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He is a helicopter pilot, paragliding
instructor, and extreme sports adventure,

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who's captured the world through
his lens for National Geographic,

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Playboy and Leica, where he is a brand
ambassador from the Alps to Africa.

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His journey has shifted from documenting
adventures to living it through hunting

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and conservation, telling the modern story
of what it means to live close to nature.

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Welcome to the Silver Corp
Podcast, my friend Florian Lagner.

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Thank you so much for having me.

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I'm very excited to be here.

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Thank you.

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Well, I'm excited to have you here.

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The last time you and I hung out,
we were in Nuremberg and you were

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regaling me with stories of adventure
and daring, and I just thought if we

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can just distill just a fraction of
what we were talking about before,

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for the Silver Core Podcast audience,
this is gonna be a successful episode.

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So, uh, I'm, I'm really
stoked to get into this one.

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Same here I am kind of curious.

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You've lived a pretty adventurous
life and I kind of want to know

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the origin story of all of that.

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'cause you've chosen a very intentional
path of doing things that most

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people just read about in magazines.

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How did this all start?

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I started,

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uh, I, I, I went to boarding school,
Phil, maybe that's, uh, that, that

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is the reason why I lived this life.

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Uh, and it felt like prison.

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Mm. And so when I came out, mm, um, I,
the first thing I did, I self-taught

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myself paragliding and, uh, and it was
at the very beginning, so yeah, because

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there were no schools that we were only
a handful of ski instructors trying to

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jump off the hill and see what happens.

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And so, um, we, we, uh, and then people
started asking me, uh, you know, how

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is it, because I was so fascinated.

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You could see it in my eyes.

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I was just, I, I looked up this guy
all the time and I just, a, anything

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I wanted to do was fly, fly, fly.

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So, and my, my father has a little,
used to have a little woodcarving

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storm, so some clients left the
camera and he didn't, he kept it for

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a year, but they never came back.

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So he.

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Didn't know what to do with it.

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So he gave it to me and I started
taking photos out of the paraglider

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because I couldn't explain in
words how fascinating it was.

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So since nobody did that, I was
able to sell my photos quicker than

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if I would've started with fashion
or food or any other photography.

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So that's, that's how it started.

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And uh, I, shortly after that, I went to
Australia for a year and I crossed, um,

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I crossed Australia, um, on motorcycle.

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I worked as a. Uh, CZE Karoo,
which is a Australian cowboy, and

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I, um, uh, worked as a paragliding
instructor and I did a apprenticeship

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with a fashion photographer.

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So after that I went home and sold all
these stories and this was what actually

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started my career.

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You're not a professionally
trained photographer, are you?

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You, you just taught yourself how to
take these pictures and then all of

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a sudden you're doing it for National
Geographic and for Playboy and for

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big magazines and publications.

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Yeah.

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Well, it happened step

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by step.

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I was very lucky on the way, and in
fact, uh, the brother of the director

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of the school I went to, he was, uh,
working for, and uh, his name is Kyle

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Foresta and he helped me into it.

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We had a deal.

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I taught him paragliding and
he wrote the articles for me.

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Out of the adventure that I had
just experienced in Australia

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when I worked as a Jackaroo and I
crossed the country on motorcycle.

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So that was a very good intro.

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And he was very good friends
with the chief editor of Playboy.

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Mm.

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So they made me their specialist
for adventure stories.

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So we.

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Hilly skiing in Canada for Playboy.

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I did the Spirit Bear for Playboy.

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I did, uh, you know, the, the American
government, they capture Mustangs to,

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uh, prevent them from being killed
and, uh, have inmates to break them

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in as a resocialization program.

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And I did that for Playboy.

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So that was a very strong start
because, uh, it's been, I know the

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reputation is different, but in
Germany, the writers and photographers

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who were privileged enough to work
for Playboy had a very high standard.

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And it was very, it was my, my
best client for a long time.

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And still, we are still close.

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I mean, uh, this is, uh, I
even, they even, uh, paid me

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to do my helicopter license.

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Did they really?

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Yeah, they did.

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How does that work?

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They, they, as I said, you
know, this, this, this chief

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editor was a friend and he.

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He always wanted me to come in
once a year and tell him what

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I do for in the year for him.

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So it was free to me.

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That's why I did the spirit there.

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This is why I did all these stories.

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Um, and I, I told him, you know, like
all your readers, like, uh, readers

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are male between 20 and 45 or older.

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Um, and all men I know.

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Wanna know how it is to learn
to fly a helicopter, so why

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don't I learn it for you?

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Yes.

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And then I rented, and then I rented a
helicopter in Vannas near Los Angeles and

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flew it up to Oregon wine tasting, because
that's what the Playboy reader wants

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too.

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Sure, of course.

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Well, that's fantastic.

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So you just leveraged your lifestyle, the
adventurous spirit that you have, and you

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use that and distill that for other people
to enjoy, and, but you've also used that

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to further your adventurous lifestyle.

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I think

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actually this being in a boarding
school for so long, you know, it,

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it, it, it, I'm a very, uh, a very
free spirit and for me it's very hard

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to not be able to do what I want.

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So this.

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Piled up for 10 years.

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And so ever since I went like,
oh, I want to do a horse safari.

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I want to do this.

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I wanna, uh, go, uh, through the
Grand Canyon and a, and a boat and,

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and I just always try to find people.

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I try to photograph it in a way that
moves people so that I find someone

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who wants me to do it for him, like
stir National Geographic and so on.

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Out of all of these adventures that you've
had both for yourself as well to be able

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to share with other people, are there any
that kind of stick out in your mind for

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the impact it made on you and your life?

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Uh, there's a few, but I

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think that one big change in my
perception was the first safari I did.

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Uh, but the strongest one was, uh, a
safari I did in Kenya, um, where we

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had a moving camp and we, we, we rode
for eight, five to eight hours a day.

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Doing a safari horseback.

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And, uh, we filmed that for Leica.

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And, uh, it was a great relaunch
and a great chance for me to come

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back after a rather difficult time.

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And it was kind of a, kind of a restart.

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So for me,

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there is no better way to live
an adventure than in Africa.

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Ideally on horseback.

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If you can't ride, you
can't do it, obviously.

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But, uh, uh, it's still cool on motorcycle
or four by four or on foot or hunting,

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whatever, you know, but, but, uh,
preferably I would say a horse picks

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far in Africa is pretty much, i, I, I
can't, I can't describe anything better.

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When you say that you were coming
back off of a difficult time, is that

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something you're open to talking about?

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Absolutely, yes.

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Uh.

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Um, I was, I, I had a, I had an
accident, which physically hit me.

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Um, mm. I also went, uh, uh, went
through a, it's, it wasn't a divorce,

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but I don't know the English word, but
I, my girlfriend and I separated and,

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uh, and that also hit me financially.

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Um, and so, so there were like three
columns out of my system that were

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not operating properly anymore.

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And, uh, and I went, actually, I, I
went to get, uh, professional help, uh,

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which was the best thing I, I ever did.

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And I really, I, I, I think you should
do it, uh, uh, uh, in schools as a, as

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something every child has to learn about.

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You know, you don't need this, uh,
personal training, uh, necessarily.

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But it's so helpful.

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I now use it for creativity, for, uh,
you know, if I have a difficult, uh,

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nut to crack, then I use it for that.

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Um, and it's just so
helpful and it's so healthy.

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I've, I've totally tressed and,
uh, I'm much more successful

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since I did these techniques.

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It's, uh, it's about, um, hypnosis,
self-hypnosis technique that I was

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taught to solve the problems Okay.

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In the under unconsciousness.

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Um, and so, uh, I'm not sure if you
heard about my project African Waters,

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where I, I I, I, I charged a helicopter
in Johannesburg and flew through 10

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African countries to photograph water
through a, in a special technique.

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Uh.

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And, um, and I had so many problems
along the way with, with, uh, you

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know, the, the pilot that I was o
obliged to rent with the helicopter.

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He couldn't come because
his wife got sick.

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Then the helicopter crashed.

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I needed a new helicopter.

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So it was like, there were a a
million reasons to stop, but I

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didn't because I had learned this
technique and, and it was so far my

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biggest and most successful project.

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I'm, I'm curious about this
self hypnosis technique.

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Does it go by a certain name
or is there a process that you

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follow that you found useful?

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'cause it's something that I think
myself and the listeners would

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probably benefit from as well too.

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It's called,

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uh, in German, it's, so I would
say it's auto suggestion technique.

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And, uh, it is, it is something, um.

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When you get taught, you have
someone taking you in un in in your

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under conscious mindset setting.

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You can compare it with, when you,
when you go to sleep, you have this

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short period where you go like, oh,
ah, I, I must go to the bank tomorrow.

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Oh, I forgot this.

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Oh, where you let loose
of everything else.

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And then suddenly all the,
you clean up your system.

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And that's basically where you guide
yourself into, through breathing and

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through colors and through techniques.

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It's, it's amazing how,
how much it does for you.

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And, and that's a process that
you use in order to be able

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to be more present, is it?

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Yeah.

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Well, I use

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it in very stressful situations.

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I use it before important, uh, meetings.

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I use it, uh, uh, for creativity.

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If I, you know, if I. Try to figure out
a way where I can defer myself from the

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millions of photographers out there.

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Um, and, and for, for all kinds of things.

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It's, uh, just to relax.

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You know, if I'm really tired, I do it
for 20 minutes and it feels like you had

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slept for three hours.

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I just got back from
a successful elk hunt.

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I was out hunting with a mutual friend of
ours with Brad Clock, and, uh, aside from

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Brad being a very talented elk caller,
he was able to call in a, uh, a beautiful

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elk within about, uh, 45 meters or so.

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And, uh, stuck around for a
while and we decided, yep,

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that's the one we want to take.

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Took it.

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Um, but in between all of that
we're chatting and I said, you

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know, I got this conversation.

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With Florian coming up and, uh, he
says, oh, if you're chatting with

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Florian, you should talk to him about
his motorcycle trip across Australian

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Outback where he broke his ribs.

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Yeah, that was a tough one

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that you have to say that Brett, uh,
Brett is, Brett knows a lot about

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me because he helped me one day.

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I, I did, I did, uh, PR for
Mike Wiley for a long time.

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Mike Wiley Hill Ski.

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Okay.

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In the Caribou Mountains.

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Yeah.

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And, uh, Brett helped me to get my team,
you know, uh, looked after in Vancouver.

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Uh, he, he arranged a bed for us in
the Waterfront Hotel and they took

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us out for dinner and it was great.

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So he knows a little bit and, um, mm-hmm.

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Out of all the adventures, you know, I
try to do, uh, proper risk management as

231
00:13:31,425 --> 00:13:33,795
a hunter, you know, how important that is.

232
00:13:33,855 --> 00:13:34,545
And, uh.

233
00:13:35,685 --> 00:13:36,650
And, uh mm-hmm.

234
00:13:37,005 --> 00:13:43,365
And at that time I was testing, uh, camera
bags for Low Pro and I, I helped develop

235
00:13:43,365 --> 00:13:47,205
a vest where you don't have a camera bag
but you carry everything on your body.

236
00:13:47,865 --> 00:13:54,525
Um, and, uh, and we went through the,
uh, uh, it was called the canning stock

237
00:13:54,555 --> 00:14:00,555
route, which is a really tough, rough
terrain, bull dust, very hard to ride.

238
00:14:01,245 --> 00:14:06,885
And my motorcycle got stuck at about
80 Ks and I was like, I was stopped

239
00:14:06,885 --> 00:14:12,435
immediately and I flew, and this
bike stayed, but I had the only

240
00:14:12,555 --> 00:14:15,585
lens I ever owned with a metal frame

241
00:14:17,925 --> 00:14:18,165
hit.

242
00:14:19,155 --> 00:14:24,375
I think it tore, uh, it broke
four ribs and it tore the spleen.

243
00:14:25,110 --> 00:14:28,005
And, uh, and that is very dangerous.

244
00:14:28,095 --> 00:14:29,055
Um, so.

245
00:14:29,775 --> 00:14:31,665
Um, we had to go back.

246
00:14:31,665 --> 00:14:35,355
We couldn't call a helicopter 'cause it
was too far for the helicopter to go.

247
00:14:35,355 --> 00:14:41,265
So we had to drive to the next
village for eight hours with four

248
00:14:41,265 --> 00:14:43,155
broken ribs in really hard terrain.

249
00:14:44,355 --> 00:14:47,925
It was not a nice experience
at all whatsoever, and I was

250
00:14:47,925 --> 00:14:49,125
very lucky to survive it.

251
00:14:49,425 --> 00:14:50,535
No kidding.

252
00:14:51,285 --> 00:14:58,155
Well, you know, there was one thing that
kind of, uh, caught my eye in your CV

253
00:14:58,155 --> 00:15:01,005
that you have kind of hidden in there.

254
00:15:01,005 --> 00:15:07,005
You make a statement and you say, at one
point I realized I present myself and

255
00:15:07,005 --> 00:15:11,775
as an adventure photographer, but what
happens when the supermarket closes?

256
00:15:12,195 --> 00:15:13,545
Can I feed myself?

257
00:15:15,585 --> 00:15:16,665
What's that all about?

258
00:15:17,265 --> 00:15:19,515
I, when I had this difficult time.

259
00:15:20,655 --> 00:15:26,385
A very close friend, uh, and he was
the painter for, uh, Playboy Magazine.

