This conversation with Survivorman Les Stroud might be one of my favourite Strenuous Life Podcast episodes ever!
Les Stroud has produced many survival-themed shows for The Discovery Channel, The Science Channel, The Outdoor Life Network, and YTV. In these shows he usually goes out into very challenging wilderness situations and tries to survive using only the materials at hand and minimal equipment.
He’s done this again and again in places like the Rocky Mountains, Kalahari Desert, Amazon Jungle, Arctic Tundra, Australian Outback, and many other wild and remote locations.
Dealing with hunger, thirst, heat, cold, animals and terrible conditions would be difficult enough for most people. But unlike other survival experts (who go out there with their own film crews and helicopter back to plush hotels for the night) Les does all the filming himself and actually stays out there.
So it’s gritty, difficult and very, very real.
He’s also a talented musician who has found some incredibly innovative ways to combine cinematography, storytelling and music to create compelling narratives.
Les Stroud combines his incredible skills with great mental toughness to exemplify the strenuous life!
In this 46 minute episode Les and I talked adventure, survival skills, navigating in the wilderness, the closest he’s come to death while filming, work-life balance, music and more.
I hope you enjoy listening to his episode as much as I did recording it for you!
How to Listen to this Episode with Les Stroud
This conversation with Les Stroud was episode 156 of my show, which is called ‘The Strenuous Life Podcast’.
- Apple Podcasts (the purple app on your iPhone)
- Google Podcasts (the new google podcast app)
- Spotify (it’s free)
- Stitcher,
- Soundcloud,
- Google Play
Or as promised, the embedded audio player is below:
Or you can watch the same conversation in the embedded video below (direct link the Youtube video here)…
If You Want More Of This…
Check out Les’s Site
Go to lesstroud.ca to find out more about Les, his appearances, books, shows, and concerts.
Check Out These Other Episodes
If you enjoy the outdoor oriented conversations then check out some of the other adventurers I’ve chatted with on my podcast including…
Will Gadd
Will Gadd is an extreme athlete, perhaps best known for ice climbing Niagara Falls in the winter. But he’s also pioneered many novel routes, including Helmcken Falls, icebergs in the ocean, and underground river tunnels in the Greenland ice.
In this chat we talked about those first ascents, but also touched on mindset, dealing with risk and unknowns, handling close calls, the 25 people he’s known who have died in the mountains, fear of loss vs hope of gain, and how to execute on audacious goals.
Click here for my conversation with Will Gadd.
Frank Wolf
In episode 295 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk with Frank Wolf who exemplifies endurance, determination and perseverance.
His first major expedition 25 years ago was an epic 8,000 kilometer paddle across Canada in a single season and he hasn’t slowed down since. Whether it’s cycling 2,000 km on the frozen Yukon River in winter or paddling the entire coast of British Columbia he’s constantly out there and pushing himself, exemplifying the strenuous life.
Click here to listen or watch my conversation with Frank Wolf.
Adam Shoalts
Adam Shoalts, author of “Alone Against the North” and “Beyond the Trees” is a professional adventurer and explorer. He has completed a 4,000 km solo trip across the Canadian Arctic, explored unknown rivers in the Hudson Bay Lowlands, and is a fellow in the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
I was thrilled to have him on my podcast, and I hope you enjoy his tales of adventure as much as I did!
Click here for my conversation with Adam Shoalts.
A Difficult Adventure in the Far North
You can order my new book “Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic” on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indigo/Chapters, or your local bookstore!
It was an incredibly difficult journey, but I think it turned into a pretty good book!