Swamp Logger on History Channel Show 'Ax Men'

Shelby Stanga | Biography

Appeared in 'The Legend of Shelby the Swamp Man' (2013) and 'Return of Shelby the Swamp Man' (2018)

• By Anil Pradhan
• Update : January 18, 2022

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Shelby Stanga is a famous TV personality and swamp logger. He gained global fame from his long-time appearance on History Channel's documentary series, Ax Men.

Who is Shelby Stanga? 

Shelby Stanga, aka The Swamp Man, is a renowned American TV presenter, reality TV star, and swamp logger. He was born and raised in Bedico, Los Angeles, in 1960. His mother took him out of school when he was nine years old, just as it would be desegregated. So as a kid, he climbed to the tops of the ancient cypress trees, chiseled out a sitting area, and stayed there for days. 

By the age of 16, he worked for a swamp dredging company in New Orleans, where he was challenged to remove a fallen cypress tree and other logs out of the swamps of Tangipahoa River. He dragged the tree out of the water using a boat, ropes, and inner tubes. Even others asked for his assistance in recovering valuable sunken wood from the dark depths.

Stanga's rise to TV fame initiated in 2008 when the Discovery channel's show Man vs. Wild hired him as a guide in one of its episodes. Later in 2009, he started appearing as the lead cast of the History TV documentary series Ax Men. After that, he appeared in the reality TV show until 2016. Moreover, the success of his first show followed his appearances on The Legend of Shelby the Swamp Man (2013) and Return of Shelby the Swamp Man (2018).

Accident

The History TV reality show, Ax Men, had a few encounters with accidents in the past. The show's star cast Stanga himself, has been part of numerous of them. Moreover, the show suffered at least two casualties leading to the death of two of its cast members.

Not only that, rumors of Stanga's death surfaced when the team's helicopter crashed in 2013, and a car crashed in 2016. People assumed he died while in the helicopter/car. However, this was not the case, and he was not involved in those accidents.

On 16 September 2013, Ax Men's helicopter crashed in Oregon Forest near Detroit. It killed one of the show's cast members and pilot William Bart. The unfortunate event occurred due to the helicopter's rotor blades malfunctioning when Bart moved timbers to Idanha. Similarly, in September 2016, another of the show's cast (name not available) died following a car crash in Port Angeles, Washington.

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Although Stanga was not involved in the disaster, he was arrested and taken to jail on the bayou in 2014 for allegedly down a cypress tree three years prior. The issue was that the tree was in a marsh on his neighbor's land. However, he was released the same day, but he was charged with felony theft.

House

Stanga owns a beautiful house made of driftwood in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. He named his property Shelby Stanga Treasures which can be seen on a board, hanging on the outside wall of the house. Moreover, it is on the edge of the river that guides the way to Lake Pontchartrain in Southeastern Louisiana. 

Wife

Although Shelby Stanga has not disclosed many details of his dating and marriage bio in the media. But he has been married to his wife Donna Stanga for a long time.

During one of the episodes of Ax Men on 10 April 2011, he mentioned his wife being a Jehovah's Witness. In his words, "My little Jehovah's Witness wife." This statement triggered several questions from the public and TV show viewers. In addition, Donna was seen smoking and using swearing words in an episode, both considered sins in Jehovah's Witness religion.

Moreover, in the later episodes of Ax Men, no mention of his wife was made, and she did not appear on the show as well. As of January 2022, there is no authentic information on whether the couple is still together.