260
00:15:26,385 --> 00:15:32,055
So they, they had illustrations and,
uh, and when I had the hard time,

261
00:15:32,055 --> 00:15:37,995
I, I took out all the stories that
I had made until then and tried

262
00:15:37,995 --> 00:15:40,545
to figure out what am I good at?

263
00:15:40,545 --> 00:15:42,135
Where did I make good money?

264
00:15:42,135 --> 00:15:43,965
Where was it good for the reputation?

265
00:15:44,625 --> 00:15:46,485
Um, and where did I have fun?

266
00:15:47,295 --> 00:15:52,905
And I figured out everything was
more successful if, if it was

267
00:15:52,905 --> 00:15:55,335
helicopters, mountains, or horses.

268
00:15:56,835 --> 00:15:58,695
I come from a mountain background.

269
00:15:58,755 --> 00:16:01,485
We used to have our own
ski lift, my, my family.

270
00:16:01,485 --> 00:16:03,285
So I started skiing at two.

271
00:16:03,945 --> 00:16:11,415
Um, I then flew paraglider and so my
first career was all about extreme sports.

272
00:16:11,865 --> 00:16:17,115
And um, and somehow people made me the.

273
00:16:17,550 --> 00:16:21,450
Adventurer, you know, like,
because I always did these stories.

274
00:16:21,870 --> 00:16:23,940
Um, and then I started to market myself.

275
00:16:23,940 --> 00:16:28,860
So this friend painted a picture
with me riding my horse with me,

276
00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:32,610
uh, with a helicopter on the side
and, uh, and the mountains in the

277
00:16:32,610 --> 00:16:36,900
background with a paraglider and,
uh, giraf running through the sunset.

278
00:16:36,930 --> 00:16:38,280
It's a, it's a great picture.

279
00:16:38,790 --> 00:16:42,150
And, uh, and that really,
uh, was my new identity.

280
00:16:42,150 --> 00:16:45,390
That's what I wanted to live,
that's what it wanted to be.

281
00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:50,790
And then after 15 years of,
or 10 years doing that, you

282
00:16:50,790 --> 00:16:52,170
know, it got more and more.

283
00:16:52,410 --> 00:16:54,450
I, I was, uh, in the media quite a bit.

284
00:16:54,450 --> 00:17:00,570
So, um, and then I, I, I
realized that, you know, uh.

285
00:17:01,140 --> 00:17:06,390
I, if I go to my, my heart in the
mountains, I see the, the signs.

286
00:17:06,390 --> 00:17:10,770
But I don't know, is it a deer or is
it a, a, a small deer or is what is it?

287
00:17:10,770 --> 00:17:14,790
You know, I, uh, since I grew
up in a boarding school, that's

288
00:17:14,790 --> 00:17:15,780
not what they teach you there.

289
00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:16,260
Right?

290
00:17:16,410 --> 00:17:21,900
Uh, so, um, and, and then, and then I,
I just wanted to learn more about it.

291
00:17:21,900 --> 00:17:25,980
And I thought, you know, I, if I
market myself as a adventurer and the

292
00:17:25,980 --> 00:17:30,630
supermarket closes, and I don't even know
how to, you know, like it's not about

293
00:17:30,630 --> 00:17:32,100
the shooting, but you have to open it.

294
00:17:32,100 --> 00:17:36,540
You have to know where to cut, what you
have to know how to keep it, freeze it,

295
00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:41,820
uh, uh, a lot of things that I didn't
know and, and I, I really wanted to do it.

296
00:17:41,820 --> 00:17:45,990
And our friend Marcus, that is
a good friend of Brett as well.

297
00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:48,060
Um mm-hmm.

298
00:17:48,375 --> 00:17:50,775
He, he teaches, uh, hunting.

299
00:17:51,254 --> 00:17:57,405
And so I joined his, his course and,
uh, and finally did my license in 2015.

300
00:17:57,435 --> 00:17:58,155
Way too late.

301
00:17:58,185 --> 00:17:58,935
Way too late.

302
00:18:00,165 --> 00:18:01,815
It was only 2015.

303
00:18:01,815 --> 00:18:02,745
Holy crow.

304
00:18:02,745 --> 00:18:06,735
And you growing up with Marcus, I figured
you would've been in it way earlier

305
00:18:06,735 --> 00:18:09,135
than that, than, uh, well, his, his

306
00:18:09,135 --> 00:18:11,235
father is my godfather.

307
00:18:11,805 --> 00:18:14,625
And at you 10 or 11, that's right.

308
00:18:14,629 --> 00:18:19,605
When, when you, uh, and, and what we did,
we, we went to the hunting ground and

309
00:18:19,605 --> 00:18:21,345
we were shooting in the shooting range.

310
00:18:21,555 --> 00:18:24,885
And you, like, I had all the
chances, but for a long time I

311
00:18:24,885 --> 00:18:26,504
said, my trophy is the picture.

312
00:18:26,565 --> 00:18:31,725
Mm. You know, I, when I did the spirit
bear, I would've never wanted to shoot it.

313
00:18:32,145 --> 00:18:36,225
You know, I, I wanted to capture
it and my trophy was the image.

314
00:18:36,825 --> 00:18:39,615
But, uh, that changed
a lot since, you know.

315
00:18:40,770 --> 00:18:45,480
But, uh, yeah, coming, being so close
to this family is total, total nonsense.

316
00:18:46,410 --> 00:18:46,770
Not Yeah.

317
00:18:47,580 --> 00:18:47,880
From the

318
00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:53,640
very beginning, from birth, you
know, so I, I can respect that a lot.

319
00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:58,050
I can respect that your trophy is a
picture, because, you know, whether you're

320
00:18:58,230 --> 00:19:03,000
out shooting animals with a rifle or
you're shooting animals with your camera,

321
00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:08,850
you're experiencing the outdoors in a
way that's, I think, deeper than what

322
00:19:08,850 --> 00:19:11,790
most people will expose themselves to.

323
00:19:12,060 --> 00:19:14,550
If you're out there with the camera,
you're gonna have to be quiet.

324
00:19:14,910 --> 00:19:20,880
You're gonna have to know the animals
cycles and the flora and the fauna,

325
00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:22,650
and where you're likely to see one.

326
00:19:22,650 --> 00:19:26,370
And, and you want to be able to capture
an animal in its natural environment.

327
00:19:26,370 --> 00:19:28,740
As a hunter, it's the same sort of thing.

328
00:19:28,740 --> 00:19:33,750
And aside from that split second where
you snap the camera shutter, or you

329
00:19:34,500 --> 00:19:38,130
snap the trigger and the firing pin
goes forward and the round goes off.

330
00:19:38,730 --> 00:19:41,580
There's so many similarities now.

331
00:19:41,580 --> 00:19:45,030
Things change a little bit after
the trigger is pulled and the work

332
00:19:45,030 --> 00:19:49,980
begins and you start processing
the animal, uh, you're going home

333
00:19:49,980 --> 00:19:53,790
with memories, not a photograph,
and you're going home with meat.

334
00:19:54,330 --> 00:20:00,630
But, um, 2015, you made that, that
very conscious kind of changeover.

335
00:20:01,110 --> 00:20:05,850
How has your life been different
since you've connected with nature

336
00:20:06,330 --> 00:20:08,970
with a rifle as well as a camera?

337
00:20:09,365 --> 00:20:09,885
I decide

338
00:20:09,985 --> 00:20:13,110
before I go what I do for a start.

339
00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:16,320
I, I never take camera and rifle.

340
00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:18,720
Um, but I changed it.

341
00:20:18,725 --> 00:20:18,925
Okay.

342
00:20:19,555 --> 00:20:23,430
Because, because of this
thought that I just mentioned

343
00:20:23,430 --> 00:20:25,020
about the supermarket closing.

344
00:20:25,740 --> 00:20:28,710
And then I have a very close
friend, uh, Michael Arle.

345
00:20:28,710 --> 00:20:34,110
He's a, a great photographer as
well, and he, he was, uh, uh.

346
00:20:34,514 --> 00:20:38,205
I've been befriended with him
for 25 years, ever since I

347
00:20:38,205 --> 00:20:39,524
started working with Leika.

348
00:20:39,585 --> 00:20:44,715
He was, he used to, uh,
be there and, um, mm-hmm.

349
00:20:44,715 --> 00:20:51,345
And, and it was a professional decision
because I could widen my clientele,

350
00:20:51,555 --> 00:20:54,285
uh, through the, through hunting.

351
00:20:55,274 --> 00:21:00,585
Um, because, uh, in the hunting
season, uh, in the, in the

352
00:21:00,585 --> 00:21:04,815
hunting business, there's not
so many very good photographers.

353
00:21:04,815 --> 00:21:09,735
There's a lot of hunters that take
photos, but there's not many very

354
00:21:09,735 --> 00:21:14,355
good photographers who hunt, who
have the license, who can carry a gun

355
00:21:14,355 --> 00:21:16,665
legally, take it to another country.

356
00:21:17,205 --> 00:21:23,805
And, um, and every, and I love, I love
explaining, you know, uh, in, in Germany

357
00:21:23,805 --> 00:21:27,675
we have a very, um, uh, conservative.

358
00:21:30,030 --> 00:21:33,959
W many people have a very
conservative way of seeing hunting.

359
00:21:34,439 --> 00:21:41,100
It's like old men, uh, very
traditional, very elite in Europe,

360
00:21:41,100 --> 00:21:46,800
you know, it used to be the, the,
so the own, the, the, the farmers

361
00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:48,570
could only shoot the little animals.

362
00:21:48,570 --> 00:21:51,570
The, the trophies were all
reserved for the king or for

363
00:21:51,570 --> 00:21:54,060
the, for the higher standards.

364
00:21:54,389 --> 00:22:01,379
And, um, mm. And I always liked the
way, um, I saw hunting in Canada or,

365
00:22:01,379 --> 00:22:06,629
or in the Amer in the United States
because it is more, like, more hands-on,

366
00:22:06,929 --> 00:22:11,790
um, for living as I imagined it to be.

367
00:22:11,794 --> 00:22:12,034
Mm-hmm.

368
00:22:12,360 --> 00:22:16,110
And, um, and I try, I now
try to, like, when I started

369
00:22:16,110 --> 00:22:18,000
taking photos of, uh, hunting.

370
00:22:18,915 --> 00:22:24,284
Like all the non-hunting magazines
would be very, uh, reserved about,

371
00:22:24,435 --> 00:22:26,115
uh, bringing a hunting story.

372
00:22:26,715 --> 00:22:31,544
Now, um, I'm not sure if you know, if
you know Stefan from Hamad, wilt the,

373
00:22:31,905 --> 00:22:37,605
also a friend of Marcus, he, they make
sustainable hunting in the Ian and

374
00:22:37,605 --> 00:22:40,064
Bavarian Alps and they utilize everything.

375
00:22:40,185 --> 00:22:48,554
So we, I I I, I like the, that I, I
was, uh, allowed to hunt on his ground.

376
00:22:48,645 --> 00:22:49,695
I made the lead horse.

377
00:22:49,695 --> 00:22:51,435
I'm going Toto Fest with tomorrow.

378
00:22:52,215 --> 00:22:55,245
Uh, I have a defender limited edition.

379
00:22:55,250 --> 00:22:59,804
And, and, and we use the skins, we use
the deer leather skins for the seed.

380
00:23:00,584 --> 00:23:03,584
So, uh, and, uh, we don't
throw away anything.

381
00:23:03,855 --> 00:23:10,365
And, um, and that really for me
is a good way of hunting and.

382
00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:14,040
Coming into the modern times.

383
00:23:14,070 --> 00:23:18,360
There's also a lot of development that
makes hunting safer and, uh, which

384
00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:24,510
also makes hunting more precise so that
the suffering is less so, like the new

385
00:23:24,510 --> 00:23:30,060
bullets that are made, the silences
that are put on the rifle have all an

386
00:23:30,389 --> 00:23:34,170
effect on how clean and good you hunt.

387
00:23:34,530 --> 00:23:37,080
And, uh, and that I find fascinating.

388
00:23:37,410 --> 00:23:42,270
And, uh, when I did this film that
I talked before about the, uh,

389
00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:49,770
horseback safari in Kenya, um, I
found out that my, the best I'm at

390
00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:54,300
is to emotionalize technical stuff.

391
00:23:55,860 --> 00:24:01,470
And I also realized that the
worst thing I am at is fashion.

392
00:24:03,075 --> 00:24:03,695
I'm, I'm

393
00:24:04,165 --> 00:24:04,455
okay.

394
00:24:04,815 --> 00:24:08,730
I, I did fashion for three
years and I, I was divorced.

395
00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:10,740
Fashion photographer.

396
00:24:10,950 --> 00:24:13,860
The world, the, the world
has ever seen, I promise you.

397
00:24:18,210 --> 00:24:19,680
But I made good money at least.

398
00:24:22,110 --> 00:24:23,909
Hey, there's always that, right?

399
00:24:24,330 --> 00:24:30,030
Well, since you've gotten into hunting,
uh, you've set up, uh, you, you've got

400
00:24:30,330 --> 00:24:34,350
associations with like Hordy and with
Savage and with Polaris, and I've seen

401
00:24:34,350 --> 00:24:36,720
your work on like the Hordy magazines.

402
00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:40,409
You open it up and there, there's
your photographs inside there.

403
00:24:41,010 --> 00:24:42,690
How do you.

404
00:24:43,530 --> 00:24:44,280
Join.

