EJ Snyder

EJ Snyder
Born (1965-12-03) December 3, 1965 (age 59)
Englewood, New Jersey, US
Other namesSkullcrusher
Occupations
  • Survivalist
  • television personality
Awards

Errol James "EJ" Snyder, Jr. (born December 3, 1965) is an American survivalist and television personality.

Biography

EJ Snyder was born in Englewood, New Jersey. Following the divorce of his parents around 1975, he and his brother Jeff were brought up by their mother. He grew up in North Jersey, where he experienced childhood bullying; this caused him to become interested in strength training and self-defense.[1]

Snyder joined the United States Army when he was 19 years old. In 1991, he fought in the Gulf War, and in 2004, the Iraq War. During his career, he was awarded two Bronze Stars as well as the Legion of Merit. He received the nickname “Skullcrusher” as a drill sergeant.[2] He also taught at the Florida Ranger Camp and the Special Warfare Center located in Fort Bragg. He retired in 2009 when he was a sergeant major.[3] He currently lives in Fayetteville, North Carolina.[4]

Entertainment career

Snyder first appeared on television on the show Lost, portraying Redfern. In 2009 he appeared on the documentary series Patton 360° as himself.[2]

On 7 July 2013, Snyder appeared on Naked and Afraid for the first time; paired with partner Kellie Nightlinger, the two survived for three weeks in Tanzania.[5] Later in the same year, he was cast on 72 Hours and competed for $100,000 in the Fijian jungle.[6] He went on to appear on Naked and Afraid for the second time in the episode “Man vs. Amazon”. In this episode he became the first man to successfully complete two challenges.[2]

On 12 July 2015, Snyder was on the first season of Naked and Afraid XL. He was accompanied by eleven other survivalists.[7]

In 2016, Snyder hosted the ninth season of Dual Survival alongside fellow Naked and Afraid contestant Jeff Zausch.[8] Snyder also took the leading role of Max in Survival T.V. The Movie!.[2]

In 2021, he competed on Naked and Afraid XL again in the Atchafalaya Basin of Louisiana. During the season, Snyder sustained lacerations to his scrotum after falling from a tree, requiring eight stitches. The show's medical team found that the cut had not become infected and allowed him to continue the 60-day challenge.[9]

In 2022, he appeared on Naked and Afraid: XL in the Amazon he was not a contestant but a mentor yet underwent all the challenges as the regular contestants.

Filmography

List of appearances in film and television
Year Title Role Notes
2008 Forgetting Sarah Marshall Tourist Uncredited
2008 Lost Redfern 5 episodes
2009 Patton 360° Himself
2013 Naked and Afraid Himself Contestant
2013 72 Hours Himself Contestant
2014 Naked and Afraid Himself Contestant
2015 Naked and Afraid XL Himself Contestant
2016 Dual Survival Himself
2016 Survival T.V. The Movie! Max
2021 Naked and Afraid XL Himself Contestant

References

  1. ^ TV personality EJ Snyder shares faith, experiences with Roseboro UMC
  2. ^ a b c d Trivedi, Dhruv (2021-04-25). "EJ Snyder From Naked and Afraid: Everything We Know". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  3. ^ Jordan, Chase (2017-02-09). "TV personality EJ Snyder shares faith, experiences with Roseboro UMC". Sampson Independent. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  4. ^ E.J. Snyder on 'Naked and Afraid'
  5. ^ Pritchard, Catherine (2013-07-17). "Fayetteville resident E.J. Snyder puts his survival skills to the test on two reality shows". The Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved 2022-07-10.
  6. ^ Burnham, Cindy (2015-03-27). "E.J. Snyder on 'Naked and Afraid'". The Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  7. ^ Hurtado, Alexandra (2015-06-10). "Naked and Afraid XL: Meet the Cast of Discovery's Survivalist Spin-Off". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  8. ^ Sande, Rachel (2016-08-25). "East Idaho represented on Discovery Channel's 'Dual Survival'". East Idaho News. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  9. ^ McCarthy, Tyler (2021-06-07). "'Naked and Afraid XL' contestant suffers gruesome injury, continues survival competition with 8 stitches". Fox News. Retrieved 2022-07-11.