Joel Van Der Loon

Season 1

Season 7
Age: 37
State: Oregon
Profession: Primitive Skills School Owner

Joel’s experience in bushcraft began from childhood growing up in South Africa and living off-grid in Tanzania, East Africa.

Over the last 12 years, he has traversed through 40 countries and crossed oceans as an engineer on various seafaring vessels, exploring some of the world’s most remote locations. He has hiked, fished, hunted and explored just about every type of ecosystem. Joel owns and runs a wilderness survival school and has taught families, celebrities, children and the military. He has learned primitive skills from the Hadzabe hunter-gatherers, Maasai herdsman and Rama Indians in Nicaragua.

Joel lives in Oregon with his wife, son and dog. Alone is a dream come true for him, as he is always wanting to test and expand his knowledge and character.