Adventure Aaron Demo Reel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Carotta
Aaron Carotta had his beginnings through a life changing event, diagnosed with cancer in 2008, at the age of 30. In just over 4 years, Aaron took what some would consider negative (cancer) and turned it into what others would dream about. While in recovery, Aaron was gifted the book, The Four Hour Work Week. Achieving it 60 Days later, Aaron sent his results to the best selling author, Tim Ferriss, as an amateur DVD documentary in a coconut, from Costa Rica. Tim reached out to Aaron and with his recommendation and after a year of learning to re-prioritize life, Aaron began a blog in which he explored the philosophy of living life to its fullest extent. Now called Adventure Aaron, the blog was a success, with thousands of followers and in 2009, Florida-based Aaron found his way into the television world.
‘I was an entrepreneur before cancer hit me, so when I decided to go the backwards way, breaking into a difficult industry, it was actually quite easy. There were millions of actors and presenters in the US and I would not have lasted a second. I just grabbed a cameraman with great experience, gave him a round trip ticket to Africa, and off we went. Little did I know, I had a pretty good eye for what would work and a pretty cool perspective on dealing with the challenges life can throw at you.’-Says Aaron
The results ended in a series documenting his travels and adventures – and how anyone on any budget could experience them the same way. The series, ‘Alive! With Adventure Aaron’ was scheduled to show to an estimated 86 million Americans, starting in May 2010. The series started out as a five episode set, featuring South Africa, New Zealand, Fiji, Morocco, Amsterdam and within a year, the request was there to turn it into a 13 episode series. By the time 2011 had rolled around, Alive! With Adventure Aaron was into its second series and was available to an estimated 120 million homes including the United States, India, Russia, Japan and parts of Europe. Targeting travel-hungry audiences with remote countries and cultures, catering for both travelers and those who are interested in understanding foreign cultures and traditions. The ambition of the project was to showcase adventure experiences, coupled with historical and cultural aspects, as well as the unique and natural beauty each country provides. He has also managed a few expedition, one recently on traveling the world without luggage, the minimalist approach. Aaron has added meaning to the term of travel hacking and has been instrumental in working with many of the world’s leading travel writers, using a number as his guests on a variety of episodes, including such luminaries as Rolf Potts and Tim Ferriss. As a future cancer survivor (1 more year), he continues to focus on raising awareness and money for organizations. Recently, Aaron ran a Facebook contest allowing a few lucky teens to join him for a couple of adventures in New Zealand. In January of 2012, Aaron returned to one of his most favorite places on the planet – New Zealand, in which he began an exciting new project, ‘Catch and Cook! With Adventure Aaron’, collaborating with the guardians of Aotearoa to showcase and present one of the most most spectacularly beautiful islands in the world.
“You can’t get a good idea for another country unless you really dedicate time to exploring all that it has to offer. Life is fast, trust me, things can happen to you, that will change your life in a matter of minutes. It’s time to slow things down and truly understand the meaning of everything the world has to offer. I have seen the world and New Zealand has certainly left its mark. It’s now time to provide it the proper opportunity and discover if Aotearoa is my destiny. I am spending the three months of high summer driving top to bottom, discovering, learning and welcoming all that it and its people have to offer. I am not the expert hunter or chef, rather I am a simple adventurer with a simple outlook on life after cancer. Catch and Cook is an illustration of that with some of the leading experts New Zealand has to offer”-Says Aaron
He then filmed and sold his new TV Series, Catch and Cook! With Adventure Aaron to Food TV-NZ, Mav TV-USA and a few other networks around the world. Currently filming an additional 39 episodes, Aaron is also beginning his 3rd series, Bucket Wish.
This is one so close to my heart! Believe it or not, my focus has never been about money, nor could it be when taking the backwards approach to entering the TV world. Needless to say, with the right contacts you can still offer others support. Bucket Wish is a series that follows Adventure Aaron around as I surprise a few lucky members of CanTeen, an organization that helps teens with Cancer. They have the same perspective of living life to the fullest and after a few of them post their bucket list for the world to see, I am going to surprise a few, in effort to make that bucket list wish, come true. We are starting in New Zealand but will be working the series into the US and other markets for 2013. Its the ultimate prize for my 3 years of work so far and I am excited to feel the reward of giving others the adventures that I have had.-Says Aaron
Aaron has amassed a diverse and certainly odd list of experiences:
-Successfully Directed, Produced, Hosted, And Written, Two TV International Series’s. Both have sold and aired around the world to an estimated 120 million households homes.
-Been the first person to document going around the world for 50 full days, previously done by author, Rolf Potts for 40 days.
-Filled up two passports worth of stamps, landing himself in over 50 countries over the past 3 years.
-Gained a social media following of over 10,000 Facebook followers incorporating his popular youtube channel, twitter account, and blog.
-Chef appearances in multiple trade shows demonstrating the lessons learned from his culinary adventures