MEET DON MANN
TV Host of: The Mission, Surviving Mann and Surviving Mann All Stars, Motivational Speaker, New York Times Best Selling Author, World–Class Adventure Competitor and retired Navy SEAL Team SIX presents a compelling and extremely motivating presentation that has inspired business leaders, military and government personnel, professional athletes and people from all walks of life.
Don Mann’s unique story and the lessons he shares during his highly accredited and very popular presentations come from his colorful and action-packed life as a Navy SEAL, of his experiences competing in some of the world’s most grueling competitions, his experience in the business world and as a New York Times Best Selling Author.
Mann’s impressive military biography includes being a decorated combat veteran; Corpsman; SEAL Special Operations Technician; jungle survival, desert survival, and arctic survival instructor; small arms weapons instructor, foreign weapons instructor, armed and unarmed defense tactics, advanced hand-to-hand combat instructor; and Survival, Evade, Resistance and Escape Instructor; in addition to other credentials.
Mann is the author of 22 books including the New York Times Best Selling autobiography Inside SEAL Team SIX: My Life and Missions with America’s Elite Warriors.
When Osama bin Laden was assassinated, the entire world was fascinated by the men who had completed the seemingly impossible mission that had dogged the U.S. government for over a decade. SEAL Team SIX became synonymous with heroism, duty, and justice. Only a handful of the elite men who make up the SEALs, the U.S. Navy’s best and bravest, survive the legendary and grueling selection process that leads to SEAL Team SIX, a group so classified it technically does not even exist. There are no better warriors on earth.
Mann knows what it takes to be a brother of these ultra-selective fraternities. As a member of SEAL Team SIX he worked in countless covert operations, operating from land, sea, and air, and facing shootings, decapitations, and stabbings. He was captured by the enemy and lived to tell the tale, and he participated in highly classified missions all over the globe, including Somalia, Panama, El Salvador, Colombia, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
As a training coordinator for several civilian SEAL training programs, and as a former Training Officer of SEAL Team SIX, he was directly responsible for shaping the bodies and minds of SEALs who carried out the assassination of Osama bin Laden as well as many other classified missions.
But to become a SEAL, Mann had to overcome his own troubled childhood and push his body to its breaking point–and beyond. At the podium and in Inside SEAL Team SIX, he shares a high-octane narrative of physical and mental toughness, giving unprecedented insight to the inner workings of the training and secret missions of the world’s most respected and feared combat unit.
Don Mann has over 40 years (1,000+ races) worth of competitive racing experience, completed 2 Ironman triathlons in a day and was once ranked 38th in the world as a triathlete.
Mann received a Master’s in Management from Troy State University, in Troy, AL, a B.S. in International Relations & Criminal Justice, from Florida State University, in Tallahassee, FL, and a B.S. in Liberal Science, from State University of New York. He lives in Cape Charles, VA.
IN THE MEDIA
TV
History Channel, the Discovery Channel, CBS, CNN, Fox News, NBC, Outdoor Life Network - The Brigade Series.
Radio, Podcasts & Blogs
NPR, SEALFit Podcast with Mark Divine, National Press Club Radio, Radio Pennsylvania, Yahoo Sports Radio.
Print & Web
Forbes, Fortune, Investors Business Daily, Men’s Fitness, Men’s Journal, National Geographic Adventure, Sports Illustrated, Time.
Don Mann is known for producing and directing more multi-day, multi-sport, adventure races, triathlons and SEAL training events than any other person in the world.
DON MANN’S BIOGRAPHY
Biography
Host and Executive Producer of Surviving Mann Seasons One, Two and Three
Host and Executive Producer of Surviving Mann All Stars Seasons One and Two
Host and Executive Producer of The Mission
Movie Consultant for "American Smuggler"
Movie Consultant for “Navy SEALs”
Participant for the Inaugural Brigade, Outdoor Channel Reality TV - 750 mile paddle/trek Trans- Canada Expedition
Virginia Representative for the PBS Show The Highlanders, climbed Mount Rogers
Odyssey Adventure Racing, Inc. Founder and CEO
Frogman Charities, Founder and CEO
BattleFrog Obstacle Race Series, CEO
Director of Primal Quest Expedition Adventure Race – “The World’s Most Challenging Human Endurance Competition”, CEO
Producer and Director of Expedition BVI
Vancouver Canucks, Inspirational Trainer
Designed the world’s longest adventure race(s) for Warner Brothers and IMAX – Ecuador to the North Pole and Ecuador to the South Pole
Selected as Richard Branson’s North American Medical Coordinator for his Trans-Global Circumnavigation Balloon voyage.
