More About Survivorman: Bio | Q and A |
Living off the land takes on a new meaning when wilderness survival expert and filmmaker Les "Survivorman" Stroud spends nine harrowing weeks alone in a variety of survival simulations.
Stroud's idea of a nature outing is probably a little different from yours and mine: he takes off alone and heads to a punishing corner in the back of beyond with nothing but a few cameras to document his (often miserable) experiences. From the frozen Arctic pack ice to the fetid jungles of Central America, Survivorman highlights Stroud's extraordinary self-reliance and survival skills. In each episode he is set down in a deserted wilderness and left to fend entirely for himself with no food, no fresh water, no shelter and no matches.
Stoud started his film career in the 1980s as a music video producer for MuchMusic, a Canadian music video channel. As he stared out the window of an office into an urban alleyway, Stroud itched to escape to the wilderness.
In 1987 he made a break for it and spent the next seven years traveling Canada as a canoe guide and wilderness instructor. He developed his own outdoor company called Wilderness Voice (still in operation) and paddled numerous Canadian rivers as a whitewater guide for Black Feather Wilderness Adventures.
After Stroud met his partner in life, Sue Jamison, also an outdoor enthusiast and photographer, the two spent an entire year living in the remote boreal forest of northern Ontario. They lived as if it were 500 years ago — no matches, no metal and no tent — just a stone axe and their knowledge of traditional bush survival.
Stroud filmed the entire adventure, eventually releasing the odyssey as a one-hour documentary called Snowshoes and Solitude. In addition to being an award-winning filmmaker, Stroud is also a recording and touring musician.
With custom camera rigs and plenty of black humor, Stroud will spend nine weeks documenting his battle to survive in nine separate locations for Survivorman. Whether marooned on a tropical shoreline or deposited onto searing desert sands, Les Stroud takes living off the land to the extreme.
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