Sam Amico
Brian Barczyk, a renowned reptile enthusiast, You Tuber and the star of The Discovery Channel’s Venom Hunters, has died. He was 54.
Videos by Rare
Along with his work on television and social media, Barczyk founded the Michigan-based reptile zoo The Reptarium. He died of pancreatic cancer after 10 days in hospice, zoo officials said. He was first diagnosed with the disease in February of last year.
People reports:
He first gained recognition by starring on Discovery Channel’s Venom Hunters in 2016. He also hosted a successful YouTube channel, which garnered 5.27 million subscribers.
Barczyk founded both the Reptarium Reptile Zoo and the LegaSea Aquarium — which is set to open in the near future. Barczyk owned over 30,000 snakes, marking his collection as the world’s third-largest.
At the start of the month and Barczyk’s hospice stay, the reptile enthusiast shared an emotional goodbye message on YouTube. “I appreciate you guys so much. It’s been an amazing journey.”
As the video continued, footage from April 2023 began with Barczyk candidly sharing he recorded the video in the event “that things didn’t turn out very well.” He added how he hoped the April footage would continue to “inspire millions of people who love animals.”
Barczyk’s final video included several montages of him with his several animals throughout the past seven years.
