Josh Bernstein, Indiana Jones……..Doubtful

Josh Bernstein has spent the last three years on Digging for the Truth, time and again being referred to as Indiana Jones, but in talking to him and listening to him speak about his first passion, BOSS {The Boulder Outdoor Survival School in Boulder, Utah), it’s evident that nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, he’s good-looking and has been called “guy candy”, and even with the toe rings, Chaco sandals, and board shorts, he might look more like he belongs in California than the Hamptons.

With the new title recently bestowed upon him—“Eco-Indiana Jones”—and his hands-on style, on the outside he seems like all these things, but he walks the talk. He is very well-versed and passionate about the environment and has a broad understanding of how people should be more sustainably focused, rather than just learning how to “go green”, and feels that we should be sustainably focused as a way of life rather than just modifying our thought process about being green.

His new, currently unnamed series on Discovery Networks, which hits the air in January 2008, will include a host of subjects ranging from the environment, archeology, DNA, and history, to science. The focus on the ecological end will come through in subtle ways because as he’s said, he wants to make the headlines, not just respond to them.

His love for BOSS comes through when he speaks about the school, which he has not given up, only stepped away from running for the time being so that he can focus on his new series.

BOSS is for those who want to learn, as Josh puts it, “paleo-skills”, the skills indigenous peoples used before modern technology. BOSS is a very immersive wilderness school. At BOSS, you learn skills that enable you to live more sustainably, and through this, cause you to think about your impact on the world around you. Hopefully you can take that newfound knowledge out into the world and use it in your daily life, and teach others to think about the impact their daily choices have on the environment.

The man who grew up with a tracking box in his room and collected every magazine on the environment he could get his hands on is no more Indiana Jones than the character created for the movie was a real-life person. The Q&A below is a glimpse of how passionate Josh is, not only about BOSS, but also about the environment and the impact each one of us has on our ability to change the world around us just by our choices.****

How does the BOSS philosophy play into your everyday life away from BOSS?

The survival skills that BOSS offers are really just the surface of what we teach. At deeper levels, we’re simultaneously exposing clients to the wisdom of traditional cultures, the power of nature, and the strength of the human spirit. It’s this last part that has helped me so much in my recent travels — knowing that I could always get through daily challenges if I focused and reached inside. The human spirit has a tremendous capacity for growth and adaptation, and it doesn’t matter where you are – in the wilderness or in the city.”****What made you want to teach survival and primitive living skills? And if someone wanted to teach them, is there any classes or anything special they should be doing to prepare them be able to get a job?

I was attracted to the rugged simplicity of the BOSS curriculum, the staggering beauty of the Utah landscape, and the community of instructors at the school. I’ve never known a more honest and hard-working group of people, and it’s a pleasure to be a part of the BOSS family. If someone wants to work for BOSS, he or she will need to start by taking a course. All of us at BOSS began as students first. The learning of primitive skills begins with your very first day on the trail with us, and it never ends. Personally, I think the skills we teach are fascinating, but I’m even more amazed at the way our courses change people at deeper levels. That’s what I love most – awakening people to a new perspective of life”.

How do you feel about the BBC's recent show The Global Warming Swindle, where they are trying to convince people that the whole global warming thing is a crock and a political ploy to garner big research money for academics?

I haven’t seen it yet, so I can’t comment on the show specifically. But my sense is that global warming is a quantifiable fact based on data produced by unbiased scientists. Whether one believes in it or not is irrelevant -- if I don’t believe in gravity that doesn’t mean I’m exempt from its effect on me. But I’ll watch the film this weekend and consider the points raised. Perhaps I’ve missed something. At this point, though, it seems to me that the upside of creating a more earth-conscious lifestyle for our planet can only benefit us and the others who share this planet with us. The downside of doing nothing is much worse and not a risk I feel is worth taking. So if I have to make some sacrifices today to avoid what some say could be a world-altering catastrophe tomorrow, that’s something I’m willing to do”.

In your time with DFT you visited a lot of different cultures. What, if anything, might be incorporated into the BOSS curricula?

At BOSS, we’re not teaching world archaeology specifically, and our cultural references are mostly to regional Native American cultures like the Anasazi, Fremont, Navajo, and Apache. So I don’t think a lot of what I’ve done for DFT will be incorporated into our curricula. But I do know that the staff have enjoyed watching the show and vicariously traveling around the world with me. So perhaps I’ve been able to broaden their interests in other places and people -- never a bad thing for educators”.

As President/CEO of BOSS, what is your passion, and what drives it?

I believe in cultural and environmental respect and in personal development through exploration. I am passionate about education, whether it’s on the trail or television, because I believe we are all here to create, learn, explore, and discover on a daily basis. Life’s a journey to be embraced, and BOSS reminds people of that in a unique and powerful way. I don’t know what drives that passion in me, except perhaps the experiences I’ve had in life, which have proven this to be true. The more I experience, the more committed I am to sharing that experience with others”.