Join us for a discussion with Michael Waddell, host of Bone Collector, hunter, and family man from the backwoods of Georgia!
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Timestamps:
0:00:00 Intro: Who is Michael Waddell
0:02:51 How Michael & Cam Met
0:06:23 Michael’s TV Personality
0:10:20 Forming Brotherhood’s in Hunting
0:15:35 The Growth of Fame & Bone Collector
0:28:36 Losing Friends: The Frustrations of Success
0:27:12 Something Bigger Than “Michael Waddell”
0:34:20 “There’s Enough Cake For Everybody”
0:37:26 The Friends You Meet at the Top
0:41:58 Being a Role Model & Mentor
0:48:27 The Young Up-And-Coming Guys
0:52:35 Is Social Media the Death of Hunting?
01:02:12 Recognizing What People Need
01:06:08 You Never Forget the Negatives
01:08:24 What Kind of Hate Michael Got
01:14:27 Old Pictures & Being A Student of the Hunt
01:19:33 Never Forget Where You Came From
01:25:05 Hard Work & Dedication
01:29:06 Working With Brands
01:30:03 The American Dream
01:40:31 Bet on Yourself
01:46:59 Where Michael’s Competitive Drive Came From
01:53:53 The Pain From Losing A Mother: The Elk Story
02:02:48 Using Heartbreak to Grow & The “Why Me” Mentality
02:06:47 The Biggest Threat to the Future in Hunting
02:11:27 The Score Really Doesn’t Matter
02:18:00 Outro
Every step I take I move my truth every time they tell me stop I use every comment hate that makes my feel GA up my energy and boom I them talking saying the way that I move is so reckless that is a part of my mind I’ve been blessed
With giving my blood so I am Relentless we’re on the keep hammering Collective with Michael wadell how you doing doing good buddy so glad to be here man oh dude I’m telling you this is I don’t know when I think about this whole journey of being a hunter right
From where we where I started and then I’ll just I’ll just fill the people in here listening because a lot of people I mean a lot of my followers are Hunters but a lot of them aren’t either so Michael wadell from my perspective and I don’t know what what you think but like
Came onto the scene in the outdoor industry the hunting industry specifically and like your personality was like one of a kind right and so thank on on camera and I don’t know you I’ll I’ll mention a few different things but like Michael was like made for entertaining and a great hunter so
There’s a lot of good Hunters that aren’t made for TV type thing like don’t just don’t it’s hard it’s hard and you got on camera and everybody was just like couldn’t get enough and so I’ll just do give the cliffnotes version but like there’s this award show for that
Outdoor industry called the gold moose Awards you hosted it I don’t know how many times I forget it it was quite a you which which I used to be so nervous nobody realized how nervous I was doing that but so good I mean you were so like
Made for that and I mean I wouldn’t say I was jealous but I was just like God dang this guy is so good and you had the show road trips which you know back in the day Hunters we had one shot to be on TV pretty much his Outdoor Channel right
And you had road trips on there which was like at its peak was that was must watch TV I think was it Sunday nights it was Sunday nights it I think it was 9:30 Eastern so 6:30 out here I think it was and and it was you didn’t miss it this
Was before like d DVR at least that I had and it’s like I loved that show I loved watching you interact with these people and I mean it was I don’t know you’re just like I don’t know it’s the best I’ve seen as far as entertaining outdoor
TV you know we love adventure and most hunters aren’t expected to be like movie stars but you you were and it was just like I don’t know I think it honestly it changed the industry I mean that changed hunting TV your your presence in your show that that’s so flattering because
It is crazy looking back and and uh and it’s a crazy how when my career when my career first started getting have a chance to get going that’s that’s where you and I met and um and immediately you could tell we had a lot of respect for
Each other and got to laughing and cutting up I remember you coming through U you were hunting out in Colorado yeah I was too if I remember right I think red Akin’s a country singer in Camp and you and I both we’ve always shot Hoy
Bows and so uh Mike loper’s in Camp and we come by and H hung out and I remember that was the first time you told me you said dude uh man I’ve been watching road trips like dude you really been watching it you said no man I I watch it all the
Time and then then you said and then a lot of people know this you were the first person ever to write a super cool article uh about about me at the time and then you you got me on the cover of Eastman’s uh Journal dude and I was like
Unbelievable and my wife just framed that the other day she found a bunch of old magazines and framed it and put it in like a similar to what you got here I call it the man room you know and um and so man it just rekindled a lot of uh lot
Of memories and so yeah what you were saying about road trips and that the personality stuff man that that means a lot because I I was nervous um I think the biggest thing for me I was you know coming from the south man we’re [ __ ] kickers and F funny
Cutting up you know the old southern cliches everything’s You Know spoken metaphors and similes and analogies I mean he very rarely is it just a yes or no it’s right you know B story oh hell this you this raining cats and dogs that’s just a toad floater what you know
Turd float or whatever it’s always uh and so I realiz realized that man I was pretty country and so when I first had a chance to start hanging out and in videoing and helping guide some of the hunters that was on these shows back in
Those TNN ESPN days and then when I had a chance to every once in a while I get a chance to hunt man I would try to clean up everything I was trying to speak different and um and deep down I was just boiling with excitement and I
Think it was real tree road trips that gave me the first opportunity that I just realized hey hey man just just be yourself you don’t have to run a popularity contest just just have fun and from that I I met a lot of other people like to have fun but also met a
Lot of people was very serious and passionate about it and so kind of we learned to combine the two and uh and so it’s been really cool and I think um you know if you look at our paths and look at what we’ve done in our lanes it’s
It’s been amazing because I’ve certainly kept up with everything that you’ve been doing and it’s funny I brag like I’ll name drop the Cameron hes yeah man I know Cameron sh man we go way back you know and so it’s it’s really cool and um and so I’ve heard kind of things you
Said about me too and so it’s it’s kind of cool to look back and think about that that that we’ve almost around the same time period started getting this opportunity MH and yet how humble we were but exactly the same like when I watch what you do you can see the
Confidence in both of us but there’s there’s this humility as well uh whether she running a marathon or or or you know toing a deer out you know I’m sitting there thinking I know I know Cameron can get a truck closer but I just know Cameron enough to know it’s like why you
Know I’m going to I did this and I’m going to get this sucker out my way and and U and I love that and so uh inevitably man I I don’t know I guess blessed is the best way I can come up with it man we’ve been pretty pretty
Blessed to be in this space so long so lucky it’s uh but you I just know like being out here out west and then you in the in the South there I would I would see what you’re doing and everybody else was seeing it too because what happens
In probably IND any industry is when somebody has success people are like okay that’s a blueprint so what I saw when I say you change an industry you changed how hunting TV it was it was a bunch of just regular guys hunting and then then you brought this personality
And then I saw a lot of people like oh I got to be like him and you you know you can’t be like somebody right you’re like yourself they’re like them if if you got the it Factor not very many people have the it Factor so I
Saw a lot of people you know trying to to smoke that joke or trying to do come up with the like you said the on liners right to you it was just natural never thought about it I I I didn’t even mean to say you practice in the mirror no
Never never man I uh you’re right though it’s like man I look back even I look back on some of that even now I like man what a goofball what why did I say that what did what was I thinking but as you know when you hunt or you achieve a goal who
Knows what you’re going to say it’s it’s it’s it’s almost like uh it’s like you know with the NFL players when they score a touchdown I’m convinced that some of those athletes going to look back at those dances they did in the end zone is like that was so dumb and so I
Did it so many times just with animals or be there with a buddy and and like I mean I if I could have athletically done a backflip I would have probably back back flipped all the way to some of these elk you know but I was just I
Don’t know I was just uh young having fun and in reality I think that’s it you know you kind of keep a youthful energy and my my theory too what and I I can’t say I always thought this way but when I saw s the success of road trips is it
Hit me I was like wait a minute we are videoing and putting content out there you know at the time on a linear Network that like you said you had to tune in 9:00 you couldn’t record it unless you knew how to set the VC are right um you
Know it was kind of like us watching Dukes of Hazard and Dallas back in the day you had to be there be sitting right there and so uh inevitably in my mind I remember one thing I got to thinking is like wait a minute we do have to form
Some type of entertainment whether it’s in humor whether it’s in ability to shoot whether it’s in the footage that we get whether it is uh you know literally me trying to follow you up the mountain knowing that I can’t keep up you know and and and and US laughing
About it and you end up having to tote me up I mean so in my mind none of it was fake but it was just real Adventures of young men at the time which now we’re close and age now we’re grown men but we’re still having fun like a kid so now
That’s my idea is the entertainment is it’s just it’s like one Huckleberry fan and Tom sawer you know Excursion and I think that’s certainly uh you when I look at especially you know you and Joe hunt a lot Rogan you can still see that
You see grown men who got a lot on their shoulders but that moment in time you chase an elk is serious but you become a 12year old yeah and you’re laughing and you’re saying things and you’re fired up you make a good shot it’s real it’s real
It’s so much of life is you’re putting on an act I don’t know want to say everybody but a lot of people put on an act I have to you know because you want to just whatever it’s just how it works but it’s so real in the woods in the
Mountains you know it’s just like you’re hunting if you’re sharing that with somebody you have a share a common goal it means so much to us and then we have a new whatever buddy or somebody you’re exposing it to or somebody maybe who just shares those same the same passions
You do but uh yeah it’s like there’s no there’s no more real time than when you’re in the mountains or in the woods like where you are and I I do somebody did leave a oh yeah so this ties into this how can you how can men find
Friendship like Rogan Haynes or a Brotherhood you know calling your the uh Bone Collector Brotherhood I know you’ve said that a lot and to me I would say the reason why that Bond happens is because it’s so real have you experienced that 100% matter of fact uh
To a point that I do think as we are Manchild that’s my wife she calls all of us and all my friends uh she said y’all just a bunch of man children and I said wait a minute that’s the best compliment you could give us I mean it’s not like
We’re shucking responsibility we all have homes and business businesses and things to manage however um you’re right I I think when you get out and you hunt and you just enjoy the outdoors camps campfires um when we look around and and you know I was admiring uh here in this
You know this podcast room I was admiring all your trophies and uh and as I was looking through the trophies I saw you know picture you and I in 2004 yeah well well similar to this room I have a a trophy room and some of my favorite
Animals and uh and I have some pictures and different things and uh and I got to think I like man what’s more important these styrofest are these pictures and these relationships these stories and these fun times and how do we get it and so all of it the animal is certainly a
Challenge but I do think sometimes the hunting industry misses that Brotherhood part of it if you’re just one-dimensionally Desiring a huge animal um and I think that um we’re seeing it more and more in a world uh that that’s that’s so connected you can also get disconnected so there’s nothing better
Than to just go on a hunt like we we were talking about all the things we like you know whether it’s elk hunting or squirrel hunting there’s really nothing that really that I could think that we could go do it might be an animal that you know we could say hey
Man let’s all get to call Rogan and I’ll call Blake Shelton and what let’s get ranella and let’s all go musx hunting well we might all be like a musox okay that’s all Tom morand Hunt them and Jim shaki but but immediately the reason we’d want
To go is like dude can you imagine all of us together and the and the jokes the sarcasm the seriousness the talks about family um The Journey the sharing every the all the whole part of it not just the kill yes and you almost forget that
You didn’t even mention the kill you you don’t even mention the kill and and at the end of it because we do have confident in our ability to shoot our bows or our ability to you know whatever it is we’re hunting it takes a back seat
And so it took me a little while to truly understand that but it was early into that road trips where I look back and I’m like oh my goodness nobody nobody even um I think the biggest compliment I ever got um is the fact that nobody even really knows what I’ve
Shot like you know it was talking about elk and uh you know or animals or they’ll say you know man whatever when you going to hunt public ground cuz they look at us as just kind of slapstick and having fun myself Nick and t-one and I’m
Thinking man all of my big El could come from public ground but I never talked about hunting the public ground it was just some stupid something Nick mut was doing around a campfire or dressed up like Elvis and going to the local cafe and being deer tracker and so that’s
What we highlighted more and so in reality you’re not even thinking about the animal shop you’re thinking about uh man them guys are either crazy or maybe they don’t like us or maybe it would be fun to hang in Camp and through that you create a
