Travis McHenry is an American-born

micronation A micronation is a polity, political entity whose representatives claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by any sovereign state. Micronations are classified separately from list o ...

alist and occultist.

Micronations

In 2001, while a seaman in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, McHenry founded the micronation of Westarctica. In 2004, he appointed himself ruler of a territory of 620,000 square miles he called the Grand Duchy of Westarctica located, in the

Marie Byrd Land Marie Byrd Land (MBL) is an unclaimed region of Antarctica. With an area of , it is the largest unclaimed territory on Earth. It was named after the wife of American naval officer Richard E. Byrd, who explored the region in the early 20th centu ...

region of

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

. He has said that this took advantage of an apparent loophole in the

Antarctic Treaty System The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively known as the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native human population. It was the first arms ...

. In 2006, after learning that McHenry had been communicating with foreign governments asking them to recognize the nation, the Navy required him to abdicate. , Westarctica claims a population of 2,356 citizens (none of whom actually live there), and McHenry still calls himself its Grand Duke. In 2009, after McHenry left the military, he acquired a few acres of rural desert land in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

from his family, and founded Calsahara. McHenry later expanded it to cover 117 acres. A 2015 profile in ''

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

'' magazine described the project as good-natured. In October 2017, McHenry's two micronations were linked when Calsahara was "annexed" by Westarctica. Sometime before 2011, McHenry changed the name of Westarctica from "Grand Duchy of Westarctica" to "Protectorate of Westarctica." In 2014, McHenry made Westarctica into a non-profit organization that advocates for protection of Antarctic wildlife and for the study of climate change.

Occult and paranormal

McHenry publishes a line of tarot decks and other occult paraphernalia through his company Bloodstone Studios. He developed an interest in the occult in the 1990s and was allegedly initiated as a priest of Anubis. He has been offering his services as speaker on the occult specializing in

demonology Demonology is the study of demons within religious belief and myth. Depending on context, it can refer to studies within theology, religious doctrine, or occultism. In many faiths, it concerns the study of a hierarchy of demons. Demons may be n ...

. At some point in the early 2000s, McHenry was active in the

Bigfoot Bigfoot (), also commonly referred to as Sasquatch (), is a large, hairy Mythic humanoids, mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.Example definitions include: *"A large, hairy, manlike ...

community. His 2006 self-published book ''Into the Abyss: The Memoirs of a Paranormal Adventurer'' speculates about Bigfoot physiology. He calls the

Patterson–Gimlin film A 1967 American short motion picture, created by Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin, depicts an unidentified subject that the filmmakers stated was a Bigfoot. The footage was shot in 1967 in Northern California, and has since been subjected to ...

, generally considered a hoax, the best photographic evidence for the existence of such a creature. He also goes over several well-known

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...

cases, somewhat critically, and speculates they might be humans from the future.

Acting

McHenry has taken acting classes at

Orange Coast College Orange Coast College (OCC) is a Public college, public community college in Costa Mesa, California, Costa Mesa in Orange County, California. It was founded in 1947, with its first classes opening in the fall of 1948. It provides Associate of Ar ...

and the

Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute (originally the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute) is an acting school founded in 1969 by the actor, director, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. The Institute is located in Union Square on East 15th Str ...

. Since 2007, McHenry has appeared as lead actor in short video productions (''Life on Mars'' 2007, ''Richard and Anne'' 2013) and in smaller roles in feature films (uncredited role in ''Body of Lies'' 2008, ''Monster & Me'' 2013, ''Painkiller'' 2013), as well as in small television roles. He also produced and directed the television miniseries ''In the Footsteps of Vlad Dracula'' (2020). McHenry also acted in theatre productions, notably in the 2023 production ''You Make me Physically Ill: Love Never Dies'' presented at the 2023

Hollywood Fringe Festival The Hollywood Fringe Festival is an annual fringe theatre festival in Hollywood, California. Most indoor venues for the festival are in and around Hollywood Theatre Row, a stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles. Founder Ben Hill s ...

. McHenry is also the author of a satire play entitled ''The Female of the Species'' (2005), self-published on

Lulu Press Lulu Press, Inc., doing business under trade name Lulu, is an online print-on-demand, self-publishing, and distribution platform. By 2014, it had issued approximately two million titles. The company's founder is Red Hat co-founder Bob Young; ...

, as well as ''Delusions of Grandeur'' (2010), about a family seceding from the United States so as to live under a king.

References

External links

Westarctica website

Grand Duchy of Westarctica
at the Micronations Wiki
MicroWiki biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mchenry, Travis 1980 births Living people Micronational leaders United States Navy sailors Place of birth missing (living people) Self-proclaimed monarchy Westarctica