Andrew Bustamante: Powerful Journey From Air Force To CIA
Introduction
Andrew Bustamante is an American former clandestine CIA intelligence officer, decorated U.S. Air Force combat veteran, entrepreneur, author, podcast host, corporate consultant, and television personality. His professional journey began in the U.S. Air Force and later took him into the CIA’s National Clandestine Service. Today, he is widely recognized for founding EverydaySpy and for explaining intelligence-inspired skills to a general audience.
His career has developed across military service, intelligence, business, education, writing, and television. Bustamante has also become known as a TV show host and media personality through his work on the HISTORY Channel series Beyond Skinwalker Ranch. His public career demonstrates a transition from government service into entrepreneurship and communication, while his books and podcast have expanded his reach beyond the intelligence community.
Quick Bio
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Andrew Bustamante |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Former CIA officer, Air Force veteran, author, entrepreneur, consultant, podcast host, TV show host |
| Education | United States Air Force Academy |
| Military Service | U.S. Air Force |
| CIA Service | National Clandestine Service |
| CIA Career | Seven years |
| Spouse | Jihi Bustamante |
| Children | Two |
| Company | EverydaySpy |
| Podcast | EverydaySpy Podcast |
| Television | Beyond Skinwalker Ranch |
| Books | Everyday Espionage, Shadow Cell, Outsmart Everyone |
| Expertise | Human behavior and intelligence-related training |
Early Life and Military Beginning
Bustamante has described his public-school years as an ordinary part of his early life. After high school, he joined the U.S. Air Force at the age of 18. He has explained that the military gave him an opportunity to leave his hometown and begin a new chapter. His own account describes military service as a demanding period that taught him discipline, adaptability, competence, and the importance of continued personal growth.
His military career became the first major foundation of his professional life. He graduated from the United States Air Force Academy, where his public profile records attendance from 1999 to 2003. During his Air Force career, he specialized largely in nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile operations and served as a combat veteran in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Education and Professional Training
The United States Air Force Academy played an important role in Bustamante’s development. His public professional profile lists his academy education from 1999 through 2003. His experience at the academy also coincided with the beginning of his military career and his exposure to strategic and military subjects.
Bustamante later expanded his professional knowledge through corporate and intelligence-related work. His career has combined military experience with intelligence operations, business consulting, human behavior, and executive education. He has also served as an advisory committee member at the University of South Florida Muma College of Business, contributing to work connected with cybersecurity education for executives.
CIA Career and Intelligence Work
After his Air Force career, Bustamante was recruited into the CIA’s National Clandestine Service. According to his publisher biography, he spent seven years with the CIA handling sensitive operations that remain classified. His military experience and intelligence career became the foundation for much of his later public work.
Bustamante has described his CIA years as exciting, difficult, frightening, and transformative. His public biography says that his years in uniform and later in intelligence taught him lessons about service, professional development, and personal growth. Because much of his intelligence work remains classified, his public career focuses on general intelligence principles rather than revealing classified operational information.
Marriage and Family Life
Andrew Bustamante is married to Jihi Bustamante, who is also a former CIA officer and co-founder of EverydaySpy. The couple met during CIA training and later worked as intelligence professionals. Their shared experience became the basis for their book Shadow Cell, which recounts aspects of their lives as married intelligence officers.
The Bustamantes are parents of two children. HISTORY describes Andrew as living with his wife and two children, while his publisher biography also identifies the couple as parents who eventually left the CIA to build their family and company. Family life therefore became an important part of their transition from government service to entrepreneurship.
Founding EverydaySpy
After leaving government service, Bustamante became the co-founder of EverydaySpy. The platform was created to adapt skills associated with intelligence work for business and everyday life. Its public training focuses on subjects including human behavior, situational awareness, influence, decision-making, and strategic thinking.
EverydaySpy became a major part of Bustamante’s public identity. Instead of keeping his professional experience limited to traditional intelligence circles, he developed educational content for a wider audience. His role as founder also connected his military and intelligence background with entrepreneurship, corporate consulting, public speaking, and digital education.
Career as an Author
Bustamante has developed a significant writing career alongside his business activities. His published works include Everyday Espionage, Shadow Cell, and Outsmart Everyone. His books use his professional experiences and intelligence-related knowledge to explore subjects connected with espionage, human behavior, decision-making, and professional life.