Brotherhood and and I see that with you and your friends uh that you hunt with religiously and and everybody’s got a different vibe everybody’s got a different threshold of excitement and seriousness and some people can be over the top some people can kind of stay very you know serious with with the hunt
And uh and for me I kind of like it all I like to not know where that where it’s going to take me I like the challenge um as you do to you know maybe maybe I’m going to walk a 100 yards today but that 100 yards might turn into 10 miles and
I’m thinking holy cow why didn’t I not start running with Cameron when he invited me you know why didn’t I pump some iron with him why did I not now I’m sitting over here this Swiss Co cake roll leader and I’m like oh my God I’m huffing and puffing but I didn’t know
That Journey was going to take me that far that day so so so I sometimes you set out and you never know where Venture is going to take you but through it all you come back and you’re really talking about your friends and think about what
We were doing last night at dinner with your wife and family we’re talking about all these relationships I I I thought about it when I was going to bed we didn’t even talk about what we had shot I didn’t ask you like Cameron how was your year last year what did you shoot
It was like dude how was this how was that well tell me about this how’s this going and we’re catching up on old times but talking about the new stuff but it was mostly relationships so uh yeah our our biggest trophy room is the people we’ve met in the Brotherhood of of men
And women that we’ve had a chance to be in Camp with I think yeah yeah I I definitely do too um I had I did want to read something so I was I did a little Wikipedia type search and it’s like well what came also was like Michael W’s net
Worth which I’m not going to say that because who know those things are crazy I mean I don’t I read some crazy stuff about me but I did like this part it says one of the questions was and I don’t know if this AI I don’t know where
These articles come from but I like this it says M what sets Michael Adell apart from other hunting personalities and this is what they said on there Waddell’s authenticity passion and storytelling ability set him apart from others in the hunting industry his ability to connect and uh God I can’t even read my
Writing yeah on a personal level combined with his expertise has made him a beloved figure so that yeah that I mean and that’s spoton because like that’s what I saw I remember going to the shows and you guys you know would have this line but you created this
Brand that’s another tangent I want to go on is we started off in this industry and we were like man at first it was like I remember i’ I got a letter from nap and they were going to send me some broadheads and a hat I was just like God
Yeah free exact this is free and then you start getting a little money and then you’re like oh wait this is we we just do this cuz we love it and then all of a sudden you see that there’s value in what we do and and you know we’re if
You’re got a businessman mindset it’s not taken away from what we love but it’s just like put you look through different lens and so you have all these attributes what make you special and stand out and then how did The Bone Collector thing come about because man
It was like again this is from the outside I’m on the west you’re in the South and just say that people dreamed of being Michael Adell cuz you were having fun you were you were you know uh I don’t know just just just everybody want to be your buddy it seemed like
Nobody wants to be me because I’m out here running a million miles a day and they’re just like no that sucks but I I could be this guy so how did that whole journey translate into Bone Collector and oh the point I was going to make was
I would see Bone Collector on freaking everything you just like your vision B blew up tell me about that it it was crazy because like I say when you when you go back to when you and I kind of broke into industry um obviously you was
An editor uh writing you was you was already running and and doing that that type of stuff or as Fitness however that was before it was super cool well same with kind of outdoor TV as I was making it no nothing was really personality based I would say the reason we had to
Make a personality Bas is because we didn’t really have a budget so if if everybody was going to then need this Ranch to hunt deer in South Texas um we would get to do that maybe you know once every once in a while but it might because of money because of money
Expensive because it’s a premium hunt premium hunts cost correct money cost money or just to travel to get there so so David Blandon who is uh worked at realy he was a producer our show at the time was on TNN which becomes Spike TV which evolved into realy Outdoors was on
Um uh become es on ESPN realtor Outdoors and so what so it just when Outdoor Channel was coming on so it was David blandon’s idea like hey wadell why don’t you do a show over here or we should do a show I wasn’t signed up to try to host
It but it would come road trips and I explained this idea because every time I was around a camp whether it was outdoor writers uh I remember early on Jim shaki coming to some of those camps and people like Larry we soon and country singers I remember like Dale Earnhart coming we’d
Hunt with him and we would do these shows and they were good but um I do remember like as soon as we turn those big beta cameras off and turn the lights off campfire all of a sudden there’s D Dale Earnhart the Intimidator you know sipping on a little whiskey or drinking
A cold beer out of a solo cup and Mark Chestnut playing Hank Jr and my I’m I’m a 22y old kid and my head’s exploding like oh my God I just had a chance to hang all week and there’s Li Larry weisson talking about rattling and you
Know they’ be Jim zumbo and these legendary writers yeah and literally I was just freaking out but I remember thinking because uh we’re not covering all this stuff we’re not videoing so that kind of was born the idea of of real Tre road trips kind of behind the scenes behind the scenes
And two so but with that it wasn’t like the the the number one thing was what could we go shoot in the trophy animals um it was it was it could be like hey go frog giging why don’t you want don’t you call Cameron haes and y’all go frog
Gigging well we could have a lot of fun so it was based and derived that it had to have some entertainment otherwise it wouldn’t survive just on the the animal itself even though we ended up really being successful on some pretty big animals elk and moose and different
Things however so anyway through road trips that success was there but they become an immediate I would say I wouldn’t say rub but but a problem and um you and I talked about this a little bit and and and I was working at real tree well then I started having
Opportunities you know people would say hey can you come over and help do this or hey man we’ll pay you we’ll pay you three grand if you’ll come over here and do a commercial for our furniture store I mean like it was from everything we’ll give you a truck if you’ll if you’ll
Come by and do this this and this and I’m like oh my God you know like you and I both talked about the humility and can’t believe it like when you talk about nap selling your broadheads I remember Ron Brothers game call sent me turkey calls and I’m like I feel like I
Should meet chicks like I got free turkey calls baby you know what I mean I know I’m kind of a big deal yeah it’s like I’m Hollywood baby it’s like you know and um and so anyway it was it was odd and I think that’s when it hit me uh
And I think that for me a roller coaster ride changed to where I’m thinking wow I become pretty famous through this show I wasn’t I didn’t seek this just trying to create something cool for the culture with an opportunity given me at real tree but I wasn’t making any money and I
Was gone I I I had a failed marriage I had a young kid um you know I I wasn’t being the best person I could be probably out on the road cuz you you know anytime a little Fame and opportunity comes um you get every Temptation thrown at you so I’m out
There and having fun with my friends and and and trying to make make sense of it but then literally man I was making you know $30 $40,000 a year which I’m not saying that ain’t good money for getting a chance to hunt but I’m looking and man
There’s a big Under Armour poster you know in Las Vegas and I’m proud of it but I quickly started getting kind of sick of it because I had to even go through a a policy um if it something had my name on it I still had to go
Through a corporate policy to figure out if that product could be sent to me through the corporate structure at real Tre man and so if I wanted to go do say the Dixie dear classic or the Western hunting Expo and they wanted to pay me
To a seminar I was only allowed to do three of those a year to get paid so I was kind of micromanaged so I realized that it wasn’t that the people at real tree were being mean it was just a corporation yeah and what they let me do
They had to let the person in the warehouse do the secretary and so well not necessarily not necessarily yeah cuz I cuz I remember arguing that actually with with Bill and some of the managers are like look man I know I know the guy in the warehouse has got a landscaping
Business I’m still going to wear a real Stree hat and so bill so bill was really cool with that but finally it was Bill said Michael you know you you can’t go get paid by Bush L to go doing a Cabella appearance or Cabellas can’t pay you to
Do something we use you as a tool in this show and what we’re doing is marketing for real tree and so you’re an ambassador for real tree and and so it just become kind of odd and different and so in reality that’s where Bone Collector came from is I said man I got
To kind of go out on my own uh real Tre and I had some really deep talks never never really ever separated uh because I was very loyal and and I think I think too not not to keep comparing our personalities because we obviously have
Our different Lanes but I saw that too I mean you you worked at the water company for how long yeah uh you look around and the same companies that when I met you you’re still working with them I am too I mean me and you’ve been with Hoy how
Many years yeah good people they’ve been good to us but you know we’re loyal and if you look a lot of people think ah they don’t do nothing unless it’s just about big dollars this it’s not true relationships mean a lot we do have to make a living but in this case I
Realized I had a lot of opportunity going away and how much do you get a chance to to be in the son so I was trying to keep my humility and be humble and not think I was something big but I also knew that I couldn’t be away from
My family and see my personal life just completely spiral out of control because in reality you can’t compare a hunting industry to say mainstream but I was doing as much as I could you know if you’re there for two hours and you’re signing autographs and you had a booth
You only can get to so many people and so in my mind I’m thinking man I’m overwhelmed and broke and so Bone Collector was something I was like man I’m hustling man I’m everywhere across the country you’re hustling you should be rewarded for that work is work I I
Was it seem it seems like it’s not in a ditch digging but it’s work I mean you’re sacrificing you said you sacrificed a marriage you had you you know didn’t have you weren’t being rewarded with money so it’s like no is exactly right and and I was I was being
Rewarded with my work and and having the comments and the people shaking my hands like thank you is yeah you know watching your shows like being in our hunting camp we do this up in PA or we do this down in Southern Alabama you know I’d go
Out west and you man even the Western Hunters like dude you guys are funny man we’d love to have out here chasing me deer with us and uh and it was it was so cool but uh and again I I can’t you know completely bring my career on a lot of
My failures but when you’re in the mix and you’re focused and I’ve always said um you know you can’t focus primarily to make something great and and focus on this there’s something that’s going to start failing or falling behind yeah so something that’s an asset to you you
Know you you you you’ll become a liability to something else that needs your responsibility and you can’t be great at everything no you so if if you’re the leader of the industry you’re changing industry you’re great at that you can’t be great at I mean I you know
You see the great athletes out there the Jordan and the Brady it’s like they were great at what they did probably Jordan’s probably not getting dad of the Year husband of the Year probably you know because best friend of the year you’re yeah it’s just like you’re focused on
Your goal and for some people they might think oh well that’s you know why would you be so tunnel visioned it’s just like because that’s how the brain works when you’re driven for something like this you’re right and yeah so I I totally understand what you’re saying it and I
Struggle with all that the the emotional part of it um like I said it that part of it was tough for me and so you know for a Bone Collector I was like man I got got to do something and uh and actually the first company I really
Talked to um I had a chance to work with a company uh Gander Mountain had the stores they wanted to do some stuff and they were trying to get more people in their store so had a chance to do a deal with them that was financially lucrative
And then I sat down with the people at uh Thompson Center and um where Bone Collector was really born they wanted to do a a Michael wadell Edition muz loader and ironically enough I didn’t really do a lot of muzer hunting um cuz you know I
Love to bow hunt I love one and um but at the same time I’m like man I’m trying to make me some cheddar I’m trying to make some cheddar and I remember we shooting this gun on the Range and we’d spent two days uh up in their factories
And looking and they were showing me all these new frames of guns and we went out there and shot these guns and um and I said man I just don’t want to I don’t know that I want to call it the Michael wadell Edition I said you know maybe
That’ll be a little shallow maybe I in my mind I don’t know why it come to my mind I’m thinking Jim shocky would never shoot a Michael W El musz loader you know in my mind I kept thinking I don’t know why I thought of Jim um because you
Know he’s a personality he’s kind of alpha dude and he was with Thompson Center too right he was with Thompson Center and um and at the same time you know they had the Encore and all these guns and so I I remember I told Greg
Ritz at the time who who was working or I think he might have owned the company I said man I I don’t I don’t want to call this gun to Mad Edition and they said man it’s the easiest deal to sell and um so I’m shooting this gun I said
