Darren Jeffrey(I)
- Stunts
I am the Founder of Alpine Training Services aka The ATS Team. In 1999, when I was tired of being a forest fire fighter on a Hot Shot crew in So. California, our team was fighting the largest wildfire in the history of Joshua Tree National Park (43,000 acres). After 2 hot weeks of staring at the giant rock formations affected by the fire and remembering how just 3 weeks prior I was here climbing recreationally, I realized how much I missed it. Ready for a career change, it hit me that I "could" start a rock climbing & canyoneering school. I did just that.
I left the security of the USDA, and I leaned into construction for business experience & money to start ATS. Located in Southern CA, ATS was soon approached by the entertainment industry to provide basic rigging for reality TV which was newly established as a credible form of entertainment. Within a few short years, ATS, was at the forefront of creating the most dangerous games the world had ever seen. Since then, we've designed & built entire shows like American Ninja Warrior, Titan Games, and Beast Master to name a few as well as challenges for Biggest Loser, Amazing Race, Big Brother, etc. The seasoned team I assembled, and the years I spent training those original team members paid off. In 2019 I decided to step down as Chief Visionary Officer, and I am now retired from that company. I have happily sold my authority to a minority partner who came to ATS a little over a decade ago.
Over 20 years, my experience in urban & wilderness rigging, rock climbing & canyoneering, life safety product development, business development, team building, life safety/ 1st responder work, firefighting and humor was the recipe for what is now TheATSTeam. Now, as my next step, I devote much of my time to philanthropy, working with the Rick Herrema Foundation (RHFNow) and working to create new innovations in the entertainment industry.
I left the security of the USDA, and I leaned into construction for business experience & money to start ATS. Located in Southern CA, ATS was soon approached by the entertainment industry to provide basic rigging for reality TV which was newly established as a credible form of entertainment. Within a few short years, ATS, was at the forefront of creating the most dangerous games the world had ever seen. Since then, we've designed & built entire shows like American Ninja Warrior, Titan Games, and Beast Master to name a few as well as challenges for Biggest Loser, Amazing Race, Big Brother, etc. The seasoned team I assembled, and the years I spent training those original team members paid off. In 2019 I decided to step down as Chief Visionary Officer, and I am now retired from that company. I have happily sold my authority to a minority partner who came to ATS a little over a decade ago.
Over 20 years, my experience in urban & wilderness rigging, rock climbing & canyoneering, life safety product development, business development, team building, life safety/ 1st responder work, firefighting and humor was the recipe for what is now TheATSTeam. Now, as my next step, I devote much of my time to philanthropy, working with the Rick Herrema Foundation (RHFNow) and working to create new innovations in the entertainment industry.