| Manny Puig | |
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Manny Puig |
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| Born | February 13, 1954 Cuba |
| Other names | Sharkman, Tarzan |
| Website | |
| http://www.mannypuig.com | |
Manny "Sharkman" Puig (born 13 February 1954) is an American wildlife entertainer. Puig is known for his direct approach when dealing with dangerous animals such as sharks, black bears and American alligators. He has made frequent appearances on the television shows Jackass and Wildboyz.[1]
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Puig was born in Cuba[2] in 1954, but he and his mother emigrated to Florida, where he became interested in wildlife. Spear fishing off the Florida Keys inspired him. In his youth, Puig traveled into the Everglades with only a frying pan and a shotgun. He hunted deer and drank water from creeks. Later on, he filmed his exploits, initially focusing on sharks.
In the late 1990s, Puig worked with Mehgan Heaney-Grier and Mark Rackley, both in training her as a free diver and in filming underwater encounters with animals such as alligators and sharks.[3] Rackley worked as a spearfisherman and underwater videographer. Puig had experience as an animal handler on movie sets[4] and had learned how to ride and handle alligators in their environment.[3] The trio formed a company named Extreme Encounters.
Puig advocates a basic approach to wildlife and denounces the use of safety gear such as cages, protective clothing and diving apparatus. He states that he has a great respect for the Native Americans because of their interaction with the land and their survival skills. His interests also include history and geography documentaries.
Puig has appeared on the television program Jackass, in Jackass The Movie, Jackass Number Two and Jackass 3D. In these projects, he is credited as an expert on predatory animals. One of Puig's stunts is featured in the second film, where he dives with Steve-O around hammerhead and other dangerous sharks. Puig states that Steve-O was very lucky not to have lost his foot after kicking a shark.
Puig is also featured on the MTV program Wildboyz, where he resumes his the role of a predatory-animal expert. Some of Puig's stunts on Wildboyz include having a snapping turtle lock onto his hand. According to Chris Pontius on the special features of one of the Wildboyz DVDs, he heard Puig scream for the first time in his life when he had the snapping turtle bite his hand in The Deep South, United States.
After finishing the second Jackass movie and with the final season of Wildboyz having completed, Puig produced his own film entitled Ultimate Predator. The film shows him interacting particularly with sharks. The film also features adventures with Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius and Jeff Tremaine.
Puig also appeared on "Feeding Time" during Discovery Channel's Shark Week in 2007.
Puig was featured on the Outdoor Channel show called Savage Wild. The episodes of Savage Wild take place in the Everglades and surrounding environs near Miami, Florida and range from Manny hunting a wild boar with only a rudimentary spear, or carefully maneuvering through the water with a monster alligator, or handling highly venomous wild snakes, such as water moccasins, in their natural environment. One of his amazing feats is his ability to sneak up right in front of an alligator under water and grab hold of the alligators skin under its jaw and hold on as the alligator thrashes about under water and leaping out trying to bite and shake him off. The cameraman is just as daring as he dips into the murky water to film Puig's feats in the unknown. The show aired for 7 episodes in 2009, and its future is uncertain.
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