for him is his family, which he has admittedly already found. He has a beautiful wife named April, and he actually joined this original series to be able to go through the process of adopting a little boy named Rooster (then eight months old) from the foster care system. “I need to be financially stable for the state to say, ‘Yeah, you can adopt Rooster.’ That’s why I’m here,” he revealed.
Thanks to his strong presence in the Netflix show, Brian was actually given two highly tempting offers at two different points in the show. Though he decided to reject the offer the first time without even seeing it, the second time was different. The reason Brian had been chosen to be given the second offer was because he was the one with the most poker chips in the modified game played by the cast members. In the vault, he was told that if he refused to see the offer, the same proposal would be given to someone else.
As such, Brian agreed to open the offer, which automatically made him earn $30,000 from the trust, but randomly blocked three contestants, including him, from voting in the next trust ceremony. Following the elimination of Lindsey Anderson, Brian was among the five contestants who were given the final value offer with the possibility oof keeping an amount of up to $25,000. He refused the offer and chose to vote for sharing during the final trust ceremony. Thanks to the fact that everyone had chosen to share the money, Brian took home and additional amount of $48,600.
Where is Brian Firebaugh Now?
From what we can tell, Brian is still based in Hubbard, Texas, where he proudly owns 4F Ranch Holding LLC and serves as the Founder/Manager of its cattle ranch subsidiary, Texas Trail Boss. Moreover, plus more importantly, it appears as if he’s a happily married father of one — it’s unclear whether their adoption process was successful or if he and April have a biological child, but the pair do seem to be parents of a son.
We should also mention that Brian has been a public figure long before he even stepped foot onto the set of ‘The Trust: A Game of Greed’ through TikTok as well as YouTube. Known as Cattle Guy, he has had successful online campaigns to educate interested individuals from across the globe about the Longhorn beef cattle breed he works with. Plus, he serves on the Texas Farmers Veteran Coalition board and has been featured in many ranching shows/podcasts over the years, including ‘Pepper Stewert Farm and Ranch’ and ‘Victory Garden.’
Read More: Bryce Lee: The Trust Contestant is Now in a Happy Relationship
