Dan Buettner

‘"Dan Buettner’" (born June 18, 1960 in St. Paul, Minnesota) is a National Geographic Fellow and New York Times bestselling author. He is an explorer, educator, author, producer, storyteller and public speaker. He co-produced an Emmy Award-winning documentary and holds three Guinness records for endurance cycling. He is the founder of the Blue Zones and Blue Zones, LLC,.

Biography

Early life

Buettner grew up in a family that spent lots of time in the outdoors, camping, hunting, gardening and bicycling. His parents took their four boys to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area every summer on weeklong canoe trips.

After graduating from the College of St. Thomas in 1984, Buettner took a year to explore Spain before taking a job with National Public Radio in Washington, D.C. recruiting celebrity participation in a fund-raising croquet tournament with journalist George Plimpton.

Education

Buettner graduated from the University of St. Thomas in 1982. Soon thereafter he went to work for Washington Post columnist Remar Sutton and Paris Review Editor to organic the National Public Radio’s Celebrity Croquet Tournament. The three men formed a life-long friendship. Buettner recalls, "George was heavily influenced by the notion that you can do what you love and make a living out of it. If you’re good at universalizing your experiences in an artful way, you can pretty much do what you want to do."