May 5-7 2023 Harmony NC

Owner of Bushcraft Global, Joe is an avid outdoorsman and instructor, who is based out of the mountains of North Carolina.  Following his love for the outdoors, Joe Graduated NC State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Zoology and a Minor in Entomology.  Joe ventures all around the world searching for animals, and learning primitive and survival skills. Joe had always had a love for cutting tools and their use outside, and he began writing for Tactical Knives magazine. Since then, Joe has gone on to write for Self Reliance Illustrated,  Backpacker magazine, Swat magazine, Survival quarterly, Backwoodsman, New pioneer, Master Woodsman, Equip 2 Endure and American Frontiersman to name a few. Attending the Aboriginal Skills Study program at the Schiele museum under Steve Watts, he was introduced to many of the most respected survival instructors such as Mors Kochanski. 

As a knife designer, Joe Flowers has over 150 Knife and equipment designs for various knife and outdoor companies. Joe’s love for machetes and the outdoors teamed him up with companies like Condor Knives, and his machete and knife designs are well known throughout the knife  and outdoor world. Joe has also worked with custom makers to produce good dependable outdoor knives as well. Joe works frequently with TOPS knives, a US manufacturer and one of the official sponsors of Bushcraft Global, designing for them and brain storming ideas. Recently, Joe also started designing for CJRB and Artisan, and may have some more announcements in the future.

At Blade Show in Atlanta, Joe teaches  Blade university bushcraft classes. He was also on the board of directors For the first Global Bushcraft Symposium in 2019, and is on the board 2022 UK Global Bushcraft Symposium in England this year as well as teaching there.  Recently Joe was asked to be a Subject Matter Expert (SME) at the 7th Special Forces Group, Jungle Warfare Symposium on jungle survival in 2022. Joe regularly comes to different events around the US and the world to teach and lead expeditions. He also is a Wilderness first responder, beekeeper, and karate black belt. Joe also does private expeditions, training, and fixing for video or training opportunities all around the world.

 Mike Dickson (The Fit Farmer) and his wife, Lacie, sold almost everything they owned, left their 2600 sq ft house in the city, and started a new life in a 700 sq ft YURT in the country. They (and their three children) run a market garden on their homestead and share their journey on their YouTube channel, Farm F.I.T (Farmers In Training). Mike and Lacie both have backgrounds in the health and fitness industry. Mike is a former professional bodybuilder and personal trainer, Lacie is a former massage therapist. They are both passionate about living a healthy sustainable lifestyle, not just in taking care of the earth, but also by sustaining their bodies with healthful foods, and sustaining their relationships with each other, as they live life together. 

Joe Alton, M.D. is a retired but actively licensed M.D. He’s a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (Ret.), Life Fellow of the American College of OB/GYN and member of the Wilderness Medical Society. Amy Alton, A.P.R.N. is a Nurse Practitioner and Certified Nurse Midwife.

Their mission: To put a medically prepared person in every family for any disaster.

Together, they’re the NY Times/Amazon best selling authors of three-time Book Excellence Award Winners and Amazon bestsellers in Survival Skills and Safety/First Aid  “The Survival Medicine Handbook, “Alton’s Antibiotics And Infectious Disease: The Layman’s Guide,” “Alton’s Pandemic Preparedness Guide,” and other books.

They’re well-known speakers, podcasters, and YouTubers, as well as contributors to several leading survival/homesteading magazines like Backwoods Survival Guide, Offgrid Recoil, Prepper’s Survival Guide, and Backwoods Home.

Their website at DoomandBloom.net has won the SurvivalTop50’s Reader’s Choice Award  several years running and has over 1300 articles, podcasts, and videos on medical preparedness.

 Jason Matyas is a husband, father of seven, homesteader, lifelong gardener, 20 year Air Force veteran with 9 worldwide deployments including two tours in Afghanistan, and visionary entrepreneur and public speaker.  He is the founder of a family business with his children called Seeds for Generations that provides heirloom garden seeds and inspiration for gardening as a family. Jason is also the Executive Producer of the documentary film Beyond Off Grid, and founder of the Return to the Old Paths training media project devoted to inspiring and equipping you to reduce your dependence on the modern economy and seek true freedom by Returning to the Old Paths of productive households and local community interdependence. His latest effort is Get Ready to Thrive, which is focused on helping families increase their self-reliance through household productivity, preparedness, and family business. 