405
00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:49,230
When you talk about that emotional, uh,
relation to a technical product, how

406
00:24:49,230 --> 00:24:51,510
to emotionalize it, how do you do that?

407
00:24:51,755 --> 00:24:51,875
I,

408
00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:52,080
I

409
00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:52,530
try.

410
00:24:52,530 --> 00:24:56,340
I, I come from storytelling, so
I try to find an emotional story.

411
00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:02,070
Um, so like what I found really
fun, um, we had this super good

412
00:25:02,070 --> 00:25:04,050
looking hunters from Norway.

413
00:25:04,620 --> 00:25:08,520
Uh, if you see her in a city, you
would not believe she's a hunter.

414
00:25:08,700 --> 00:25:13,350
You know, she's a very long blonde
hair, very beautiful, and, and, uh,

415
00:25:13,350 --> 00:25:16,800
no prejudice, but it was just not
someone I would connect to hunting

416
00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:18,030
if I wouldn't met her hunting.

417
00:25:18,690 --> 00:25:24,510
And, uh, and she was an excellent
hunter hunters, and, um, and it was

418
00:25:24,510 --> 00:25:29,460
just, uh, a pure joy to see her move
through the mountains and be like,

419
00:25:29,820 --> 00:25:34,140
everything she did was very quiet
and very smooth and very elegant.

420
00:25:34,890 --> 00:25:39,720
And so we, we went to the, we did
the story about, uh, we go to Norway

421
00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:42,235
and live what, from what we catch.

422
00:25:43,710 --> 00:25:47,430
And I, I think we were a bit
overconfident, you know, 'cause

423
00:25:47,430 --> 00:25:50,220
I, I've been fishing with
Marcus since I was a little kid.

424
00:25:50,220 --> 00:25:57,480
I was, um, I was hunting before I was, uh,
we had a very good hunting guide with us.

425
00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:02,070
We, uh, my girlfriend, she's Regina,
she knows a lot about berries and,

426
00:26:02,070 --> 00:26:03,900
and mushrooms that you can find.

427
00:26:04,905 --> 00:26:06,945
And, uh, and we didn't get anything.

428
00:26:06,945 --> 00:26:11,985
And, uh, and the, the article
ended, uh, with, uh, an, uh, the

429
00:26:11,985 --> 00:26:16,515
sentence we find ourselves in our
natural habitats, the supermarket,

430
00:26:18,525 --> 00:26:19,635
because we, we didn't make it.

431
00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:20,865
We, we just didn't make it.

432
00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:24,165
Fair enough, fair enough.

433
00:26:24,165 --> 00:26:28,395
And so, and so, this is, this is an
emotional way, like also failing.

434
00:26:28,395 --> 00:26:30,315
You know, we didn't, we didn't hide it.

435
00:26:30,315 --> 00:26:32,115
We didn't pretend, oh yeah, we made it.

436
00:26:32,115 --> 00:26:32,955
No, we didn't make it.

437
00:26:32,955 --> 00:26:34,425
So let's talk about it.

438
00:26:34,425 --> 00:26:36,495
And, uh, and it was great.

439
00:26:36,525 --> 00:26:37,515
It was a great week.

440
00:26:37,515 --> 00:26:39,375
We had great fun, but we had no success.

441
00:26:39,375 --> 00:26:44,205
We, we, we caught one little fish
in after three days for five people.

442
00:26:44,205 --> 00:26:46,755
You know, that's, that's not
sufficient if you wanna work

443
00:26:46,755 --> 00:26:48,250
and go hunting in the mountains.

444
00:26:51,390 --> 00:26:53,715
And, uh, and the weather was really bad.

445
00:26:53,715 --> 00:26:54,525
And so, yeah.

446
00:26:56,055 --> 00:26:57,135
So no excuses.

447
00:26:57,135 --> 00:26:57,885
We just failed.

448
00:26:58,635 --> 00:27:04,245
So I try to, to find stories, which
I think is a, a, a, a great story

449
00:27:04,245 --> 00:27:09,525
that I'm about to do now for, uh,
Polaris and Hordy is, uh, uh, that

450
00:27:09,525 --> 00:27:16,905
we, um, there's a mountain ground in
Austria on a lake, and Kai Maximilian.

451
00:27:16,995 --> 00:27:21,525
So the, the king of Austria, he used
to go hunting there because he didn't

452
00:27:21,525 --> 00:27:26,535
hike into the mountains to get red
deer in Samoa because he could drive

453
00:27:26,535 --> 00:27:29,685
by boat and shoot up the up the hill.

454
00:27:30,465 --> 00:27:35,355
So in order to have fun with as
hunting guests, with musicians, and

455
00:27:35,355 --> 00:27:41,985
so he built a house and there were
also ladies brought in from burg.

456
00:27:43,785 --> 00:27:50,655
So it was a house of joy, good
food, fun party, and it was

457
00:27:50,655 --> 00:27:52,995
the first touristic house.

458
00:27:53,415 --> 00:27:59,415
In Austria and now Austria, not
in Austria, in Ro, but Roy now

459
00:27:59,415 --> 00:28:05,955
makes 30, I think 34% of the, uh,
of the all over income is tourism.

460
00:28:06,255 --> 00:28:07,995
And the first house was a hunting hut.

461
00:28:08,955 --> 00:28:09,345
Huh.

462
00:28:10,155 --> 00:28:11,775
So this is the story I'm gonna tell.

463
00:28:11,775 --> 00:28:15,645
It's, it's one of the, it's on
lake, it's Hanzi is the name.

464
00:28:16,125 --> 00:28:19,005
It's one of the most beautiful
places I know in, in Austria.

465
00:28:19,005 --> 00:28:19,875
And it's great.

466
00:28:19,875 --> 00:28:22,185
You can go skiing there,
paragliding, whatever.

467
00:28:22,695 --> 00:28:24,285
Uh, and also hunting.

468
00:28:24,315 --> 00:28:30,255
And I went there, uh, last year and
it was one of the most beautiful

469
00:28:30,255 --> 00:28:32,055
hunting experiences I ever had.

470
00:28:32,055 --> 00:28:36,975
Like the, we went, we started in the snow
and then into fog, and then we found the

471
00:28:36,975 --> 00:28:42,525
shawa and, and uh, after the hunt, the
sun broke through and the lake came out.

472
00:28:42,525 --> 00:28:46,185
And the morning rise, it
was just unbelievable.

473
00:28:46,305 --> 00:28:47,355
I sent you the photos later.

474
00:28:48,105 --> 00:28:48,765
Yes.

475
00:28:48,765 --> 00:28:50,205
Yeah, that sounds interesting.

476
00:28:50,774 --> 00:28:56,145
So I like, there's shows out there
like Meat Eater in North America

477
00:28:56,175 --> 00:29:00,284
and what struck me about their
approach was that they would show the

478
00:29:00,284 --> 00:29:02,655
failures as well as the successes.

479
00:29:03,014 --> 00:29:06,225
And quite often they'll have an
episode and nothing gets harvested,

480
00:29:06,225 --> 00:29:08,205
but they're able to tell that story.

481
00:29:08,534 --> 00:29:13,665
And I think, like from an outsider,
uh, I was having this conversation

482
00:29:13,665 --> 00:29:18,405
with somebody who works in, in hunting
media and I said, you know, I think

483
00:29:18,405 --> 00:29:20,024
that's, I think that's the ticket.

484
00:29:20,054 --> 00:29:22,514
I think that's the
solution to broadening the.

485
00:29:22,845 --> 00:29:27,315
Uh, the audience of people who might
be interested in learning more about

486
00:29:27,315 --> 00:29:31,185
the outdoors, learning more about
hunting and, and self-sufficiency

487
00:29:31,185 --> 00:29:34,845
is to show that struggle and
to show the human story of it.

488
00:29:34,845 --> 00:29:37,935
And the fellow said,
yeah, I agree with you.

489
00:29:38,205 --> 00:29:41,325
However, the stats don't lie.

490
00:29:41,475 --> 00:29:46,815
And when we look at the shows that we put
out that have a kill shot versus the shows

491
00:29:46,815 --> 00:29:51,975
that don't, the kill shot always gets
more attention and it gets more views.

492
00:29:52,245 --> 00:29:56,415
Now, maybe that was the demographic
that this person was dealing with that

493
00:29:56,415 --> 00:30:01,065
they're seeing on, but, uh, I don't know
what, what are your thoughts on that?

494
00:30:01,275 --> 00:30:06,135
Are we moving away from the traditional
hunting grip and grin, kill shot

495
00:30:06,135 --> 00:30:10,665
type, uh, story to something that's
maybe a little bit more robust?

496
00:30:10,995 --> 00:30:14,715
Or are we just looking at
completely different markets?

497
00:30:14,985 --> 00:30:18,315
I think there's still differences in,
depending on where you go hunting, you

498
00:30:18,315 --> 00:30:20,205
know, I think hunting in Russia is.

499
00:30:20,565 --> 00:30:25,395
Quite different to hunting in Africa
or hunting in Germany or or Canada.

500
00:30:26,985 --> 00:30:28,545
What happened to me?

501
00:30:28,545 --> 00:30:33,225
I can only tell for myself, I
never like to throw away food,

502
00:30:34,845 --> 00:30:36,645
but since I hunt, I hate it.

503
00:30:37,965 --> 00:30:45,345
Um, and that's because first of
all, um, you work hard for it.

504
00:30:45,435 --> 00:30:49,125
You know, you do the, the hunting
license in Germany, that's quite hard.

505
00:30:49,185 --> 00:30:54,705
Uh, then you go out, you see nothing, you
go out again, you freeze, you see nothing.

506
00:30:54,705 --> 00:30:58,035
You don't sleep as much as you
should because you went out again.

507
00:30:58,545 --> 00:31:02,865
Um, then you finally see
something, it's the wrong animal.

508
00:31:03,225 --> 00:31:07,635
Then you go out again, you finally
shoot something, then you process

509
00:31:07,635 --> 00:31:12,615
it, and at the end of a very long
time, it comes to your table.

510
00:31:12,615 --> 00:31:14,865
And if then somebody throws it away,

511
00:31:17,805 --> 00:31:18,855
uh, it feels wrong.

512
00:31:19,530 --> 00:31:21,720
And you take a life,
you still take a life.

513
00:31:21,750 --> 00:31:25,350
It's not fun, it's not a, I
mean, for some people it's fun.

514
00:31:25,410 --> 00:31:29,760
I, I don't wanna comment that,
but for me, it's not fun.

515
00:31:29,815 --> 00:31:31,500
I, I, I need a real reason.

516
00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:32,850
I don't shoot for fun, you know?

517
00:31:32,850 --> 00:31:37,920
I don't just do it for, I always use the
trophy because it's always a nice memory,

518
00:31:38,190 --> 00:31:39,990
but I would never shoot for the trophy.

519
00:31:40,500 --> 00:31:47,160
I don't need a trophy for like, you
know, even though I have them all,

520
00:31:47,700 --> 00:31:51,930
but it's not the reason why I should,
you know, like sometimes trophies

521
00:31:52,710 --> 00:31:55,080
are not so good to eat, you know?

522
00:31:55,350 --> 00:31:59,940
But I mean, like the very good
trophies, not, not as good

523
00:31:59,940 --> 00:32:02,370
to eat as for the trophies.

524
00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:06,930
And so, but I still have all the
trophies and I still remember the,

525
00:32:07,020 --> 00:32:09,330
um, every single hunt I went to.

526
00:32:09,630 --> 00:32:13,050
I've always had an interest in the
outdoors and I got into hunting

527
00:32:13,050 --> 00:32:14,700
later in life, like yourself.

528
00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:19,590
And the idea of trophy hunting
is thrown around in the media

529
00:32:19,590 --> 00:32:21,060
as a very negative thing.

530
00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:23,820
It says you're just going out
there so you can get a rack or you

531
00:32:23,820 --> 00:32:25,350
can get a mount and mounted up.

532
00:32:25,710 --> 00:32:30,420
But since getting into hunting, I've
learned that there's a very different

533
00:32:30,420 --> 00:32:32,010
perspective on trophy hunting.

534
00:32:32,010 --> 00:32:36,810
It's a much more selective process
where a person will go out and they

535
00:32:36,810 --> 00:32:40,380
say they're very intentional, they're
gonna let a lot of animals go on by,

536
00:32:40,710 --> 00:32:44,220
and it doesn't negate the fact that
they're still enjoying the meat.

537
00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:47,910
They're still going to use
every part of the animal.

538
00:32:48,390 --> 00:32:51,360
But now they've got something that
when they look at it, like a friend

539
00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:53,790
of mine, he says, oh, are you gonna
get that mounted into a trophy?

540
00:32:53,820 --> 00:32:55,890
When I was, um, uh.

541
00:32:56,850 --> 00:32:58,350
Uh, just getting into hunting.

542
00:32:58,350 --> 00:33:00,540
I was like, no, that's, I
don't wanna be a trophy hunter.

543
00:33:00,540 --> 00:33:01,530
I've got no interest in that.

544
00:33:01,530 --> 00:33:05,490
I've got an interest in the meat
and I can utilize the, um, the, the

545
00:33:05,490 --> 00:33:07,139
hide for these different things.

546
00:33:08,190 --> 00:33:12,090
But he says, you know, every time
I look at one of my trophies on the

547
00:33:12,090 --> 00:33:16,050
wall, it brings me back to that hunt
and it connects me back to nature.

548
00:33:16,050 --> 00:33:18,420
And it's, I mean, it's
a part of the animal.

