Who is Austin Stevens?

[C.m.pyrrhus]

I'll tell you who he is, a joke. I took a look at these sites on the fella, trying to find out who everyone was talking about. I now remember a show a while back with him taking pics of African hots....what a gimp.

Anyhoo....here is something very "silly" that was portrayed about one of his shows.

Austin Stevens seeks out the largest and most powerful snake in the world. A snake which can weigh over 1,000 lbs, and measure 44 " around. One of the few snakes in the world that actually preys on humans......this monster is capable of literally crushing a man to death.... Austin is a black belt in Kung-Fu, but he has been undergoing additional training for this mission for the last twelve months, working on the amount of time he can stay underwater, and increasing his upper body strength. Now there is no turning back…

I mean, funk dat! Black belt in Kung-fu? Er...OK. Crushing a man to death? Er...OK. Undergoing training for his "mission" for a year? To photograph a snake eh? Funny stuff to say the least.

The site in question (http://www.tigressproductions.co.uk/programmes/otherprogs/anaconda.html) ...and yet another (http://www.amishrobot.com/archive/000297.html) that gives an honest look at the reality of it all...

In a nutshell, this guy is a gimp, a false look at what a herpetologist trully is. I hope you youngins think as I do about this guy.

[Gregg M]

He is a joke......

[sketchy4]

he is indeed a joke and it also sounds like a stupid publicity stunt.

[JonD]

What an As.s Clown!!

[kevyn]

I saw the show he did with the African hots. He's the worste handler I've seen. He looks like a kid with ADHD the way he runs at the snakes. He totally deserved to be bit the 2 times he was. The only bad thing is that nither bite killed him. That guy makes Brady Barr and Steve Irwin look good.

[Slannesh]

1000 lb snakes?

Considering a 20' Retic weighs in at about what 200lbs? I'd just LOVE to see a 1000lb snake. Personally I call BS.

Speaking of BS. I was watching Killer Instinct last night. I'd always thought the guy on the show was relatively well informed aside from being a little overly dramatic about snakes... till he did a segment on Retics and Green Anacondas and showed several pictures that were circulating on the net as 'proof' that both species eat people. Totally lost any respect I had for him with that one statement. :mad:

[kevyn]

The only T.V. herpetologist that I have any real respect for is Mark O'Shea. Not so much as a handler but as a real scientist, catching real wild animals. At least the guy is respected in scientific communities. Everyone else just seems to like playing on people's fears to get ratings. Wow, maybe Michael Moore is right...

Besides didn't they catch a 1000lbs retic just a little while ago.;) :D

[Derrick]

hehe thats funny. one more reason I dont have/need tv

[Big_V]

Rob Bredl or whatever his name is from that killer instinct show is sometimes okay and sometimes horrible. It completely depends on the topic of the show. THe only reason I watch that show is sometimes you can actually learn something and they teach you about the animal and are less oriented on the visual aspect of the handling of those oh so dangerous snakes.

[C.m.pyrrhus]

Mark O'Shea is great, love the dude. He is all about the research and study of reptiles, not making it a publicity arena on TV. I also do like Jeff Corwin. I have yet to see anything he say to be incorrect or negative to herpetology. Both in my eyes do a fair job at pushing conservation and respect for our scaly friends. All others seem to drizzle nonsence for ratings.

By the way, Micheal Moore is right....another great dude.