But this is the gun this thing is so freaking accurate I said I don’t know we call it but it’s damn show going to be a Bone Collector and um and then it hit me I was like oh my God why don’t we call it the Bone Collector and that ain’t
Necessarily Michael wadell but Bone Collector is a cool name of a gun that may be my friends in the industry because another thing psychology I realize and and and I saw this uh with you and your success a lot of friends that you have that are real close with
You all of a sudden when your opportunity comes and maybe you break through and you starting to get public attention corporations attention to where they are wanting to pay you to come do this to do that I noticed in the industry some of my better friends started not invite didn’t want me around
And I’m like what did I do I didn’t do nothing yeah and and it hit me it you won it yes it hit me harder I literally would be somewhere and I’d have a huge public uh kind of fan base of people I could hang with and party with but I
Couldn’t go like man why ain’t I where why didn’t they call me they all went to dinner mhm and and it’s almost like they almost told me I never told them that they were frustrated with maybe my success I don’t know if it was Envy or
Jealousy and it took a toll on me psychology because I didn’t understand it and um I think I could set back you know from a from a high perspective and see that in your case sometimes is like you know you was over here editing doing this like how is oh Cameron’s going to
Run a little bit now he’s working out so I remember Cameron when he was this I remember I had a lot of that I remember what when he couldn’t afford this or that and so uh I I know I’m rambling going a bunch of different directions
But Bone Collector to me was trying to figure out how to harness opportunity I was learning business and trying to figure out I understood the licensing business from real Tre right and so that’s what it was but I realized that I couldn’t do it um by myself and so
That’s where the Nick M the T-bone Turner came and then also where our I was also looking for somebody I thought that had one uh fun crazy we love them encamp personality but also legitimacy in their field you mean obviously T-Bone has never scaled a mountain I mean from
When he was a kid to to now but man he he reminded me a lot of being at the bow rack I he could set that they had still be over there him and way still be talking like we we would not have got T-Bone and them separated yeah from the
Bow rack last night night oh it’s an art working on those bows and those guys are they’re like so good they’re like you know picassos you know when it comes to that and uh and Nick was a he was a guy out west he’s from the west and just
Funny almost a Jim Carrey type of personality and so I thought man these guys would be perfect to be able to help me with this and and I could I could figure out a way to help them financially and and and help them also secure some endorsements and to work and
To go help some other companies that I knew that they was needing these things and so that’s really where Bone Collector came from and I quickly after thinking that we should call that muzlo or Bone Collector I remember calling the guys at Thompson Center like look guys I
Still want to call it Bone Collector but I think there might be something bigger I’d like to maybe do a TV show and so I went and literally got it trademarked and thought that that could be our show and I also was so so hard wanting to create something bigger than just you
Know Michael wadel I wanted it to be you know kind of like Bill had real tree or our you know uh Phil what Phil who he’s got Nike I was trying I was Phil Knight has Nike I was trying to you know K and those guys had Under Armour so in my
Mind seeing all this I was that was my attempt to yeah think I was a businessman but it was fun but it also got out of hand too because like anytime you get something you know it’s easy for it to get prostituted out a little bit
It got a little off the track because people were I had a lot of people coming in and had some bad situations bad business and so now I finally kind of getting back to really understand it all and have no regrets but uh it it’s definitely been a ride it’s been a cool
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Takes a lot out of my brain power which I feel like Ketone IQ actually helps with Ketone IQ is a clean energy boost without caffeine or sugar it increases your blood Ketone I’m not on a keto diet but by taking Ketone IQ I can achieve the desired focused and energy for
Explosive workouts that ketones typically provide those in ketosis you can find Ketone IQ at your local Sprouts or online at hmn.com and use code camcam for 20% off your first order your story there reminded me of uh when you talk about your friends or the people
Close to you I remember it was thanks giving day and I saw this article I still love magazines article but from one of my friends had one of my spot hog sites and and it you know Seven Deadly pens and it had my name on the side of
It and they had blacked out my name this this my buddy from you know that we hunted together and I was just I called him and I’m like what’s this about and it was just like I still remember that it wasn’t I know that site I sh I I shot that I was
Telling you I shot that site had seven pin I kind of bit inward yeah yeah yeah and and so that that wasn’t this house it wasn’t the house I lived up before this was years ago and I still remember how that felt and I’m like I thought I
Thought we wanted each other to win correct and I’m like it was weird but that’s where the competition comes in and in hunting and just men in general are competitive with each other so there’s going to be that I I get that that’s fine that’s cool that’s that’s
Actually fun I’ve been competing my whole life so I’m good with that but I thought we wanted each other to win I mean you can still compete and still everybody win so that was that was weird for me and then I think part of like a
Lot of and I can’t speak for you may maybe you can address this but a lot of like after that or there’s a period in there where I wanted to win just to prove people wrong it’s like oh you you [ __ ] doubted me okay let’s see what
You think of this I love it and then you know once we get older then it’s just like okay now I want then I wanted everybody to win Rogan kind of taught me this there’s enough cake for everyone but there’s a period there where yeah I
Was like against everyone I I I don’t disagree with you it’s it’s so strange uh I don’t even think I realize this and obviously we here talking about it but you know prior to us having this official time to be on the collective together um we talked a little bit about
That just catching up cuz man I hadn’t had chance to really see you in a while you know we’d run at each other I’d always every time I’d see camera I remember my thing was cuz you was doing I’d always jump down and do a couple push-ups and people would laugh and then
We’d hug and you know You’ have a line of people and and um ju just kind of sticking with my personality and our relationship and uh and so inevitably I I I did learn the same way uh Cameron on competition and and I’m still competitive man so highly competitive
But I’m also uh now I I I definitely have a lot of uh I the word ain’t empathy but but I want everybody to win I mean I I do believe in the you know the tide raises All Ships and so when now when I see something and I like it
It’s somebody Young on YouTube and I’ve kind of always had that but they was always a really competitive side of me like I see them coming on yeah what are they going to take for me I might to shoot a little longer shot or I might to
I might go back and win another championship in Turkey Colin or maybe for you is like I’m going to go show them I I’ll win another Marathon or strong man whatever it is and so U yeah me and you s share that same Spirit
There um but I tell you I I will say in end the biggest thing I did learn through the success is I think you meet every I’d always kind of thought you met your friends at the bottom like in the toughest times which um I I think there
Is some truth to that but I kind of learned you meet some of your better friends kind of at the top the ones that have the security to celebrate you the ones when you can call and say you’re not going to believe this deal and contract I got kind of like an NFL
Player who maybe just signed with the Patriots Yeah there’s only a handful of friends you can say you’re not going to believe this they’re going to pay me this for this amount of years and they’re going to allow me to do this this and this for somebody you know
Outside of your family that you can call and they literally are so emotionally excited for you that they’ like get your butt over here we’re about to eat a rib by steak and drank a cold beer congratulations um I learned that those were people who really loved you and
Really were very excited not because of maybe the money because they know you enough to know that this was something that you either didn’t see coming or a goal that you always had whether it’s killing a big elk but you see the shade you know you can go kill a giant elk
Watch the first people say must be easy on a Farm Ranch you know must be must be easy with a new bow must be easy must be nice yeah must I love it I love it must be nice exactly must be nice mhm and um and I’m thinking where have we got to
Where it’s just so incredibly hard to say congratulations yeah good good job good job buddy you accomplished the goal and uh so anyway uh no I agree with you 100% man and it’s an odd journey I think for me it was very awkward I I I was
Blindsided by knowing that that part of it would come I did not know that I I thought I thought friends you know I thought I could come to a friend and say you ain’t going to believe it dude man I just killed a one 80 and man I got
$10,000 last week yeah they paid me $115,000 for the Dixie dear classic me come hang out and do a seminar and talk about turkeys yeah and I thought people like you kidding me dude I I really thought that’s what it’s going to be like like an eighth grader talking about
You know s Sarah Sarah Check Yes in the Box yeah and and now all of a sudden like well you know yeah won’t y’all going over there we’re going over here and need the pizza that’s all we can afford I’m like bro I didn’t mean to
That it’s weird that’s I you know when I think about the the people who’ve always had my back not always but Roy definitely got me started bow hunting always believed in me and then Joe like if I say you know he wrote the forward to my book which act which changed the
Trajectory of the success of that book because my Advance was going to be here and I said oh by the way Joe Rogan said he’d do the forward it’s here like yeah like $200,000 because just cuz he said that and he so he says that he’s just as
Happy as I am I know that for a fact he might even be happier and so and I feel like I’ve had that like when I see somebody succeed now I’m like I’m just I’m just as happy as them yes or you take somebody hunting and they they
Succeed and you’re you know you want it as as B more than they want it and so but I’ve I’ve you know I’ve been the guy who was jealous of others MH and it’s just not to be I I think this Arc that we’re on it’s been you start in one
Place nobody believes in you you can’t you know you can’t believe you got this opportunity then you deal with the hate and then you’re like man this is how blessed are we but that comes with maturity no doubt and and and you don’t lose that uh competitive spirit and like
You say I’ve always thought there’s a fine line between say confidence and maybe arrogance or Cockiness and and humility but at the end of the day it’s it’s almost like a very confident humility um you know I think you and I both have possessed that it’s like you
Know you know we we’re like very thankful and blessed like oh well where’s the Finish Line yeah who who do I got to beat you know and um and yet you know you you kind of understand what you are good at and what you’re not and
You understand your lanes and um and I think that’s just it you know uh and for me I’ve learned how to really celebrate the people that that go in these Lanes but but it’s very similar just like you was talking about road trips you’re right I remember looking back and I’d be
Sitting there watching outdoor programming and somebody like man this is a freak nasty or I hammered him and one is it made me feel stupider that I said that but I even felt more Goofy for the guy who said it who kind of ripped
It and now I I mean I saw me you were natural they were trying you know you can tell when somebody’s trying too hard that’s what I kept seeing is like people wanted to be like you and it’s just like you’re not like wadell that and that was
Odd for me but then likewise I’ve seen it where where you know what you do in the fitness and health which it it should be you know what you do is inspirational people should want to get out and take care ofs and run and be in
Shape but then you’ll see the same type of yeah vibe to where wait a minute this guy ain’t sincere about this this ain’t Cameron this this guy is this guy’s trying to be that but it would be similar to me to saying wait a minute I’ve always said goofy stuff and had fun
And hunting camp and been laughing and cutting up me and Cameron friends but I think I need to I’m going to be I’m I’m going to start taking a rock up a mountain like Cameron you know where where if you look at our relationship I
Love it like I’ll read and if it ever comes up you and I there was one guy it was on a radio show or podcast something somebody said dude I’ve heard comments said man Cameron Haynes could he would eat your lunch elk hunting I said
Absolutely not I said if you look at my waistline I’m the guy that eats camera Cameron’s lunch I said matter of fact said I probably I said me and the Cameron don’t um El [ __ ] as much together because he don’t pack what I
Like to pack in a in a in in a lunch and they just got to laughing because they got the they got the joke and I said no I said dude C that ain’t that ain’t Cameron and I’s relationship I said you know Cameron and I would have probably
Some of the funnest time elk hunting I said because you would combine the two skill sets and my God nothing would be safe Cameron could run around to the back side of mountain go up the top and look and you know I’m a caller by nature and kind kind of philosophical I said
You combine the two of us man it might be illegal to hunt those elk yeah seriously I said but it would just be a lot of fun and and I said in in reality I said but that’s no we we understand Lanes we understand what we’re good at