549
00:33:18,420 --> 00:33:19,680
Yes, it costs more.

550
00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:22,350
Yes, there's more time
involved in order to be able to

551
00:33:22,830 --> 00:33:24,180
preserve certain parts of it.

552
00:33:24,180 --> 00:33:27,300
I still eat all the meat, but now
I've got something I can look at.

553
00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:29,760
And it brings me back to that hunt.

554
00:33:30,060 --> 00:33:33,659
And he says, each and every one I
can look at and instantaneously have

555
00:33:33,659 --> 00:33:37,830
a memory of what I was doing and who
I was with and what I was feeling.

556
00:33:37,830 --> 00:33:41,820
And that, that put trophy hunting,
or the idea of keeping trophies in

557
00:33:41,820 --> 00:33:45,360
a very different perspective for
me, one that I can get behind, which

558
00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:49,770
is very different from how, uh, the
media can negatively portray it.

559
00:33:50,430 --> 00:33:54,210
There's also a, there's also
a very important aspect, uh.

560
00:33:54,915 --> 00:33:56,895
That I just experienced in Africa.

561
00:33:56,895 --> 00:34:01,754
I was, uh, I did a, a horseback
safari, uh, in, in the OK Vango

562
00:34:01,754 --> 00:34:04,455
Delta, uh, in a camp called Matu.

563
00:34:05,175 --> 00:34:07,125
And they have very, very good guides.

564
00:34:07,125 --> 00:34:10,485
Like, uh, you know, they are,
they grew up in the bush.

565
00:34:10,485 --> 00:34:11,804
They ride like hell.

566
00:34:11,804 --> 00:34:12,675
They know everything.

567
00:34:12,675 --> 00:34:15,165
You can ask the many
question on, on the planet.

568
00:34:15,165 --> 00:34:16,755
They will have an answer for it.

569
00:34:17,955 --> 00:34:19,904
And I wasn't there the first time.

570
00:34:19,904 --> 00:34:24,554
So I, you know, I, I, and I asked
the guides holes in the stomach.

571
00:34:24,554 --> 00:34:27,344
We say in Germany, you know,
I asked all day, every day.

572
00:34:28,815 --> 00:34:33,165
So I said to, to one of the
guides, I said, what do you

573
00:34:33,165 --> 00:34:35,085
think about shooting elephant?

574
00:34:36,195 --> 00:34:38,835
You know, because I think
they're very smart animals.

575
00:34:38,835 --> 00:34:40,245
They're beautiful animals.

576
00:34:40,574 --> 00:34:43,695
We go there, we pay a
lot of money to see them.

577
00:34:43,755 --> 00:34:46,335
Uh, they are incredibly beautiful.

578
00:34:46,364 --> 00:34:47,355
They're social.

579
00:34:48,405 --> 00:34:49,574
They have a memory.

580
00:34:49,665 --> 00:34:56,835
Um, it's very hard to decide to shoot an
elephant, but, and I'm not sure if this is

581
00:34:56,835 --> 00:35:02,505
the office official version of, uh, safari
Camps in, especially in Namibia, but

582
00:35:02,505 --> 00:35:05,355
they have a, a, a cruel overpopulation.

583
00:35:06,105 --> 00:35:13,815
And um, what they do is they sell
trophies because a trophy, a strong

584
00:35:13,815 --> 00:35:18,795
trophy, usually is not fertilizing,
it's not producing anymore.

585
00:35:20,745 --> 00:35:22,545
They bring a lot of money and the money.

586
00:35:23,250 --> 00:35:26,340
They use for fighting poaching.

587
00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:30,420
I also did a story for Playboy
about poaching, rhino poaching

588
00:35:30,420 --> 00:35:32,760
in, in the Kruger National Park.

589
00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:36,150
And when you see what happens there,
it's, it's just, uh, mind blowing.

590
00:35:36,150 --> 00:35:38,430
And it's a, that would
be a podcast in itself.

591
00:35:38,820 --> 00:35:41,100
But to make a long story short mm-hmm.

592
00:35:41,370 --> 00:35:44,550
If, if they, and they, they
have a lot of accidents.

593
00:35:44,580 --> 00:35:49,590
'cause the OB population is so big now
that the children, they don't have buses.

594
00:35:49,590 --> 00:35:54,690
They have to walk to school and they have,
every year they, a number of children die

595
00:35:54,690 --> 00:35:56,460
because they have conflict with elephant.

596
00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:03,060
Um, and once an elephant has learned
to feed itself from a, from a field,

597
00:36:03,450 --> 00:36:09,690
once an elephant has learned to come
into a town and confront people,

598
00:36:10,020 --> 00:36:12,510
uh, the whole family will learn it.

599
00:36:12,750 --> 00:36:17,700
So you can shoot that elephant,
which is, in Germany we call it the.

600
00:36:18,105 --> 00:36:22,395
Problem elephant or a problem
bear or a problem lion.

601
00:36:22,515 --> 00:36:22,905
Mm.

602
00:36:23,655 --> 00:36:26,625
But that costs you money
and it's hard to do.

603
00:36:27,945 --> 00:36:33,285
Whereas when you have a professional
guide and the tourist paying a hundred

604
00:36:33,285 --> 00:36:39,405
thousand dollars to get that trophy,
and you can build a school with that

605
00:36:39,405 --> 00:36:43,425
for the children that is closer to
the village, you can, they still eat

606
00:36:43,425 --> 00:36:45,555
all the feed, the, the, the meat.

607
00:36:45,615 --> 00:36:46,905
They always take the meat.

608
00:36:47,775 --> 00:36:53,325
Um, and you help the community in many
ways by solving a problem, whereas

609
00:36:53,325 --> 00:36:55,035
you can solve the problem yourself.

610
00:36:55,245 --> 00:36:59,475
And, you know, so I'm not against
trophy hunting, don't get me wrong.

611
00:37:00,075 --> 00:37:06,915
I'm just not, I don't like shooting
an animal just for the trophy, but

612
00:37:06,915 --> 00:37:09,045
that's my personal I agree opinion.

613
00:37:09,045 --> 00:37:12,285
You know, I don't, I don't
blame someone for doing it.

614
00:37:12,855 --> 00:37:15,225
There are good reasons why a good trophy.

615
00:37:15,300 --> 00:37:19,200
It is worth shooting and
there's good reasons for it, and

616
00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:20,400
other reasons are not so good.

617
00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:21,810
And then people do it anyways.

618
00:37:22,110 --> 00:37:22,620
Yeah.

619
00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:24,690
Well, I, I've never been to Africa.

620
00:37:24,780 --> 00:37:28,410
Uh, I plan to, that's gonna
be a, uh, a future thing.

621
00:37:28,410 --> 00:37:32,730
Maybe I'm gonna have to come to Africa
on, look at the animals from horseback.

622
00:37:33,060 --> 00:37:35,640
That might be, uh, an
interesting adventure.

623
00:37:36,330 --> 00:37:40,980
Uh, I know a, uh, good friend of
mine had some, uh, heart issues

624
00:37:40,980 --> 00:37:44,730
recently and I guess that, uh, he
ended up in the hospital and it

625
00:37:44,730 --> 00:37:47,160
was, uh, it was ex rather serious.

626
00:37:47,220 --> 00:37:51,030
And he comes out and he says, Trav,
I wanna, I wanna hike Kilimanjaro.

627
00:37:51,060 --> 00:37:52,770
He wanna come hike Kilimanjaro with me.

628
00:37:52,770 --> 00:37:53,910
And I'm like, yeah, sure.

629
00:37:53,940 --> 00:37:54,720
Okay, let's do that.

630
00:37:54,720 --> 00:37:56,880
Maybe, uh, are you sure you're up for it?

631
00:37:56,880 --> 00:37:57,240
Right?

632
00:37:57,810 --> 00:37:59,130
He said, oh, no, I'm sure I'm up for it.

633
00:37:59,130 --> 00:37:59,700
Let's do this.

634
00:37:59,700 --> 00:38:03,870
So, um, that's gonna be something
in our sights in the future to,

635
00:38:03,870 --> 00:38:08,640
uh, to check out Kilimanjaro and,
uh, maybe look at doing a bit of a

636
00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:10,710
sightseeing animal tour after that.

637
00:38:11,220 --> 00:38:17,970
But the, the idea of the African
trophy hunting really kind of, uh, put

638
00:38:17,970 --> 00:38:20,910
things on its head for a lot of people.

639
00:38:20,940 --> 00:38:24,690
'cause on its surface, it sounds terrible.

640
00:38:24,690 --> 00:38:27,480
You bring people in, they're hunting
for a trophy and they're leaving.

641
00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:31,830
But when you look at the alternatives,
so the animals will die from starvation,

642
00:38:31,830 --> 00:38:36,390
they'll die from poaching, they'll die
from, um, there, there's a number of

643
00:38:36,390 --> 00:38:40,920
reasons they could die or they can die
in a way that helps sustain the harvest.

644
00:38:40,920 --> 00:38:45,840
That creates an industry where the animals
can now thrive, which helps sustain the

645
00:38:45,840 --> 00:38:49,290
environment around and done correctly.

646
00:38:49,710 --> 00:38:54,030
There's a very solid case
to be made for conservation,

647
00:38:54,780 --> 00:38:56,610
especially in that African model.

648
00:38:56,880 --> 00:39:00,690
I remember looking, uh, I was having
sushi with a friend of mine and,

649
00:39:00,690 --> 00:39:04,170
uh, he's, uh, Zibo background.

650
00:39:05,895 --> 00:39:11,025
Uh, ex British, uh, officer
in the military there, and

651
00:39:11,025 --> 00:39:12,135
he gets a text message.

652
00:39:12,135 --> 00:39:16,665
His family ran a large security
company and, uh, makes a bit of

653
00:39:16,665 --> 00:39:18,495
a face and puts the phone down.

654
00:39:18,495 --> 00:39:21,735
And I was like, of course, very
attuned, picking up on these

655
00:39:21,735 --> 00:39:23,505
little facial expressions.

656
00:39:23,505 --> 00:39:24,705
I'm like, okay, what was that?

657
00:39:25,155 --> 00:39:25,575
Right?

658
00:39:25,575 --> 00:39:29,265
And he said, oh, there's some poachers
over in this one area of Africa and

659
00:39:29,985 --> 00:39:31,425
I don't know where, where it was.

660
00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:33,645
And I was like, okay.

661
00:39:33,855 --> 00:39:34,935
He's like, oh yeah, they found them.

662
00:39:35,355 --> 00:39:35,865
Oh yeah.

663
00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:38,565
He said, well, what do
you mean they found 'em?

664
00:39:38,625 --> 00:39:40,065
He said, oh, well, he shows me the phone.

665
00:39:40,065 --> 00:39:43,995
There's three of them lined up
dead on a, um, on a fence line.

666
00:39:44,025 --> 00:39:45,135
They just, you're a poacher.

667
00:39:45,165 --> 00:39:45,705
We kill you.

668
00:39:45,825 --> 00:39:46,185
Alright.

669
00:39:46,665 --> 00:39:53,865
Very different attitude towards, um,
their conservation, the poaching,

670
00:39:53,865 --> 00:39:55,545
how, how the, how the world works.

671
00:39:55,545 --> 00:39:58,725
And it took me a little bit to kind
of get my head shifted around this

672
00:39:58,725 --> 00:40:00,645
North American model that we have.

673
00:40:00,975 --> 00:40:03,585
And try and see it from
the African's perspective.

674
00:40:03,585 --> 00:40:09,315
And it's, I guess the tough part is
not trying to imply my own values and

675
00:40:09,315 --> 00:40:15,645
my own prejudices on a culture and
society that's, uh, completely separate.

676
00:40:15,645 --> 00:40:18,585
So that, that was, that was another
bit of an eyeopening thing for me.

677
00:40:19,095 --> 00:40:19,335
And,

678
00:40:19,424 --> 00:40:19,965
you know, it's

679
00:40:19,965 --> 00:40:25,365
a war, you know, uh, the thing is in
the, in, in the world that there's,

680
00:40:25,424 --> 00:40:28,455
uh, around 35,000 rhinos left.

681
00:40:29,265 --> 00:40:34,185
Um, 15,000 of them are in Kruger
National Park in South Africa.

682
00:40:35,085 --> 00:40:38,145
When I was there, we photographed
for, again, for Playboy,

683
00:40:38,205 --> 00:40:40,035
uh, from Friday till Monday.

684
00:40:40,035 --> 00:40:45,225
In this time, nine rhinos
were poached 500 a year.

685
00:40:45,915 --> 00:40:46,335
Wow.

686
00:40:46,395 --> 00:40:49,545
So you don't have to, you don't
have to be a rocket scientist

687
00:40:49,545 --> 00:40:51,045
to calculate how long this.

688
00:40:51,390 --> 00:40:52,110
Will happen.

689
00:40:53,040 --> 00:40:57,690
Um, and it's all about, it's all
about, uh, Afro It's not about,

690
00:40:57,690 --> 00:40:59,340
you know, the horn does nothing.

691
00:40:59,340 --> 00:41:00,600
It's like chewing your fingernail.

692
00:41:00,600 --> 00:41:01,410
It does nothing.

693
00:41:02,190 --> 00:41:08,700
But in, I think it was in 1987,
in 1987, the president of Vietnam

694
00:41:09,720 --> 00:41:14,790
told in television that his concept
was cured from Rhino Horn Tea.

