Epic Adventures with Explorer Rusty Johnson

James Preston Delgado is a maritime archaeologist, historian, maritime preservation expert, author, television host, and explorer.

Delgado is a maritime archaeologist who has spent over four decades in underwater exploration. A veteran of over 100 shipwreck investigations around the world, his work has included the wrecks of RMS Titanic, USS Independence (CVL-22), USS Conestoga (AT-54),, USS Monitor, USS Arizona (BB-39), USS Nevada (BB-36), Sub Marine Explorer, the buried Gold Rush ships of San Francisco, the atomic bomb test fleet at Bikini Atoll, the slave ship Clotilda, and Khubilai Khan's legendary lost fleet.

Dr. Delgado's long career has included heading a major maritime museum, leading both the National Park Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s maritime heritage programs, giving numerous academic and public presentations, teaching at several universities, and sharing his expertise in hundreds of televisions documentaries as well as answering global media calls on shipwreck-related stories. He also pioneered the standards and guidelines for the U.S. government's National Park Service's National Historic Landmark Studies to preserve maritime shipwrecks and cultural land sites as designated, protected areas. In addition, he is the author of over 200 academic articles, and more than 33 books. He also edited the first encyclopaedia of underwater and maritime archaeology. Named a Fellow of the Explorers Club in 1997, Delgado is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and an Officer in Spain's Order of Civil Merit.

A native of San Jose, California, the son of firefighter and a homemaker, he grew up next to San Francisco Bay, with summer visits to his grandparents’ home on Puget Sound in Washington that alternated with his other grandparent's summer home on California's Clear Lake. From an early age, he was drawn to both the water and to the past.

Richard Garriott de Cayeux currently serves as the President of the Explorers Club. He is a founding father of the videogame industry and the commercial spaceflight industry, a flown astronaut, and the first explorer to have explored pole to pole, orbited the Earth, and reached the deepest point in the Ocean.

Richard has been inducted into the computer gaming hall of fame and received the industry lifetime achievement award. He is credited with creating the now ubiquitous term “avatar” for one’s virtual self and the category of massively multiplayer games (MMORPGs). He authored the acclaimed Ultima Series and has built 3 leading gaming companies: Origin Systems (sold to Electronic Arts), Destination Games (sold to NCsoft) and Portalarium.

As a principal shaper of the commercial spaceflight industry, he cofounded Space Adventures, the only company to arrange space flights for private citizens and is the sixth private astronaut to live aboard the International Space Station. The son of a NASA astronaut, he became the first second-generation astronaut, served on NASA advisory Council, and has been a key leader in civilian and commercial space through institutions such as the Challenger Center for Science Education,  the XPRIZE Foundation, and Space Adventures.

Richard is an avid explorer, having traveled around the globe from the jungles of the Amazon to the South Pole, the deep seas of the Titanic and hydrothermal vents to orbiting the earth aboard the International Space Station, and most recently to Challenger Deep, the deepest point in our Oceans.

Richard’s wife Laetitia is a leading tech entrepreneur and investor, and they have two children, Kinga Shuilong & Ronin Phi.

His book, “Explore/Create,” chronicles his life from the early days of video gaming, through his spaceflight and to the present day.

Chris Thrall was born in South-East London. Aged eighteen, he joined the Royal Marines Commandos.

Following active service in the Northern Ireland Conflict and training in Arctic warfare and survival, he earned his parachutist’s ‘wings’ and operated as part of a high-security detachment onboard an aircraft carrier. 

In 1995, Chris moved to Hong Kong to oversee the Asia-Pacific expansion of a million-dollar marketing operation he’d built part-time while serving in the forces. Six months later, he was homeless, in psychosis from crystal meth addiction and working as a nightclub doorman for the 14K, Hong Kong’s most ruthless triad brotherhood.

In 2011, Chris wrote the internationally bestselling memoir Eating Smoke, a frank, disturbing yet often hilarious account of his experience. He has spoken on numerous podcasts, radio and television programs and has co-produced two award-wining radio plays on his life and memoir. Forty Nights, Chris’s 2019 follow-up, details how he used chronic addiction as a springboard to achieve all of his life’s goals.

A qualified pilot, skydiver, snowboarder and ultra-runner, Chris has traveled across eighty countries on seven continents, including backpacking through all of North, Central and South America. He has run a sub-four London Marathon and completed a quadruple ironman of a 9-mile swim, 450-mile cycle and 107-mile run. In 2018, with zero training for three years following spinal surgery, he ran an ultra-marathon every day for 37 days, 999 miles from John O’Groats to Land’s End, solo, unsupported and carrying 14kgs of camping equipment, to raise awareness of veterans’ suicide and £18K for charity.