Named Virginia Beach Ambassador Extraordinaire
Security Consultant Contractor for numerous USG agencies
Tactical Combat Casualty Care and Wilderness medicine Instructor for USG
Bank Leadership Training (Texas, Minnesota, Indiana)
Executive Board Member United States Adventure Racing Association (USARA)
Product tester/developer for New Balance footwear, Lava Gear, Master Foods, Mile High Muscle, SEDA kayaks, Survival Slingshots
Masters, Management, Troy State University, Troy, AL
B.S., International Relations & Criminal Justice, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
B.S., Liberal Science, State University of New York
Military Biography
Navy SEAL/Chief Warrant Officer Retired
SEAL Team One, CA
SEAL Team Six, VA
SEAL Team Two, VASBU-26, Republic of Panama
Navy Special Warfare Development Group, VA
Advisor and Primary Trainer for the USN Sea Cadet – SEAL Corps, SEAL Adventure Challenge and SEAL Training Academy, Icelandic SEAL Adventure Challenge
Decorated Combat Veteran, Navy SEAL Warrant Officer; Corpsman, EMT, paramedic; SEAL Special Operations Technician; Special Forces Medical Laboratory graduate; static line, high altitude free-fall and advance free-fall parachutist; open circuit, closed circuit oxygen and air scuba diver, diving supervisor; jungle survival, desert survival and arctic survival instructor; Military Operations in Urban Terrain instructor; small boat operator for craft up to 65 feet; technical rock climbing, mountaineering; small arms weapons instructor, foreign weapons instructor, armed and unarmed defense tactics; photo intelligence; Survival, Evade, Resistance and Escape Instructor.
Author
Author of New York Times Best Seller, Inside SEAL Team SIX, My Life and Missions with America’s Elite Warriors, Little, Brown and Company (publish date 2012)
Author of Navy Seals, The Combat History of the Deadliest Warriors on the Planet, Skyhorse Publishing (publish date 2019)
Author of How to Become a Navy SEAL: Everything You Need to Know to Become a Member of the US Navy’s Elite Force, Skyhorse Publishing (publish date 2014)
Author of Black Sun Rising (publish date 2023)
Author of Crimson Waters - Piracy Through the Ages (publish date 2023)
Author of History’s Assassins: Motives for Murder (publish date 2023)
Author of The U.S. Navy SEAL Survival Handbook, Skyhorse Publishing (publish date 2012)
Author of The Modern Day Gunslinger, Skyhorse Publishing (publish date 2010)
Author of The Complete Guide to Adventure Racing, Hatherleigh Press (publish date 2001)
Co - author of Overcoming Obstacles, Skyhorse Publishing (publish date 2019)
Co - author of Choosing Your Battles, Skyhorse Publishing (publish date 2019)
Co - author of Facing Your Fears, Skyhorse Publishing (publish date 2019)
Co - author of Reaching Beyond Boundaries, Skyhorse Publishing (publish date 2019)
Co-author of Hunt the Leopard, Little, Brown and Company. (publish date 2019)
Co-author of Hunt the Viper, Little, Brown and Company. (publish date 2018)
Co-author of Hunt the Dragon, Little, Brown and Company. (publish date 2016)
Co-author of Hunt the Fox, Little, Brown and Company. (publish date 2015)
Co-author of Hunt the Jackal, Little, Brown and Company. (publish date 2014)
Co-author of Hunt the Falcon, Little, Brown and Company. (publish date 2013)
Co-author of Hunt the Scorpion, Little, Brown and Company. (publish date 2012)
Co-author of Hunt the Wolf, Little, Brown and Company. (publish date 2011)
Contributing author for The Ultimate Prepper’s Guide
Story in Books for Heroes Anthology, Dogwood Publishing
Wrote Forward for Lifemap for Teens - Dr Mathew Jensen
Wrote Forward for Fire Proof, Your Grand Strategy - David Hollenbach
Wrote Forward for Nuclear War Survival Skills
Wrote Forward for Sun Tzu’s Art of War, Skyhorse Publishing
Wrote Forward for Pashtun, a Military Thriller, Skyhorse Publishing
Wrote Forward for The US Navy SEAL Fitness Guide, Skyhorse Publishing
Wrote Forward to The US Navy SEAL Nutrition Guide, Skyhorse Publishing
Wrote Forward for Against the Odds: The Adventures of a Man in His Sixties Competing in Six Ironman Triathlons Across Six Continents by John Pendergrass, Hatherleigh Press
Wrote Forward to Courageously Broken by Donna Hude
Wrote review for Tip of the Spear by Martha LaGuardia KOTITE
Wrote review for Anatomy of Fitness Elite Training Navy SEALs Workout by Steve Erle
Wrote Review for Be Nimble by Marty Strong
