Printable Biography of Doug Fine

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Doug Fine provides absolutely unique, wildly hysterical motivational speeches and presentations which make people laugh, rather than lecture at them. No one ever forgets a speech Fine gives. With full body humor and visual aids, he tells the story of how he, a native New Yorker, managed to survive five years in the Alaska wilderness with (at first) no survival skills at all. The visual accompaniment to these lectures (slides and Powerpoint) are second to none.

Fine uses his many near-death experiences with solar power, vegetable oil driving, polar bears and 40 below temperatures to help individuals, organizations and corporate groups motivate to break out of their routines and live a more adventurous life, sustainable life or productive work life by being open to growth. Not everyone has to move to the wilderness, but he encourages people to be open to what their wildest dreams are telling them. Anything is possible for ANYONE. His style is witty, down-to-earth, and he gives humorous, self-depreciating advice to audiences about how to live their best life outside the box. His audiences come away feeling, "If this guy can do it, I can too."

Doug Fine is a globe-trotting journalist and humorist, National Public Radio adventure contributor, and author of the wildly successful books, Farewell, My Subaru and Not Really An Alaskan Mountain Man. His multimedia keynote speaking performance is so informative and entertaining that it lead the National Geographic Society organizers to call his sold-out 2005 event at their Washington, DC flagship theater, “among the best one ever: funny AND inspiring.”

Fine specializes in presentations to all industries, including large corporations, media groups, environmental non-profits, adventure clubs, rural businesses, urban businesses which want connection with the planet, tech companies of all types, and any corporation that wants motivation with humor, either for project results or conference/convention entertainment. Fine also hosts and Emcees events. Fine’s presentations are all the more relevant as (if desired) they cover the value of self-sufficiency in a time of historically high energy prices. Fine gives 30 minute, 60 minute and 90 minute talks. as well as half-day and full-day presentations, including practical workshops (if desired) and question and answer sessions.

As a young journalist, Fine reported for the Washington Post, Salon, U.S. News and World Report, Sierra, Wired, Outside and other venues from little-visited jungle war zones like Burma, Rwanda, Laos, Guatemala and Tajikistan. He became a world-class adventure writer and investigative journalist, writing culturally-insightful and funny dispatches. One of these, about democracy efforts in Burma, was read into the Congressional record.

During this time, his 20s, Fine recognized that he felt most alive while living and loving in wild ecosystems. Following this impulse in contradiction to all the suburban values with which he was raised (which can be summarized as, “if you’re not going to be a doctor, you can at least be a lawyer”), he moved to extreme rural Alaska to see if a former suburbanite could survive away from Costco. Happiness and self-awareness were the goals. This resulted in his award-nominated first book, Not Really An Alaskan Mountain Man, a book that has been well-reviewed across the country as a wildly-humorous and meaningful adventure narrative, and which is now in its third printing.

Realizing that living in sync with his ecosystem is indeed where his own inspiration and personal happiness resides, Fine for his second book has decided to see if he can truly live a sustainable lifestyle, rather than borrowing from Babylon to live in an ecological Zion. In 2005 at age 35, he moved to an obscure valley in Southern New Mexico to write Farewell, My Subaru, about the effort to live off fossil fuels and find his own salvation in the process. From solar panels to goat husbandry to driving a veggie oil truck, Fine is exploring whether an American can live a green life without becoming overwhelmed by electrocution or contradiction. That book was published by Random House in March 2008 and is toping bestseller lists while getting great reviews.

Fine is a regular contributor of adventure and investigative features to National Public Radio. He enjoys drumming, spirit dancing, distance running, backpacking, rafting, meditation, singing at the top of his lungs, the art of conversation, the art of silence, and raising goats.

