Meet Che Frausto | Wildlife Biologist, Illustrator, and Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Che Frausto and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Che, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I believe the most important factor behind my success with Advance Wildlife Education is my strong passion for wildlife conservation and education. I love what I do and spend every waking moment chasing after my goals. Working as a wildlife biologist in Hawai’i, the extinction capital of the world (more endangered species per square mile than anywhere else on Earth) I saw firsthand the need of public support and awareness to save these species that are on the brink of extinction. I felt I could fill a void and be a bridge between the community and conservation nonprofits by starting Advance Wildlife Education.
My passion to draw, educate, and help support these endangered species drive me to never give up on my business and to keep on even when it is tough or I don’t see the instant results I was hoping for. My passion to help the wildlife and spread awareness through creating wildlife educational coloring books keeps me going working up to 7 days a week the last 6 years pushing boundaries every day and overcoming doubts and fears.
I personally see my books making a difference when many customers come back year after year and tell me how their kids loved the books and even some are now inspired to work in the environmental sciences. I had a grandma come back and tell me about her 6-year-old granddaughter that told her family at dinner one night that she wanted to become a wildlife biologist when she grew up. She continued to go through the books, learning more, and even going online to do her own research. She then saw the video of the sea turtle with the straw in its nose. That is when she went all around the house and collected the cans and straws to recycle them so they couldn’t hurt anymore turtles.
Hearing this story further reassured me I was doing the right thing and would not stop. I now go to schools and do zoom talks around the country about becoming a wildlife biologist, going into conservation, and how they can combine their passions to start their own businesses.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I always wanted to be a wildlife biologist since I was little, I was the president of the youth advisory council for Outward Bound Adventures growing up and was on multiple field crews. I later graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a double major in Evolutionary Biology/Ecology and Environmental studies. After graduation I worked for the US Forest Service in Lassen National Forest for a Summer before achieving an Americorp Kupu internship in Maui, HI with the Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project in 2014. I was hired on full time after my internship and worked with the seabird project for 3.5 years. During this time with the seabird project, I did a lot of outreach in the community. The main seabirds we worked with burrowed on the beach, and people would see these burrows and think they were made by rats and mongoose so they would collapse them. Once they found out it was seabirds however, they got really excited and wanted to help. That’s when I realized that people wanted to help but they cannot protect what they do not know exists. This is when I combined my passions for art and wildlife and started my own business Advance Wildlife Education on the side where I self published my own line of educational coloring books, clothing, jewelry, and decals. What makes my business really unique is that I am firstly a wildlife biologist, then illustrator, and owner.
My books are special in that they are packed with science facts, supplementary information like sustainable vs non sustainable fishing, photos, and custom stickers. I am a one man operation and all the shows I go to and expos I never see a product like mine. I am unique and my background sets me apart, to be all three biologist, artist, and businessman. I talk to thousands of people on the daily, engaging with them and answering questions about wildlife they have seen, and about local conservation efforts. I am single handily educating as many people as I can and my passion shines through, my goal is to educate first and the success with the books follow.
It was definitely not easy; it took years of countless long nights and early mornings running off of just pure adrenaline and passion to grow my business. I love what I do, and I overcame many challenges by simply outlasting them. I knew that like everything in life, all things come in waves. Nothing lasts forever and I may be going through a difficult now, but if I keep going and taking steps towards my goals every day that over time, I will make long strides toward my end goal. My passion for wildlife and a brighter future for tomorrow helped me outlast temporary roadblocks and in the end only made me stronger. With every obstacle, I learned and was able to adapt so that I would not make that miscalculation again.
I want the world to learn about their local wildlife species and Advance Wildlife Education will help them do that. I currently have 20+ books in 4 different languages English, Hawaiian, Spanish, and Japanese. I will duplicate my successes in Hawai’i nationally, and then all over the world to educate on all species in multiple languages while supporting conservation non profits globally.

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?
I would definitely take my friend to my college town Boulder, checking out bars and the Bohemian Biergarten on Pearl St., Half Fast Subs, and Cosmo’s Pizza. Go hiking in the Flatirons and taking all the views in. Id love to go to Empower Field to check out a Broncos Game. Some other favorites of mine would be the Denver Zoo and Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would want to thank all my aunts, uncles, and family friends who helped raise me. My mentors and supervisors Prof. Alexander Cruz at CU Boulder, Dr. Bobette Jones with the Lassen US Forest Service, Dr. Fern Duvall and Jay Penniman with the Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project. I would also like to thank David Duross with American Savings Bank who nominated me for Young Business Person of the Year 2020 of Maui County. Finally to David Lee for recommending me to Shoutout Colorado.

Some of my favorite speakers to listen to are Eric Thomas, Grant Cardone, Robert Kiyosaki, and Les Brown. The books that I get the most inspiration from are “10X” and “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”.

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Website: AdvanceWildlifeEducation.org

Instagram: @Advance_Wildlife_Education

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/advancewildlifeeducation/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANLAtPNaQW0