Meet Jason Marsteiner | Founder/CEO – The Survival University
We had the good fortune of connecting with Jason Marsteiner and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Jason, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.
In a world where technology has become ubiquitous, many of the skills that our ancestors relied on to survive in the outdoors have been lost. However, recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a renewed interest in outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, and survivalism. This has created a demand for instructors who can teach people how to safely and confidently navigate the great outdoors.
As an instructor of survival and outdoor skills, my ultimate goal is to train multiple instructors and establish satellite or partner schools throughout the country in different locations and environments. My mission is to help people get outside and to do it safely and confidently by providing them with the skills and knowledge they need to better enjoy their experience.
The rise in popularity of survival and adventure shows such as Alone, Dual Survivor, Naked and Afraid, etc. also has fueled this interest in outdoor activities. People are drawn to the challenge of surviving in the wilderness with limited resources and the thrill of adventure in exploring the unknown. However, it is important to recognize that these shows are for entertainment purposes only and should not be used as a guide for actual survival situations.
As an experienced outdoor instructor, my end goal of teaching survival and outdoor skills is to empower people to confidently explore the outdoors and to be prepared for any situation that may arise. By learning these skills, individuals can become self-sufficient and self-reliant, reducing the risk of harm to themselves and others in the event of an emergency.
The end goal of teaching survival and outdoor skills is to empower people to confidently explore the outdoors and to be prepared for any situation that may arise. By providing high-quality instruction and creating a network of educators, we can ensure that these skills are preserved and passed down to future generations.
Currently, we have our primary location in Colorado but also a partner school in in Washington and run a yearly adventure trip to Costa Rica. My personal end goal is to travel to these locations and future locations to help instruct and manage the entire team to ensure that students are being trained at a high standard. This will require working closely with other instructors to establish and maintain a cohesive teaching methodology and curriculum.
The ultimate success of this mission lies in creating a network of like-minded individuals who share a passion for the outdoors, self-sustainability, and passing down lost ancestral skills. Our goal is not only to provide high-quality instruction to others but to also foster a community of outdoor enthusiasts and educators. By doing so, we can ensure that primitive and modern outdoor skills, as well as the love for adventure, are passed down to future generations. It’s crucial that we equip individuals with the necessary skills and knowledge to be self-sustainable in the outdoors while also preserving and passing down ancestral knowledge that has been lost over the years due to technological advancements. Together, we can create a community of individuals who are committed to the preservation and sharing of outdoor skills and knowledge for years to come.
What should our readers know about your business?
The Survival University is a premier outdoor and survival training program founded in 2010, and officially started offering full-time courses in 2015. Over the years, the program became recognized and trusted as a leading provider of survival education in Colorado and beyond. The mission of the school is to offer top-notch instruction to anyone interested in survival training, from novices to experienced outdoor enthusiasts. The courses offered include bushcraft, primitive & modern survival, outdoor & urban survival, tactical survival, search and rescue, wilderness survival, wilderness medicine, and emergency preparedness.
What sets the Colorado Survival School apart is its dedication to bringing in the best instructors from Colorado and around the United States to provide top-quality survival training. The school is also unique in that it operates on over 3000 acres of private land, providing a remote location while still being close to civilization. The camp is located in the mountains just an hour west of Colorado Springs and offers mountainous terrain, pine and aspen forests, open meadows, and rolling hills. With Colorado’s diverse climate, the school is able to put students to the test and hone their skills in frequently inhospitable environments.
At The Survival University we take great pride in helping people feel comfortable in the outdoors and enjoy their wilderness experience. The school’s courses are designed to educate individuals, families, and groups, and the ultimate goal is to provide skills that will allow people to be more safe during their outdoor adventures.
The journey to building the Colorado Survival School was not an easy one, and it took five years to establish the business and build up its reputation. As the owner, I faced numerous challenges along the way, but ultimately overcame them by persevering and remaining dedicated to the mission of the school. The lessons learned include the importance of being patient, persistent, and always striving to improve.
To better serve our students, we recently expanded our business to include locations in Costa Rica as well as Washington State through our partner school, Wildkind Academy. This partnership allows us to provide the same level of top-quality training in other beautiful and challenging environments.
Overall,The Survival University is a premier survival education program that offers top-notch instruction in a beautiful and challenging environment. The school’s mission is to educate and empower people to be more self-reliant and safe in the outdoors, and I am proud of the work that the school has accomplished in helping people achieve this goal.
Expanding our business to new locations and developing partnerships has been a challenging but rewarding experience. We have learned many lessons along the way and are committed to continuously improving our program to better serve our students. We are proud to offer a unique and valuable service to those seeking to develop their survival skills, and we look forward to continuing to grow and evolve our program in the future.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend were visiting the area, I would take them on an adventure into the mountains of Colorado to explore its beauty. While the city has many great spots to offer, nothing quite compares to the breathtaking views of the Rocky Mountains.