695
00:41:16,260 --> 00:41:19,920
The year after, the numbers of
the killings in Kruger National

696
00:41:19,920 --> 00:41:22,800
Park went from 130 to 1,300.

697
00:41:23,700 --> 00:41:25,200
The 10 times more poachers,

698
00:41:25,440 --> 00:41:25,950
totally corrupt.

699
00:41:25,950 --> 00:41:30,870
So, and that's also about money because,
uh, rhino horn is more expensive than

700
00:41:30,870 --> 00:41:33,720
cocaine or gold in the Asian market.

701
00:41:34,380 --> 00:41:38,730
Um, 99% goes to Asia because
no European would ever spend

702
00:41:38,730 --> 00:41:41,700
the cent on, on a fingernail.

703
00:41:42,330 --> 00:41:42,630
Sure.

704
00:41:42,720 --> 00:41:43,470
That's what it is.

705
00:41:43,470 --> 00:41:44,850
You know, you can have it cheaper.

706
00:41:45,420 --> 00:41:45,630
Yeah.

707
00:41:47,040 --> 00:41:48,840
But if they have no rhinos in the park.

708
00:41:49,380 --> 00:41:50,850
They have no visitors in the park.

709
00:41:50,850 --> 00:41:55,740
So it's, they fight them with, with
dogs, with, with, uh, machine guns, like

710
00:41:55,740 --> 00:42:01,140
with, uh, the semi-automatic, uh, rifles,
camouflage helicopters, you name it.

711
00:42:01,140 --> 00:42:02,460
You know, they don't joke around.

712
00:42:03,089 --> 00:42:06,390
I wouldn't, I wouldn't, I saw
the guys who hunt the poachers.

713
00:42:06,630 --> 00:42:08,009
I wouldn't survive them.

714
00:42:08,549 --> 00:42:08,970
Mm-hmm.

715
00:42:08,976 --> 00:42:13,440
Even if you give me two days
to hide, 20 minutes, I'm done.

716
00:42:15,625 --> 00:42:15,915
Yeah.

717
00:42:15,915 --> 00:42:16,475
Incredible.

718
00:42:16,475 --> 00:42:16,674
Incredible.

719
00:42:16,674 --> 00:42:16,685
Yeah.

720
00:42:16,835 --> 00:42:18,035
They're a different breed, aren't they?

721
00:42:18,035 --> 00:42:18,395
Incredible.

722
00:42:19,140 --> 00:42:19,350
Yeah.

723
00:42:19,350 --> 00:42:22,440
Well, they grew up in the bush,
you know, they, they know exactly.

724
00:42:22,529 --> 00:42:24,060
They can read in your footstep.

725
00:42:24,060 --> 00:42:25,620
You know, did you, are you hurt?

726
00:42:25,620 --> 00:42:26,339
Are you tired?

727
00:42:26,339 --> 00:42:27,509
Do you have a sore leg?

728
00:42:27,750 --> 00:42:28,920
Do you wear a backpack?

729
00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:31,410
Do you, uh, drag someone with you?

730
00:42:31,410 --> 00:42:32,339
They see everything.

731
00:42:32,370 --> 00:42:34,410
It's, it's very impressive.

732
00:42:34,875 --> 00:42:37,170
I, I, it was a great
story to do, to learn.

733
00:42:37,350 --> 00:42:37,680
Mm-hmm.

734
00:42:38,130 --> 00:42:42,540
You know, and, and there's another thing
that I would just like to throw in if you,

735
00:42:42,540 --> 00:42:44,850
if you like, Africa is not Africa, um.

736
00:42:45,435 --> 00:42:49,665
There are places, it's, it's when you go
to Africa that there's safaris that you

737
00:42:49,665 --> 00:42:52,485
can spend a lot of money, not so cool.

738
00:42:52,935 --> 00:42:54,675
Others, you don't spend so much money.

739
00:42:54,855 --> 00:42:55,695
Very cool.

740
00:42:55,905 --> 00:42:57,945
Others have better food
and stuff like that.

741
00:42:58,395 --> 00:43:04,335
So make sure before you go, uh, we have
a chat because, uh, uh, especially around

742
00:43:04,365 --> 00:43:08,625
Tanzania, there's a, the tourism is,
is pretty hot and they just send some

743
00:43:08,625 --> 00:43:14,775
horrible images from caravans of four
by fours that go to the Mara River.

744
00:43:15,225 --> 00:43:19,695
Um, where the, where the wildebeest
crossed, uh, the Crocs wait for them

745
00:43:20,145 --> 00:43:25,755
and they had like a, a chain of, I don't
know, 104 by fours, just with cameras.

746
00:43:26,115 --> 00:43:29,265
And uh, so the tourism is also
a big pressure for nature.

747
00:43:29,265 --> 00:43:35,625
So the, the hunting equalizes
in a way, the other tourism,

748
00:43:35,625 --> 00:43:36,795
if that makes any sense.

749
00:43:36,795 --> 00:43:43,005
So, um, I changed my mind a lot
about hunting in Africa since I.

750
00:43:43,440 --> 00:43:44,520
Talk to the people.

751
00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:49,560
And, uh, and when I sat on the
campfire at atu, the, the guide

752
00:43:49,710 --> 00:43:52,319
chief said, we have to regulate them.

753
00:43:52,319 --> 00:43:53,819
We want to protect our children.

754
00:43:53,940 --> 00:43:55,650
And I totally go with that.

755
00:43:58,770 --> 00:44:00,060
Yeah, I can see that.

756
00:44:00,450 --> 00:44:03,660
Well, tell me more about this
horseback touring that you do.

757
00:44:03,690 --> 00:44:10,529
I mean, the idea of horseback through
Africa, looking at the different animals,

758
00:44:10,529 --> 00:44:15,930
some of which can be quite dangerous,
seems, uh, perhaps counterintuitive, but

759
00:44:15,930 --> 00:44:21,180
maybe not so, because, you know, I've
read a stat that, uh, out of all the bear

760
00:44:21,180 --> 00:44:25,770
attacks that have ever happened within
North America, no one has ever been

761
00:44:25,770 --> 00:44:28,110
attacked by a bear well on horseback.

762
00:44:28,350 --> 00:44:33,360
So I'm wondering if that same sort
of, uh, process carries over to some

763
00:44:33,360 --> 00:44:35,009
of the, uh, the creatures in Africa.

764
00:44:36,390 --> 00:44:37,290
Yeah, absolutely.

765
00:44:37,290 --> 00:44:41,025
I mean, yeah, the, a horse, a se.

766
00:44:42,045 --> 00:44:43,785
Is a pray for a lion.

767
00:44:45,525 --> 00:44:49,125
The humans can are potentially dangerous.

768
00:44:50,175 --> 00:44:52,995
A horse also is potentially dangerous.

769
00:44:52,995 --> 00:44:56,205
Like even if they attack a
zebra, they, they get bad

770
00:44:56,205 --> 00:44:57,945
bruises from the, from the kicks.

771
00:44:58,485 --> 00:45:02,325
So from the point of a
lion, same as in a jeep.

772
00:45:02,865 --> 00:45:06,105
You know, like you see often these
pictures when, uh, when the tourists

773
00:45:06,105 --> 00:45:09,555
sit in the jeep at the, at the
walk and, uh, the lion walks by.

774
00:45:10,095 --> 00:45:14,955
Um, you are not typical prey generally.

775
00:45:16,005 --> 00:45:26,385
Um, what what is to be put into mind is
that if you fall off, that can change.

776
00:45:28,365 --> 00:45:31,125
And, uh, you always have exceptions.

777
00:45:31,125 --> 00:45:32,475
I mean, you're in bear country.

778
00:45:32,475 --> 00:45:35,805
If you, if you surprise a mother
with cups, she won't ask questions.

779
00:45:35,805 --> 00:45:36,975
You know, she will charge.

780
00:45:37,575 --> 00:45:41,205
If an elephant charges you, you
probably, if you stay in the saddle.

781
00:45:41,855 --> 00:45:43,020
You, you, you're fine.

782
00:45:43,320 --> 00:45:48,960
Uh, if it, and so, uh, and they,
they have very, very good horses.

783
00:45:48,960 --> 00:45:49,890
It's amazing.

784
00:45:49,950 --> 00:45:55,350
Like, uh, I know how our horses, uh,
reacted on the first Lama, you know,

785
00:45:55,350 --> 00:45:58,440
and they, these horses, they stand
in front of an elephant, pull 20

786
00:45:58,440 --> 00:46:00,540
meters and, and don't do anything.

787
00:46:00,630 --> 00:46:04,950
They look at them, okay, they are
aware, but they're very cool about it.

788
00:46:05,820 --> 00:46:13,860
So, um, when I did my first trip
through Australia with a motorcycle, I,

789
00:46:14,130 --> 00:46:21,030
I met a friend who, um, who organizes
motorcycle trips all over the world.

790
00:46:21,480 --> 00:46:26,700
And for 10 years he told me
that, um, I must go to Namibia.

791
00:46:27,300 --> 00:46:30,720
And, uh, and there were motorcycle
trip with his friend Vanna.

792
00:46:31,530 --> 00:46:37,020
So, uh, I met Vanna now and we
decided to do tours together in

793
00:46:37,020 --> 00:46:40,830
Namibia with his friend who's, uh.

794
00:46:41,610 --> 00:46:47,340
Who's a, who has a beautiful ranch
where you have a lot of good animals.

795
00:46:47,340 --> 00:46:48,990
But it would be a good starting point.

796
00:46:48,990 --> 00:46:52,770
You know, I think if you wanna
go riding in the Banco Delta, you

797
00:46:52,770 --> 00:46:54,630
should be a very experienced rider.

798
00:46:55,290 --> 00:47:01,290
Um, but if you go in, in Namibia,
you know where the, the desert,

799
00:47:01,290 --> 00:47:05,850
they don't have as many lines and no
crocodiles, or not at Kuma is where

800
00:47:05,850 --> 00:47:11,820
we go and they have a great Western
trainer preparing them for the ride.

801
00:47:11,820 --> 00:47:16,170
And then you do slow rides and then
you, you find some antelopes and you

802
00:47:16,170 --> 00:47:19,470
can work yourself into that thing.

803
00:47:20,190 --> 00:47:26,730
Um, for me, the, uh, the OK Delta is,
is it's the Garden Eden of Africa.

804
00:47:26,730 --> 00:47:29,130
It's the cover of my book African Waters.

805
00:47:29,910 --> 00:47:36,180
It's just an unbelievable scenery, but
so is the, and so I think if you wanna.

806
00:47:36,915 --> 00:47:40,695
If you wanna learn, if you wanna
do a safari in horseback, you

807
00:47:40,695 --> 00:47:43,215
should actually go step by step.

808
00:47:43,215 --> 00:47:47,595
As I said, you know, some have better
horses, some have better food, some have

809
00:47:48,075 --> 00:47:53,055
more safety, some are wilder, which is all
good for, you know, I like the wild stuff,

810
00:47:53,055 --> 00:47:55,215
but I don't blame anybody who doesn't.

811
00:47:56,055 --> 00:47:58,875
Um, and so that would be
something I would consider.

812
00:47:58,875 --> 00:48:02,505
You know, there's, uh, uh, wait a
little, they have the big five, but

813
00:48:02,505 --> 00:48:04,995
they have very civilized, uh, horses.

814
00:48:04,995 --> 00:48:08,925
You know, like they very
controlled and very safe.

815
00:48:08,925 --> 00:48:09,765
Safe, safe.

816
00:48:09,825 --> 00:48:10,065
Yeah.

817
00:48:10,065 --> 00:48:12,045
That's something I would
recommend to someone.

818
00:48:12,720 --> 00:48:17,670
To start with maybe, and then work
your ways into wilder and wilder.

819
00:48:17,670 --> 00:48:19,859
And once you've done it,
you you're gonna be hooked.

820
00:48:19,859 --> 00:48:20,970
I'm just preparing you.

821
00:48:20,970 --> 00:48:25,080
Don't blame me if you're spent the
rest of your life on ho picks about

822
00:48:27,665 --> 00:48:29,725
and you cannot go hunting
well, is this something?

823
00:48:31,575 --> 00:48:32,490
There you go.

824
00:48:34,200 --> 00:48:39,390
Is this something that, uh, a, a person
would have to have, uh, a fair bit of

825
00:48:39,420 --> 00:48:41,670
horseback experience before going over?

826
00:48:41,670 --> 00:48:45,450
Or are there ones where as long as
you can kind of stay on the horse,

827
00:48:45,450 --> 00:48:46,589
you can start figuring it out?

828
00:48:46,590 --> 00:48:52,230
I mean, like a friend of mine, uh,
once said he bought a sailboat.

829
00:48:52,590 --> 00:48:53,910
I'm like, I didn't know you could sail.

830
00:48:54,090 --> 00:48:54,900
He's like, what do you mean?

831
00:48:54,900 --> 00:48:58,530
It's a boat and it's a sheet
and you catch the wind?

832
00:48:58,530 --> 00:49:01,200
I mean, there's gonna be different
degrees of being able to sail,

833
00:49:01,200 --> 00:49:03,090
but anyone can sail a boat.

834
00:49:03,390 --> 00:49:06,180
And I've always kind of thought
the same thing with horses.

835
00:49:06,660 --> 00:49:09,120
Anyone can ride a horse, you can
get up on the back of it, keep

836
00:49:09,120 --> 00:49:10,800
your heels down and hold on tight.