In 1999, Chris firewalked 120 meters over red-hot coals to raise money to work with street children in post-war Mozambique. He has driven aid workers from Norway to India and back on a 1978 British Leyland bus, dived off the cliff in Acapulco, fished for piranhas in the Amazon, scuba-dived with bull sharks in Belize and leopard seals and icebergs while exploring the Antarctic Polar Circle.

For his humanitarian approach to life, Chris was awarded the Second Level Commendation of the Finnish Nation on the grounds of human generosity. He has a degree in youth and community work, is a substance-misuse and addiction specialist and a life-changing speaker. He currently lives in Plymouth, England, where he still intends to become an astronaut, a dolphin trainer or the Milky Bar Kid.

Chris firewalked forty metres over red-hot coals to raise money to work with street children in war-torn Mozambique. He has driven volunteer journalists to India and back in an old school bus to highlight global inequality and poverty. Chris was awarded the Second Level Commendation of the Finnish Nation on the grounds of Human Generosity for his ability to inspire others.

While backpacking through every country in North, Central and South America, he dived off the famous cliff in Acapulco, caught piranhas and survived without equipment in the Amazon rainforest and snorkeled with bull sharks off Belize. In colder climes, he has scuba-dived with leopard seals and icebergs in the sub-zero waters of the Antarctic Polar Circle.

Chris wrote the bestselling memoir Eating Smoke, a frank yet humorous account of his time down and out in Hong Kong. He has appeared on numerous podcasts and radio and television programs and two award-wining radio plays have been made about his life. Forty Nights, Chris’s second memoir, details how the life-changing experience of addiction led to his enlightenment and wellbeing.

Speaker in Mental Health for the Rotary Club of Great Britain.

Chris Thrall’s empathy should be lauded and applauded

Zero negativity and a positive mind.

There are inspirational life stories and then there is Chris Thrall’s

What an absolutely incredible and wonderful thing Chris is doing

Chris’ ‘can do’ attitude is a real inspiration, making you feel like you can achieve anything

Chris shows pure grit and determination, showing that anything is possible if you put your mind to it!

Host of A Davinci Life Rusty Johnson steps to the other side of the mic for an interview about his "DaVinci" Life. 

Rusty Johnson has been an Amazon jungle guide for over 20 years. He was the main character, consulting producer, and originator of The Travel Channel’s TV series HOTEL AMAZON. Rusty has consulted for National Geographic Television’s HOOKED, the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, DATELINE, and his footage of wildlife on his Amazon preserve is in Reader’s Digest “Must See Places on Earth” DVD Series. He has also filmed on the island of Kauai for the documentary series Cosmic Journeys.​ Rusty has appeared with his wildlife on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Today Show, and free flew a hawk on The Late Show with David Letterman 14-stories high over 49th street in New York City.  Rusty has even free flew an African eagle in the ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria. He has presented over 3,000 lectures at educational institutions including Princeton University and The Explorers Club where he was one of the youngest people ever inducted into the prestigious club.

For over 30 years he has bred, captured, trained, handled, or rehabilitated an extensive number of wildlife such as cobras, vipers, giant pythons, alligators, condors, eagles, falcons, hawks, vultures, owls, tigers, and elephants. He has had an Andean condor for over 20 years, which is the largest bird of prey in the world (ten foot wingspan) and one of only 10 condors privately possessed in the U.S. He has captured Bald Eagles for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service research and trained a falcon for Magician David Copperfield.

Rusty testified during a federal grand jury pertaining to an Australian animal smuggling ring and he has successfully brainstormed clandestine explosive detection techniques with animals for a post 9/11 anti-terrorism Commander. He has also interviewed the infamous satanic serial killer the Night Stalker (Richard Ramírez) in order to explore the mind of a human predator.

He is the author of a book entitled Twilight of the Wild (Foreword written by Jim Fowler of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom).

Who is Rusty Johnson? The question is not as easy to answer as you'd think.  Most of us probably don't have mornings that begin like Rusty's. You know, another boring old Wednesday where you go down to the basement freezer and unpack 14 frozen guinea pigs in order to feed your 210lb Burmese python who lives in the headboard of Rusty's bed. And while your down there could you feed fish to the alligator and giant snapping turtle?

It's so interesting watching a snake swallow its prey, but who has time for that when there's a rather hungry Andean condor in the backyard to feed. Who would just assume take its diet of raw meat from any source, even like a thumb.

Rusty's home can be a strange and wondrous kingdom. Just be careful where you sit, lean, step, sleep, eat, etc. It's not unlikely to spot a screech owl on top of the refrigerator for example. Or have a 10-foot monocle cobra named Naja staring you down during breakfast.

A poison dart frog here, a pygmy hedgehog scurrying across the floor there, you know how it is. You heard the question asked, where have all the endangered species gone? I would say a lot of them lived at Rusty's house. Bald eagles, Golden eagles, and peregrine falcons to name a few.

