A young adventurer with a story of hope believes that nature saved his life. Repaying his debt to our natural world, he has set out on many adventures with the latest spotlighting the ‘City Beasts’ of Cape Town!
Cape Town, South Africa (23 January 2024) — Wildlife filmmaker and adventurer Josh Crickmay is on another off-beat excursion.
Forget completely remote and inaccessible landscapes; wildlife is oftentimes right under our noses. Setting out to explore the creatures on many South Africans’ doorsteps, Josh is on a mission to discover Cape Town’s ‘City Beasts’ in a new show featuring his iconic humour and infectious curiosity.
‘City Beasts: Cape of Chaos’ isn’t just a show about wildlife living it up in the big city though. It’s a reflection of how much life can change—both in large ecosystems and in our everyday lives as people.
Josh’s story is a case in point when it comes to the latter. At 15 years old, the young explorer openly shared that he was in the pits of depression. Feeling lost, suicidal and without hope, life wasn’t looking like a big adventure. But, in 2013 when he was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), everything changed for the better. Largely thanks to his parents, Josh’s passion for wildlife took off like a wildfire, and he embarked on his biggest year yet; chasing down bird species in Southern Africa, the Andes and the Amazon.
These experiences weren’t just footprints of a new life, but the genesis of his creative career thanks to his coffee book creation ‘Josh’s Big Year’.
Since then, Josh has furthered his love of wildlife and continued to flex his muscles as a creative—now with his own show where he reflects on his own story of struggle and success with ASD.
“Creating the City Beasts was the culmination of everything I love in life: Incredible wildlife, fascinating people, conservation, challenging filmmaking, pirate boats and unbridled havoc,” he says.
“It was as every bit chaotic behind the scenes as it is on the screen, and I couldn’t have asked for better.”
Josh’s enthralling adventures kick off with a welcome from Cape Town’s dassies. He soon follows baboons as they navigate the urban landscape and naturally tracks down the four species of cormorants inhabiting the City, unveiling a stunning diversity of avian life.
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There are plunges into the depths of the kelp forests, seal meet and greets, African penguin encounters and even shipwrecks. All guided by Josh’s bravery and all-important adventure essential—humour.
Given that for Josh, nature was a real life-saver, he notes his creative work as a debt being repaid.
“My every step forward is an attempt to repay that debt back to the Natural world, through conservation, spreading knowledge and excitement about our world through film, told with humour, adventure, and as always, mayhem.”
You can catch City Beasts on Channel 180 DSTV and Openview Channel 115 from 29 January to 8 February at 8:30 pm.
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