Shelby Stanga is an American reality star who rose to the limelight after being featured on the Discovery Channel's show Man vs. Wild alongside Bear Grylls for a post-Katrina episode in 2008.

Afterward, he starred on the History channel’s Ax Men, a show that chronicles the lives of several logging crews, between 2009 and 2016.

In 2013, Stanga also appeared on Ax Men's spin-off show The Legend of Shelby the Swamp Man.

Are the Near-Death Accidents in ‘Ax Men’ Fake?

Accidents have been a recurring theme in the show Ax Men which featured Shelby Stangas.

Stangas himself had few close encounters with death while filming breathtaking stunts. On numerous occasions, it seemed like the reality star liked to put his life on the line and, as a result, had countless accidents.

Therefore, many fans have even accused its showrunners of staging the accidents, questioning the authenticity presented on the show.

"The show wasn't to bad when it first came out, but its becoming to fake and predictable," one dropped a review on IMDb.

Another added, "It's become so stupid & staged just barely watchable now, the only redeeming thing is Shelby."

While the show's authenticity gets questioned repeatedly, the show completed its 10th season in September 2019.

On the other hand, Stangas didn't appear on the 10th season after being a regular cast of the show until its 9th season in 2016.

Rumors of Stanga’s Death after Helicopter Accident

On September 16, 2013, the Ax Men show's helicopter pilot William Bart was killed in a helicopter crash in east Linn County near Detroit.

The accident took place when Bart was transporting timber from the cutting area to a log deck in Idanha. The rotor blades of the helicopter reportedly was malfunctioned on its own.

Following the accident, there were also rumors that Stanga was in the helicopter, and he died in the accident, too. But they were all false.

A similar event happened in September 2016 when one of the show's stars was killed in a car accident near his home in Port Angeles, Washington.

The event also brought various speculations if Stanga was involved in the accident or not. The answer is, he was not involved.

Stanga is still very much alive. However, he relishes a very private life with his wife Donna presently. 

Stanga's Bio and Net Worth

Born in 1960, Stanga was raised in Bedico, Los Angeles. He and his family moved to the swamps north of New Orleans when he was nine.

It was in the swamps of New Orleans that he found his true home. The reality star and his cousins Kelly, Jimmy, Louis, Jhonny, and Richard spend days in the swamps.

At the age of 16, Shelby made his first lucrative haul while working for a dredging company when he dragged his first sinker cypress log on the Tangipahoa River.

His television career started when he appeared alongside Grylls in Man vs. Wild as a guide. The 61-year-old TV star has made quite a career for himself after that.

While working on the shows Ax Men and The Legend of Shelby the Swamp Man, he reportedly received a salary of $70,000 per episode.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Stanga has a net worth of $800 thousand.