Then there's red tail hawks, vultures, and let's not forget “Big Owl Capone” the Giant European Eagle owl, his human-sized orange eyes always seem to be watching. Wait, I think he spy's a pile of leaves moving, oops wrong, that's Rusty's West African Gaboon viper. To the untrained eye, it's easy to confuse his viper with his copperhead or rattlesnake for that matter.

Rusty can wear several hats, just not at once. It's as though he has a set of secret nail hooks in his bedroom closet to hang them all on, and dust off as needed.

Some have called him the Birdman, some the medicine man, in the Amazon jungle, he is known as Tarzan Santa Claus. So which is he? Truth be told he is all of them and more.

He has been a wildlife expert, a jungle guide, a TV personality, an author, a lead guitarist, a humanitarian, and a philanthropist. See what I mean?  It's hard to pin him down.

He dabbles in martial arts, falconry, holistic medicine, and the list goes on. He is down to earth, yet somehow elusive. He has suffered from dyslexia and aphasia but penned a popular book called Twilight of the Wild.  He is a self-professed social introvert but has given over 3,000 lectures. These may seem like contradictions, but in actuality, they are merely opposing puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly to form one singular and unique personality known as Rusty Johnson.

His self-made career has led him to some of the planet's most fascinating deserts, jungles, and islands. Not bad for a small-town boy with no formal education past high school.  He has learned by doing, discovered through exploration, and he can jam with any band by ear. It's no wonder he was one of the youngest members ever to be inducted into The Explorers Club, an international multidisciplinary organization promoting scientific exploration and field study. It was there that Rusty met such luminary figures as Neil Armstrong and Sylvia Earle.

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Consulting for a plethora of networks including National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, A&E, and others. His cumulative experience eventually took him into the Amazon rainforest where he led over 30 expeditions and garnered the hard-earned trust of the Amazon natives. His Nets for Nino's campaign served to protect Peru's indigenous children from such deadly diseases as malaria, an affliction that Rusty himself contracted while delivering much-needed supplies to jungle schools and hospitals. This culminated in a strong interest in Amazonian medicine and the construction of a lodge that later became the subject of a Travel Channel television series called Hotel Amazon. Rusty served as consulting producer and star.

Never content resting on his laurels, Rusty has trained with Amazon shamans to perform sacred healing ceremonies with holistic medicines such as Ayahuasca, Kambo (tree frog venom), and even the secretive viper venom ceremony.

Plenty for one man right? Not for the man called Rusty Johnson. This cutting-edge venture is currently being parleyed into another groundbreaking TV show in development starring creator Rusty Johnson and the well-known celebrity physician Dr. Drew Pinsky.

OK then, what do you think? Have we encapsulated Rusty Johnson? Have we figured him out? I think not. His enigmatic ways, and well of creativity, will always go on continuing to push the boundaries and defy our expectations. Surely, we can anticipate more innovative projects.

Perhaps productions uncovering new aspects of animal behavior. How does a film on human predatory behaviors sound? A potential work based on the interviews that Rusty conducted with the nefarious serial killer Richard Ramirez “The Night Stalker”. Or perhaps the future holds a startlingly original zoom show Exploring those individuals amongst the 10 percent of humanity that light the way forward for us all...

Rusty's innate sense of adventure and quest for knowledge has led him on adventures around the planet. His desire to improve the quality of our world has inspired TV shows and continues to influence everyone he meets. His keen sensibilities and natural curiosity set the stage for this innovative new show. Self-made and fiercely independent there is no one better to plumb the mind of a DaVinci, if not possess one himself.

www.aDaVinciLife.com for the video version.   

    Mario Andretti has redefined what it means to be a race car driver and he has done it seemingly without breaking a sweat. He is one of the few drivers ever to succeed in Formal One, Indy Car, World sports car, and Nascar. He is an inspiration to sports fans around the world and is even immortalized in pop songs. We are proud to welcome the legendary Mario Andretti. Mario Andretti's name is virtually synonymous with the sport of race car driving. A versatile driver with a charismatic personality, he has won numerous races and seen two sons and a nephew become successful in the sport.

For many people all over the world, the name Mario Andretti is synonymous with automobile racing. From humble beginnings in a small Italian village, Andretti went on to become one of the most successful drivers in the history of the sport. Andretti's most amazing accomplishment was his versatility. He excelled in virtually every type of car and on every type of track there is, from 24-hour marathons to the Indianapolis 500. According to a 1989 poll, Andretti's name was better known to the American public than were the names of the next two most famous race car drivers—A. J. Foyt and Richard Petty—combined. During the peak years of his racing career in the 1960s and 1970s, Andretti earned a reputation as one of the sport's most daring drivers, as well as one of its most colorful personalities. Andretti, now an American citizen, repeated as USAC champion in 1966. That season, he won eight of the 15 championship races he entered. During one three-race stretch—the Milwaukee 100, the Langhorne 100, and the Atlanta 300—Andretti led from start to finish, for a total of 500 miles.

