As a child, Brian had a thirst for learning and practicing the old ways, reading journals from the mountain men of the 18th century, old books from the 1920's and 1930's on practical farm tips, old correspondence course materials in taxidermy, and other resources about the old ways. With the help of these resources and wonderful childhood mentors, he learned how how to tan hides, blacksmith, carve, scrimshaw, gunsmith, forge and foundry, machine shop, ranch, and live off the land.  Much of this he accomplished in his parents suburban home and at his aunt’s farm.   He worked though high school and college gunsmithing and making working replicas of objects of everyday life from the 18th century. After college he worked in the aviation, water treatment, HVAC/building automation, and controls industries designing, proto typing, programming, and teaching. 
 
His children endured growing up on and off "the grid", in homes under a constant state of experimentation and construction, never having the luxuries or comforts that most kids have, but living with composting toilets, bath water heated by compost piles, wood heat, and solar systems that they had a hand in building. 

Brian's formal education includes a BA in industrial arts, MS in Agricultural Science, and California teaching credentials in industrial arts, technology, and agriculture, in addition to post graduate studies in engineering, agriculture, ecology, and child development.  By profession, Brian is a tooling engineer, instrumentation specialist, and vocational educator.  He taught engineering at the college level and in industry, agriculture and industrial arts in high school for over 30 years.  Since, he has returned to his roots mentoring children and young adults and currently teaches agriculture, blacksmithing, primitive tools, brain tanning, rappelling, archery, primitive and modern hunting skills, soap making, scrimshaw, leadership, and more to youth and adults.  In addition, with his passion for mentoring youth, he founded wilderness skills camps and Devil’s Gulch Ranch Camp so kids could have the opportunity to have experiences that were once a way of life for most.