And uh and that’s what a lot of people I think is insecure they don’t understand that their biggest blessing is who they are right and they can’t be secure with that they feel like it’s got to be something more if I can be like this person be like that and there’s nothing
Better to be inspired cuz I mean I have a lot of people that inspired me you know we we we was mentioning Chuck Adams and yeah some of these people that that uh when we were kids watching these outdoor shows and we was talking about
Even the UFC the Hoist graci and I it’s like they all inspired us all but we still us you know and and thinking of that too I can’t I was just going to say that you know I’ve I’ve read captions or read things and I’m like man did I write
This is this no it’s this guy but these are all the things I’ve said it’s like I thought I wrote it right so and then I was thinking like I was going to throw shade on that you know for you know trying to mimic what I do or whatever
But then I think back because you just mentioned it on Chuck Adams miles Keller yeah um Jim shaki even I would do what they did I wanted to be like them I mean miles Keller would never smile he had an XI Legend bow I got an XI I think Mark
Garcia was at XI at this time and I was like trying to get a bow um Jim sh had the bandana I got kills pictures up old pictures of here with bandana cuz I shock was the man um so I mean I have emulated a lot of people too and then to
Your point you kind of find your lane and then you’re not trying to be like other people if you want success you’re like the best version of yourself yes and nobody can mimic that and that’s where you have success but I think when you’re young you’re trying to figure out
Where to go you are trying to figure it out it’s funny I saw a picture of me uh I was this chubby little redneck kid and I had a had a deer and I had a a green tobogan on or you know hat like Chuck
Absolutely he was my hero I had them dou x78 and I read every article and those was the Super slams right the super slams that’s right and you could get those East and Autumn orange and oh man and you could get those uh I think it was was it American what was American
The cheaper which you can buy them in onesies like Mar Burl oh the arrows yeah like an American Eagle I think it was I would get the G twos or just a cheapap was like 217s I remember getting those 243s and just again just feel like I need to put
It in my window of my truck and show people that old Martin Pro Eliminator riding around back there like girl I’m rich you know but uh God it’s amazing man I I love it though fun stuff to talk about what uh what picture of Chuck if you think of Chuck Adams what picture
Comes to mind of his mine is that big brown bear me too is it really yeah the one on Kodiak and he’s s and I remember reading it they he said it might have been 1400 lb or something like that and he’s got his his bow sitting there and
He had you know the big I don’t know what era 23 14s maybe but uh that picture I was just like what kind of animal is this it’s just like a prehistoric it looked like yeah and that’s a picture of PA you can see those yeah and the Clause the claw coming out
And it’s like that if I think of Chuck Adams I think of that and yeah I also remember reading articles about him I’ve talked about this too it’s like one thing that that I’m very passionate about is celebrating the history of of archery and bow hunting yeah because it
Kind of pains my heart and this probably all old [ __ ] say [ __ ] like this but it’s that people younger guys right now might not even know Fred Bear Chuck Adams some of these Legends in our sport like you know if you say Chuck Adams I’d
Be like who well you mean I know Chris B you know that’s right yeah or like a like like you mentioned miles Keller I mean you talking about Og man miles had that blonde hair just never smiled looked like he just got out of prison St
He went and killed giant white tail he had that look he did yeah and and so it it kind of it’s it hurts a little bit that the history isn’t celebrated as much um so I try to do that here sometimes I just read articles or old
Books like had life at full draw that I talked about here Chuck’s book that that I absolutely loved I think GRE Greg gell wrote that one but uh yeah that the history of it um so and you mentioned this earlier you keep track of like the younger guys coming up who who catches
Your attention um there’s actually a lot um there’s a lot that even I don’t even watch a lot but I like what they’re doing because they are creating a lane like uh the hunting public guys uh I’ve seen they’ve had a lot of success they seem to be celebrating that U I don’t
Know not necessarily the biggest animal but just what I think is really relevant and is that Brotherhood of fun just you know let’s go hunt some public ground get some V sausage and you know some whatever what you can find at a little local convenience store and go camp and
Go chase some stuff uh uh the seek one guy seem to be doing a a really good job of of understanding how to bring some entertainment yet still shoot some uh trophies um there’s some new stuff I like Cody Robbins the the guy you know he’s doing some cool stuff up in Canada
There there’s quite a few but I would say now you know if you look at some of these you know I guess if you want to call it influencer social media YouTube uh you know you look at what outdoor channel is that Dynamic has changed
There is a my outdoor TV app which you can download which is unbelievable you can go watch anything you want to Anytime and there’s all kind of cool archives of hunt but you know there’s a lot of the the newer generation producing stuff on YouTube so anyway I
Think there’s a lot out there but with that said said I I am a little concerned as you are and I’ve often thought maybe I’m just an old coder and I’m you know I’m getting to be that granddaddy you know older uncle just like got to say something negative yeah and I’m trying
To keep that positive energy and Vibe going but then I’m like I I don’t and maybe this is uh the fact that you know at heart you’re a writer um at heart I got my first outdoor entertainment through Reading articles and so I don’t know if something sinks in when you read
Something to where you become a bitter student of it now everything’s moving so fast that I think sometimes we got so much that it’s too much and there’s a saying you less is more I think in our time there was a little less but equaled more passion and more of a student of
The game and I do look at our generation we were students you know I know miles Keller I know back and forth it broke my heart when no feather was killing those deer in a fence you know in a pen and and he was my hero but I can name so
Many names I mean b folk Rod Roger Raglin who I still adore man just a again personality funny as crap and good um but inevitably I don’t know if I necessarily see as exactly the way we went about it to where to me when I look back in
Turkey Callin and I think of Dick Kirby or the Paul bukies or I think about what toxy Hayes accomplished in camouflage and Bill Jordan and camouflage I have so much respect and I and I hope that we don’t lose that history of respect it’s not like me or you or anybody that might
Be in this that needs a certain respect or just but I think to be deep rooted in something you got to know a little bit of the history and be a student of it there’s no way you can ever play the game of basketball and not understand it
Was a Michael Jordan or a Dr J or Dominic Wilkins how do you play hockey and not know a Wayne Gretzky or think about NASCAR and lose the legendary status of a Dell Earnhart and you know Bobby Lebon whoever it might be be and so um feel like a little bit of that
Loss they don’t know and I think people should study up they should read the uh Memoirs of Fred Bear they should go read life at full draw by Chuck Adams you know they should go read you know your book you know the the first you know when you was talking about backwood you
Know back country you know hunting they should read that book you know I did a book was it in 2006 or S you know life lessons from booger bottom it’ll tell you a lot about our road and what it was then where it is now but where they’re at now
Is going to be different 20 years from now 20 years from now so um I was going to say I was going to mention how do you see today we can reach everybody social media is available to everybody Hunters have for many years we preach to the
Choir if you’re in outdoor life if you’re in Peterson’s bow hunting if you’re in Bow Hunter magazine you’re you’re talking to Bow Hunters you’re writing for bow Hunters if you’re on Outdoor Channel that’s for hunters correct you know no no anti-hunters watching Outdoor Channel how do you see
It now where is it an opportunity for us to share what we love in our lifestyle or is it going to be the death of hunting because we can’t figure out yeah how to share it to where people who don’t understand it aren’t appalled and
Want to do all they can to end murdering animals how how do you see that sweet spot of growing what we love sharing what we love or ruining what we love yeah I think it could go either way and I think it has gone both ways to be
Honest um I think it gets back to what we were talking about some of the the envy and jealousy and the frustration whether they see somebody else have a success I’m still that way a little bit you know I’m a big elk Hunter like this
Year was the first year in 22 years that I did not kill a elk with my bow and I mean I stayed after him the whole month of September I just couldn’t catch a break I mean I was where were you I went to Oregon out uh out by uh oh heck it
Was at starky unit awesome elk hunting it was good not not giant Bulls but a lot of them and uh I went to uh I went out to Utah um and just had a tremendous amount of fun but could not just just I had a couple shots at 80 and looking
Back I should have shot I just but it was one of those things like I don’t I don’t mind shooting there but it’s like spo’s bugling he’s coming a little closer that that he’s gone but um but in Ely you know what am I doing you know
I’m sitting there when I’m on the mountain looking at Instagram seeing somebody kill a big H and I’m like you know so I’m want this like where was this must be nice you know I want to put you you know the must be nice on there
Um but inevitably I think we somehow got to unify a little bit and I think what we got to do too is is understand that what we love in our passion in our lanes whether it’s uh you know like me I love turkey hunting I I I told you I got
Where I I love uh listen to the podcast you did with new about uh squirrel hunting and he was talking about bear hunting and stuff like that that was interesting cuz I got where I love squirrel dogs love trapping and so um I love archery but I also am
Not the guy that’s going to sit there and say well you’re a [ __ ] if you ever pick up a gun or you’re this or that it’s almost like I would rather lead people to what I love through the love and and desire of it um I I think that
Can be said in Fitness it can be S with that in anything you know it’s like if somebody sees you having positive energy and if it is you know taking that rock up the mountain sooner or later somebody’s going to say man there’s some sincerity in that that that gives him a
A certain Vibe and meaning um hunting does that uh working out can do that um you know you know your Love Of Christ can do that there’s so many things your family and I think sometimes the hunting industry cannot get out of the way of their own self this industry because
We’re all trying to battle each other right or or jump on a certain bandwagon and in reality how it wins is if we all just attack it this way if if if if if inevitably if I’m looking at this as a football team I was like wait a minute
Cameron Haynes we can get Cameron okay we got that covered MH W’s up for draft okay we got the cliches and the goofball sayans after he shoots something he you know he can definitely cut a few jokes and camp and then hey man we hear that you know Blake Shelton signed up he’s
Working in hunting industry well if you can’t have phun Blake Shelton you’re probably you know not breathing air and then you start looking at it that way look at look at where we’re reaching and unify that and so a lot of times people in my mind in the hunting industry we’re
Trying to force feed or change legislative laws to say well you can’t do this or you can’t do that and I don’t think that’s the wrong approach I think we can win if we do a good job promoting what we love and whoever does the best
Job of it is going to take that you know element whether it’s archery whether it’s Fitness whether it’s a campfire and a good old cigar and a little glass of bourbon drinking an oldfashioned and telling stories about the family and weather it can go so many different directions and what you’ll find is
There’s no area that’s wrong right and and I think that’s where the industry goes wrong they will see a certain Vibe and then they all try to jump on that Vibe let’s just all live we can live together that’s what I get excited about
Is to know you know when I’m over and my son was in college and they their kids that are over there hunting and they’re asking me about the hunting public guys and you m well it’d be easy to say well them them guy man I can out hunt them
Boys you know shoot well if I want to run up the hill I could no but I’m like I know those guys man they’re good you’re you’re looking into some good people right there you know and and uh and it makes me happy to say that
Because I know their Lane they got to be doing something good in their Lane and um so I don’t know you’re right but it can definitely go for or it can go against us and I think I really feel like it’s about 5050 out there I don’t know maybe that’s the
Cynicism in me the old man again but I feel like overall when I get on it and and really dig deep I I’ll get excited in some cases and then I’ll get really yeah kind of like why what why did they do this right you know and I’ve even
Looked back on some of my posts like man I shouldn’t have done that that that was that was immature but well well and I think some people are going to listen to this and say oh these guys are had the success so it’s easy to say yeah celebrate others right I mean people
People will discount whatever we say but the way I see it is it reminds me of this you know Cam Newton the other day was talking about the 49ers and he taking a shot at Brock pie and saying he’s like the 10th best player on that
Team and he might be I I don’t know what you’re what are you talking about he’s the best quarterback on that team so he’s not trying to be the best linebacker no he’s not so yeah there might be a i and the lineman aren’t trying to be the best quarterback so
It’s like everybody’s got their role be your best right so when you talked about that’s how hunting could grow is you spread out I look at it like a team it’s like okay if if this guy’s the best at this he’s going to go further and together they’ll all go further because
