Col Rajeev : Founder and CEO - Wild Survival Academy
I am Col.
Rajeev, a veteran from the Indian Army. Having known the importance of survival
in the outdoors and facing real life-threatening situations, I developed a keen
interest in the survival techniques. I have heard a lot of disturbing news of
trekkers and adventurers losing their lives for not knowing what to do when
faced with adverse emergency situations in the nature. Be it dealing with
medical emergencies or just being alive when they have no resources at hand.
This prompted me to embark on a mission to impact and train as many people as
possible in basic life-saving survival skills so that they can save their own
lives and the lives of others when needed.
Wild Survival
Academy
The Wild
Survival Academy was started in 2018 as a humble beginning by training outdoor
enthusiasts in basic survival skills on weekends. Later, we created a team of
expert instructors comprised of ex-Army commando instructors and streamlined
the syllabi for our students. The company is located in Hyderabad (TS), but we
conduct survival training at different levels all over the country. We have
exciting outbound training programs for individuals, students, and corporate
clients. For corporate training, we take pride in creating and bonding very
strong, cohesive teams in a short span of 3–4 days. We also conduct advanced
survival training and provide consultancy related to Survival Techniques. Not
only for the general public, but we have also undertaken specialised training
for some of the officials of the Forest Service. In the last two years, we have
trained hundreds of individuals in outdoor survival.
Ex-servicemen as wild survival officers
We have a core team of four ex-service officers and
more than 10 instructors at present. We have a vast pool of trained
ex-servicemen on board who are called in as and when required for any training.
We hire as per the need. My suggestion would be to keep a core team and expand
as per the needs of the market.
Life skills and survival techniques courses
We do this for our love for nature and passion
towards outdoor skills. Even if one person can save his life or the lives of
others, I think we would get the ultimate satisfaction. This remains our
driving force and motivation too. We all live in uncertain times, so being
prepared is the key to survival. Our courses are not just for outdoor
adventurers, they are for everyone. They are a great means to bond together and
recreation as well. We have a group of families doing it all together with us.
Never Give Up
It was tough initially as the idea was new and the
awareness of its importance was lacking. It took us a while to build up
awareness and convince people of its importance. The moment we finished our
first batch, the pandemic hit, and the next two years were difficult due to
lockdowns and covid restrictions. However, we continued with awareness building
during these times and started again once the restrictions were lifted. Our
passion and belief in what we are doing, along with our "Never Give
Up" attitude, made the sailing smooth.
Adventurous trekking and travelling
We were convinced from the beginning that everyone
should have some basic knowledge of survival skills to not lose their lives due
to natural disasters and other unpredictable challenges in the outdoors. The
young generation, mostly into trekking and travelling were the ones who were
exposed to risks more, and they were our obvious choice to reach them with what
we were offering.
My inspirations - Mr. AP Acharya and Bear Grylls
I have great respect for our teacher, Mr. AP
Acharya in Jodhpur when I was a boy scout. His calm and confident exposure and
the way he handled the students were impeccable and a cornerstone of leadership
qualities. Of course, in the field of adventure, I admire Bear Grylls for his
daring and attitude.
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