Les Stroud, filmmaker found on OLN and the Discovery Channel US, is one of the most fascinating stories of lifestyle design through entrepreneurship. A guy who simply loved to go in the backwoods and survive found a way to make a living at it (and a quite lucrative one at that).  Stroud who was admittedly astounded by the show Survivor, decided to make some cold calls, selling his unique skillset of both a survival instructor and filmmaker.  Who could say no to a guy who claimed he could shoot the whole thing himself?

According to Survivorman.com “In the year 2000 Stroud took a few small cameras out into the wilderness of Northern Ontario, Canada and spent a week surviving alone without food, water, equipment or camera crew. He single-handedly created, produced, wrote, filmed, hosted, edited and wrote the theme music for these first two original, one-hour pilots for what would eventually become the series Survivorman. He remains the only producer in the history of television to produce an internationally broadcast series entirely written, videotaped and hosted alone.”

Les founded Survivorman Productions and created an empire.  With shows on several different TV shows, DVDs, shirts, hats, bandanas and posters Les is making some serious bank.  Les has done several shows including: “Surviving Urban Disasters” along with two versions of “A week in the Wilderness.” Both of the “Wilderness” videos are available for streaming.  Read his blog here.

“Except for footage of him arriving at his new setting, and being retrieved at the end of the week, the content of each episode is taped entirely by Stroud himself using several DV video cameras that he must carry with him everywhere that he goes. (He has lately switched to a number of HDV cameras.) The burden of having to carry, place, and retrieve the camera equipment for each shot adds to the challenge and difficulty of each survival situation. His camera and audio gear typically weigh about 50 pounds (22.7 kg) in total. During the “Behind the Scenes” episode, Stroud explains that “setting up or tearing down all of my camera gear takes about 65% of my time,” making survival more challenging. The episode also explains that Stroud and his team extensively scout their locations ahead of time and consult with survivalists and natives to the area. The goal is both to ensure Stroud’s safety and to sketch out interesting scenarios and techniques that can be illustrated on the show. He later records a voice-over commentary in the studio, where he explains his decision-making process and details of how he accomplished various tasks.” (Wikipedia)

Les however does not go forward without proper planning.  Like any good entrepreneur Les knows  what he’s getting into before he moves forward. When situations arise, Les acts quickly and uses his instinct.

I was most interested in researching the types of cameras Survivorman carries. Sony HVR-Z1Us, is his main weapon.  For night scenes, Sony DCR-HC96, and for the real HD shots a Sony HDR-HC3.

Survivorman truly embodies what it takes to do what you love, love what you do. With entrepreneurial drive and passion, combined with carefully thought out and executed plan–anything is possible! A true hero in lifestyle design.

Read more about the 7 Entrepreneurial Secrets of Survivorman here.