This is the single most common question I get about my work, and it's a fair one - how does one become involved with catching snakes of all things? Well, here's how I did.

 

My name is Grayson Wolf Walker. I grew up in the mountains of Golden, Colorado, and on my 4th birthday, my father (who is not by any means a snake aficionado but has an appreciation for all animals - especially the weird ones) caught a small garter snake by the creek that ran by our house and brought it to show me. I don't know exactly why, but I was absolutely fascinated by this strange creature. I immediately became obsessed and for the next few years, I devoured every book, website, and TV show I could find - consumed by an insatiable need to learn everything there was to know about snakes.  I caught my first snake (the same species of Western Terrestrial, or Wandering, garter snake) as a four-year-old, and continued to comb my mountainous home for all the snakes I could find until school and other interests began to take hold of my attentions. 

​

Many years later, as a 21-year-old, I moved to San Diego, California to begin grad school at the University of San Diego. Living alone without friends or family around for the first time, I began to hike and explore the natural spaces on San Diego County and subsequently rediscovered my love for snakes. Not much later, I met and befriended Bruce Ireland, founder of the Snake Wranglers - a volunteer snake relocation group in San Diego. Under Bruce's mentorship, I learned to safely handle venomous snakes and became one of the most active members of his organization despite working full time and training for my impending professional basketball career.

 

In the next two years, I would spend countless hours catching snakes around the world and working professionally with SoCal Rattlesnake Removal and the Snake Wranglers to serve the San Diego community. With gaps in the service provided by the organizations I contracted with, I began to fill in my own personal business under the moniker Walker Snake Wrangler (initially inspired by the connection between my surname and classic western TV show Walker Texas Ranger). In 2023 the brand became official when I started Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok accounts to expand the audience that I could reach to spread education and dispel fear and hatred concerning snakes. Now, despite spending much of the year overseas for my professional basketball career, I am continuing to grow my online platforms and educate and entertain with footage of both my snake calls and wild species from across the globe.