 I’m convinced that good health does not come in some slick smoothie package or pricey weight loss program. Dietary fads come and go (celery juice, anyone?). We need something that lasts longer and has stood the test of time. And that’s what I bring to the table.

The key is to look to the past for clues on how to live today. Our ancestors were hale, hardy, strong, fertile, experiencing vibrant health. We live with anxiety, gut issues, depression, fatigue, food allergies and more. What did our ancestors know that we do not?

I am on a quest to explore these answers. In 2016, I launched the Wise Traditions on behalf of the Weston A. Price Foundation. The podcast has nearly 6 million downloads to date. As the host and producer of the show, I have the privilege of interviewing renown health experts, along with people worldwide who still live according to their traditions. I've traveled to Kenya, Zimbabwe, Australia, Peru, and more, to connect with and learn from indigenous people about their health habits.

What I learn, I share with the world through the podcasts, my blog, my Holistic Hilda YouTube channel, and social media posts.

What flipped the switch for me

My story begins before I was even born. My mom was exposed to the German Measles while I was in utero and the doctors warned her that I would be born with some serious birth defect. And I was! I was born with a hole in my heart between the lower two ventricles. Blood was flowing in a direction it shouldn’t. As a kid, I wasn’t allowed to over-exert myself. I was closely monitored until the hole was repaired by open-heart surgery when I was nine years old. (Yes, just nine years old! I was scared, as you can imagine!) After the surgery, and post-op recovery period, I was told I could do anything I wanted to do. What I wanted to do was to take care of this body of mine, and, later, that passion grew into a desire to help others do the same.

At first, I was just all about working out, leading group fitness classes. While I’m still committed to exercise, I soon learned that there were more pieces to the well-being puzzle. In 2008, I came across the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) and I learned about the work of Dr. Price. He is the dentist/researcher/explorer who traveled the world to find the healthiest people & document their dietary habits. What he discovered turned my world upside down: the most vibrant people worldwide all avoided industrial oils and processed foods. They ate and lived according to their ancestors’ wise traditions. Soon, I followed suit. My family and I are healthier than ever thanks to this common sense approach to eating ancestrally. This is why I advocate eating real, whole foods, avoiding sugar, enjoying lots of traditional dietary fats (like lard, tallow, butter), fermented foods, and animal products. I also emphasize ancestral health practices like spending plenty of time outdoors, connecting with community, and developing spiritual practices.

Credentials

Integrative nutrition health coach – Institute for Integrative Nutrition, class of 2013

Group fitness professional & course presenter– American Council on Exercise, since 1991

Wise Traditions & Tradiciones Sabias podcast host and producer – since 2016

Podcast coach and co-author of “Podcasting Made Simple” – since 2017

Ancestral health tours – Kenya 2015, Zimbabwe 2016, Peru 2017, Australia 2019, Ecuador 2021

Speaker, panel moderator, and emcee at podcasting and health conferences - Take Back Your Health, Wise Traditions conference, Paleo f(x), DC Podfest, Podfest Multimedia Expo

What I offer

Through experiences, experts, and epic adventures, I encourage everyone to follow an ancestral approach to living. I’m cognizant of the fact that there is MUCH more to wellness than food, so I focus on more than diet alone. I recommend simple hacks, steeped in tradition, to improve health. My holistic approach includes exposure to sun, cold therapy, an emphasis on sleep, spirituality, community, mitigating EMF/RF exposure, and more.

Take-aways

I am committed to helping everyone live their best life, at 100%! My studies, interviews, travels, and experiences have equipped me to speak about:

· the importance of sunlight and cold therapy

· how to improve sleep naturally

· how to reduce EMF/RF exposure and use tech in a healthier way

· ancestral diets and lifestyle & the benefit of following them today

· the important work of Dr. Weston A. Price & its relevance to our lives

· Weston A. Price Foundation principles of healthy diets

· alternative health best practices

· biohacks that are simple, free, and move the needle on our health

· health trends & products

· keys for a successful podcast