837
00:49:10,800 --> 00:49:14,310
And, uh, but there's gonna be a
difference between those who can

838
00:49:14,310 --> 00:49:17,520
ride a horse and those who can
just sit on top of these things.

839
00:49:17,580 --> 00:49:17,970
Like if.

840
00:49:18,255 --> 00:49:21,345
If I had come over with minimal
horseback experience, would I

841
00:49:21,345 --> 00:49:23,985
be doing myself a disservice as,

842
00:49:23,985 --> 00:49:24,795
as in hunting?

843
00:49:24,795 --> 00:49:28,335
I, I do have a, a round of
partners in, in the horse business.

844
00:49:28,365 --> 00:49:33,375
'cause we, uh, my girlfriend and I, we
crossed Ireland on horseback and we,

845
00:49:33,375 --> 00:49:37,875
uh, I did in 2013 I crossed Germany
on horseback for National Geographic.

846
00:49:37,905 --> 00:49:42,945
So we have a, a bunch of partners
and one of them is Quipe and they,

847
00:49:43,035 --> 00:49:48,075
and they connected me with a Western
trainer, Tom Bele from Pro Balance

848
00:49:48,075 --> 00:49:51,165
is the, is the, is his concept.

849
00:49:52,905 --> 00:49:56,445
And if you would, if you would
ask me, can I go on Safari?

850
00:49:56,445 --> 00:49:58,185
I wouldn't send you anywhere.

851
00:49:58,185 --> 00:50:06,435
I would ask you to train with him
intensively until he says good to go.

852
00:50:08,295 --> 00:50:09,555
If that makes any sense.

853
00:50:09,555 --> 00:50:14,505
Like if, if you find a, a honest, good
trainer who can, who can teach you.

854
00:50:15,435 --> 00:50:21,884
Very much in a very short time, and they
promise you they give you a safe horse,

855
00:50:22,875 --> 00:50:25,185
then it shouldn't be, uh, a problem.

856
00:50:25,665 --> 00:50:32,115
So now that they are offering like three
days training, two days cowboy work and

857
00:50:32,115 --> 00:50:37,904
safari at Kuma is for example, so like
three days real preparation, preparation

858
00:50:37,904 --> 00:50:44,714
until everybody's fit to sit on a horse,
even though there might be whatever

859
00:50:44,714 --> 00:50:49,694
lion leopard come around the corner
and be aggressive, which they are not.

860
00:50:49,694 --> 00:50:55,154
You know, it's very unlikely that a lion
or a leopard attacks during the day if, if

861
00:50:55,154 --> 00:50:56,535
you don't give him a really good reason.

862
00:50:56,535 --> 00:50:59,084
And they have guides
preventing you from that.

863
00:50:59,084 --> 00:51:01,064
You know, they have not many accidents.

864
00:51:01,484 --> 00:51:01,754
Mm-hmm.

865
00:51:02,024 --> 00:51:07,095
But they will say, but they will
say if they see that you lied, you

866
00:51:07,095 --> 00:51:08,564
know, you have to fill out a form.

867
00:51:09,270 --> 00:51:12,810
And if they, we had a, we had a horse
business here in the mountains in

868
00:51:12,810 --> 00:51:14,940
Obama ago, and it was just amazing.

869
00:51:14,940 --> 00:51:19,350
Like 90% of the people either believed
they were better riders than they

870
00:51:19,350 --> 00:51:21,300
were, or they just lied to us.

871
00:51:21,390 --> 00:51:25,980
We just, uh, and it was, that was not,
we have, you know, like we had saved

872
00:51:25,980 --> 00:51:29,670
horses and so it was okay, but, uh,
it was not so good for our horses.

873
00:51:30,030 --> 00:51:34,410
But, um, but if you do that in Africa,
they will, they will just not take

874
00:51:34,410 --> 00:51:36,120
you, you know, they, they will see it.

875
00:51:36,125 --> 00:51:39,450
And, and so it would be better to
train before and be honest about

876
00:51:39,450 --> 00:51:43,290
your skills and then, and then they
take you and then you're hooked and

877
00:51:43,290 --> 00:51:44,820
then you wanna train all day anyway.

878
00:51:46,200 --> 00:51:49,410
Well, how much training do you think
it would take for somebody to get

879
00:51:49,575 --> 00:51:52,560
a, a certain level of comfort to
be able to go and do one of these?

880
00:51:52,770 --> 00:51:52,920
I

881
00:51:53,220 --> 00:51:55,800
what, what I would do is I would take

882
00:51:56,100 --> 00:51:57,900
lessons ahead.

883
00:51:58,500 --> 00:52:03,060
Uh, if you have a very good
trainer, um, I would say five

884
00:52:03,060 --> 00:52:05,100
in 10 days bring you to a level.

885
00:52:05,130 --> 00:52:07,440
If you are athletic and not scared.

886
00:52:07,935 --> 00:52:11,625
I mean, it's not, you know, you should
have a, a fitness, you should be

887
00:52:11,655 --> 00:52:13,575
able to get up the horse on your own.

888
00:52:14,085 --> 00:52:20,745
Um, you should be like able to roll off
if you fall off and not just fall there.

889
00:52:20,745 --> 00:52:27,285
We had one, we had one incident of a,
of a, uh, a guest and, uh, we have a

890
00:52:27,345 --> 00:52:31,965
one very peaceful horse and she was
just walking and the, and she was not so

891
00:52:31,965 --> 00:52:36,075
balanced, so, and she was holding on the
saddle and she, she flipped the saddle

892
00:52:36,075 --> 00:52:38,415
and hang on the belly of the horse.

893
00:52:38,415 --> 00:52:40,035
Still holding off the saddle.

894
00:52:44,190 --> 00:52:44,770
Oh man.

895
00:52:44,770 --> 00:52:44,970
Not,

896
00:52:44,975 --> 00:52:46,395
not so good for safari, maybe.

897
00:52:48,285 --> 00:52:50,385
No, those aren't the pictures you want.

898
00:52:50,385 --> 00:52:50,805
Nope.

899
00:52:53,445 --> 00:52:53,805
Oh, man.

900
00:52:55,185 --> 00:52:58,690
So do you have any dream projects that
you're, uh, you're working towards?

901
00:52:59,655 --> 00:53:00,015
When I

902
00:53:00,015 --> 00:53:06,285
started African Waters, I, I still, um,
I'm still keen to do Worldwide Waters.

903
00:53:06,855 --> 00:53:11,475
Um, African Waters was super
successful in the media.

904
00:53:11,595 --> 00:53:17,025
I never had a story published close
to to, to that every big magazine,

905
00:53:17,025 --> 00:53:20,230
newspaper, TV show, everything.

906
00:53:20,775 --> 00:53:24,884
And then COVID hit and then
I started to build it up.

907
00:53:25,455 --> 00:53:33,585
Um, and so I did European waters,
um, and, um, I was, I was preparing

908
00:53:33,585 --> 00:53:39,405
and I'm still hoping for American
Waters or Canada Canadian waters.

909
00:53:39,915 --> 00:53:43,815
Um, both are equally interesting.

910
00:53:44,895 --> 00:53:46,905
And, uh, at the moment I would actually

911
00:53:46,905 --> 00:53:48,225
prefer Canadian waters.

912
00:53:48,855 --> 00:53:51,075
What's the goal of the Waters project?

913
00:53:51,225 --> 00:53:52,965
I know you started with African Waters.

914
00:53:52,965 --> 00:53:54,855
What was the goal there
and has it expanded?

915
00:53:55,275 --> 00:53:57,165
The idea is, um,

916
00:53:57,765 --> 00:54:01,545
I, I fly with a helicopter.

917
00:54:02,115 --> 00:54:03,645
I need that for the photos.

918
00:54:03,645 --> 00:54:11,055
So, uh, when, when I find the spot a
great, a glacier, a lake, a river, um, we,

919
00:54:11,055 --> 00:54:18,315
we stop the helicopter and we rotate it
for a 360 degree photo, which I take with

920
00:54:18,315 --> 00:54:25,995
the like eyes, which is a medium format
camera, big sensor so that I stitch.

921
00:54:26,745 --> 00:54:32,340
And so that way you get pictures that are
different to all the 2 billion photos that

922
00:54:32,340 --> 00:54:34,875
get uploaded every day in the internet.

923
00:54:34,875 --> 00:54:39,675
And so once I have the
attention through this picture.

924
00:54:40,560 --> 00:54:44,040
I go to the ground and I ask the
people, I ask the park ranger,

925
00:54:44,190 --> 00:54:46,020
the farmer, the scientist.

926
00:54:46,050 --> 00:54:50,460
Um, I've been, I I've been a
member of the Explorers Club

927
00:54:50,460 --> 00:54:52,140
since last year in New York.

928
00:54:52,620 --> 00:54:57,390
Um, so they have a, a, a
incredible network of scientists.

929
00:54:57,990 --> 00:55:02,910
Um, and so, and they're all
very, it's like a, like, you

930
00:55:02,910 --> 00:55:04,860
know, it's a being in a family.

931
00:55:04,860 --> 00:55:08,490
Once you're a member, they're always
helpful with information, with

932
00:55:08,490 --> 00:55:11,280
contacts, with licenses, whatever.

933
00:55:12,030 --> 00:55:19,590
And, um, and so I, uh, what I, I, I,
I go to these scientists, whatever,

934
00:55:20,130 --> 00:55:22,170
and tell their story about the water.

935
00:55:22,170 --> 00:55:24,420
It's incredibly exciting.

936
00:55:24,420 --> 00:55:33,630
So, for example, lake Tanika has 17% of
the world's sweet water reserves, 17%.

937
00:55:33,690 --> 00:55:36,990
And due to overfishing,
it is about two tilt.

938
00:55:37,530 --> 00:55:40,410
Um, I, I could tell you 20 stories.

939
00:55:40,410 --> 00:55:46,110
Now, all glacier in Switzerland has been,
uh, one of the largest glaciers in Europe.

940
00:55:46,140 --> 00:55:51,270
Uh, will be gone by the end of the
century, um, with consequences that

941
00:55:51,270 --> 00:55:56,280
are not to be, you know, calculated
yet, but they're gonna be horrific.

942
00:55:56,910 --> 00:56:03,930
Um, so, uh, every country I know,
every village, I know every, uh,

943
00:56:05,940 --> 00:56:08,940
everybody you talk to
has a story about water.

944
00:56:08,970 --> 00:56:11,250
Like Venice is thinking.

945
00:56:11,250 --> 00:56:15,495
At the same time, the sea levels
rising because they use too much

946
00:56:15,545 --> 00:56:16,735
fresh water for the tourism.

947
00:56:18,105 --> 00:56:22,335
It's, it's built on, uh,
po poles and the poles.

948
00:56:22,694 --> 00:56:25,845
When you take the, the groundwater
out, the pole sinks, so the city

949
00:56:25,845 --> 00:56:27,915
sinks and stories like that.

950
00:56:27,915 --> 00:56:30,975
Uh, don't get me started,
that's gonna beano another, but

951
00:56:31,214 --> 00:56:32,504
this is what I'm hoping to do.

952
00:56:32,504 --> 00:56:33,734
I do it wherever I go.

953
00:56:33,734 --> 00:56:36,225
I do it in Africa, I do it, uh, in Europe.

954
00:56:36,464 --> 00:56:41,535
I hope to do it in Canada and the United
States and South America and Asia.

955
00:56:42,225 --> 00:56:46,754
It's always a question of, you
know, do I get the sponsors?

956
00:56:46,754 --> 00:56:49,305
It's quite pricey to do it.

957
00:56:49,935 --> 00:56:55,004
Uh, but also when I have the results, I, I
do, I make a book, I make a film, I make,

958
00:56:55,065 --> 00:56:58,004
uh, multimedia shows all over the world.

959
00:56:58,484 --> 00:57:00,524
Um, do the pr.

960
00:57:00,524 --> 00:57:05,145
So that's something that, uh, that
the sponsors really like because

961
00:57:05,145 --> 00:57:08,444
they get a lot of media attention
with the positive, uh, content.

962
00:57:09,150 --> 00:57:12,030
Do you ever get up there in the
helicopter and take a photo only to find

963
00:57:12,030 --> 00:57:15,990
out that you didn't have your setting
set right, or it didn't turn out?

964
00:57:16,290 --> 00:57:17,940
It happens, but not very often

965
00:57:17,940 --> 00:57:23,130
because, uh, I, I, I think, uh,
you know, every, every minute

966
00:57:23,730 --> 00:57:25,290
counts in the helicopter.

967
00:57:25,380 --> 00:57:30,840
Um, and so I, I, I like to
be professional, especially

968
00:57:30,840 --> 00:57:31,830
in the helicopter.

969
00:57:31,830 --> 00:57:34,590
I don't like things flying around.

970
00:57:34,590 --> 00:57:36,720
I don't like, you know,
not knowing what to do.

971
00:57:36,720 --> 00:57:37,710
Oh, I forgot this.

972
00:57:37,800 --> 00:57:41,970
Oh, I didn't put a, oh, I did this
because every, like, every mistake

973
00:57:41,970 --> 00:57:44,370
is dangerous and cost a lot of money.

974
00:57:44,910 --> 00:57:46,440
So it happened that.

975
00:57:46,725 --> 00:57:51,255
Thing happens to me on the motorcycle
or when I am, you know, all the time.

976
00:57:51,525 --> 00:57:53,325
But in the helicopter, I'm
a little bit different.