They’re accepting their role and they want to be the best at it so don’t try to be the next Michael wadell correct try to be the best whatever you do and just own that lane and then that’s how we Elevate each other that’s correct everybody’s just like and I think what
Happens is sometimes people they don’t know what their strengths are they don’t know what they offer so cuz they’re not sure of it they want to bring other people down to make that Gap closer right instead of trying to elevate themselves they’ll they’ll like I don’t
Know what I’m supposed to do but this guy’s having success I don’t like it it doesn’t make me feel good I want to I want to tear him down but it just reminded me of the Cam Newton thing and taking a shot at prie because it’s just
Like yeah let’s just be the best at whatever we do that’s that’s correct and I think I think that sums it up I think that is the definition of jealousy or Envy which are kind of somewhat two different things and Cam Newton didn’t realize it but he basically is pretty
Envious of where oh PR is because I think that I think by I don’t know this is where we need Joe Rogan he could he could correct me hopefully he hears this and he can correct correct me on this but I think you know from what I
Understand Envy is where you know you don’t like that person in that position it bothers you that they’re in that position so I say something kind of envious to to take them down in reality you know here Brock p is playing in the biggest game in football and uh and he
They got a real good chance of winning good team good amazing team and so inevitably that’s a pretty immature envious statement even if it is true and so uh that happens a lot more in the hunting industry and uh and I think you’re right too I think people just
Don’t understand their own self-worth and once they realize that um and they can focus on that positivity of that versus feeling good about taking down somebody they’re envious of or or jealous of um I mean there’s a reason I remember uh you know you look you look through the Bible and them Ten
Commandments and one of them is Thou shalt not covet and if you think about it you know there ain’t no person on Earth you know I’ve come from a southern baptist background and everybody knows that you know Thou shalt not murder thou shall not commit adultery and as far as
It goes you know like but but they don’t ever think about thou shall not have another false god before me or Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors it’s impossible not to yeah how do you not you know get in a cool you know old chevel you know with old 454 and it
Crank it up like man I I I saw it during old General Lee Dukes of Hazard 69 charger and I caught myself like holy holy cow I’m breaking the Ten Commandment I want this car had the Old Dixie horn I was I was like man I want this
Car so bad I’m so mad at this guy he got it and I don’t and so um inevitably uh yeah you just have to learn I think if you are going to be proud of something you got to find some selfworth and be proud of yourself and what you can do
And that might not it might not be anything that’s uh worthy of crazy followers but uh to somebody it means a lot you know and I’m reminded and um you know one thing that touched me last night and and I don’t I don’t think it’s talked enough about but uh man meeting
Your family uh all morning I I was I I called my wife called T-Bone I said man I’m going to tell you something man I met you know Cameron’s wife and hanging with his kid and Tanner and just chilling I said dude I felt like I was
Home in the South getting ready to eat a bowl of cheese grits and you know eat some cornbread I said man we sat around and with the family and just chatted and talked about the weather to to politics to the state of the union and uh and uh
And for me um it hit me cuz I I was thinking about back home I got that seven-year-old boy man if I don’t ever do nothing more man I’m at I’m at kids’s hero and we always we we we we got more people have people look up to them and
They don’t even realize it you know and so uh that’s why you know for me when I get a chance to even meet somebody or shake their hand you know especially we we both the bless get to go to some cool sport shows and Shake Hands of people
And meet hunters and look at trail cam pictures and you know probably in your case looking at some achievement they made in a marathon or working out or or maybe in the elk they shot and and uh and all always think to myself man and
Uh when you meet a grown man Callan man just a hug and man I call Little Bromance huging like man what’s up buddy yeah and then you get to talking and and and all of a sudden they got their daughter there and you hug the daughter
And and and and you don’t realize the load that’s on people and it’s so cool to just realize that man I just want to tell everybody everybody’s got so much incredible selfworth that some of these people that I get mad at that personally sometimes I’m walking around ATA like
I’m going to find this dude there’s been a few times like I’m going to go find this dude that’s talking crap not just about me but the whole everybody’s successful there might be a couple guys that’s wanting to and uh and then all of
A sudden I was like man I kind of feel sorry for them they probably need a hug more than they need to ass whoop but defin I kind of want to whoop the ass person then or at least attempt I think we need to Tre that I think we need to
Tre it out let me be the [ __ ] talker and you come in with your crew cuz y’ y’all can last longer I got to get a sucker punch in I don’t know if I can go the Long Haul but uh but in reality I think they need a hug
Somehow they need to know like bro you ain’t got to be hating on me you ain’t got to be hating on Cameron you ain’t got to be hating on the H public or something that you saw on Outdoor Channel or the bow Mars or whoever you
You you probably just need a hug and let me tell you your selfworth you’re incredible but this that you’re exuding does suck yeah I it reminds me I was we were in Vegas one time Rogan was there and so anytime he’s around there’s a crowd right I can’t remember what we
Were drinking this was years ago it’s like uh it was you know stupid but anyway there was tempers were flaring right I don’t know why Circle bar I don’t know what it was but everybody swole up everybody and somebody was acting tough around Joe yeah and Joe was
Just like he’s like come here give me a hug he gave the guy a hug are you serious he recognized it gave him a hug oh my God that was it I dude I’ve never met Joe I want to so bad I’m such a fan and hearing stories like that I’ve heard
Stuff like that M that’s a that’s a hell of a take for him to notice that yeah which Joe is a badass I me he knows jiujitsu he could have choked a guy in 2.7 seconds he yeah definitely but he he knows to your point What Men actually
Want or what they need not what they want what they need they need to be hey it’s it we’re okay don’t worry about it and um that I could I’ll never forget that but uh that’s big yeah I mean it’s uh it’s tough because what we do means
So much to us so it’s sometimes it’s hard to separate that emotion like when you talk about the shows and this guy would and how it works is you never want to take for granted the positive but you never forget the negative you know what
I mean no you don’t you don’t no matter how much you try like okay I got all this positive but this one guy says this one it’s like I’ll never forget that guy you know and I don’t know why that is do you ever feel like scrolling through maybe your
Comments cuz cuz I do I look at comments you know whether I’m looking at anybody’s post I’ll go the comments and check on it you know and uh and I’ll be reading and you seeing all the and you’re like oh man that’s cool oh man that’s nice and you’re reading and then
All of a sudden like what a douche and you’re like wait a minute who is who is user 135 you know freaking strong face American flag who is this guy you know and it’s like how did I just scroll through 30 really good comments to land
On this it is amazing and um really how that works and and there’s a difference in true vile negativity than and sarcasm like um you know my my people that I respect the most they’ll think you know if they were to be on our text you know
Chain sometimes I mean it’s a it’s a name calling and it’s it’s always a you know every time like Jim shaki for instance people like we was at the SHOT show and I had people Outdoor Channel Booth getting worried about about he and I like man I’m sorry I said no no no
Dude he’s giving you bad time yeah yeah but it’s it’s kind of our relationship it’s it’s kind of like uh it’s kind of like you know three or four times if I saw you you you had a line and I’d do a pushup like you know it’s my way of like
You know you know it’s not a slight it’s what’s up l i sh like hey man you know and sometimes a fan look like who is this [ __ ] right you know what’s he doing you know J’s that way with me he’s like booger holler have you learned a king’s
Queen’s English yet you know and I’m and we’re just and then and then it’s just 10 minutes of that and then it’s like hey man love you buddy I’ll see hey man good luck hey I saw brandlin you know what I mean it’s like hey sorry everything you’re going through and but
It’s real you know if he see something in my life that he thinks I’m being stupid about he’ll tell me and you know and kind of Vice Versa I can tell Jim Jim that too and so uh but on the surface yeah it’s not negative it’s it’s
A sarcasm it is those right Jabs I mean you know fun what would so what would people like if you got mad at somebody the show what were people upseted with you about your success or what did they say what was what was hate you would get
You know it there’s a story I’ll tell and I I’ve told this a couple times I never forget the first year real Tre road trips this is kind of what I get a lot of well one is you know everybody say Well it must be nice kill him in a
High fence for the record we’ve never you know shot an animal on our show on a high fence we’ve never videoed in it nor nor I have NE nor has Cameron Haynes going I could matter of fact I don’t have any of my close friends that I know
That that do uh video or put their content out in a a high fence I mean I know some that do I know people that do but we don’t or must be nights it’s a farm deer well if I had a chance to hunt that so yeah that’s the best quote ever
The Rogan Haynes uh you know must be nice to her but um I had I never forget this and it goes right in line what we’re saying I the first year real tree road trips first of all I am so incredibly awkwardly insecure about having a line of grown
Men that would like for me to sign a hat everybody thinks that that’s what they want and I think there are certain people that probably would truly desire that seek it out and be comfortable maybe in that moment I wasn’t cuz I couldn’t understand it I learned real
Quick you know it’s hard for a man to come up and and ask for an autograph cuz I’ve been on the other side of it to where be hanging out for 5 days taking D earn turkey hunting we’re laughing cutting up and then I’m really the whole
Time wanting them to assign my camo hat and it’s awkwardly yeah like I don’t I feel like it’s going to make me look goofy or whatever so anyway I learn right quick it’s a disrespect if you like oh man you don’t want my autograph you know you just sign it respectfully
And go about your business so CU it was a lot for them to ask for it it was a lot to ask for especially out of out of us men especially sharing in the space I know these these these men are not in line because they I’m a better Hunter
It’s not just you and them there’s a line of there’s people like they’re they’re humbling themselves to because they value you yeah in front of other people not like they bumped in and said oh I’m a big fan it’s just like they have there’s an audience there exactly
And so and so uh I you know I I’ve seen you handle crowds and you do it well but it is a kind of a a humbling awkward feeling right and um so it was one of my first shows I’d went to was in Mississippi 20 0 4 the show had air in
2003 and U we’re at this Big Show at this Mississippi hunting Expo and there’s a quite a few people in line and signing hats and stuff and there’s a and you could drink beer at the show people walking around there some guys about my age had two or three girls with them
There was two or three of them well this Old redneck come walking by and who the hell are you and he’s he’s kind of he’s kind of like making a little scene about half titp and I’m like oh man you know I look kind of laugh at off like oh man no no
Nobody you know nobody and and then and so all of a sudden he hangs around a little bit while they come say well I guess you some big damn star and um I’m like God dang I and I definitely didn’t know how to handle it you know I was
Already kind of felt weird so I was like man it was just my insides were kind of not mad just like oh man this this this guy really knows I ain’t a star I shouldn’t be signing his hats he’s calling me out yeah he’s calling me out
And so finally he kept on to the point where two or three people hey man shut up dude leave W alone MH he finally comes back through same guy mouths off against man who the hell are you and at the time I’m thinking well maybe he
Really don’t and F and I snapped I mean I really snapped like all of a sudden I’m I’m the kid Manchester High School that you know I’m ready I’m ready at to party and got him out off his time to I wouldn’t say go and fight so I stopped
And I said I can tell you who the hell I am walk I said I said I’m dude if you’ll go find your piece of [ __ ] bow I’ll walk out in the parking lot and show you how to shoot it and whoop your ass in front of your hot little girlfriend right here
And I said I didn’t heard enough your mouth I said I’m the guy I said won’t you give me the key to your lease and I’ll kill your damn turkeys won’t kill mine Cameron swear and I said it cuz I was kind of sarcastically mad to do it
What what’s up baby hug my neck we traded phone numbers and kind of hung out and later that later that evening I was by myself I went and had a beer with the guys really and it went from oh my God similar to the Rogan hugging the guy yeah he did
Know who I was but he had some whatever feelings about it jealousy or Envy but once he realized he punched my button to basically see if I was like him which I answered with saying bro I am like you I can’t believe I’m doing this man I’m so
Scared of what I’m doing but I know I can kill a turkey I know I can shoot my bow and kill a deer and you know and I got confidence in myself and once I showed him that that I was like him mhm man we we were we like it was a huging
That’s Co hey man when ain’t you doing a seminar in a minute like yeah all right we come back through he knew all of it yeah he knew it all yeah again I’m sitting there the rest of the show and like oh my God that was a deep dive in
