Donny Dust
Adventurer-Author-Wild man-Veteran
US Marine Corps veteran Donny Dust has earned his reputation as a “professional caveman” by fully embracing a minimalist way of life in the wilderness, where he crafts everything from scratch, be it tools like knives, saws, hammers, and cordage or items such as bows, arrows, axes, ropes, sandals, backpacks, bowls, or swords— and, of course, fire. Having amassed two decades’ worth of primitive living skills that enable him to survive everywhere from the jungles of Asia and South America, the vast open regions of Africa to the mountains of North America.
As a United States Marine Corps veteran who has served in combat zones as a counterintelligence/human intelligence agent and infantryman. During his time in the military, Donny mastered survival skills and then left the Corps in 2011 to teach
Department of Defense personnel everything he'd learned in his years of service. Donny owns and operates Paleo Tracks Survival, Colorado’s premier survival and wilderness self-reliance school, and has nearly two decades' worth of outdoor survival and primitive living experience. When Donny isn't teaching, he can be found trekking through the many remote regions of the Rocky Mountains and the Chihuahua Desert. Donny works in the TV and film industry as a technical consultant for all things related to survival and primitive living. He has appeared on shows such as Alone and Alone The Beast on the History Channel and Mud, Sweat & Beards on the USA Network, First Man Out on Amazon, and he now has millions of followers on social media. Donny has two sons and lives in Boulder County, Colorado.
Contact:
E-mail: donny.dust1@gmail.com
About Donny
Donny Dust is a Marine Corps Veteran who is considered by many as a world wide expert in remote primitive survival, ancient/historical technologies, lithic arts (flintknapping) and emergency preparedness. Donny's passion for ancient ways of living goes beyond theory and guesswork and into true application of living wild.
Donny utilizes his countless days living among the world's wild landscapes and fully immersing himself in unique cultures in order to offer one-of-a-kind wilderness self-reliance training and education at his school Paleo Tracks Survival. No other person has such a diverse background to leverage when providing his one-of-a kind, in-person classes focused on remote primitive living, traditional survival skills, and ancestral technologies and practices. His expertise draws clients from all over the globe, including the UK, South America, Canada, Africa and Australia.
Donny has authored three books, WILD WISDOM, SCAVENGER and EARTHROAMER, worked on feature films as a technical consultant, works with colleges around the country in ancient technologies and flintknapping, taken part in several different network television programs, conducted numerous podcasts and radio appearances, as well as spoken in front of crowds who have traveled from near and far to hear him speak and learn of his wild adventures. Known as the "Professional Caveman", Donny is nothing but professional, adventurous, and creative.
Television & Film
Knapper 2018
Onion Creek Productions
Independent Short Film - Provided historical and contextual insight about a late archaic hunter-gatherer culture that existed in central Texas approximately 8,000 years ago. Built, recreated, and demonstrated methodologies consistent with an archaic hunter-gather culture through stone tools, shelters, foods, weaponry, and clothing.
The Big bend 2019
Panic Media, Onion Creek Productions
Feature Film - Supported film as Head Safety Consultant, providing crew and cast with all safety briefs and safety action implementation through high-wire rigging, vehicle movement, weapons and firearms handling, remote shooting location guide/scout, weather considerations, water safety, and dangerous animal mitigation. Additionally, he served as set medic, ensuring crew and cast injuries and accidents were addressed and appropriate actions were taken. Cast in cameo as Rio, the outdoor adventure guide.
ALone Season 6 - Arctic 2019
HISTORY Channel, ITV America, Left-field Pictures
Contestant on survival reality TV series. The hit TV series, Alone, finds 10 expert survivalist in any remote region of the world, self-filming their adventure with the chance to win one million dollars. Contestants can leave the challenge at any time and return to civilization without knowing who is left fighting for the cash prize. Now airing on NETFLIX!
ALone: The Beast Season 1 - SwampLand 2020
HISTORY Channel, ITV America, Left-field Pictures
Contestant on survival reality TV series. The hit TV series, Alone: The Beast, finds three survivalist from different walks of life in a remote region of the world, with zero survival tools and one dead beast to survive from. Contestants must survive only using what nature provides and the dead beast for 30 days or quit at anytime by tapping out. Three strangers attempt to endure 30 days in a remote wilderness location with no tools or modern amenities; faced with extreme challenges, it'll take all their ingenuity and stamina to work together and survive.Now airing on HULU!