977
00:57:53,415 --> 00:57:59,025
It's the same like on, on, on, on
the mountain where I come from.

978
00:57:59,025 --> 00:58:04,154
You know, like when we did the Isha
pma, the, the 8,000 meter peak, I wasn't

979
00:58:04,154 --> 00:58:06,075
up there, but I was, I went quite far.

980
00:58:06,075 --> 00:58:11,025
So once I get into this
super, uh, extreme setting,

981
00:58:11,025 --> 00:58:12,495
then I try to be prepared.

982
00:58:12,705 --> 00:58:14,475
So tell me about this Explorers Club.

983
00:58:14,475 --> 00:58:16,455
It kind of sounds like the, what is that?

984
00:58:16,455 --> 00:58:21,705
Sherlock Holmes has got the DIY Club or
whatever that one's called, this exclusive

985
00:58:21,705 --> 00:58:28,005
kind of, uh, uh, ritzy, um, kind of club.

986
00:58:28,065 --> 00:58:30,435
Is that, is that what this
Explorers Club is all about?

987
00:58:30,645 --> 00:58:31,995
Uh, it's very cool actually.

988
00:58:32,025 --> 00:58:37,035
Um, you know, it's, it's very much like
the, uh, national Geographic Society.

989
00:58:37,035 --> 00:58:38,174
It's a similar thing.

990
00:58:38,235 --> 00:58:40,665
Uh, it was founded in 1904.

991
00:58:41,355 --> 00:58:42,134
Um.

992
00:58:42,540 --> 00:58:46,080
And the first on the moon, the first
on the North Pole, the first on the

993
00:58:46,080 --> 00:58:47,550
South Pole, they were all explorers.

994
00:58:47,550 --> 00:58:47,940
Flag.

995
00:58:48,810 --> 00:58:53,730
Uh, club flag carriers, um,
which many people in Europe don't

996
00:58:53,730 --> 00:58:55,440
know and you can't apply for it.

997
00:58:55,440 --> 00:58:58,230
You have to be applied by someone else.

998
00:58:58,860 --> 00:59:06,420
Um, and I did a multimedia show in
Cabret in the Dominican Republic, um,

999
00:59:06,630 --> 00:59:11,670
with my friend Susie Mai, who's a pro
kite surfer, and she organizes ocean

1000
00:59:11,670 --> 00:59:16,440
conservation events and, um, and she.

1001
00:59:16,785 --> 00:59:20,174
Invited me to do that, uh,
and uh, for this conservation.

1002
00:59:20,174 --> 00:59:25,904
And I was allowed to speak there and I did
my multimedia show and then one Explorers

1003
00:59:25,904 --> 00:59:30,525
Club member suggested me to become,
and then you need a second sponsor.

1004
00:59:30,855 --> 00:59:34,815
They call it sponsor when the, the, the
guy who invite, the person who invite you.

1005
00:59:35,819 --> 00:59:36,240
Mm-hmm.

1006
00:59:36,319 --> 00:59:39,045
And so, and then I was accepted
and now I'm a fellow member.

1007
00:59:39,045 --> 00:59:39,765
I'm very proud.

1008
00:59:40,095 --> 00:59:45,734
Um, and I'm very happy and it's very cool
'cause it's, it's a New York City and, um.

1009
00:59:46,160 --> 00:59:49,820
You walk in and you can see it, you see
the glove from the first guy on the moon.

1010
00:59:49,820 --> 00:59:53,990
You see a ice bear that Chelton
brought home at the boat.

1011
00:59:53,990 --> 00:59:56,300
He, uh, the, the sled, he used it.

1012
00:59:56,630 --> 00:59:56,750
Holy.

1013
00:59:57,005 --> 00:59:58,220
It's, it's so cool.

1014
00:59:58,220 --> 01:00:01,040
And, and it's, it's, uh,
you can go there, it's free.

1015
01:00:01,070 --> 01:00:03,530
You can, you can walk in
and, and walk through there.

1016
01:00:03,530 --> 01:00:05,420
It's, it's amazingly beautiful.

1017
01:00:05,885 --> 01:00:10,190
When, when I was, uh, 19 I was
traveling through Europe and, uh, it's

1018
01:00:10,190 --> 01:00:13,940
when I first realized that I don't
belong in the big cities, I thought

1019
01:00:13,940 --> 01:00:15,230
I didn't have a problem with it.

1020
01:00:15,230 --> 01:00:19,940
But touring around, checking out
city after city, and I just got

1021
01:00:21,380 --> 01:00:25,760
this feeling of, uh, unease and
being completely overwhelmed.

1022
01:00:25,760 --> 01:00:29,630
And I ended up sneaking off into the
Austrian Alps and spending a week

1023
01:00:29,630 --> 01:00:32,570
out under a tarp, just decompressing.

1024
01:00:32,570 --> 01:00:33,770
And I'm like, why am I doing this?

1025
01:00:33,770 --> 01:00:34,580
Like, what's going on?

1026
01:00:34,670 --> 01:00:37,820
I was learning a bit about what
makes me tick and what doesn't.

1027
01:00:38,210 --> 01:00:42,230
The idea of going to this
Explorers Club sounds amazing.

1028
01:00:42,640 --> 01:00:46,240
The one place, well, not the one
place, but one of the few places in

1029
01:00:46,240 --> 01:00:49,300
the world that I've always had in
the back of my head that I'd probably

1030
01:00:49,330 --> 01:00:55,390
just not like, based on the population
size and the busyness and the noise

1031
01:00:55,390 --> 01:00:57,430
and, and all the rest is New York.

1032
01:00:57,970 --> 01:01:02,620
But, uh, maybe, maybe I'm gonna have
to adjust Satter a little bit or,

1033
01:01:02,620 --> 01:01:06,520
um, bite my lip just so I can go
over there and check this place out.

1034
01:01:06,850 --> 01:01:07,960
I am very much

1035
01:01:07,960 --> 01:01:12,850
with you and I, uh, my ex-girlfriend
studied in, in New York, and I never

1036
01:01:13,150 --> 01:01:14,680
could stay longer than four days.

1037
01:01:14,680 --> 01:01:17,140
It was like pain, you know, like, yeah.

1038
01:01:17,140 --> 01:01:21,700
I, I think it's a very cool city,
but it's just for, same as with my,

1039
01:01:21,700 --> 01:01:26,170
I have a husky, and if she's in the
city, it's just too much information.

1040
01:01:26,410 --> 01:01:27,820
It's just, she can't handle it.

1041
01:01:27,880 --> 01:01:30,010
She's, she's going crazy, you know?

1042
01:01:30,010 --> 01:01:31,630
And same, same as me.

1043
01:01:32,560 --> 01:01:36,550
Uh, I, I used to work, I, I used to work
in the city just because you need the

1044
01:01:36,550 --> 01:01:38,425
contact as a photographer to all the.

1045
01:01:39,299 --> 01:01:43,020
Uh, editorial, uh,
connections and everything.

1046
01:01:43,560 --> 01:01:48,120
Um, and I, uh, but then I moved
back out, uh, into the country

1047
01:01:48,120 --> 01:01:49,740
where I come from in no baba ago.

1048
01:01:50,160 --> 01:01:54,930
And, uh, and, uh, now I don't understand
how I could manage to be in the city

1049
01:01:55,500 --> 01:01:58,230
At an early age, I was
diagnosed with severe a DH.

1050
01:01:58,734 --> 01:01:59,544
Maybe I got it.

1051
01:01:59,544 --> 01:02:00,234
Maybe I don't.

1052
01:02:00,234 --> 01:02:02,305
Maybe I was a product of my environment.

1053
01:02:02,365 --> 01:02:03,685
I, I'm not sure.

1054
01:02:03,805 --> 01:02:06,685
Uh, they put me on the highest
dosage of Ritalin for the province

1055
01:02:06,685 --> 01:02:09,535
on an experimental run between
grades three and grades seven.

1056
01:02:10,075 --> 01:02:12,714
I took myself off cold Turkey
before going into high school.

1057
01:02:13,225 --> 01:02:20,754
I, whatever it is in my head
that ticks is just overwhelmed.

1058
01:02:20,815 --> 01:02:23,694
And, and I clearly, I don't fit in.

1059
01:02:23,725 --> 01:02:27,205
Like when I'm in a city
situation, I'll stick out.

1060
01:02:27,205 --> 01:02:28,225
I don't blend in.

1061
01:02:28,225 --> 01:02:29,575
I'm not the gray man.

1062
01:02:29,575 --> 01:02:36,085
I'm six foot six, 250 pounds and alert
to absolutely everything that's going on.

1063
01:02:36,085 --> 01:02:37,855
It's like, um, Vegas.

1064
01:02:37,855 --> 01:02:41,904
I gotta go to a shot show for the, uh,
shooting hunting, outdoor trade show.

1065
01:02:42,675 --> 01:02:44,655
And I don't look forward to it.

1066
01:02:44,805 --> 01:02:48,855
Um, all the lights, all the people,
all the stuff that's kind of going on.

1067
01:02:48,855 --> 01:02:55,785
And I've wondered if that's due to
sort of the, uh, the A DHD diagnosis

1068
01:02:55,785 --> 01:02:58,725
or the, uh, the sort of mindset I'm at.

1069
01:02:58,725 --> 01:03:04,215
And when I look at you, although, you
know, you employ mindfulness techniques,

1070
01:03:04,215 --> 01:03:10,515
you employ hypnosis, you ground yourself
in nature, but you're drawn to a lot

1071
01:03:10,515 --> 01:03:14,925
of the similar things that I'm drawn
to, extreme outdoor type things.

1072
01:03:15,465 --> 01:03:18,285
And I'm drawn to that because
it makes me really present.

1073
01:03:18,555 --> 01:03:21,405
If you're in the helicopter, you're
present, you gotta make sure you're

1074
01:03:21,405 --> 01:03:24,765
professional, you're dialed in, and every
little movement you make, every piece

1075
01:03:24,765 --> 01:03:27,015
of kit that you have is squared away.

1076
01:03:27,015 --> 01:03:29,235
And, and you're right there in the moment.

1077
01:03:29,235 --> 01:03:32,805
If I'm on a rock face and I'm climbing,
I'm thinking about my next handhold,

1078
01:03:33,075 --> 01:03:36,255
my next foothold, where I'm putting
protection in I'm very present.

1079
01:03:36,345 --> 01:03:39,165
Same with rafting or paragliding.

1080
01:03:39,315 --> 01:03:41,355
Um, I'm wondering, have.

1081
01:03:41,850 --> 01:03:46,290
You ever been diagnosed or do you
think you come from a background

1082
01:03:46,500 --> 01:03:50,910
mentally of, uh, uh, neurodivergency?

1083
01:03:51,390 --> 01:03:57,900
Um, I, I, maybe I was very active as
well, but, uh, I, I, I see it differently,

1084
01:03:57,960 --> 01:04:02,190
uh, growing up in the mountains,
uh, you sharp sharpen your senses.

1085
01:04:03,030 --> 01:04:07,740
Um, and especially when you like
dangerous things, you always go,

1086
01:04:07,740 --> 01:04:10,350
like, I always check the wind, always.

1087
01:04:10,410 --> 01:04:15,630
It's, sometimes it's annoying for
me myself, but I never, you know,

1088
01:04:15,630 --> 01:04:19,290
like even when, when I ride, I check
the wind for the horse, I check the

1089
01:04:19,290 --> 01:04:21,750
wind for the where would I fly now?

1090
01:04:21,810 --> 01:04:22,890
How would I land now?

1091
01:04:22,890 --> 01:04:27,450
Where would be a, so, uh, I think if
you want to be a good pilot, if you

1092
01:04:27,450 --> 01:04:32,430
want to be a good, um, hunter, uh,
if you want to survive in extreme

1093
01:04:32,430 --> 01:04:36,450
alpinism, you have to see everything.

1094
01:04:36,900 --> 01:04:37,770
We are limited.

1095
01:04:38,295 --> 01:04:40,095
Animals are much better than we are.

1096
01:04:40,275 --> 01:04:44,295
But if you don't school that, if
you don't sharpen your senses,

1097
01:04:44,295 --> 01:04:45,734
you're not gonna live very long.

1098
01:04:46,305 --> 01:04:49,154
And once the senses are sharp, they sharp.

1099
01:04:49,545 --> 01:04:52,125
And if you go to a city,
it's just too many triggers.

1100
01:04:52,275 --> 01:04:56,355
You know, like it's just this, this
noise here and the sound there and

1101
01:04:56,384 --> 01:05:00,345
the smell here, and the animal there,
and the guy, uh, watching you here.

1102
01:05:00,345 --> 01:05:06,255
And it's just, I don't think, I don't
think it's a, it's something that I, uh,

1103
01:05:06,255 --> 01:05:07,665
that I would connect with the illness.

1104
01:05:07,665 --> 01:05:13,100
I would, I would connect it with a, with
a special gift that we are not as, uh,

1105
01:05:15,770 --> 01:05:17,535
hump as many people

1106
01:05:19,725 --> 01:05:22,154
have become through civilization.

1107
01:05:22,154 --> 01:05:26,565
You know, like if I see
people moving in nature.

1108
01:05:27,585 --> 01:05:30,315
I'm just, I just go like,
don't, don't you see this.

1109
01:05:30,320 --> 01:05:31,965
Don't, don't you hear this, don't you?

1110
01:05:32,895 --> 01:05:33,795
Where are you?

1111
01:05:34,080 --> 01:05:36,585
You know, how's the, how's
the weather on your planet?