Speech Topics

Living Locally and Reducing Fossil Fuel Use While Still Living Like An American:
There is hardly a more timely topic than this one in an era of high energy prices and concern about climate change. With self-deprecating humor Fine weaves a presentation that surrounds his smash Random House book, Farewell, My Subaru. Audiences will hear hysterical tales of his attempts at installing solar energy, trying to grow and raise his own food (goats, chickens and vegetables), and figuring out ways to run an automobile on vegetable oil (the exhaust smells like Kung Pao Chicken). In this talk, Fine raise shows how even the most busy, digital age audience can reduce their fossil fuel use 80% and never notice it. Without scaring audiences or making people feel guilty, the audience comes away realizing that reducing carbon footprint for an individual or group can be done one step at a time, and without sacrificing the comforts we’ve all become used to. With humor and optimism (rather than fear), Fine takes on the most timely topic of the day: building a sustainable individual, family, society and world.

Extreme Rural Alaskan Survival: Moving to the Remote Wilderness and Surviving on Salmon Without Humiliating Myself Too Badly:
A humorous and educational slide show and talk based around the topic of Fine's first book, Not Really An Alaskan Mountain Man. Audiences hear engaging and wild tales about (and see slides of) Fine's harvesting whale meat with Inupiak Eskimos and hear tales of his getting chased by a polar bear, while learning about the life cycle of the salmon that sustained him when he made his drastic lifestyle change. The talk also addresses the culture shock of his decision to move to the Alaska wilderness with no survival skills. He was a suburban guy who couldn’t even change the oil in his car, let alone catch a salmon. Suddenly he was being chased by Arctic carnivores and facing the coldest Alaskan winter in 50 years. The presentation always spurs lots of questions from transfixed audiences of all ages and is supplemented by visual images of the whales, bears, glaciers, eagles and moose that came across Fine's path every day. By its end, the presentation becomes an inspiring story, with the message that if this guy can choose to leave the 21st Century Fast Lane and gather his own food in an extreme environment, anyone can endure any endeavor and come out stronger on the other side. Plus audiences, if desired, can get a colorful biology lesson about the life cycle of the salmon. This part of the talk delves into how eating healthy, local, wild food actually can actually make one happier. It includes a visual and entertaining description of the subsistence salmon-catching process, and Fine's travails in tackling the world of subsistence fishing. This is a popular keynote talk for groups that want a wildly adventurous and humorous break from a serious convention theme, for awards banquets and for anyone group with interest in wildlife, adventure and the natural world.

Personal and Team Empowerment, Reaching Beyond Expectations and Achieving Success Outside of Pre-Conceived Models:
In this talk, Fine uses his many near-death experiences with polar bears, coyotes, and 40 below temperatures to help individuals, organizations and corporate groups motivate to break out of their routines and live a more adventurous life or productive work life by being open to growth. Not everyone has to move to the wilderness, but Fine encourages people to be open to what their wildest dreams are telling them. Anything is possible for ANYONE. In a witty, down-to-earth style, he gives valuable, though humorous and self-depreciating advice to audiences about how to live their best life outside the box. Audiences come away feeling, “If this guy can do it, I can too.” This is a motivational event that leaves people energized, believing in themselves and smiling.

Health and Diet: The transformative health properties of a wild food diet. Author Doug Fine grew up eating supermarket food in the New York suburbs. Now he catches his protein via subsistence fishing in Alaska, and is starting animal husbandry in New Mexico. A talk about how eating healthy actually makes one happier. Includes a visual and entertaining description of the subsistence salmon-catching process, and Fine's travails in mastering the world of fishing.

Environmental: Saving The Earth And Having A Good Time Doing It -- How to Live In Sync With the Environment in the 21st Century. Author Doug Fine first moved to Alaska to learn the Three Steps of Survival: providing his own heat, food and shelter. Now he is taking that dream a step further, trying to reduce his fossil fuel use 80% by using solar and wind power, and growing his own food. In a time of high energy prices, there has never been a better time for this timely talk. Includes a description of salmon subsistence fishing and solar panel installation, and shows how anybody can begin to live with fewer fossil fuels.

*A sample of Doug's hysterical and informative speaking at the National Geographic Society Theater in Washington, DC is available for interested clients to view on DVD.