Ej Snyder

EJ Snyder is a highly decorated Army combat veteran and survival expert who has transitioned into a prominent television personality, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur. After enlisting in the United States Army in 1984, EJ Snyder embarked on a distinguished 25-year military career serving in Ranger positions. He deployed to combat zones during the Gulf War in 1991 and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004, earning two Bronze Star Medals and the Legion of Merit for his exemplary service. Snyder became known as ‘Skullcrusher’ while fulfilling demanding roles as a Drill Sergeant, Ranger Instructor, and Survival & Tracking Instructor.

He received formal survival training at the US Army Survival School (SERE-C). Upon retiring as a Sergeant Major in 2009, he continued to apply his expertise by teaching survival skills to Green Berets as a Government Contractor at the US Army SERE School. Snyder transitioned his extreme survival philosophy, which emphasizes pushing physical and environmental limits, into a prominent entertainment career. He made three appearances on Discovery Channel’s Naked and Afraid, including a 21-day survival in Tanzania and becoming the first person to complete two challenges on the show during Man vs.

The Movie! (2016) and a role in Redlove: The Art and Consequence of Illusion (2008). Snyder made a third appearance on Naked and Afraid XL Season 7 in the Atchafalaya Basin in 2021. In 2022, he served as a mentor on Naked and Afraid XL Season 8 in the Amazon, undertaking all challenges alongside the contestants.

Living by his motto, ‘Tua Sponte Superstes’ (Survive By Your Own Will), EJ Snyder continues to teach survival skills and engage in challenging expeditions.