Dan Wowak

Dan Wowak was born and raised in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania. A small coal-mining town in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. During his childhood, Dan spent much of his time in the woods - exploring, hiking, camping, and fishing. Dan attended Mahanoy Area High School before going to college at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in Criminology. After college, Dan worked in the Juvenile Justice field for nearly a decade. During this time, Dan earned his Master's Degree in Business Administration from Alvernia University. While working in the Juvenile Justice field, Dan felt confided and used the outdoors as an escape. He would use his time off to explore the outdoors and train himself on different outdoor skills. Dan found extreme pleasure in the pain of outdoor life. The challenges and hardships mother nature threw at him were always a welcomed sight. In late 2016 the company Dan worked for closed, leaving Dan without a job. During this time, he didn’t want to work in the justice field anymore. He was burned out and wanted to do something better with his life. This was a major pivot point for him. In mid-2017, Dan was faced with one of the most challenging events of his life, he participated in History Channel’s Alone Season 3. He was sent into the mountains of Patagonia to live alone. He survived for 51 days only eating nine fish. This experience changed Dan’s life. After finishing the show, he realized there was more to life than just working a 9 to 5 job. Dan, at that moment, decided to do something for himself. In the airport, on the way home from Patagonia he diligently began working to build an outdoor brand. He wanted to share his knowledge and passion for the outdoors through training and products. In 2017 Dan officially started Coalcracker Bushcraft and the Appalachian Bushman School. Over the next few years, Coalcracker Bushcraft grew to be one of the top Bushcraft retailers in the country. The Appalachian Bushman School has trained hundreds of students in the art of outdoor living. Since then, Dan has become a YouTube hit known best for his short-to-the-point outdoor tutorials. Currently, Dan continues to grow Coalcracker Bushcraft and the Appalachian Bushman School by designing new innovative outdoor products and classes. Dan works with several outdoor companies bringing Bushcraft skills into their space and exposing more people to the passion of his life.