Dapto wildlife adventurer Andrew Ucles has piqued the interest of a German TV show and amassed more than three million views on YouTube in the latest signs his star is on the rise.
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The 25-year-old outdoorsman will this month challenge a pair of German comedians to catch wild animals in outback Queensland as part of the prime time variety program Joko Gegen Klas.
It will follow recent filming stints for a UK TV show - You Have Been Warned - and a segment for a program in the lucrative Discovery International stable earlier this year.
Ucles, a masters in wildlife management student who dreams of a career making and starring in man-v-wild-style documentaries, said he was buoyed by the new interest after working "all my life" in pursuit of his big break.
"I've filmed for Discovery twice. Really what they wanted to do was have an insight into what makes me different from all these other wildlife presenters," he said.
"The industry is competitive and unfortunately sometimes the most skilled or the best people for the job aren't picked [but] I have confidence my time is coming."
Ucles moved to Horsley when he was seven years old and spent his days catching snakes beyond his back fence.
At 13, he spent a week in intensive care when he was bitten by a red-bellied black snake, but was undeterred from chasing down snakes and other wildlife.
His YouTube channel includes footage of more than 30 barehanded, barechested captures and close encounters, including with a mongoose, a hawk, a hunting fox, and all manner of exotic animals encountered during his 2012 adventure along parts of the Zambezi River.
It was a less exotic video, in which he catches a rabbit using venomous snakes in a scrubby location in western NSW, that caused his YouTube stocks to seriously rise.
The clip has amassed more than 1.8 million views since it was posted March 4.
Ucles said he hoped his videos would ultimately inspire people to reconnect with the natural world.
"What really frustrates me is watching these kids on iPads or iPhones or whatever," he said.
"It's infuriating to me to see people losing their grip with what's around them ... we're losing sight of the big picture."