BIOGRAPHY

International explorer, photographer, author, and television host Josh Bernstein has traveled more than 500,000 miles by train, plane, bus, bike and camel to over 50 countries, exploring the biggest mysteries of our planet in pursuit of knowledge and discovery.

Josh has traced the Ark of the Covenant from the caverns of Jerusalem to the mountains of Ethiopia, searched for the Holy Grail in the bowels of Nazi Germany, and communed with tribal chiefs in the darkest jungles of the Amazon Rainforest. He has ventured deep underground with NASA scientists to explore the origins of life on Earth and has hunted with alleged cannibals by moonlight in the forests of Papua New Guinea—all in a quest to uncover some of the most fascinating mysteries of our planet. (For a complete list of Josh’s past expeditions, click here.) 

Josh’s television career began in 2005, when he debuted as the host of a new adventure-archaeology series called Digging for the Truth on The History Channel. The series quickly became the highest-rated original series in the network’s history, and Josh continued to host “Digging” for two more record-breaking seasons. In 2007, Josh moved from The History Channel to Discovery Channel, where he has served as host and executive producer of Into The Unknown with Josh Bernstein. Josh is currently developing a number of new projects to be announced shortly.
 
In addition to his work on television, Josh is also the president and CEO of BOSS, the Boulder Outdoor Survival School.  Based in the small town of Boulder, Utah, BOSS is the oldest and largest wilderness survival school in the world.  Josh first attended BOSS as a student in 1987 and, over the past 22 years, he has advanced through the ranks, becoming president & CEO of the company in 1997. At BOSS, participants challenge themselves on survival courses up to one month in length, learning primitive skills like how to make fire without matches, build shelter from local materials, and turn river rocks into cutting edges. Under Josh’s direction, BOSS has consulted on many television and Hollywood productions, including a number of reality shows and all of the island survival scenes for Cast Away starring Tom Hanks.

Born and raised in New York City, Josh has two degrees from Cornell University (BA, Anthropology & Psychology). After graduating college, he spent a year in a post-graduate program in Jerusalem studying, among other things, mysticism and ancient texts.

Josh is a fellow of The Explorers Club and The Royal Geographical Society and a patron of the American Museum of Natural History. He sits on the Board of Trustees for the Global Heritage Fund and the Board of Directors for The Explorers Club.

When not traveling, Josh splits his time between an apartment in New York City and a yurt in Southern Utah.  His hobbies and interests include technical SCUBA diving (cave and wreck), photography, blacksmithing, and occasionally working on his FJ45 Troop Carrier Landcruiser, which he converted to run on waste vegetable oil.

Certifications & Training
American Red Cross – CPR/AED Adult
American Red Cross – Standard First Aid
International Association of Nitrox & Technical Divers (IANTD) – Cave Diver
International Association of Nitrox & Technical Divers (IANTD) – Nitrox Diver
Personal Survival Techniques (STCW)
Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) – Emergency Oxygen Provider
Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) – Master Diver
Technical Diving International (TDI) – Advanced Wreck Diver
Technical Diving International (TDI) – Deco Procedures Diver
Technical Diving International (TDI) – Evolution Air Diluent Diver
Wilderness Medicine Institute - Wilderness First Responder (Expired)

Clubs, Professional & Charitable Organizations
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Member)
Action Against Hunger (Supporter/Member)
American Museum of Natural History (Supporter/Patron)
Conservation International (Supporter/Member)
Divers Alert Network (Member)
Earthwatch Institute (Supporter/Member)
Mountainfilm Festival (Supporter)
National Press Photographers Association (Member)
Professional Photographers of America (Member)
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (Supporter/Member)
The American Alpine Club (Supporter/Member)
The Archaeological Institute of America (Supporter/Member)
The Explorers Club (Fellow, Board member)
The Global Heritage Fund (Trustee)
The National Speleological Society - Cave Diving Section (Member)
The Royal Geographical Society (Fellow)
The Sierra Club (Lifetime member)

Countries Visited
Antigua, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Easter Island, Ecuador, Egypt, England, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Guatemala, Guinea, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Mali, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Peru, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Vatican City, Wales, Yemen, Zimbabwe

CAUSES

BOSS

Since 1968, BOSS — the Boulder Outdoor Survival School, Inc. — has taken people into the wilderness to learn the primitive living skills of indigenous cultures and to experience the natural world without a lot of hi-tech equipment. The goal is to “know more, carry less,” to appreciate the wilderness on its own terms.

I first went to BOSS in 1987 as a student and, over the years, have been an apprentice, instructor, marketing director and, in 1997, I took over as CEO/Owner of the school, a position I still hold. Under my direction, the school has expanded considerably and is now the oldest and largest wilderness survival school in the world. Although I’m not on the trail at BOSS as much as I used to be (or would like to be), I’m still there whenever possible and am, of course, in regular contact with the staff who run day-to-day operations. If you’d like to learn more about BOSS, please visit this link, where you can read all about our current courses, including dates and prices.

THE EXPLORERS CLUB

Founded in 1904, The Explorers Club is an international multidisciplinary professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research and the ideal that it is vital to preserve the instinct to explore. I first learned of the Club when I was in the Peruvian Amazon on an expedition searching for El Dorado for Digging for the Truth. The Club currently has over 3000 members around the world and an impressive list of notable first achievements: First on the Moon, first to the peak of Mt. Everest, first to the bottom of the ocean, first to the Poles. And the list of prominent members is equally impressive: Robert Peary, Roald Amundsen, Sir Edmund Hillary, Tenzing Norgay, Jacques Piccard, Don Walsh, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, Theodore Roosevelt, Roy Chapman Andrews, Lowell Thomas, Sylvia Earle… the list goes on and on.

I was admitted to the Club as a General Member in 2004, gained Fellowship status in 2008 and was elected to the Board of Directors in 2009. Given that the Club’s international headquarters is in New York City, I’m often there to attend evening lectures and help support the Club’s efforts. I have also been honored to serve as the Master of Ceremonies for the Club’s annual dinners – The Lowell Thomas Awards Dinner (in 2007) and ECAD, The Explorers Club’s Annual Dinner (in 2009).

THE GLOBAL HERITAGE FUND

The Global Heritage Fund is a non-profit International Conservancy established in 2002 in Palo Alto, California, with the mission to save the earth’s most significant and endangered cultural heritage sites in developing countries through scientific excellence and community involvement.

I’m no stranger to archaeological sites around the world, having studied and explored dozens of them over the years for both my degree in anthropology and for my work on television. Inspired by GHF’s commitment, passion, and success, I became a contributor in 2006 and, in 2007, a member of their Board of Trustees. As a Trustee, I proudly work with an incredible team of equally passionate people to help spread the world about GHF’s goals and the dire need for cultural heritage projects.

What I like best about GHF’s work is the way its “Preservation By Design” system educates local communities to appreciate their cultural heritage, trains them to preserve it, and in doing so creates a sustainable model for both conservation and tourism.