Wrote Review for Staring Down the Wolf by Mark Divine
Wrote review for The Terrorist by John Carl Roat
Wrote review for Shots Fired by Joseph Loughlin
Wrote review for When That Day Comes by Christopher Hoyer
Wrote cover endorsement for Hacking Isis: The War to Kill the Cyber Jihad by Malcolm Nance and Chris Sampson
Wrote cover endorsement for Beijing Red by Alex Ryan
Wrote cover endorsement for Rebuilding Sergeant Peck by Sergeant Peck
Wrote cover endorsement for The Last Punisher by Kevin Lacz
Wrote cover endorsement for Left of Boom by Ralph Pezzullo
Wrote cover endorsement for The Sixth Man by Ron Lealos
Wrote cover endorsement for What Doesn’t Kill Us by Scott Carney
Wrote cover endorsement for Zero Footprint by Simon Chase and Ralph Pezzullo
Wrote cover endorsement for Be a Hero by John Geddes and Alun Rees
Wrote cover endorsement for Cold War Navy SEAL by Jim Hawes’
Wrote cover endorsement for Foxtrot in Kandahar by Duane Evan’s
Wrote cover endorsement for SAS URBAN SURVIVAL HANDBOOK by John “Lofty” Wiseman
Wrote cover endorsement for Second Strike by Peter Kirsanow
Wrote cover endorsement for Shibboleth by DJ Mallmann
Wrote cover endorsement for Shots Fired: The Misunderstandings, Misconceptions, and Myths about Police Shootings by Joseph K. Loughlin and Kate Clark Flora
Wrote cover endorsement for The Terrorism Survival Guide: 201 Travel Tips on How Not to Become a Victim, Updated and Revised by Andy Lightbody
Wrote cover endorsement for Unbreakable – Thom Shea
Wrote cover endorsement for Rogue – Robert Cameron
Wrote cover endorsement for Don’t Mean Nuthin’ – Ron Lealos
Wrote cover endorsement for Angel Baby – Richard Lange
Wrote cover endorsement for The Way of the SEAL – Mark Divine
Wrote cover endorsement for Pinnacle Event – Richard Clark
Wrote cover endorsement for Blind Descent – Brian Dickinson
Wrote cover endorsement for Pack of Lies by Brad West
Wrote review for Knife-Only Survival, Worst-Case Scenario Skills for the Wilds – Tony Nester
Consultant for and review for Dark Cure by Brad West
Consultant for Nuclear War by Annie Jacobsen
Consultant for Hard Road by Brad West
Consultant for End of Lies - Brad West
Consultant, character based on Don Mann, Glass Mountain, R.M Koster
Consultant for the Adventure Racing Handbook, Ian Adamson
Consultant for Adventure Racing – Jacques Marais and Lisa de Speville
Consultant for The Thrill of Victory: The Agony of My Feet – Neal Jamison
Consultant for Fixing Your Feet – Jon Vonhof
Consultant for Adventure Coaching – Doug Gray
Consultant for Tales from the World of Adventure Racing
Contributor for Extreme Adventures – Martin Paquette
Contributor for Anatomy of Fitness Elite Training Navy SEALs Workout – Steve Erle
Sports Training writer for Navy, Army, and Air Force Times
“How to stay in shipshape when you ship out” Lifelines, special to The Times – by Don Mann
“Flex your workout, not just your muscles” Lifelines, special to The Times – by Don Mann
Product Endorsements
Motivational Speaking, Team Building, and Leadership Programs
Don Mann, an accomplished motivational speaker and trainer, brings over 25 years of experience and expertise in orchestrating adventure-based team building and leadership courses and seminars. His portfolio includes a diverse range of activities designed to foster teamwork and enhance leadership skills.
Mann has successfully directed and coordinated events such as; salmon fishing in British Columbia with the Vancouver Canucks; orienteering, memorization training, and collaborative sessions with professional sports and college lacrosse teams to include the Washington Stealth and the Vancouver Stealth and Texas State University.
His expertise extends to canyoneering, mountaineering, land and maritime navigation, white-water rafting, kayaking, rappelling, knot tying, wilderness medicine, mountain biking, trail hiking and running, snorkeling and diving in the Bahamas, catering to a wide array of clientele to include the USG.
Mann is well-versed in scenario-based training encompassing as well. His corporate clients span across the United States, benefitting from his dynamic and impactful approach to team development.
Don Mann consistently delivers his compelling "Reaching Beyond Boundaries" message, complemented by meticulously tailored adventure-based activities. Each activity is custom-designed to meet the unique needs and objectives of his clients.
