Off the grid:
Before moving to the wild, Colbert was working a 6 figure job for American Express and lived in a mansion. But after going bankrupt and divorcing his wife he decided to head to the swamplands of Georgia and live his life there instead.
His first 20 years there he spent making a house out of cypress and pine wood he found out floating in the river. But unfortunately the house caught on fire for an unknown reason. This was all documented on the early 2000’s reality TV show “Live Free or Die”. And in one of the episodes he reveals that he actually went to the woods after he went bankrupt and divorced his wife.
In spite of these hardships, Colbert — who lives off the land by hunting, fishing and growing his food — said he still feels like the ‘luckiest and richest man’ in the world. Despite his young appearance and being considered healthier than most 25 year olds Sturgeon is actually in his late 70’s and still lives in the swamp.
Survival of the fittest:
But how is a 70 year old this happy and healthy living in a swamp? Before he went into the swamplands of Georgia he read, read and read some more. He states that “[he has] been to many, many libraries. Read all you can about nature skills, wood skills, survival skills, hunting and fishing,” and this is how he learned to survive in the wild.
He learned many important skills on what to eat and how to survive in the wild with books. He is very knowledgeable on what is healthy, poisonous, and edible. He claims to be able to identify “100,000 plants. And if [he] doesn’t know the plant, [he] knows” how to decipher whether or not the plant is edible. He had also learned how to hunt and fish.
Land and Money:
Before his show “Live Free or Die” he was living off of $2,000 which covered the tax and the land cost. However now he earns a lot more money for participating in the show.
Despite having this money he still lives the same way hunting and fishing in the swamplands. And he states that “the last two checks they sent [him] are still sitting in [his] checkbook” and he says in the future he might use it to buy some more land.
But if you had asked Sturgeon how much land he actually owned he wouldn’t start by giving you a straight up answer. Instead he will tell you that “owning land” is a man made concept. Even so he pays taxes on land that equates to about a quarter mile by a half a mile which would be about 80 acres of land. With all the land he owns he still treats it and everything on it with care.
Where is he now?
As stated previously, Sturgeon is in his late 70’s despite being as healthy as someone in their 20’s. At this point his show on National Geographic, “Live Free or Die”, has been canceled in 2016 and we don’t see much of him in pictures.
But it is safe to assume he is alive and well and still living in his many acres of swampland.
Conclusion:
He has stated that his decision made him “unbelievably happy” and that he “feels like a teenager”. So I think that the choice he made was a good one for him.
But would you ever try living in the swamplands?
