My inspiration and idol !!

He has been everything in life. A soldier, a motorbike racer, a herpetologist, a writer, a wildlife photographer and I don't know what else this man has got in his bag. His name is "Austin Stevens". What is big about this guy?I'll tell you who he is.

About Austin:

Austin Stevens, born in Pretoria, South Africa, is a wildlife photographer and a renowned herpetologist, known for his snake documentaries throughout the world. He is considered to be one of the world's most daring wildlife presenters, risking his life on numerous occasions for his work.

Austin Stevens, the man himself in front of you!!

He had an interest for snakes right from the age of 12, when we would have gone 50 meters back at least after seeing one. He started to handle snakes without any problem from that age itself. He had the most exotic collection of reptiles and a collection of some venomous snakes at the end of his schooling.

Austin was in the army till his thirties. His mom died when he was in his thirties because she lost a lung in a car accident as a girl. His father had a typewriter repair business. Austin got into bike racing after leaving the army. Austin got heavily into motorbikes and motorbike gangs and spent years riding around being a self described "Hell's Satan". He gave up the world of motorbikes in 1974 after a disastrous near fatal accident during a race. Austin took up the position as curator of reptiles at the Transvaal Snake Park, where he spent the six years undergoing hands-on training to become a fully qualified herpetologist.

Austin's record:

Austin set a record by spending 107 days and nights in a cage with 36 of the most venomous and dangerous snakes in Africa. On the 96th day, he was bitten by a cobra, but to many people's amazement he refused to leave the cage and was instead treated in the cage. Although he was very sick at that time, Austin completed the 107 days and beat the existing Guinness World Record (documented in the Guinness Book of Animal Records). This world record has never been duplicated or broken, though there have been a number of other attempts at similar records (records attempted with different conditions and snakes to Austin's record.)
I can tell a lot about his life. But the real thing that fascinated me is as follows.

What a man he is?

The real thing that made me admire him is the determination he's got to achieve something incredible. The passion for his profession. Whatever it may be he'll go in search for the snakes and click a photo of it and with it. The knowledge required for a herpetologist is enormous. The data needed before handling a reptile is huge. He should do a thorough analysis of the behaviour of the species before nearing it. It is because it is a question of life for him. Any feature of the snake if not known or technique of handling is not known puts his life in a state of bother. He is totally ready for handling any kind of snake at any time.

Tackling a green anaconda by falling into the water!!

So the first thing that fascinated me is the knowledge that he has got about his reptiles. There are so many species of snakes and he remembers the behaviour of every snake.

Determination:

I would say this hundred times, but at the age of 58 if that man can fall from great heights after seeing a snake in the water then, I would say, there is no doubt that this man is determination personified. It is so difficult to go to the forest and do all these by risking one's life. He would not be lazy. He would not stop. He has tremendous endurance. Stamina is amazing. His concentration is perfect, thanks to the martial arts that he practices daily especially nunchaku. He claims it keeps his reflexes heightened when working with venomous snakes.

Austin Stevens with a giant king cobra!! The concentration that he's got is amazing

Belief of herpetologists:

There is a belief for herpetologists. They will never hurt a snake even if it bites. They believe that the snake will strike only if they are provoked. Otherwise it will be friendly.

Stevens handling Rattle snake carefully!!

You can see Austin carefully handling a venomous rattle snake, with hyper-dermic needle in its fangs and its venom full of neurotoxins capable of killing a man in seconds.

Austin believes that if he can make the snake feel that he is no danger for it he can make the snake calm in seconds and get it under his control.This technique works for him with any snake.

At the age of 60 years, Austin is fit and healthy to do all kind of adventures and expose to the world, the types of snakes that it has got. His passion is what is shown through his adventures. He has been bit by three snakes but the love he shows for them is amazing.

Costa Rican Golden Eyelash Viper!! One of the best found by Austin Stevens

I, at last, want to be passionate about my profession as Austin Stevens is about his profession. He makes it so easy to look but it is not really easy for him. He has put in so much of effort to make it look easy. He has to forget about his food and other stuff. No proper food. No nice place to sleep. No nice place to live in. Not so much of luxury but still he finds it interesting at the end of the day. He feels happy after touching the head of a Giant King Cobra. He says that he wanted to do that all his life. This is called "ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE PROFESSION". This is where he becomes my inspiration and idol. A tutor who admires the creation of god without changing the natural state of any of the being around him.His job is simple for him. He has to safeguard the snakes by separating them from human turf. He takes out the venom of dangerous snakes and gives it out to the hospitals for preparing anti venom. Thereby he is saving both the people and the snakes.

-SATZ