My passion for wildlife started way back before I can even remember. My parents would tell stories of me bringing home angry biting garter snakes that I would catch in the yard to me getting lost out in the mountains snake hunting with my best friend bill while growing up in upstate New York. Everyone assumed I would grow out of this fascination as I would grow up but to much surprise and sometimes concern, this passion was only in its beginning phase. luckily I had parents who supported my love for wildlife and started a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organization which gave me the opportunity to learn and experience working with animals from a very early age. 

 I went on to getting involved with wildlife education through the Bear Mountain Zoo and started teaching schools and camps about the beauty and importance of our wildlife, especially the most feared and misunderstood ones; the snakes. It was about the same time I was fortunate to get involved with another wildlife organization that would regularly take in confiscated wildlife that was seized from Manhattan and NYC, we would pick up anything from 16 foot pythons to crocodiles and occasionally something that would end up creating a lifelong obsession; venomous snakes. I was hooked, from large 10lb Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes to African Spitting cobras, I began learning and training extensively on the safety and proper handling techniques of some of the most exotic venomous snake species on the planet. This passion has taken me all over the world and given me the opportunity to work with some of the most amazing animals and people on a lifelong quest for conservation. Now today, years later I find myself home in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona where I continue my passion protecting our native wildlife and educating others of the beauty and importance of some of the most misunderstood creatures on the planet.

 

When i’m not catching snakes, i’m also guiding tours throughout the Sonoran Desert. If you’re interested in coming out on a desert tour, check out www.gojourneyrides.com