For those interested in experiencing Don Mann's expertise in crafting transformative adventure team building and leadership programs, inquiries and consultations can be initiated by clicking here. Don Mann welcomes the opportunity to collaborate and create a bespoke experience that aligns seamlessly with your organizational goals.
DOCTRINAL STATEMENT
DON MANN, RETIRED US NAVY SEAL, AUTHOR, AND SPEAKER
I. Introduction:
We, as supporters and followers of Don Mann, retired US Navy SEAL, author, and speaker, affirm our commitment to the principles and values he embodies. This doctrinal statement serves as a summary of the core beliefs and principles that guide his life and work.
II. Faith and Integrity:
Don Mann upholds unwavering faith and integrity as foundational principles. He embraces honesty, trustworthiness, and the highest moral standards in all aspects of life. His commitment to integrity sets an example for others to follow, emphasizing the importance of maintaining one's character and values, even in challenging situations.
III. Excellence and Resilience:
Don Mann strives for excellence in every endeavor, pushing beyond perceived limits to achieve greatness. He encourages individuals to embrace challenges and setbacks as opportunities for growth and to persevere in the face of adversity. His relentless pursuit of excellence serves as a testament to the power of resilience and the importance of constantly improving oneself.
IV. Leadership and Teamwork:
Don Mann recognizes the significance of effective leadership and teamwork in achieving success. He promotes the values of humility, collaboration, and mutual respect, fostering an environment where individuals can thrive as part of a cohesive team. He emphasizes the importance of strong leadership in guiding others towards a common goal, inspiring them to reach their full potential.
V. Physical and Mental Toughness:
Don Mann embodies the ethos of physical and mental toughness, honed through his experience as a Navy SEAL. He encourages individuals to push their physical limits, maintain optimal fitness, and cultivate mental fortitude. He believes that a strong body and mind are essential for overcoming challenges and achieving personal and professional success.
VI. Service and Sacrifice:
Don Mann exemplifies the spirit of service and sacrifice. He advocates for giving back to the community and making a positive impact on the lives of others. His commitment to service extends beyond self-interest, as he believes in the importance of serving a greater cause and making a difference in the world.
VII. Lifelong Learning and Adaptability:
Don Mann embodies the mindset of lifelong learning and adaptability. He emphasizes the significance of continuous personal and professional growth, remaining open to new ideas and experiences. He encourages individuals to embrace change, adapt to evolving circumstances, and seek knowledge and understanding in all aspects of life.
VIII. Stewardship and Environmental Responsibility:
Don Mann recognizes the importance of stewardship and environmental responsibility. He advocates for the preservation and protection of the natural world, emphasizing the need to act as responsible stewards of the environment. He encourages individuals to make conscious choices that contribute to the sustainability of our planet.
IX. Patriotism and Love of Country:
Don Mann holds deep patriotism and love for his country. He honors and respects the sacrifices made by those who serve in the military and law enforcement. He advocates for upholding the principles and values upon which the United States was founded, promoting unity, freedom, and justice for all.
X. Empowerment and Inspiration:
Don Mann seeks to empower and inspire others to reach their full potential. He encourages individuals to embrace their unique strengths, overcome obstacles, and pursue their dreams with passion and determination. Through his words and actions, he instills a sense of hope and possibility in the hearts of those who hear his message.
In conclusion, this doctrinal statement outlines the fundamental principles and values that Don Mann, retired US Navy SEAL author and speaker, embraces. It serves as a guiding light for those who seek to follow his example and incorporate these principles into their own lives.
SEALKIDS, an organization that is very close to Don's heart, supports the children of Naval Special Warfare—everyday kids living in extraordinary circumstances. This encompassing approach of academic testing, tutoring, therapy, advocacy, and enrichment fosters the success and well-being of the child, critically reducing family stresses and ultimately keeping today’s Navy SEAL in the fight.
Don as a father and former SEAL TEAM SIX Member can attest that every dollar counts! Your donation of any size helps make an immediate and positive impact on the life of a child in the Naval Special Warfare Community. Learn more here.
Project Lifesaver is a 501 (C)(3) community based, public safety, non-profit organization that provides law enforcement, fire/rescue, and caregivers with a program designed to protect, and when necessary, quickly locate individuals with cognitive disorders who are prone to the life threatening behavior of wandering. The organization was founded in 1999 in Chesapeake, Virginia. The necessity of this program was determined through the correlation between cognitive conditions and the act of wandering. With the dramatic increase of cognitive conditions since the inception of the organization, the program has grown from a localized program to a program recognized internationally as a proven and effective method of “bringing loved ones home.” Don Mann is proud to be an ambassador for Project Lifesaver. Learn more here.