MUD, SWEAT, AND BEARDS 2021-2022
USA Network, NBC Universal, Peacock Streaming, Left-Field Pictures
Co-host of a survival reality tv series. Mud, Sweat, and Beards is shot in various remote locations around the world to demonstrate to the viewers at home that survival is more than embracing the suck, but rather adventure filled, creative, humorous, and inspiring. There is still plenty of rough situations in some extreme locations, but with some simple tools and some creativity, anything is possible. Now Airing on Hulu!
First Man Out - Season 3, Episode 2 Amazon Jungle 2023
Discovery Channel
Ed Stafford and Donny Dust go head to head in an all out foot race through the Amazon jungle to be the First Man Out! Donny demonstrates different jungle survival techniques and methods to survive the jungle while racing continuously to beat Ed Stafford. Watch both world class survivalists battle against anacondas, electric eels, bullet ants and piranah infested waters and anything else the Amazon jungle has to throw their way! Who will be the first man out...the jungle will decide!
Books and Publications
- Survivors Edge Magazine, Winter 2018
- American Frontiersman Magazine, Winter 2018
- American Frontiersman Magazine, Spring 2018
- The New Pioneer Magazine, Spring 2018
- SCAVENGER: A Primal Approach to Lifestyle Change. Published Nov 2019
- EARTHROAMER: Let Curiosity Guide You. Published March 2020
- WILD WISDOM: Primal Skills To Survive In Nature 2024
Donny writes books andhas authored countless articles for mainstream survival and outdoors magazines. His most recent book, WILD WISDOM is the book for the novice outdoorsmen or the seasoned expert looking to brush up on skills and concepts.In Wild Wisdom, you’ll learn the simple advice that “nature provides all” for almost any self-reliance or survival needs. Donny teaches you to use situational awareness in order to avoid danger, problem-solve, prioritize, find shelter, and be able to pivot and improvise in any given situation. Since Donny brings as little into nature as possible, he focuses on essential gear, sheltering, building fire, staying hydrated, foraging, and trapping. The original illustrations in the book guide you through each step, making Wild Wisdom an essential resource in the outdoors.
EARTHROAMER, Donny's second book will challenge and dismantle the common myths associated within the survival, bushcraft, and primitive skills communities. Earthroamer will teach you “how” to think about outdoor adventuring, not “what” to think. This book was written by Donny with the hope that it will become a foundation stone for adventurers, thrill seekers, and outdoor enthusiasts all around the world.
Donny's first book, SCAVENGER: A Primal Approach to Lifestyle Change, is still as popular as ever, selling thousands of copies worldwide. Scavenger captures one specific day: the day Donny had a massive heart attack at the age of 37 and almost died. In order to recover, Donny quickly turned to the mountains and wild spaces of Colorado, where he lived in caves, improvised shelters, hunted wild game, foraged wild edibles, drank from springs and streams, and became a SCAVENGER.
ORDER DONNY'S NEW BOOK WILD WISDOM NOW!
Stone Tools and Crafts
Custom Stone Tools and Ancient Crafts
If you don't know, Donny can build just about anything from stone, wood, bones...pretty much whatever he can get his hands on. It's been his number one rule when it comes to survival and living remotely...creativity is the #1 survival skill. So, that's what he does and is most known for...making everything he would need to live in the wilds of the world.
If you are interested in any CUSTOM BUILD, like any manner of stone tools such as stone knives, arrow points, atlatl dart points, spear points, stone axes, polished axes, hand blades, hand axes, full flintknapping kits or even primitive bows, full atlatl sets, primitive throwing sticks, friction fire sets, fully tanned animal hides, gourd water bottles, leather pouches, bone hooks, bone spears, primitive sewing tools, bones, sinew, please use the link below to contact Donny.
Additionally, Donny offers one on one classes in primitive technologies specializing in all manner of stone tool fabrications and remote wilderness living. Classes are taught anywhere worldwide and are at request only. Donny does offer hard date classes such as game processing classes and flintknapping workshops, but will share the dates, availability and cost through his social media channels.
© Copyright Donny Dust 2021