127 - Dustin Illgner - Amazon Expeditions and Stories of Surviving Mother Nature

What happens when you get dropped into the heart of the Amazon rainforest with nothing but a machete, a bow, and the will to make it out alive?

In this episode, I sit down with Dustin Illgner — adventurer, survivalist, and perhaps the only man in the office who’s stared down a howler monkey after building his own jungle shelter. We talk about his expedition deep into the Amazon under the guidance of former British SAS soldier Ian Craddock, where Dustin was left to survive completely alone — no food, no phone, no timeline for pickup.

He shares how survival strips life down to its core: water, fire, shelter, presence. We cover:

• The psychological tricks to surviving isolation in the wild
• Eating grubs like popcorn
• Facing tarantulas, bullet ants, and jungle otters
• Why hardship creates clarity — and confidence
• How choosing adversity opens new doors in life
• The power of stillness and the beauty of becoming “one with nature”

We also get into Dustin’s other survival trips to Tonga, the Philippines, and Panama — and what it really means to test your edge and come back changed.

 Choose something hard this week. Strip it down to the next step. The next breath. The next brick. And remember, comfort never made anyone interesting.

Keep getting after it.

Watch a recap of Dustin's Amazon trip here. Check out his YouTube channel: @OneWildPath

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