Some psychology there so in reality that is most of the time it’s almost like maybe maybe that’s it maybe there’s such a it’s hard for me to say cuz I can’t gauge what it is people would even see in me but maybe it’s just that I’m so
Regular that what makes what makes it special right it’s almost like well he ain’t better than me and and my answer is like I’m not even trying to be better than you you know I I I’ll tell in the hunting industry I was like man I ain’t
Trying to out hunt nobody but I’m out fun and trying to out fun everybody cuz I like to have a good time yeah it’s not that I don’t take hunting seriously I take it really serious and I can look at my trophy room and know that holy cow
Man I’ve had some success but uh gets back to we started earlier my my my relationships that I’ve made and and the things that we can talk about these these old pictures that we got you know you and I when we were my god look like
We’re 10 years old I know I wanted to show this one so it’s like we can get this one on on camera Macy can make us a real for it but oh my goodness look that this 2004 and I didn’t know I must have printed this out cuz again I was like a
Biggest fan of you were like you you were like what I wanted to be that’s crazy that’s humbling man I didn’t even realize that I sent this to you and then uh you you signed it and sent it back to Cameron you’re the man thanks for your friendship Michael Odell UA photo shoot
November 2004 so this is wow 20 years ago and uh yeah I mean we’re a lot has changed in 20 years what hasn’t changed is how much we love to hunt how much we love what we do so when you see you see people out there and it’s hard not to
Say are you doing this because you love this or because you want to be you don’t want attention or you want to be a star or you want to be get a sponsorship or things like this so it’s like all I know is when I look at us I know our
Intentions then were pure we we we just loved what we did and we couldn’t believe how lucky we are we were in PA doing a photo shoot for Under Armour you were probably you were ahead of me as far as making it a career you know I
Just I only quit my job like a year year ago so I I still never I I had a hard time quitting that job because I thought I wasn’t anything special and that was the best job I’ve ever had in my life who am I to quit a great job right but I
Think it’s that attitude that has helped us grow in this industry 100% uh as I was telling you I had a conversation with some old uh I call them old coders old Trappers and Hunters it was asking me about you and I said man you know what’s funny is I said
Uh C and I are just alike and and completely different it’s just it’s it’s amazing but that is the same thing I remember that particular photo shoot um you’re right I mean TV outdoor television was big then and we had had road trips had just aired it first year
Um you were riding and and and working um obviously at the water company and I remember me and you both was looking at each other like what what are we here for yeah I’m a got they’re gonna end us I bet they’re gonna let us have these
Shirts you know like I think they’re gonna give us this whole box of camo and we were like uh I don’t know man like night at the rockberry like you know we can’t believe it Under Armour you know and and two I don’t even think people realized Under Armour Not only was
Getting in the hunting industry Under Armour was maybe in Dicks Sporting Goods you know a Maryland based company they weren’t anything of what they are now and that was I think the first couple camouflage garments that they ever had and it was an under truly was an
Underwar that first lir first player and uh so yeah that humbleness and that that excitement that student of the industry student of the hunt um I I think that was us getting a chance to feel a little bit like you know Chuck Adams maybe or that Miles Keller even though we was
Being ourselves and so yeah that that pictures like that bring me back and and uh I don’t know it makes me feel really good and it makes me feel really good getting back to success to see where you’re sitting the friends you made the
People you you mix in with and and in in reality I I think now as um if I were to somewhat brag on you and I it’s cool because it’s it’s I feel like we’ve really truly have become ambassadors there’s a difference we’re not just you know little kids running around trying
To kill a elk or have fun and meet up at the ATA and get some shrimp cocktail at St Elmos where now you look at what you’re doing you and who you’ve been able to talk to and see a pcture in in Las Vegas at the UFC because what I see
A lot of people say you know get back to the Jil say why is Cameron getting to be front row up there with Rogan and all those guys and Dana and no here’s what I see I see my buddy who’s a bow hunter yeah and I know what’s in your heart and
Soul it’s bow hunting I see me you know people see Cameron I see we’re there yeah we’re there if you see me over there hunting with Theo Von like we’re taking Theo hunting no because it’s the same man we’re getting a chance to influence our life and our culture of
What meant to us or what we ate elk chili last night with your family now we even though it’s you sometimes me we are getting to sell our culture and so therefore there’s no jealousy sometimes uh I take that back sometimes like God dang I wish I was there having a
Cocktail with those guys and that’d be fol to be that close to the fight and hang with I bet they’re having good fun but I’m seeing a culture represented through you and I hope people can see that through me it’s not about I’m trying to out hunt but I am trying to
Tell people that P and where that started is still there but now we’re having a chance to bring so many people into it and that’s the beauty of what we get to do more than the animals I think we get to shoot I think so too and like to that point when
I see you it’s like I still see that that hunting culture is number one that’s represented that’s who you are you know and I’m not trying to say I’m like that but like on my Instagram page I don’t have New York Times best-selling author which was great all I I have or I
Don’t have any accompl I have bow hunter that’s right that’s it I don’t yeah I wrote a book and it did good and it was cool that I made the list unbelievable I don’t care I’m I’m a bow hunter that’s what I care about I’ll always just be a bow hunter and that’s
Enough and so when you say that because of our our love for what we do yes I mean I know you’ve been represented by Endeavor you know you’ve had like these huge opportunities you know friends with Blake shell and worked with with Hollywood type connection people but
It’s all just based on booger bottom Georgia to be honest and that still hasn’t changed right I mean that’s what to me is so beautiful about it because some people might use these opportunities to get to this place and then they’re like that was a that was
Another life when I was a bow hunter I’m doing this other stuff now no it’s the same yeah matter of fact it’s kind of crazy that’s kind of where the success come from it’s like what what are you H I’m Cameron HS a guy that did this for
So long that bow hunted who who who enjoys Fitness and pushing himself past what you think you can still push yourself um you know and then and then chase down and El from time to time and go hang with friends who am I I’m still the snotty-nosed kid you know now that
Beard has gotten gray that uh from booger bottom who likes to call turkeys and have a good time and so reality once I feel like that’s where you know and I think that’s the whole thing we’re trying to say if anybody’s listening and wondering when we own that when we truly
Own that but never left it um that’s where our success come from and I get it all the time too Cameron people’s like sometimes a booger bottom thing people get kind of frustrated with like man man why you got to always say you from booger bottom I’m like I’m not I’m not
Telling you booger bottom to remind you where I’m from I’m reminding myself I go home a lot and hang with my dad and you know where I come from which I had a great childhood but booger bottom it was dirt roads when I was a kid it it was
You know a Popa Liv next door made moonshine liquor and uh taught me how a garden literally had a mule and my dad bought an old Dexter tractor a little Diesel and man my Popa Lov that thing and he died when I was 12 but I have so
Many fine memories of having a hog on a raised floor and he’d kill that thing on the first cold day um man he’d have Froot Loops sometimes but he had goat milk in the refrigerator and it just sucked and and so sometimes in my mind
If I’m in Las Vegas or I am somewhere in one of these cool places like you and I both have got a chance to be and we’re you know in a city I always in the back of my mind I’m thinking of Booger bottom not because I think I’m tougher or
Cooler to have some cliche area I’m from it just reminds me that because I celebrated where I’m from and who I really am it’s got me to these opportunities in places just being who me um and and uh I I think I’m more proud of that than than anything because
That ain’t me that that’s culture you represent something that’s bigger than you and you’re just happen to be part of it so uh yeah that’s that to me is deep and super cool man for sure yeah I I mean I don’t think we that can be lost
On these people that might have similar go maybe they see what we’ve done and they’re like I’d like to do something it’s like never forget where you came from and it sounds so easy it’s such a cliche but it’s it’s so powerful it’s very powerful and this what happens
That’s what detracts people from their from their Journey that where they could have who knows where they’d be they get distracted on all this other stuff you know and and I’ve been distracted too sometimes you mentioned deals that weren’t that great for alignment on your brand that does happen yeah it’s going
To happen but for the for you know 30 years been pretty focused on hey this is who we are this is what we do yep and you can either join in or whatever it’s fine it’s not going to change and uh yeah I mean I such good insight
There from you um I do I this is kind of a funny story too but you mentioned that guy who came up who’s challenging you and he had his hot girl hot girlfriend there so where on all the places you where are the hottest girls at the sport
Show man uh man is it the South are you are you partial to the South I think it’s the South and and probably Texas man like you go down to uh have you been to Salt Lake Salt Lake can it produces D to be honest with you first of all uh my
Wife has skinned me up for saying this but I think these little country girls and these uh these these ladies that do come out that are sincerely there sometimes just with their boyfriends or husbands but there’s some beautiful you know women that come through these Sports shows but yeah um it’s really
It’s really all across the country yeah the South the south is hard to beat but it’s funny I would say a lot of my West I’m not saying you notice now but I don’t even know I didn’t even know a woman even visited the show anymore so I’m talking about years
Ago all my buddies from out west would come and work say the Dixie deer classic Oh They’ll fall in love 17 times but I don’t know if it’s just the looks or the Southern Accents that really just get combination but uh but golly man I I
This is so cool to talk about all this stuff because it’s pretty it’s it’s deeper than what people think and I I think you know this whole thing is like when you know where you come from people because because you’re right we had that
In common too I did carry a chip on my shoulder I think uh you know I was like you know soon as I felt like if I was talking country and and maybe I didn’t understand I remember being in meetings and people get to talk about evida and
And and some high level margins and percentages and we can do this and I’d be like you know I’m I’m over there with my little steeple like trying to be Mr and I’m thinking I don’t know what in the holy hell they’re talking about I
Never forget one time I was in a meeting a guy was talking said why you don’t even know what we’re talking about it kind of smoked to me I said do you know what what a Bull Float is and um he said Bull Float is that something to do with
Wildlife and I said well you don’t know every damn thing either concrete yeah concrete exactly and I said I don’t trust man not what a Bull Float is I might not know what EV it is and these margins you’re talking about Cu uh used to be a joke in Industry every deal I
Had I wanted 10% and the reason is because 10% was an easy mathematical equation you know and i’ be talking like we can’t do 10% w l we’re talking about these things are going to be you know $2,000 a piece and like yeah okay $200 you know it’s like no
What else this has got to be like 1.7% or 2.2 is best we can do and I’m like that’s tough to figure out I don’t know if I can figure that I ain’t hired an account at yet you know so inevitably I did carry a chip and I was and so I I
But but you don’t leave it that’s why some of these people if you’re from the you can be from the hood you can say man we didn’t have this have that use it to your advantage not be a victim of it use it to to push you forward and and I
Don’t think there’s nothing holds anybody back I think it’s people you know some of the people you have on this podcast are such Prime examples about it uh from these ex Navy Seals I heard the podcast with Dakota Meer and and uh I mean just there’s so many crazy stories
Of not allowing themselves to become a victim and uh just push through that’s and sometimes the obstacles are so insane um I mean just for where where we’re at in the hunting industry I don’t people realize it it it was a blessing I think some things were just man we we
Had a very blessed opportunity um but nobody can’t say we worked hard right man it it didn’t yeah we’re here now we’re in our 50s I think we’re in our I don’t want to say we found peace because I don’t want to think we’re satisfied we’re still striding forward
But there is a different Dynamic of of a of a of a vibe that feels good definitely you know a cup of coffee is better glass of wine in the evening a cup of bourbon taste a little sweeter but it wouldn’t if I had have left something on the table now I’m
Trying to figure out all right if you stay the same you get worse you got to get better or you get worse you know we’re talking about how to improve and what we do and so the journey ain’t over but you find peace but it did come with
A lot of hard work and dedication literally being broke uh literally like I look at that picture I can promise you right now me and Cameron Haynes didn’t have a pot to piss in right there we were just trying to but we but but I you know we were probably just as happy
