Edward James Stafford (born 26 December 1975) is an English explorer and survivalist. He holds the Guinness World Record for being the first human ever to walk the length of the Amazon River. Stafford now hosts shows on the Discovery Channel and Channel Four. Early life and education Ed Stafford was born in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England and raised in Leicestershire. He was adopted as a baby by Barbara and Jeremiah Stafford, who were both solicitors in Leicestershire. He was educated at Uppingham and was a Cub and a Scout in Leicestershire. Stafford graduated with a BSc in Geography from Newcastle University in 1997. Military career Stafford joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in September 1998, and after a year's training he was commissioned in the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment of the British Army as a subaltern on 7 August 1999: he was granted seniority in the rank of subaltern (second lieutenant) from 10 August 1996 and of subaltern (lieutenant) from 10 August 1998. His service number was 550823. He served a tour of duty in Northern Ireland in 2000. He was promoted to Captain on 8 February 2002, before leaving the British Army on 7 August 2002. Exploration and survival career On 9 August 2010, he became the first person to have walked the entire length of the Amazon River, documented in the 2011 TV series Walking the Amazon on Channel 5. Stafford's expedition began with a friend, Luke Collyer, on 2 April 2008, on the southern coast of Peru. Collyer left after three months, and Stafford completed the journey with his guide, Gadiel “Cho” Sánchez Rivera. He undertook the attempt for several charities. Stafford ran out of money halfway through his hike and had to rely on making YouTube videos featuring PayPal links asking viewers for money. He later described this as "crowdfunding before it had even been invented". He was also held up both at gunpoint and by bow and arrow, and arrested for both drug smuggling and murder – the latter occurring when he coincidentally arrived in an isolated settlement the same day as a community member had gone missing. He was locked in a wooden hut for eight hours before being allowed to continue his journey. In May 2009 Stafford appeared on the cover of the Royal Geographical Society's Geographical magazine. In May 2008 Stafford was made Diane Sawyer's ABC News "Person of the Week". Stafford's