Anton Mzimba

He was the Head of Ranger Services at Timbavati Private Nature Reserve. He has dedicated his life to the protection and conservation of South African wildlife. Anton is the main hero of the film, and he makes great sacrifices to himself and his family for the future of conservation.

Ruben de Kock

He was the Divisional Operations Manager at the Southern African Wildlife College. Ruben, with his late business partner, Martin Mthembu, has trained thousands of rangers in his career. He has an undying passion for protecting wildlife. In the film he guides 41 candidates through a ranger selection.

Ranger Candidates

They come from the communities surrounding the reserves in search of work and a way to contribute to conservation. Many of them face tough living conditions back at home. They must make it through a rigorous 5 day selection to have a chance at becoming rangers.

Martin Mthembu

He was the original RHINO MAN. Born in the highlands of the KwaZulu-Natal province, Martin came of age fighting as a soldier in the South African military. He then used his knowledge to train over 15,000 rangers around the world before his untimely death in 2014.

John Jurko II

Director / Producer / Cinematographer

John Jurko II has overseen the completion of RHINO MAN since 2018. After receiving a BA in Film Production and Philosophy, he lived in LA, where he worked in the camera department of many indie films. He then moved to Atlanta, where he was drawn to RHINO MAN for its story and potential as a social impact project. He created and hosts The Rhino Man Podcast to further build awareness of the importance of rangers, the rhino poaching crisis, and our need to connect local communities to protected areas.

Matt Lindenberg

Director / Producer

Matt Lindenberg is the Founder and Executive Director of the Global Conservation Corps (GCC). He is South African born and has spent years working with and training rangers at the Southern African Wildlife College. Matt has his Masters in Conservation Biology from Grand Valley State University. He started RHINO MAN as a way to honor his late mentor Martin Mthembu, and to bring awareness and support to the rangers. Matt is also a spectacular and sought after public speaker.

Daniel Roberts

Director

Daniel is the founder and CEO of Friendly Human and VidLoft. He builds bombproof brands by living at the intersection of strategy, content, and technology. He's known for his ability to tell stories that help brands relate to customers while also creating a company culture that is extremely sought after. Daniel has interviewed thousands of people in his life, from WWII vets who stormed Normandy and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies to a former U.S. President.

Justin Walker

Producer

Justin is the Board Treasurer for the Global Conservation Corps. He was the COO for Friendly Human from 2014-2021, where he built the processes that grew the production company to one of the best in Atlanta. He has worked with major brands including Home Depot, Coca Cola, Mail Chimp, ABM and many more. Justin also founded Water Projects International, which brings clean water to as many people as possible.

Sabine Carion

Co-Producer

After a Master’s Degree in History, and the Institut d’Etudes Politiques diplôma. She worked for the Chairman at France Télévisions, and created the Observatory of Foreign Televisions, and the dubbing department while a buyer of foreign programs. She now freelances for la Sabotière, as a writer and an artistic director, while acting as the editor in charge of the Feature films column in the journal « Defense » (IHEDN). She is also a race horse breeder for SARL Carion EMM.

Andrew Ackerman

Co-Producer

Andrew is a documentary film Director, Cinematographer, and Producer. Hew was a Director of Photography for the Sundance Audience Award-Winning film and Netflix Original Documentary, CHASING CORAL. He has directed two Somm TV Original Documentaries and has worked on documentaries for the BBC and National Geographic.

Kate Vannelli

Impact Producer

Kate is a member of GCC’s Board of Advisors and previous Program Director for the Future Rangers Conservation Education Program. She is dedicated to creating a world where people and wildlife coexist in a mutually beneficial relationship. One of her recent achievements is the development of an app to monitor and evaluate the Future Rangers education program. She is now the Leader of the Living with Big Cats Initiative at WWF.

Mbhoni Mzamani

Impact Coordinator

Mbhoni studied environmental science before taking part in the Field Ranger Scholarship Program where he not only passed the course with flying colors, he discovered the world of GCC. He joined the GCC team in 2020 and is working on a very special project to promote all the various jobs available in conservation to the people living in the communities around the protected areas.

Nick Smith

Cinematographer

Nick has shot all over the world for awesome clients and nonprofits. He's an experienced DP working in Atlanta, Ga. His views on photography align with his philosophy on life; be in the moment, treat people with respect, and create something unique .

Jacob Ross

Editor

Jacob is a commercial and documentary film Editor and Cinematographer. Jacob lived in Jerusalem, Israel for five years while working on the award winning feature documentary Beneath The Helmet as well as work with National Geographic. Jacob moved back to Atlanta to work as the Senior Editor at Raider Films, a commercial production company, whose clients consist of Porsche, Morgan Stanley, Patagonia, Coca Cola and other brands.

Cristian Troncoso

Editor

Cristian is a commercial, independent, and documentary film editor and cinematographer with 18 years of diverse experience. He has served as the Director of Photography and Editor for different productions in Chile, Spain, and the United States. Cristian is born and raised in Santiago, Chile. Today, he is based out of Atlanta, Georgia.

Simón Wilson

Composer

Simón is an award winning Los Angeles based musician and composer. Most recently he scored NBC’s Celebrity Escape Room, written additional music for Disney’s The Mysterious Benedict Society, and holds the Best Music award at LA’s 48 Hour Film Festival for four years running. After assisting and studying under Theodore Shapiro and receiving credit on major studio productions (Trolls World Tour, Bombshell), he has focused his efforts more recently on documentaries.

Myra Lugwiri

Social Media & Marketing

Myra is a computer student at the African Leadership University, Rwanda. She is our current Social Media and Marketing intern. Myra is passionate about technology and the way technology can be implemented to help wildlife conservation efforts. She is currently exploring the impact social media has in supporting conservation efforts.