Host of A DaVinci Life - Rusty Johnson from Travel Channel's HOTEL AMAZON

Explorer Rusty Johnson‘s Epic Adventures

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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"Rusty's way with animals, including humans, is magical." Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence

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... A DaVinci Life

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.

From his near museum-quality documentary footage to his 3rd generation Amazon shaman wife. Rusty Johnson charms and fascinates all though those who stand in his presence. And oh yeah, because I'm sure your dying to know, yes, Rusty Johnson is his real name.