It was nice to read how all these great people got into bushcraft.
Myself, I was 14, last term in elementary school, and after it was over, we went on a final class excursion. There were all kinds of outdoor activities available, though most of my classmates spent their time staying in the hotel area watching tv, playing football and swimming in the pool. However, myself and two other guys were eager to try all the activities, so we went practising archery with all kinds of different bows and crossbows, tried fishing with no luck from my side, went on lengthy trips in the surrounding mountains, but the real breakthrough came when a survival instructor type of guy took us on an overnight trip. He showed us different trees, smaller plants, fungi and their uses, he taught us how to build a fire and how to navigate using the stars. We were astonished and wanted to learn what we thought was survival, but was bushcraft in reality. Next day we stumbled upon a military shop in the village, and bought ourselves some gear, I asked for a good survival book, and the cashier gave me the famous Ray Mears' Outdoor Survival Handbook. I'm hooked ever since, and I consider Ray Mears as my biggest hero