There as we were now I mean because we saw the journey ahead and we were just happy to get a c hungry couple free under Under Armour shirts and I think at that time ho was sending us a bow a year yeah and I’d look and man you know you
Love bow hunting when you’d go sit on the damn toilet with it and don’t act like y somebody’s listening to where they went like you sitting you’re like I am taking a [ __ ] looking at my bow what am I doing and especially when Hoy has sent you one
I’m like this is crazy yeah this is insane and so uh I don’t know man good memories man what a hell of a ride what I like about it is uh you know because of the industry how it works I’ve been at different brands with people and
Maybe they didn’t get the attention they thought they they deserved so they want to leave that brand you know what I mean Y and to me what I like is like we’ve we’ve both been with Hoy for so long and and it wasn’t like I’ve never looked at
Like why are you doing this with Bone Collector you’re not doing with with me but that happens in the industry a lot you know at Under Armour that happened at you know it just happened and it’s just it’s so hard and I and I can’t really talk too much [ __ ] because that’s
Competitive but it’s like that turns into a detriment also it does and uh so what I feel good about is that we’ve could be competitive that’s fine yeah and I could see see what you do and it’s like God I need to work harder if I want those type of opportunities that’s
How I looked at what you did um so I like that it’s been healthy in that regard um but it is it’s like you know I was telling you yesterday when I was coming up back then and before when I first started Bing I didn’t even know
People paid off houses I didn’t know I thought you just always had a car payment you know I’m just I’m like I I never thought that I would ever have anything really other than bow hunting maybe a free bow and so when I when I hear about you and you have your
Your I I mean five do you have 500 Acres yeah I got about 550 Acres my wife and I bought a 15 yeah I mean how from you know from doing what we love has led to those opportunities I mean did you ever think that would happen no I’d always
Dreamed of it I dreamed of it but I mean think of the things we have dreamed of that that are still we’re thinking of so for me um I almost felt oddly weird and guilty like for for having a chance to to buy something or get something at
That level like uh I was talking to you know again a little bit of a name drop but Blake Shelton same way built a beautiful place he’s put together in a fantastic piece of property in Oklahoma he and Gwen built this beautiful house I mean it’s it’s NE it’s a mansion and he
He just like he was showing it to me and uh Jimmy John was there the sandwich guy and Jimmy is such a nice guy but he can own his wealth he’s like oh man what is this so and so Mar would you get this in Italy you know he’s you know Jim
Comfortable with he’s very comfortable Blake was so uh awkwardly uncomfortable like I don’t need this but I mean how much money’s he made you know what I mean and so for me I I I took the same kind of stance like you know I’m I’m a little embarrassed even though
There’s people’s got thousands and thousands but for me to think about owning you know over 500 acres in Georgia that I got food plots on and I got me a nice tractor that I can plow and I got me a pecan farm and my wife
And I just built our dream housee and I got a cool Barn down there with guest quarters if you want to come down there and bring the family bring Tanner down I was so aggravated to find out Tanner went through Fort Benn and he could he
Could have threw a rock to Uncle W’s house and I could have I’d have made it tougher on PT with him he eating that fried chicken and Cornbread down at my place but um I almost I’m very proud of it but but I’m also kind of guarded like
Man I don’t I don’t want to show off on it or feel like I don’t know feels we it feels weird for me but I think that comes from that humility of dreaming but then realizing like oh my God I got it m and um so yeah I mean dream come true
Inevitably are they go on the Hunts we go on sometimes it’s crazy but it’s also it’s like could should you shy away I understand that um because it is the American dream yeah I mean didn’t you come when you you came out of high school you got what uh HVAC or what
Right HVAC heat and air yeah heat and air degree and I remember I think I listened to a podcast you said you had your own van had your name on it and your family was like why would you quit this you know and so it’s not like this
Just happened no and all of a sudden you had oh must be nice he’s got this 500 Acres this awesome house and you know this everything going his way that whole journey like that decision to not take the HVAC job or not take pursue that
Career but to go at real tree and make 20,000 bucks a year or whatever it was that’s where how that’s how you got to where you’re at now so that tough def decision how many people would have went done that same thing I I think that’s
The same for for you and I both story that’s what this picture represents if you look at that picture both of us in our 20s photo shoot for Under Armour 2004 I I almost break things almost in percentages I I I’ve always looked at life and and I luckily looked at it then
And I don’t know if you looked at it this way but um you know out of 100% obviously that’s that’s that’s what it is if if if you got a 15 or 20% chance of making it in something whether it’s say I want to be a country singer
Whether it’s I want to be an influencer YouTube star uh you know on Outdoor Channel whatever it might be um an actor you know comedian you always have that percentage that you can make it in that but you understand the odds are going to be against you because there’s 20% of
People maybe less maybe 5% I mean we were talking last night when you get into that category of say what Joe is doing right now Tucker Carlson that’s up there in a probably one percentile two percentile of people in influence all right less probably less than that and
So in reality but let’s just say making it in country music okay say you got a 10% 15% chance of making it maybe it’s less MH my idea was like well then that leaves me a 90% chance to makeing something else why not go after the 10%
Now you and I did when we were young in our 20s it’s almost like why not go after it now and I already thank God already somewhat I wouldn’t say I had that goggin’s mindset yeah or or kind of what you preach and just work harder uh
I don’t know if I had that mindset but inevitably I had something in me that said well I better do it now I got an HVAC Bill Jordan real Tre is making money they need a cameraman they need a guide they need somebody to help hang his stands Dale Earnhart wants to hunt
With a good turkey Coller man I’m pretty good turkey Coller might as well hunt with me yeah and so I started looking I started chipping away I like wait a minute now now I went from a 10% chance to where in the door now I might have a
40% chance to all of a sudden here we are you made it right and I always say somebody’s got to be Prince somebody’s got to play a guitar not that like we were talking about you need to emulate and be Prince but somebody had to be Prince somebody’s got to be the next
Basketball player uh that’s that’s great and even though there’s a lot of them so if you look at it we all have equal opportunity if we understand our abilities and talents I think and then even if you want to try something like for instance I use this as example I I
Love outdoor motocross love it like keep up with those guys met some of those Motocross guys they’re they’re my heroes I think they’re some of the best athletes so what do I do when I’m 40 made enough money I went and bought me a 450 bought all my kids I built a
Freaking motocross track that you could race outdoor Nationals on well what did I do I can’t even hardly draw my bro boat I’m breaking my back busted up breaking ribs cuz I’m still 12 years old but I’m a 40 something year old man out here trying to race this 450 dirt bike I
Suck my goal was I want to race I want to run a few races oh and and try to win like a little amateur thing well I got in a few and I got sack at one and then the next Moto I freaking just Crush kill
Myself so my wife is like no sympathy like this is the last time we do it so it hit me I’m like okay I’ve gotten way out of my lane and so I realized I have zero chance probably of even winning just the over 40 division right yeah so
So but I’m glad I did it and so it could be somebody that that wants to try stand up comedian or or maybe they want to you know start bow hunting or whatever and so uh I I don’t know man I I I think I think in that that that’s been the
Coolest cool thing to see that picture is because that was a lot of journey ahead and me and you put some dice on the table right there baby I mean we rolled them we rolled them and uh and so to have that opportunity uh is pretty crazy and my family did not understand
It Cameron not my Grandmama I mean they it was so blue collar and so um basic American get you a good job get good health benefits um what can the company give you man1 401K great Christmas party man you could get a free turkey every year they give
They get free turkeys out down there or ham you can pick a turkey or ham for Christmas yeah for free for free you know or hey and and if you work there if you’re there for six months you get two vacation days and y’all know y’all like
To go down G of Mexico and go to Edgewater and go play in the sand like I going to be big to your family and so I I bought into it yeah but then I was also thinking is there more than this so I think what happens in people’s depression or
Aggravation uh especially when they get our age they’re mad they went that route right they and I and I thought in my mind like I could be screwing up my uncle might be right I might be man that uniform says Michael on it and yeah baringers Heating and Cooling and I’m
Pretty good at fixing these air conditioners and he told me he was going to give me a raised next next year and give me you know if I sold brand new train you know heat pumps he’d he’d give me you know 2% on all of them and I
Could make a $500 extra if I sold them this particular sear unit and I am not knocking anybody matter of fact those every those everyday hardworking guys are my heroes but if you get to a place where you think it’s too late you can actually get bit more bitter in aggravation yeah
I think that’s where most the the online hate comes from is like the guys who didn’t make that decision ision that tough decision like should I take the the van with my name on it or should I chase this dream then they get down the road and it’s too late and then they’re
Just then they’re bitter yeah and they feel like they’re just jealous that of where you’re at now not the journey you did because nobody wants to all the you talked about the challenges the failed marriage the the missing your kids and not making the money nobody wants to
Talk about that they just see where you’re at right now that’s correct and that’s you know I mean I think it’s Human Nature in some ways but yeah God it’s so cool and so deep man I I I figured you know when we got a chance to
Talk cuz I didn’t uh you know when when you invited me up which I was honored to be part of this podcast you know I didn’t know which yall Direction it would take because it’s so many roads but it is crazy uh about the timing and
And how how we had our opportunity to work in this space uh you know culturally and everything that’s transpired and it’s uh I don’t know it’s been pretty it’s been pretty wild but I I will say that’s that does what makes America great and and it calls me where
I’m at is caused me to kind of have I might not be saying this right less empathy for people and complainers um because I realize how hard I have work but I realize that they’re spending so much energy mad at the people that succeeded when I see
Something in them that they don’t see in themselves so it’s not that I’m mad that they’re being negative I’m mad that’s like did you not look in the mirror are you just looking at social media and seeing this person did you not look at your ability and talents and if you did
And you can’t admit that you were talented why did you not take the gamble you’ll sit here in Vegas and put $100 on a blackjack hand but you wouldn’t put damn 10 bucks on yourself right so why you mad at me yeah there is a part of confidence not arrogance if you can’t
Bet on yourself who the hell you going to bet on I’ve always thought I told him I saw a you know you go out in Vegas and give them that card I was at the Venetian pit ball pit that’s what I’m thinking of and playing Blackjack and I
I enjoy Blackjack it’s fun you know and I’m not a big gambler but I enjoy the game and I like get me a little cocktail and you know it’s one place you can have you a cigar and sit there at the table and laugh and cut up and I can meet I
Like the [ __ ] and tell story so I can sit around it’s just I’m laughing cutting up and I I’ll figure out what I want to lose if I lose it I lose it if I win it’s happy day and I’m just talking more trash at the table you know and I
Told that Pit Boss I said y’all got this wrong I said we betting on a hand that we don’t know nothing about we playing a game and wondering and hoping we get that paint card or get a ace hoping she Bust or whatever I said if you really
Want to make some money on us men I said give us a chance to bet on ourselves you ought to have a hoop swinging and throw a football through the hoop have a ring to bail where you can put $20 double nothing can you can you imagine me and
You yeah I mean you know I don’t lift a lot but can you imagine me and you and Joe Rogan and your buddy Dana White walking up to a ring the bell in Vegas and it’s $100 to ring the bail mhm Cameron we would all die yeah trying if
We couldn’t can you imagine how many times we would like cuz when it’s not a gamble right we’re used to betting on ourselves and then and then it would get in like Cameron I got $100 on you damn it man yeah you know I ain’t been lifting I’ve been eating cornbread
Macaroni and cheese damn come on and next thing you know we would be broke because we’re betting on oursel because that’s the kind of personality we are some of my buddies would never bet on themselves man they never would you know I I say that too I say I know you
Probably have also but if I’ve made it anybody can in it’s you know if you went to where I grew up it’s there’s no Big Dreams out there you know is it 24 kids in my high school class 100 in the whole school people just worked in the woods
Or or in the mill that’s what there was nobody with these big dreams so if if I can come from there from there you can come from booger bottom and be the you know the most famous hunting TV celebrity there’s ever been anybody can anybody can you have to believe in