That phenomenal season established Andretti as the hottest driver on the Indy-car circuit, as well as an international celebrity. Andretti won eight races again in 1967, but fell just short of the USAC championship, which was taken by A. J. Foyt. As the 1960s continued, he felt the urge to seek out new challenges.

For Andretti, that meant trying to duplicate his Indy-car success in other forms of racing. In 1967 he stunned the world of stock car racing by winning the prestigious Daytona 500. The following year, Andretti became involved in the Formula One road racing circuit. He also began to race occasionally on dirt tracks. Although he enhanced his reputation as one of the world's most versatile drivers, Andretti in only four USAC races in 1968, finishing second in the standings to Bobby Unser. 961 he married his high school sweetheart, Dee Ann Hoch. Around the same time, he quit his garage job, and decided to devote his attention to full-time racing. In 1962 Andretti raced sprint cars on the United Racing Club's Eastern circuit. The following year, he won 11 American Race Drivers Club midget car races, including three races in two different states on Labor Day, 1963.

By 1964 Andretti had caught the attention of Clint Brawner, chief mechanic for prominent race car sponsor Al Dean of Dean Van Lines. When Dean's main driver, Chuck Hulse, was injured, he chose Andretti as his replacement. Now in the big leagues of auto racing, Andretti quickly began to make a name for himself on the United States Auto Club (USAC) circuit, finishing in the top ten in a number of races. In 1965, his first full year in top-level racing, Andretti emerged as a star of the speedways, exciting racing fans with his bold driving style. He was signed to a multi-year contract by the powerful Firestone racing team, and although he won only one race that year—the Hoosier Grand Prix at Indianapolis—he was constantly among the leaders, including an impressive third-place finish at the Indianapolis 500. That consistency earned him the USAC national championship for the 1965 season. Andretti, now an American citizen, repeated as USAC champion in 1966. That season, he won eight of the 15 championship races he entered. During one three-race stretch—the Milwaukee 100, the Langhorne 100, and the Atlanta 300—Andretti led from start to finish, for a total of 500 miles. That phenomenal season established Andretti as the hottest driver on the Indy-car circuit, as well as an international celebrity. 

A DaVinci Life - Exploring Genius

Hosted by Rusty Johnson

Produced by Rusty Johnson Rick Z.

  www.aDaVinciLife.com for video version 

Today's guest Dr. Niall McCann, seems to have no ceiling to his passion for this place and its natural resources. Star of the TV series Biggest and Baddest, as well as the Documentary, Lost in the Amazon. He is a biologist, zoologist, conservationist, and more, this wildlife adventurer protects some of the world's most endangered wildlife with the heart of a true humanitarian. This DaVinci contributes more to our world before breakfast then most of us do in a lifetime. Niall's grandfather won the Founder's Medal from the Royal Geographical Society in 1952 for Arctic exploration. Introduced to adventures from an early age, Niall has followed in his grandfather's footsteps. Since the age of 18 Niall has undertaken challenging expeditions all over the world, including rowing the Atlantic Ocean, skiing across Greenland, cycling over the Himalayas & canoeing the Yukon River. Niall has conducted remote-area biological research all over the world. Specializing in endangered species research, he graduated with a PhD in Conservation Biology from Cardiff University. Niall's adventures have been covered in the media for many years. He worked alongside Sir David Attenborough on the BBC’s A Perfect Planet, and has presented three seasons of the multi-award-winning Biggest and Baddest. Niall joined Sir David Attenborough to explore humankind’s role as both a constructive and destructive force of nature. Niall presented the award-winning PBS documentary Lost in the Amazon: the enigma of Colonel Percy Fawcett. Niall presented three seasons of the multi-award-winning series Biggest and Baddest, which continues to air worldwide. Niall has worked in protected area law enforcement in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Focusing on anti-poaching operations, he is the Director of Conservation at National Park Rescue. Tired of the seeming futility of endangered species research, Niall decided to dedicate his career to stopping the destruction of our natural heritage. Since 2012 Niall has worked on the front line of conservation in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Niall is a Trustee of the Wallacea Trust, a charity that funds projects that empower communities in developing nations to develop commercial enterprises linked to biodiversity conservation. Niall is the Director of Conservation for National Park Rescue, a direct-action conservation organization that focuses on preventing the slaughter of elephants, rhinos and lions in sub-Saharan Africa. Niall is a member of the Brecon Mountain Rescue Team, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a Trustee of the Wallacea Trust, and an Ambassador for the British Inspiration Trust and Smash Life. He lives near Cardiff with his wife and young daughter.