I live off grid and rent free – I turned my back on society to live in a cave after life-changing moment
A REAL life caveman swapped his life in a fancy house for an off grid lifestyle completely rent free out in the wilderness.
After getting a life-changing scare Donny Dust decided it was time to pack up his things and live the life he had always wanted to try out.
After a terrifying heart attack at just 35-years-old, Donny knew his world could be over at any second so he wanted to make sure he lived it to the fullest.
He said: “The day of my heart attack changed my life, because it was a reawakening.
“Knowing that eventually one day you will expire, you need to live the life that you want, find the value.”
His decision took him inside a forest where he set up camp inside a cave in the Colorado wilderness.
Despite his love for the outside after spending six years as a wilderness and survival skills guide Donny never actually imagined that one day he would put his skills to the test each and every day.
Donny’s cave had a bed in it that was made up of a big pile of grass and leaves and sat beneath a skylight, so smoke could rise through it an the stars could be gazed at overnight.
According to the wilderness expert, the bed was “comfortable” and had all he ever need inside the cave.
He told The Guardian: “I would jam a stick between the cave walls and dry clothes on it, and would keep an old soup can there for boiling water in.
“If I wanted to treat myself to something special, I’d put a jar of dried mangoes in another.”
When asked how he spent his days alone in the isolated areas Donny said it was easy as there’s always so much to do.
He would constantly be on the hunt for plants, berries and roots and learnt to appreciate food after catching fish, squirrels and rabbits most days.
He also said: “I would make stone tools, build traps, baskets and clay pots, tan hides – all very simple but they gave me so much value. And you’re always collecting firewood.”
With spooky stories of what can creep up on you in the night to discovering just how much work goes into living off grid, Donny quickly knew his new world was far from a walk in the park.
Cave life isn’t always so glamorous and despite there being no people around that doesn’t really mean you’re ever alone.
Donny recalled a potentially treacherous tale of a time he was woken up by a formidable beast on his toes.
He said: “One night in my main cave, the fire had gone out, and I was sleeping, when I started feeling a warm, wet sensation on my foot.
“When I woke up, I could see there was a juvenile black bear at my feet, licking my toes. I let out a scream, and the bear took off.”
He also has to search for hornets nests and spider webs each night before he sleeps to avoid getting a rude, painful awakening.
After spending a few months switching between his new-found love of sleeping under the stars and going back to his regular life to be with his kids, Donny decided to expand his thriving lifestyle.
Overtime he had found a series of caves that he would use for different reasons.
One was next to springs so he could drink water all day and keep some bottled up for his future adventures.
As another was in an ideal position for fishing, hunting and foraging.
He would walk from cave to cave on his explorations of everything around his new homes and loved the things he found so much so that he decided others needed to see them too.
Donny is now a wilderness educator who shares his skills on TikTok to help others survive in nature and live like him.
Speaking to his impressive 10million-plus TikTok followers daily, the big bearded bloke has spoken on thousands of topics from how he would survive a zombie apocalypse, top tips for making it through the winter outdoors and how he makes his homes, weapons and dinner.
Donny also has a YouTube channel with his longer form content on that ranges from how-to guides to day in the life vlogs.
