Mykel Hawke
Mykel Hawke | |
|---|---|
 Mykel Hawke | |
| Born | Mykel A.G. Pierce November 29, 1965 Fort Knox, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Former Army officer, author, television and film personality |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Spouse | Ruth England (2005–present) |
| Website | Official website |
Mykel Hawke (born November 29, 1965) is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces officer, author, and television and film personality. He is perhaps best known for his role on the Discovery Channel survival reality TV series, Man, Woman, Wild, where he appeared alongside his wife, Ruth England, a British TV presenter and actress.[1] He is currently working on the Travel Channel survival series, Lost Survivors.
Early life
Mykel A.G. Pierce was born in Fort Knox, Kentucky, on November 29, 1965. As an "army brat", he grew up primarily in the southeast.
Education
Hawke earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from New York University and a Master of Science degree in psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. [citation needed]
A combat veteran, he served as an enlisted soldier and later as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Special Forces ("Green Berets"), attaining the rank of captain. He fought rebels and trained UN peacekeepers in war-torn Africa and did combat search and rescue missions during the drug war in Colombia. He holds black belts in Aikido and judo.[1]
Career
Military service
Mykel Hawke | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mykel A.G. Pierce |
| Born | November 29, 1965 Fort Knox, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Allegiance |  USA |
| Service/ |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1982–2011 |
| Rank |  Captain |
| Unit | Special Forces |
| Awards | Special Forces Tab Combat Infantry Badge US Army Master Parachutist Badge |
Hawke joined the US Army in 1982. He served on active duty for a total of 12 years; he also served in the Reserves and Guard for 12 more years. He was a Sergeant First Class (E-7) before he took a commission as an Officer, 18A.
He held three Enlisted, Special Forces Military Occupational Skills(MOS):
- Special Forces Medic, 18D
- Special Forces Communicator, 18E
- Special Forces Intelligence Operations, 18F
He retired in 2011 from the U.S. Army Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Accolades
Author
Hawke has authored numerous books and manuals including the following:
- 2000: The Quick and Dirty Guide to Learning Languages Fast - Paladin Press, ISBN 978-1-58160-096-4 (authored under pen name "A.G.
Hawke")
- 2009: Hawke's Green Beret Survival Manual - Running Press, ISBN 978-0-7624-3358-2
- 2010: In the Dark of the Sun - Pixel Dragon Designs, ISBN 978-0-9829316-0-8 (co-authored with Kim Martin)
- 2011: Hawke's Special Forces Survival Handbook: The Portable Guide to Getting Out Alive - Running Press, ISBN 978-0-7624-4064-1
Television
Man, Woman, Wild (2010-2012)
The show featured Hawke and his wife, Ruth, as they had to survive for a half week with limited supplies in wild and inhospitable locations around the world.[2][3]
One Man Army (2011-2012)
Hawke also hosted the Discovery Channel show, One Man Army, in which personnel from backgrounds such as special operations, military, law enforcement, and extreme sports, competed in three areas of speed, strength, and intelligence to win prize money.[4][5]
Elite Tactical Unit (2013)
The Outdoor Channel aired a program entitled Elite Tactical Unit: SWAT In the show, Hawke serves as host while 14 real-life SWAT professionals compete in weekly team elimination challenges.[6]
Lost Survivors (2014-current)
The Travel Channel has released six episodes of the series entitled Lost Survivors in which Mykel and Ruth Hawke find themselves in remote areas around the world with minimal supplies and few clues as to their actual whereabouts.[7] The couple must then rely on instinct, expertise, and the strength of each other in order to effect their own rescue from these remote locations.[8] The series premiered November 12, 2013.[9]
Other appearances
- In 1998, Hawke made his first television appearance in Season 7 of MTV's Road Rules where he first played the good guy who trained the kids to recover their kidnapped chihuahua and then later played the bad guy on Snake Island, taking the cast down one by one.
- He was also one of four survival experts featured in the Discovery Channel's short-lived series, Science of Survival. In Episode 2, "Escape from the Amazon", Mykel spends three days in the Amazon, reducing his survival gear each successive day.[10]
- He served as security and medic for shows like Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami and Fox Reality Channel's Paradise Hotel 2 in which he appeared.
- Mykel and Ruth appeared as guest judges in Season 3 of Bravo's Top Chef Masters where they judged dishes created using insects as the primary ingredient. [citation needed]
- Hawke also appeared as a judge on Food Network's Season 2 premiere of Extreme Chef.
- In 2007, Hawke appeared as a survivalist instructor in Season 5's Episode 7 of The Simple Life.
- In 2011, he appeared in Episode 5 of the UK Channel 4 series, Tool Academy.
Film
Hawke made his first film appearance in the live-action film, Dirty Sanchez: The Movie. The film centers around the Dirty Sanchez television series in which the crew performs dangerous stunts in connection to the seven deadly sins. For Gluttony, for example, crew spent four days in the Mexican desert without food and drink. Hawke serves as their mentor during this time, forcing them to carry out various survival techniques such as killing and cooking live animals and drinking their own urine. [citation needed]
Personal life
In 2005, Hawke married Ruth England. They currently reside in Austin, Texas, with their son who was born in London, England.[11] Hawke also has two sons from a previous marriage.[citation needed]
Hawke established a combat medic school in Azerbaijan.[12] He is a supporter of Gold Star Teen Adventures. In 2014, Hawke established Community Sentinels, a charity to help U.S. military veterans integrate with community through preparedness.
References
- ^ a b "About Mykel Hawke : Man, Woman, Wild". Discovery Channel. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
- ^ "Man, Woman, Wild press material", Discovery.com; accessed January 7, 2015.
- ^ Gary Strauss,"Survival shows are now the fittingest on television", USA Today, August 27, 2010; retrieved August 28, 2010.
- ^ "One Man Army: Discovery Channel". Discovery Channel. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
{{cite web}}: line feed character in|title=at position 9 (help) - ^ One Man Army review, New York Times; accessed January 7, 2015.
- ^ ""Elite Tactical Unit: S.W.A.T." The series launched on The Outdoor Channel in 2013". Outdoor Channel. PR Newswire. August 28, 2012.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ Lost Survivors profile, imdb.com; accessed January 7, 2015.
- ^ Lost Survivors profile, travelchannel.com; accessed January 7, 2015.
- ^ YouTube
- ^ "Discovery Channel:: I Shouldn't Be Alive: Science of Survival". Discovery Channel. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
- ^ "Mykel and Ruth Hawke reside in Austin, Texas". cnn.com. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
- ^ "Man, Woman, Wild". Man, Woman, Wild. Discovery.com. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
{{cite web}}: line feed character in|title=at position 13 (help)
External links
- 1965 births
- American male writers
- American television personalities
- Living people
- People from Kentucky
- United States Army soldiers
- Members of the United States Army Special Forces
- Participants in American reality television series
- Survivalists
- New York University alumni
- University of California, Santa Barbara alumni