Larysa Switlyk
Larysa Switlyk is a 28-year-old charismatic woman from Sarasota Florida, with more outdoor adventures on six continents than most sportsmen and sportswomen experience in a lifetime.
Beginning July 24th at 3:30 p.m. ET, Switlyk will host a new 14-week outdoors TV series on NBC Sports called "Larysa Unleashed," a show that will give viewers a fresh, youthful, female perspective to international fishing, hunting and other outdoor sports.
Though she’s earned a masters degree in accounting from the Univ. of Florida, is a CPA and holds a real estate license in the Sunshine State, you won’t find her spending much time indoors at those two professions right now. Instead, she’s pouring everything into her love for hunting, fishing and all of the adventures the outdoors can offer across the globe.
“The outdoors is my office,” she smiled. “Tarpon fishing here, shooting my first rifle on a hunt in New Zealand, backpacking Australia and carp and catfish tournaments across Europe.”
The wonder of the outdoors opened to Larysa in college after her move from her native Albany N.Y. to Sarasota, Fla. Neither of her parents nor three brothers had any influence on her now passionate love for the outdoors lifestyle; she totally became Larysa Unleashed.
Equipped with a bow, a fishing rod, dive gear, a rifle or shotgun -- and always a camera – the pony-tailed blonde has documented her exotic travels in the field, on and under the water. Critics, who have seen her intense and addictive enthusiasm in the show’s trailers, say she is sure to attract more people to the outdoors, especially women and youth.
“First and foremost I'm not an expert,” she says with an infectious smile, “but part of my mission is to have some of the best guides enlightening and educating me and my audience on why people hunt and fish and the importance of conservation, cultural experiences and the rules and regulations behind it all. Each show touches on the species being targeted, their habitat, location, and why they are targeted. And all along the way whether it’s fishing, hunting or some other adventure we'll encourage the involvement of youth and females in the outdoors.”
Over the course of the 14 weeks, Larysa Unleashed will include bow-hunting for Wisconsin trophy whitetail with Congressman Ron Kind as her guide; Spanish ibex in the mountains near Barcelona; red stag in Argentina, whitetail in Texas and elk in New Mexico.
With a rod in hand she’s back in Spain fighting monster Wels catfish bigger than herself, off to Costa Rica jumping sails, dorado and a 300 lb. marlin, then back home to Florida’s famous Boca Grande Pass for prized silver kings in a Women’s Pro Tarpon Tournament.
For social media she’s produced an eye-catching website at LarysaUnleashed.com, a popular Facebook page and is attracting fans with two dozen YouTube videos for example YouTube - NBC Sports preview , or follow her on your smart phone with a SAMY app.
