Youngstown native co-hosts weekly TV show, a travelogue of the extreme

By GUY D’ASTOLFO

dastolfo@vindy.com

Zack Yankush is comb- ing the world in search of the most dangerous, peculiar and even disgusting things to try, and he’s documenting it for all to see.

The Youngstown native is a co-host of “Strangers In Danger,” a new weekly television series that premieres Tuesday on the FUEL channel.

On the show, Yankush, aka “Catfish,” crisscrosses the globe with fellow BMX pro Eric “Rooftop” Escamilla.

It’s a wild travelogue show, aimed squarely at FUEL’s extreme-sports and adrenaline-rush crowd. FUEL is part of the Fox Sports family.

Yankush and Escamilla visit seldom-seen places and jump right into the fray. They are adventurers who are up for anything.

The globe-trotting show mixes in some familiar elements: the comic recklessness of “Jackass”; the quest for what’s unique in every culture of “Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations”; even the gross-out factor of “Bizarre Foods.”

But Yankush and Escamilla put their own spin on it with their athleticism and youthful spirit.

In one episode, the two find themselves in Vietnam, where they drink the blood of a snake that is decapitated in front of them in one of several cringe-worthy scenes. They run through war-era subterranean tunnels, chased by bats. And in a monumental display of guts, they traipse through a minefield to find unexploded shells, and then blow one up.

And of course, they find some BMXers to hang out with.

It’s highly watchable and vicarious fun.

Yankush grew up on the North Side of Youngstown, where he went to St. Anthony’s Middle School and Ursuline High. He graduated from Mount Union College in 1998.

He was a regular on the stage at the Youngstown Playhouse, performing in more than 20 productions.

“I’m pretty sure that’s where I learned a lot of my comedic-timing,” he said.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.