Renan Ozturk is a renowned rock climber and mountaineer who made history with fellow climbers Jimmy Chin and Conard Anker by ascending the central peak of Mount Meru.
The trio achieved their victory over the dangerous Meru in 2011 during their second attempt.
Besides his love for climbing, Ozturk is also a renowned photojournalist and a filmmaker. His natural cinematographer skills are evident in the documentaries like Ashes to Ashes, Sherpa, Mountain, etc.
He has also shot many commercials for big brands like Apple, Google, etc., and taken pictures for Nat Geo and Sony.
Biography & Wiki Quick Summary
| Popular Name | Renan Ozturk |
| Real Name | Nya Kilgore |
| Date of birth | April 7, 1980 |
| Age | 44 years old |
| Place of birth | Germany |
| Father | Not disclosed |
| Step-father | Larry Shushanky |
| Mother | Jolie Shushanky |
| Siblings(s) | Two |
| Half-brother | Nathan Shushanky |
| Half-sister | Ilana Shushanky |
| Orientation | Straight |
| Status | Married |
| Spouse | Taylor Rees |
| Children | None |
| Occupation | Rock climber, Mountaineer, Visual Artist, Photojournalist and Filmmaker |
| Net worth | 1.5 Million USD |
| Nationality | Turkish-American |
| Ethnicity | Mixed |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Zodiac | Aries |
| Height | Unknown |
| Weight | Unknown |
| Measurement | Unknown |
| Hair color | Black |
| Eye color | Green |
| Complexion | Fair |
| Instagram id | renan_ozturk |
| renan_ozturk | |
| TikTok | Renan Ozturk |
| Website | [email protected] |
Renan Ozturk Net Worth
Ozturk has been working in the mountains ever since he graduated from college.
All this time, he worked deliberately and passionately. And his hard work has paid off.
Now, Ozturk is one of the veteran mountaineers with years of experience and great fame.
Along with fame, he has also earned a decent sum of fortune. The rock climber has around 1 to 5 million USD as his net worth.
Renan’s Personal Life and Family
Ozturk was born in Turkey to his Turkish father and American mother. His mother, Jolie, was in Germany getting her Master’s degree in music when she met his father.
His parents got married and gave birth to him. But when he was just one year old, his parents got divorced.
After the divorce, his mother took him and moved to Rhode Island in the USA. His mother then met Larry and got married. The couple then welcomes Nathan and Ilana, the half-siblings of Ozturk.
Growing up, Ozturk never knew his biological father, and Larry was the only father figure in his life. So, to this day, on every Father’s Day, he wishes his Larry. He is also close to his half-siblings and has a close relationship with his family.
His family also supports and encourages him during his every expenditure and adventure.
Renan’s Wife and Relationship
The 44 year-old rock climber has been married to his wife Taylor Rees since July 6, 2011.
Like Ozturk, Rees is also a photojournalist and works at expedition studios as a director.
The couple has been married for over a decade but has not decided to have a baby yet. Instead of a baby, the couple is the proud parents of their dog.
Education
As a kid, Ozturk attended the Hebrew School. Later, he joined the Barrington High School after moving to Rhode Island.
Once high school was over, he enrolled in Colby College in Maine to study liberal arts. But, after his sophomore year in college, he got transferred to Colorado College.
He finished his college studies at Colorado College with a biology degree.
Read about the renowned veteran rock climber and author, John Long.
Career
Ozturk started as a climber and landscape artist after his college was over. He carried a large canvas and traveled from place to place.
He would travel with other rock climbers and follow the route they took. He spent his winters in Indian Creek and his spring and fall in Yosemite. In the summer, he spent his time in Squamish in British Columbia.
While traveling with the other rock climbers, Ozturk worked as a rigger. The other climbers motivated him to go for a free solo in the North Sixshooter Peak.
He then successfully achieved his goal, which got recorded by his crew and made a part of the Return 2 Slender.
Ozturk used to climb rocks and paint on these canvases, but gradually his focus shifted towards photography and filmmaking. He then clicked pictures and shot videos every time he climbed somewhere.
Along with his love for nature, Ozturk also had a knack for adventure. So, he decided to climb Meru.
The team failed and returned after spending nineteen days in the mountain with just 500 feet to climb.
The first attempt was a failure, but he did not give up and tried again to conquer the peak in 2011. However, the second attempt was not that easy.
Just five months before the second attempt, Ozturk got heavily injured in a skiing accident in Wyoming.
In the accident, he crushed two of his neck vertebrae, fractured his skull, and acquired injury to his vertebrae artery.
Despite having all these injuries, he did not give up on his dream of conquering Meru and healed himself on the second attempt.
Ozturk, along with Conrad Anker and Jimmy Chin, won over the Meru this time and made history by conquering it.
Later, Jimmy Chin and his wife Elizabeth Chai Vasarheyi directed the documentary Meru. The documentary showed the struggles during the two attempts to conquer the mountain.
The whole experience of Meru gave Ozturk all the motivation that he needed to continue his adventurous journey in the mountains.
He then continued following his passion. In 2019, he even became part of the search team looking for the body of a British mountaineer, Sandy Irvine, who was in the third British team to climb Mt.Everest. He also led the National Geographic team during the filming of Lost on Everest.
Ozturk also worked for the Net Geo and Sony as their photojournalist. He did not want to confine the experiences he gained. So, he started sharing his skills and expertise as a cinematographer in many documentaries.
To this day, Ozturk is actively doing his work and has continued spending time in the mountains like he always did.