His 2025 book Shadow Cell, written with Jihi Bustamante, provides a firsthand account of their experience as CIA operatives. The publisher describes the couple as a married intelligence team and presents the book as an account of a sensitive CIA mission involving a compromised intelligence network.
Podcast and Media Career
Bustamante also hosts the EverydaySpy Podcast, where he discusses intelligence, national security, human behavior, decision-making, and related subjects. His publisher describes the podcast as an iTunes top-100 podcast and places it among the top 0.5 percent of podcasts worldwide.
His media career has expanded through interviews, public speaking, and television. He has appeared across major media platforms and has been featured by outlets and programs including Business Insider, The Diary of a CEO, Lex Fridman’s podcast, FOX, ABC, and the HISTORY Channel. These appearances have helped introduce his intelligence background to audiences outside the government and military sectors.
TV Show Host and Television Career
One of Bustamante’s most visible media roles is his participation in the HISTORY Channel series Beyond Skinwalker Ranch. The program expands investigations into unusual phenomena beyond the original Skinwalker Ranch location, and Bustamante appears as part of its investigative team.
His television work has given him another public identity as a TV show host and investigator. It also demonstrates how his background in intelligence and analysis has been adapted to entertainment and documentary-style programming. The series has continued across multiple seasons on the HISTORY Channel.
Career Timeline
1999–2003: Air Force Academy
Bustamante attended the United States Air Force Academy from 1999 to 2003.
Early Military Career
After his academy education, he served in the U.S. Air Force and specialized largely in nuclear ICBM operations.
Afghanistan and Iraq
His military career included combat service in Afghanistan and Iraq, where he received military decorations.
CIA Service
He later joined the CIA’s National Clandestine Service and served there for seven years.
Post-CIA Career
After leaving the CIA, Bustamante moved into corporate consulting, entrepreneurship, education, writing, and public speaking.
EverydaySpy
He became the co-founder of EverydaySpy, building a platform focused on applying intelligence skills to business and everyday life.
2023 Onward
Bustamante became part of the HISTORY Channel series Beyond Skinwalker Ranch.
2025
He co-authored Shadow Cell with Jihi Bustamante. The book was published by Little, Brown and Company in September 2025.
Public Philosophy and Work
Bustamante’s public philosophy centers on learning, service, preparation, and personal development. In his official biography, he presents his mission as sharing intelligence education that can help people overcome barriers and become more capable. He also emphasizes the idea that useful skills can be developed through training and experience.
His career also has a demanding side. Intelligence operations, military service, and classified assignments involved difficult responsibilities and experiences that he describes as transformative. Rather than presenting his background only as a success story, his own account acknowledges setbacks, difficult lessons, and the personal challenges associated with service.
Conclusion
Andrew Bustamante has built a distinctive career that connects military service, CIA intelligence work, entrepreneurship, writing, podcasting, consulting, and television. His experience in the U.S. Air Force and CIA provided the foundation for EverydaySpy, while his books and media appearances introduced intelligence-related concepts to a much wider audience.
Today, Bustamante is recognized publicly as a former CIA intelligence officer, EverydaySpy founder, author, podcast host, corporate consultant, and TV show host. His professional journey from military service to intelligence and then to public education and media has become the central story of his career.
FAQ
Who is Andrew Bustamante?
Andrew Bustamante is a former CIA intelligence officer, Air Force veteran, entrepreneur, author, podcast host, consultant, and TV personality.
Is Andrew Bustamante married?
Yes, he is married to Jihi Bustamante, a former CIA officer and EverydaySpy co-founder.
Does Andrew Bustamante have children?
Yes, Andrew and Jihi Bustamante have two children.
Where did Andrew Bustamante study?
He attended the United States Air Force Academy from 1999 to 2003.
What did Andrew Bustamante do in the Air Force?
He specialized largely in nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile operations and served as a combat veteran.
What is EverydaySpy?
EverydaySpy is a training platform co-founded by Bustamante that adapts intelligence-related skills for business and everyday life.
What TV show is Andrew Bustamante known for?
He is known for appearing on the HISTORY Channel series Beyond Skinwalker Ranch.
What books has Andrew Bustamante written?
His published books include Everyday Espionage, Shadow Cell, and Outsmart Everyone.
How long did Andrew Bustamante serve in the CIA?
His publisher biography states that he served seven years in the CIA’s National Clandestine Service.
What is Andrew Bustamante known for professionally?
He is known for combining his intelligence background with entrepreneurship, consulting, writing, podcasting, public speaking, and television.