1112
01:05:36,675 --> 01:05:36,885
You know?

1113
01:05:37,665 --> 01:05:44,415
Um, and, uh, and it, and, uh, to give you
an example, a very good friend of mine,

1114
01:05:45,285 --> 01:05:51,855
he's son Hunter, and he, uh, he worked
in, in the forest business, and he took

1115
01:05:51,915 --> 01:05:58,935
as a social program, he took students
planting trees because, um, that's good

1116
01:05:58,935 --> 01:06:02,685
for the nature, that's good for the
kids to learn how to plant the trees.

1117
01:06:02,685 --> 01:06:03,645
So he did it every year.

1118
01:06:03,645 --> 01:06:07,935
And so, uh, he did it with a famous
school here around the corner.

1119
01:06:07,935 --> 01:06:11,955
And then, uh, the, the, the teacher
said, oh, we have some, we have

1120
01:06:11,955 --> 01:06:14,055
some exchange students from Asia.

1121
01:06:14,055 --> 01:06:16,485
Uh, can we, can, can
they, can we bring them?

1122
01:06:16,485 --> 01:06:18,045
Because we don't know
what to do with them.

1123
01:06:18,045 --> 01:06:22,905
If, if we are all gone and they just sit
in the school, they brought them and after

1124
01:06:22,905 --> 01:06:24,585
10 minutes they walked in the forest.

1125
01:06:24,585 --> 01:06:26,445
And after 10 minutes, um.

1126
01:06:27,180 --> 01:06:30,060
My friend turned around and he
said, where, where are the kids?

1127
01:06:31,170 --> 01:06:32,370
We are not planting over there.

1128
01:06:32,370 --> 01:06:33,810
We, we plant up there.

1129
01:06:34,350 --> 01:06:35,220
It's on the mountain.

1130
01:06:35,520 --> 01:06:38,970
Mm. And the teacher said that, no,
they, they can't walk on this ground.

1131
01:06:39,360 --> 01:06:42,540
They've never walked on in a forest.

1132
01:06:42,600 --> 01:06:44,490
They, they only know tar.

1133
01:06:44,820 --> 01:06:45,390
Wow.

1134
01:06:46,050 --> 01:06:49,740
And that's the opposite,
if you know what I mean.

1135
01:06:49,800 --> 01:06:50,370
You know?

1136
01:06:50,370 --> 01:06:50,430
Yeah.

1137
01:06:50,790 --> 01:06:57,030
That these children, 10, 12, 11 years
old, they cannot walk in a forest because

1138
01:06:57,030 --> 01:06:59,070
they're not used to uneven ground.

1139
01:06:59,940 --> 01:07:03,270
And so that's what, when, when I,
when we had the horse business, you

1140
01:07:03,270 --> 01:07:07,860
could totally tell that the horses
are the first to tell you you're not,

1141
01:07:07,865 --> 01:07:09,300
you're, you're not good to trust.

1142
01:07:09,330 --> 01:07:13,140
You know, and then, and then you
see them and they make a selfie and

1143
01:07:13,140 --> 01:07:15,000
they look here and they, everything.

1144
01:07:15,270 --> 01:07:23,340
It was just incredible to see
how disconnected a, a big part of

1145
01:07:23,340 --> 01:07:25,140
our civilization is with nature.

1146
01:07:25,725 --> 01:07:31,305
And that's what I love so much about
Africa, because that's pure nature and

1147
01:07:31,305 --> 01:07:32,714
you have to know what you're doing.

1148
01:07:32,714 --> 01:07:33,944
You have to be aware.

1149
01:07:33,944 --> 01:07:37,875
You can't walk around blind in
the in, in the, in the dark.

1150
01:07:37,880 --> 01:07:39,464
You, you won't, you won't survive it.

1151
01:07:39,464 --> 01:07:42,525
And, and on a horseback
it's even more intense.

1152
01:07:42,585 --> 01:07:44,835
You, you're not the end of
the food chain, you know?

1153
01:07:44,835 --> 01:07:48,045
And, uh, I mean, you guys know
that you have bears and grizzly

1154
01:07:48,045 --> 01:07:50,355
and, and wolf and, and all that.

1155
01:07:50,384 --> 01:07:55,214
Uh, even though the wolf probably attacked
less, less than, much less than mm-hmm.

1156
01:07:55,455 --> 01:07:56,115
People would expect.

1157
01:07:56,115 --> 01:07:57,315
But, uh.

1158
01:07:57,750 --> 01:07:58,589
You know what I mean?

1159
01:07:58,589 --> 01:08:03,509
It's, it's, it's just, uh, the
intensity of feeling alive in nature.

1160
01:08:03,569 --> 01:08:06,569
That's what triggers me with
Africa and in nature in general.

1161
01:08:06,569 --> 01:08:07,379
I love Canada.

1162
01:08:07,379 --> 01:08:11,819
I love Bavaria, and there's many
nice places, but Africa is a little,

1163
01:08:12,180 --> 01:08:17,279
I'm curious about, so the adventurous
spirit that you have, you've always

1164
01:08:17,279 --> 01:08:23,370
been a free spirit, but what is it
that draws you to these, um, more

1165
01:08:23,370 --> 01:08:30,120
adrenaline filled adventures, and how
is that evolving as you get older?

1166
01:08:34,410 --> 01:08:35,189
Um,

1167
01:08:36,330 --> 01:08:37,529
it's not getting any better.

1168
01:08:40,830 --> 01:08:41,130
And,

1169
01:08:43,950 --> 01:08:45,870
and, um, I,

1170
01:08:49,229 --> 01:08:52,380
I just, I just started like I, um.

1171
01:08:53,980 --> 01:08:57,345
I, I want to give my di
my career a new direction.

1172
01:08:57,945 --> 01:09:03,135
And, um, I thought about what I
can do and, um, I love safari, but

1173
01:09:03,135 --> 01:09:05,745
I don't like to be driven around.

1174
01:09:06,135 --> 01:09:06,555
Mm.

1175
01:09:06,765 --> 01:09:07,845
If that makes any sense.

1176
01:09:07,845 --> 01:09:11,085
I don't like to sit in a Jeep
and then someone drives you

1177
01:09:11,085 --> 01:09:12,540
somewhere and then mm-hmm.

1178
01:09:12,915 --> 01:09:17,625
I mean, it's, it's, it's nice, don't get
me wrong, but it's not, I wanna be active.

1179
01:09:17,625 --> 01:09:20,175
I want to go hunting, I want
to go fishing, I want to go

1180
01:09:20,175 --> 01:09:22,485
riding, I want to go whatever.

1181
01:09:22,485 --> 01:09:27,135
You know, I don't wanna just sit
around and be, uh, driven around.

1182
01:09:27,165 --> 01:09:27,495
Yeah.

1183
01:09:27,495 --> 01:09:34,515
So, so now I, uh, what I'm gonna do in the
future is, is uh, try to take my skills

1184
01:09:34,515 --> 01:09:40,995
and, and my experiences and my love for
photography into Africa and take people

1185
01:09:41,235 --> 01:09:48,075
for bike rides and horseback riding and
helicopter flying and whatever, because

1186
01:09:48,825 --> 01:09:50,535
you know, the, I love that the old.

1187
01:09:50,625 --> 01:09:56,745
The, the, the, the old, like what I used
to make my living from like shooting for

1188
01:09:56,745 --> 01:10:00,825
all those magazines has become harder.

1189
01:10:01,125 --> 01:10:07,395
And I am not sure what, uh, artificial
intelligence will do to it in the future.

1190
01:10:07,545 --> 01:10:08,415
Mm-hmm.

1191
01:10:08,475 --> 01:10:09,615
And I want to be prepared.

1192
01:10:09,615 --> 01:10:13,695
I never wanna wait until
something is too late to change.

1193
01:10:13,695 --> 01:10:15,765
I always try to stay in motion.

1194
01:10:15,795 --> 01:10:21,075
So that's why I did the mountains and
then the horses, and then the safaris.

1195
01:10:21,075 --> 01:10:26,175
It's, it's, I don't, once I did
it five times, you know, I'm okay.

1196
01:10:26,175 --> 01:10:28,125
Like, it, it's, it's cool.

1197
01:10:28,125 --> 01:10:29,805
But, but what else is there?

1198
01:10:30,810 --> 01:10:34,920
And so that's gonna be my next step
that I, that I wanna, that I wanna,

1199
01:10:34,920 --> 01:10:40,920
I wanna share all these stories and
experiences that I was privileged to be

1200
01:10:40,920 --> 01:10:45,870
able through my clients, to experience
them and learn how to fly helicopter

1201
01:10:45,870 --> 01:10:48,240
and go on safari and photograph it.

1202
01:10:48,600 --> 01:10:51,510
I wanna give it, pass it on.

1203
01:10:51,510 --> 01:10:56,910
Now, you know, I wanna, mm, I wanna
share the fascination I have for

1204
01:10:56,910 --> 01:10:58,200
Africa in an active way.

1205
01:10:58,830 --> 01:11:02,160
Is there anything that we haven't talked
about that we should be talking about?

1206
01:11:02,160 --> 01:11:02,220
For,

1207
01:11:03,060 --> 01:11:09,090
for me, it, it's, uh, I'm in this process
at the moment, uh, that, you know, it's

1208
01:11:09,090 --> 01:11:13,140
almost, I mean, I have these programs
and everything that I want to offer, but.

1209
01:11:13,515 --> 01:11:17,775
I'm still not sure, you know, how
I wanna, I have a lot of interviews

1210
01:11:17,775 --> 01:11:22,965
in the future, um, for projects
that don't necessarily have to do

1211
01:11:22,965 --> 01:11:26,565
something with what I do at the moment.

1212
01:11:26,775 --> 01:11:32,265
Uh, so, um, and I was wondering,
I was thinking about how do I want

1213
01:11:32,715 --> 01:11:34,605
myself to be seen in the future?

1214
01:11:34,605 --> 01:11:36,045
Where do I wanna move?

1215
01:11:36,435 --> 01:11:40,125
So I say like, you know, when I meet
other photographers, I always hear,

1216
01:11:40,125 --> 01:11:41,895
oh, this is bad and this is bad.

1217
01:11:41,900 --> 01:11:44,295
And, and there's a lot
of bad things going on.

1218
01:11:44,355 --> 01:11:50,115
Um, but for me, I always try to
be on the side where I'm active

1219
01:11:50,115 --> 01:11:52,155
and where I, I'm the hunter.

1220
01:11:52,155 --> 01:11:52,935
I'm not hunted.

1221
01:11:53,025 --> 01:11:53,055
Mm.

1222
01:11:53,925 --> 01:11:54,165
And that,

1223
01:11:54,585 --> 01:11:56,865
for me is important.

1224
01:11:57,135 --> 01:11:59,145
And it's, it's a philosophy for life.

1225
01:11:59,715 --> 01:12:01,545
Stay in motion.

1226
01:12:01,635 --> 01:12:02,335
You know, like if.

1227
01:12:03,850 --> 01:12:08,475
If, if you just sit there and wait
till it's over, then it's over soon.

1228
01:12:08,475 --> 01:12:15,915
And I, and, and that's, and, and talking
to you today really helped me to find more

1229
01:12:15,915 --> 01:12:20,745
precisely where I wanna see myself in the
future and what I wanna do in the future.

1230
01:12:21,255 --> 01:12:26,295
And, uh, I, I tested, uh,
the first, uh, client.

1231
01:12:26,295 --> 01:12:30,675
I'd made a book for him, just for him
about the hill horse safari we did

1232
01:12:30,675 --> 01:12:33,105
together in Namibia and in Botswana.

1233
01:12:33,555 --> 01:12:38,415
I'm gonna send you some pictures, uh,
we took there and then maybe you will

1234
01:12:38,415 --> 01:12:45,915
understand why the combination of
hilly horse and, and all this is, it

1235
01:12:45,975 --> 01:12:48,225
makes it such a different experience.

1236
01:12:48,225 --> 01:12:53,835
It's, it's, you know, with every safari
I come closer to, to, you know, uh,

1237
01:12:53,865 --> 01:12:56,115
when people ask me, why do you do it?

1238
01:12:56,115 --> 01:12:56,865
Or what do you do?

1239
01:12:56,895 --> 01:13:00,915
There as so many aspects of it
and so much fascination about it.

1240
01:13:01,709 --> 01:13:06,750
But helicopters and horses as my whole
life as 20 years ago when I had the

1241
01:13:06,750 --> 01:13:09,929
hard time, they, they always pull me

1242
01:13:09,929 --> 01:13:13,740
out the dirt, you know,
Florian, I absolutely love that.

1243
01:13:13,889 --> 01:13:18,389
I am, I'm gonna put links in the
description so people can see the work

1244
01:13:18,389 --> 01:13:23,190
you've done so they can follow you
and see what you're working on next.

1245
01:13:23,190 --> 01:13:27,509
And, um, I, uh, I'm really
looking forward to seeing the

1246
01:13:27,509 --> 01:13:29,099
photographs that you sent on over.

1247
01:13:29,700 --> 01:13:32,730
Thank you so much for being
on the Silver Core Podcast.

1248
01:13:33,059 --> 01:13:34,410
Thank you so much for having me.

1249
01:13:34,410 --> 01:13:35,250
It was a great

1250
01:13:35,250 --> 01:13:35,700
pleasure.

1251
01:13:35,820 --> 01:13:39,120
And to see you in Beck or in Canada.