Ryan Pyle

Ryan Pyle is an adventure photographer and television producer and host. He has created, filmed and hosted four seasons of Extreme Treks, three seasons of the Tough Rides, as well as other international adventure programs. His still photography has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, Newsweek, Forbes, and other international publications, as well as several books including Chinese Turkestan and Sacred Mountains of China.

Pyle set the Guinness World Record for the longest motorcycle ride, has been awarded five Asian Television Awards, and a Gold Medallion from the Governor General of Canada, among other recognitions.

Early life Pyle was born and raised in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. He played basketball beginning at the age of six, continuing the sport through attendance at the University of Toronto. While in college, he studied modern Chinese history and politics, while playing CIS basketball. When it was clear he would not turn pro, he decided to change professions.

Pyle moved to Shanghai, and in 2004 started a career in photography. His work appeared in The New York Times, Time magazine, The Wall Street Journal. In 2009, Photo District News named Pyle one of the top 30 emerging photographers in the world.

Television career Pyle began working in television the following year with the creation of his first show, Tough Ride: China, which was broadcast on Travel Channel. The program followed Pyle and his brother, Colin, on a motorcycle trip around the Middle Kingdom, China, an expedition that covered 16,240 kilometers, and earned the brothers a place in the Guinness World Records for longest continuous journey by motorcycle within a single country.

Pyle wrote a book documenting the 65-day trip called, The Middle Kingdom Ride: Two Brothers, Two Motorcycles, One Epic Journey Around China. In 2011, the Pyle brothers transversed India for the program called Tough Rides: India,

In June 2020, Pyle's 10-part series ‘’Expedition Asia’’, featuring his visits to the Philippines, China, Indonesia, Mongolia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand, Malaysia and India, began airing on the Discovery Channel.

By October 2020, Pyle was in production with two new series: Meet the Makers, a global travel show introducing people who make objects by hand, and The Nomad, based on his South China Morning Post column of the same name.

Awards and recognition 2020 – Best Director Non-Fiction – Winner 2020 – Best Lifestyle Presenter – Winner 2020 – Best Non-Scripted Entertainment: Extreme Treks Season 3 – Winner 2014 – Explorer of the Year – Geographical Society of Philadelphia 2013 – Gold Medallion – Governor General of Canada 2012 – Guinness World Record – Adventure Motorcycle Riding 2010 – Photo District News Photo Annual – Winner 2009 – Photo District News 30 – Emerging Photographer Award

Television series 2021 – Tough Rides: Saudi Arabia – In Pre-Production 2021 – Meet The Makers Season 1 – In Production 2020 – The Nomad Season 1 – In Production 2021 – Extreme Treks Season 4 – In Production

2014 – China's Great Gateway – Discovery Channel

Published work 2017 – Sacred Mountains – Photography 2016 – Tough Rides: Brazil – Author, photography 2015 – Sacred Mountains of China – Author 2014 – Chinese Turkestan – Photography 2014 – The India Ride – Author 2013 – The Middle Kingdom Ride – Author