We would start off by visiting Rocky Mountain National Park, where we could take a scenic drive through Trail Ridge Road, which is the highest continuous paved road in North America. Along the way, we would stop at various points to take in the stunning views and maybe even spot some wildlife.
Next, we would go hiking on one of the many trails that Colorado has to offer, such as the Colorado Trail, the Maroon Bells, or Hanging Lake Trail. These hikes offer a chance to experience the beauty of Colorado up close and personal, and they offer stunning views of the surrounding landscape.
We would also visit some of the charming mountain towns that Colorado has to offer, such as Estes Park, Silverton, Leadville, and Telluride. These towns offer a chance to experience the culture and history of Colorado, as well as the chance to try some of the local cuisine and drinks.
Throughout the week, we would try out different restaurants and bars, sampling some of the local favorites. There are plenty of options for all types of cuisine, from upscale restaurants to casual cafes, and we would make sure to try a little bit of everything.
In my view, some of the most fun, interesting, and exciting things to check out in Colorado are the natural attractions. Whether it’s hiking a trail, visiting a mountain town, or simply taking in the views from a scenic drive, Colorado has so much to offer in terms of natural beauty.
While I wouldn’t take my friend to my favorite spots in the city, I know that taking them on an adventure into the mountains would be an unforgettable experience that they would cherish forever. The beauty of Colorado is truly one-of-a-kind, and I can’t wait to share it with my friend.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
People often ask me about my mentors in relation to what I do, expecting me to mention the big names of survival and bushcrafting. While I respect these people now and appreciate what they do or have done, I never heard of them before I started my business and honestly learned nothing from them in my younger years. There was no internet or TV to find these people and no time to scour the globe to find out that they even existed.
My mentors were people who were close to me, such as my father who kept our freezer full of wild game. I saw him take down a wounded elk with a knife, and he taught me how to hunt, fish, process game, listen to the forest, see things that most people would pass by, and how to use gear in the woods. He also taught me gardening, starting fires, how to read a topographical map, terrain association, how to swing a hammer, and many other things. He helped me build my first real tree fort, which has now been replaced by a survival camp classroom.
My mother also taught me a lot. She could make a meal out of anything my father brought home, and she taught me how to cook, about canning, sewing, basic first aid, homeopathic and herbal remedies, how to be crafty and creative, and how to treat people with respect. My sister, who is quirky and very independent, taught me that it’s okay to follow your dreams. She took me technical climbing for the first time when I was still in high school, and we have been on many adventures together. She has taught me more than she probably realizes.
My other mentors were people like the little hairy man we called Griz, who lived in a small, single room cabin in the mountains that had a dirt floor. He always smelled of campfire and sweat, had a dirty face and big scruffy beard, but always had kind eyes and a big smile. Though he didn’t have much, he would always lend a helping hand. My uncle Mike, who went adventuring with my father, has probably climbed every 14er in Colorado at least a dozen times and ran an outdoor youth education program here in Colorado. He and my dad would fill my head full of stories and adventures. Monte Barrett, my dad’s friend, was the unsung hero of Pikes Peak who helped save Barr Camp and took us hiking into secret places on the mountain. Monte took me spelunking somewhere up around Vail for my first time when I was about 16 years old, through miles and miles of natural caves. His wife Terry was a Ranger on Pikes Peak. I will never forget her driving us to the top of the mountain in a blizzard when the road was closed. We were the only people on the mountain, and it was amazing! My science teacher, Mr. Crane, who worked at Rocky Mountain National Park during the summer, also filled my head full of his crazy adventures. He was the reason I started out in the field of outdoor biology in the 90’s.
My dad’s military friends, with names like Big Dog, Little Dog, Scruff, Jumps, Razz, One Eyed Chuck, Wildman, Snake, and others, all had valuable lessons to teach me or stories to tell me. Even though they probably thought I wasn’t listening, I was. Many have passed, but their memories and teachings still live on inside me.
There are countless individuals whom I grew up with that I simply cannot enumerate. They imparted to me a wealth of knowledge on hiking, flint knapping, Indian artifacts, wild plants, wildlife, the great outdoors, as well as what is currently known as “prepping,” “survival,” and “bushcrafting.” In my hometown, these buzzwords were merely part of everyday life. Over the years, I have learned so much not from reading the works of esteemed “survival experts,” but from the everyday mountain folks with whom I lived. This is not to belittle the well-known figures in the field, but they did not serve as my mentors nor did they teach me what I know. My mentors are the individuals with whom I grew up and adventured. They are not individuals I read about in books or on the internet, nor are they individuals I watched on TV. My mentors have been by my side throughout the years, and they are and always will be family.
Website: www.thesurvivaluniversity.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jason_thesurvivaluniversity/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmarsteiner/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CMMSurvival
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMMSurvival/
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-survival-university-cripple-creek-2?osq=the+survival+university
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thesurvivaluniversity
Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
