Meet Mac Hugyes, not your typical seventeen-year-old.

Lacking admirable parental guidance, he found a role model in a rather unconventional celebrity.

“ I never had a parental figure to look up to, and I was constantly going from house to house,” said Hugyes.

“My father was a drug addict, and my mom was always in the hospital. I didn’t have a parent to idolize, but I had Steve Irwin.”

You probably remember Irwin as Animal Planet’s Crocodile Hunter, a world-famous Australian environmentalist, renowned for his unconditional love of animals and recognized for his daredevil tactics to educate viewers.

For some, Irwin might just have been a crocodile-wrestling lunatic, but to Hugyes, he was an idol.

“He inspired wonder not only through wildlife but through his persona,” said Hugyes.

“His character, unrelenting enthusiasm, heartfelt compassion and absolute love of life were enough to give me the hope that if there really was someone out there that possessed such commendable qualities, there are others like him.

When a stingray penetrated Irwin’s heart, ending his life on Monday, Sept. 4, the world fell into shock. The forty-four year-old Prince of the Wild was filming a documentary along the Great Barrier Reef when fate took its toll.

In just days, countless letters, gifts, donations, and visits from around the world revealed his many grief-stricken fans. How did this individual stand out and capture so many hearts?

“There are moments in life, situations or fragments of time when you are overwhelmed with a feeling of ever-satisfying content…Steve didn’t need to look for these moments, he lived them and the world was his witness,” Hugyes added.

Hugyes is going to Australia at the end of the month to stay and volunteer his services at Irwin’s Australia Zoo. Having personally met Irwin and his family, he believes this to be an obligation he must fulfill.

“It is something I have to do for myself,” Hugyes stated.

Hugyes is one of millions across the globe whose life was transformed by Steve Irwin.

“You can only take words so far. Steve never needed his words; his actions and his energy spoke in a language that people all around the world could understand,” imputed Hugyes.

“The sentences they formed have become tools of inspiration, strong enough to change a five-year-old’s life or convince a poacher to trade in his rifle for a pair of binoculars.”

To Hugyes, no one appeared more of a hero than the legendary Crocodile Hunter.