For my money, Les Stroud (a.k.a. Survivorman) is the hardest working man in showbiz.
The premise of Survivorman is simple: Les spends a week alone in some wilderness area somewhere in the globe with few (if any) resources and is responsible for not only his own survival, but recording the whole thing himself. In other words, as viewers sit in their climate-controlled homes on comfy couches with an assortment of snacks at hand, Les is living in some cold (or hot) place, trying to start a fire and if he’s lucky, munching on a handful of bugs while making sure he’s in the camera frame.
The show is great and it’s amazing the situations Les gets himself into and out of. For those of you into Lost, he’s like a real-life Locke, except (as far as I know) he wasn’t once paralyzed and has both his kidneys.
But after three seasons, I don’t blame Les for hanging up his multi-tool. From the CBC:
“You can only do seven days surviving without food a certain number of times a year. I’m pleased with what I have done, I’ve been copied around the world, but 25 times I’ve not eaten anything for a week while sleeping on rocks. I need to move on,” he said.
If you haven’t watched Survivorman, I implore you to give it a shot. It’s definitely worth watching and (re-watching).
Just like the castaways on Lost, if there was someone I’d count on to make sure I survive, it would be Les (even if he can’t catch a fish). If I’m ever in a survival situation (that doesn’t involve take-out), I’ll think of some tips I’ve learned from watching Les:
- Talking to yourself actually helps.
- Put your bait inside your traps before setting them up.
- Don’t eat too much rabbit (or drink too much coconut juice).
- Punky wood is the best for starting a fire.
- You can start a fire with two sticks and a lot of hard work.
- When you sweat, you die.