Yourself you have to believe and you not only that but you have to be tunnel vision focused in work because you’ve worked your ass off yeah you know and like you say you’re not good with numbers or whatever you’re a definite Visionary because you had a vision for
This brand and this brand your brand has has is icon IC right so yeah that you can talk like the simple country talk but God dang you had a vision yes I I I will I will say that and thanks for even saying that and it’s flattering those
Comments or compliments you give me but it’s uh it’s crazy because as crazy and and Visionary as you have inevitably it becomes this this simple conception of of just kind of stay focused in work and like we said earlier in the talk there there’s things that fall behind because
You’re focused here you’re like wait a minute uh Mason I ain’t been to his ball game M you know where um and now I think I’m more conscious of that you know now I got a seven-year-old home um you know being through not being a great husband
It easier for me to really be a good husband to Christie and um I mean I I still fail I’m still a dude I’m still that Manchild that that I’m sure she loves and hates because I’m still a kid I mean we you know I’m sure if I hung
Out with you know me and you all of a sudden we’d be like Step Brothers around here next thing know we running in making a mess and your wife would have to get on to you and I equally like take your boots off Cameron take your boots
Off Micha I’m sorry you know we’re going over to the bow rack you know he gave us some new sent stuff you know and um but inevitably uh I don’t know man it’s s it’s such an amazing life is such an amazing thing and uh again your mistakes
And and and regrets almost are blessings too it’s it’s almost like I’m I’m thankful for it because all that makes you better you know what’s there so many crazy sayin and cliches but you know I’ve heard it on so many podcast people talk about well you you wouldn’t know
What a what a good meal was if you were never hungry you know you you would never know how good a soft bed is and warm sheets and blankets if you had never been cold or slept on rock and uh and I think that’s it I think I see a
Lot of that and what you guys do and a lot of your guests and friends that you know why would you tote to ro Rock up the mountain mhm man sure you’re going to make it nice at night to sleep every night it’s like I’m exhausted you know I
I get out there and work with my dad you know and and you know ain’t running with a rock up the mountain but I every time I go out there and work with my dad you know he’s about about to be 71 and man he’s a hardest working man we’ll go cut
Firewood on my place I’m like Dad look now you my Daddy but we’re on my farm and I’m about to go back to the house cuz I’m tired of splitting wood and cutting wood on my place well boy we going to start some we going to start it
We’re going to finish it no we going to get another load and I’m like Dad it’s my place I’m over here arguing with my dad like little kid on my farm you know and just exhausted but at the end of that night man you have glass of sweet
Tea you’re like man it felt good and so the pain is worth it because that’s how you can feel uh the Comforts and and I think that’s not to get political or or where America’s at but I think the only people want the soft right now a
Lot of people MH you know that’s true it’s uh so where did your competitive Drive come from to to win or to to chase your where did that where’d that come from have you always been like that I would say over overall um I I think what
Changed a lot for me that made it uh that made me uh I felt like there was two sides so when when I was young I was always in sports and stuff and loved it but when I was 16 my my mom uh got sick of Leukemia
And she passed away and so then it become uh kind of my dad and I and and uh and we had adopted a foster uh sister that was adopted when my mom was still alive and then she unexpectedly just got sick and passed
Away and I think I was angry so it was a little bit of a kind of a Ray Lewis rage in me to where I on the inside you know when I went to football practice it turned into a little different you know I I was always not that guy that wanted to
Really just murder somebody on the football field I was competitive on the win but all of a sudden then I started taking things a little more personal I was kind of mad and frustrated and like you know almost like life has dealt you a unfair hand like like come on you know
Even like questioning like God why why did you take my mom she was an amazing person we had seven foster kids in our house she you know I was a mama’s boy I mean she cook three meals a day homemade biscuits mashed potatoes collard greens fried chicken I mean your typical
Southern family and all of a sudden it’s just me and Dad my dad’s got a ninth grade education and so I think most of that competitive Drive come with a little bit of frustration and chip on my shoulder but hiding behind you know just a lot of fun storytelling and good but
That was sincere so both sides of that was sincere and uh and two it’s like you know I’ve I’ve lost so much and I realized this it’s just funner to win I don’t like participation Awards so the the people that would like be jealous of where you’re at do you think they’re
They’re thinking about that the six 16-year-old Michael Adell who lost his mom you know like the reason why you you have that success or you’re so driven is because you’ve been in the depths of Despair because you hurt so bad and you don’t want to hurt that bad anymore
So how can you take away this pain you can win win and and and and and I remember I got in a competition turkey calling and that’s that’s what kind of launched into me kind of meeting people in the industry and I had a couple people in my high school um I started
Turkey calling got pretty good and we all of us old country kids we went turkey hunting and all we had in Georgia was deer and turkey squirrel and rabbit you know we used to have a lot of quail but we don’t have that as much anymore
And um so when turkey got kind of real popular we we do that a lot and I I got really into it and I remember uh my mom had passed away and and so back then you on the country we had TV and you had the
Antenna so we we we had super we could watch the Braves and we had like ABC NBC uh didn’t have any of the HBO and cable stuff like that my dad bought a VHS player so we could watch that but it wasn’t like uh there was a bunch of
Console games to play of course I’m 16 so I really don’t want to sit there and play video games um anyway and so to occupy my time I hunted a lot more and then um and then I got into turkey calling and uh you know nobody had cell
Phon so you sit around the house and I’d buy condoms from the store in these little bathrooms and cut them up and make make turkey calls with them and matter of fact I told a story the other day I end up getting uh H I think it was
Third place in the world championship with a glow-in-the-dark condom turkey call I made and um but I remember before I started turkey call I remember I told a couple of my buddies that I turkey hun with getting back to kind of this weird mhm uh jealousy or doubt uh but it
Pushed me to do it but it scared me I told some of my buddies I said man I think I’m going to go get in the Georgia state turke calling contest it’s the first contest coming up and they’re like are you crazy Joe Drake and Ricky Joe
Bishop are coming there you know dick Kirby still comes and calls an appalachi open and dude you’re going to be embarrassed they’re going to kick your ass and and and the whole time they’re saying and I’m thinking they’re right they’re right they’re right then the
Other part of me is like no they’re not right I think I’m good enough to compete with them guys but I’m like no so it’s almost like the devil and the angel story and I went I went anyway M but I mainly went more because they told me I was
Going to suck it was weird and these are my buddies wanted to prove them wrong yeah I mean they they weren’t trying to be mean right it was almost like uh I don’t know what to like it to maybe maybe if it’s you running and all of a
Sudden it’s like man I’ve been my 40’s gotten pretty fast can you tell me hey man I’m about to have a foot race with old Cam Newton I’m like Cameron you can beat him distance but don’t don’t race that guy on a 40 man don’t don’t do that you
Know what I mean I I don’t know you might would smoke him I don’t know but it was almost said in that nature like wait a minute kind of immediately when I say that to you you think well [ __ ] camera still got I still got I still got
A step don’t don’t make me run a little bit more so that’s kind of what it was to me so a lot of it come from that and I think that’s either in you or it’s not and um and I know I I enjoy being around uh kids and and watching them play
Baseball and football and it’s cool to see that spark and fire and it changes though it does change for me um prior to my mom I was a pretty good football player but I come a lot better because I went to practice a little bit more I’d
Say angry you know and and it’s funny that’s when I realized too the psychology of a of a good coach cuz I remember uh that was the first time too my mom never seen me play and start on the varsity team and she loved she always said that you know you going to
Play Manchester football which is a high school I went to and then you’re GNA play with the Georgia Bulldogs and play with Atlanta Falcons I mean she never even knew about a hunting industry and um well she never even got to see me play varsity football at Manchester so
When I got to start I remember uh my football coach every time if he wanted to piss me off if I would be Slack and he’s like you think that’s making your Mama Proud boy and I would want to murder I mean I wanted to yeah but every time I’d just
Go run out there and just hit anybody I’d run over the cheerleader like I’m going to hurt somebody this next play this guy talk cuz he would remind me he he punched that button and uh and he knew he knew that that was something he
Knew it put a chip on me so uh I think that’s it how about for you I mean it’s similar kind of that same the doubters what you yeah doubters for for sure um yeah I mean yeah I was going to say though with your mom
Uh how long was that hard for like you know a mom is at that age I don’t know I can’t imagine what that would be like you know I lost my dad but it was I was 40 right as a 16-year-old when you when she had that
Presence on your house with the foster kids and the and the cooking and to take that away I mean I can’t imagine that pain how long was that to that you know to be honest I I don’t know cuz I was a mama’s boy man I don’t know that I ever got
Over it you you get over it in a way that becomes a positive never forget kind of thing um uh I heard Billy Bob Thorton talking about that and losing his brother um it it was man probably the saddest thing I experienced and I at that time you know
I’d lost my grandparents which I was really close when I was 12 and and uh it it’s crazy it’s almost like a lot of folks I really cared a lot about passed away when I was young and then my mom at 16 was almost like just Sucker
Punch and you know and to me she was just an angel on Earth and um so yeah it it it changed the whole culture of our home CU it was very simple my dad made the money my mom was a homemaker and I don’t care if it was seven families
Comeing to our house Mama was come on in and it was always food I don’t know how did it and uh just just an amazing lady and so uh what was her name her name was Susie and uh and so uh it I think I mean
Everything I do um I feel like she’s kind of still there and there here’s a here’s a here’s you talking about an odd story that relates to like a Divine type of vibe I remember forget I was hunting in the hila National far for Elk I put
This in the book and uh but I had never told it on a on a podcast but uh I never forget I had been road trips was doing well and it was this really nice bull about a 315 20inch Bull on this public ground in the hila and there was a lot
Of hunters in there I kept running I it the first time I had elk hunted I’d always seen trucks but I was hearing cers around me it was almost like a turkey hunt I could hear like oh my God who was it that’s somebody like man we
In here with other bow Hunters so anyway we finally get this bull working I was hunting with a buddy of mine and this bull come up through there about 40 yards and he was a little quarter to me and I shot him felt like I put a really
Good shot on him well we tracked him a lot of blood and couldn’t find him and I said man I had to just get one lung you know so then I was frustrated cuz now I’m like Dad GM it and so we had looked
And got and Nick mut was in Camp he was hunting so uh they they met up and we tracked a little while so finally it gets to be about 1:00 and uh we ain’t got we ain’t we ain’t hardly got nothing in our packs
You know we had to add some water and so so uh my buddy of mine he said man we going to get back to the camp and eat of something and why don’t we come back and let’s refresh and we’ll come back and look for this bull this afternoon and
Dude the weirdest thing I’m sitting there and the last Blood we had on this bull was about 3/4 mile up this Ridge we just fell off the next Valley and maneuvered our way down the valley back to the truck to to the rig and I said
Hey man I’m just going to stay right here I got a little old uh candy bar in my pack I’ll make this candy bar I’m going to sit and take me nap cuz y’all only going to be gone an hour or two and y’all going to come back MH and dude I’m
Sitting there under this tree I’m trying to take a nap ate my candy bar and for some reason I just started having this conversation with my mom I’m like Mama dad G you see you know I don’t know I was just talking to her like she was
There and and and uh literally almost if if somebody had a camera on me or slipped up on me they thought I was crazy I was over there talking to Mom I mean I’m not getting a response like dang mama’s been crazy man help me find
This bull son of a gun you see where it go and it was almost like a a weird something out of a a movie and um so anyway I’m getting anxious and like man I said and I’m thinking to myself like I hit that bull pretty good and just like
We do a thousand times you know I had an old flip phone at the time and I’m videoed that flipped it was terrible wasn’t like her iPhone I’m like I couldn’t say man look like I hit him good so I’m sitting there and I’m like I’m sitting there and I’m like Mom you
Got to help me find this bull and so finally um I kind of get up and start kicking rocks and I’m just kind of walking circles and this i w to walk up the hill and start looking again like no wait another 45 minutes my buddies will
Be here I’m not a good blood tracker anyway I’m red green color blind terrible blood tracker so I start walking kind of back down the Ridge and I and I knew that there was old water tank down there uh and I was going to go
See if there’s any sign on it cuz a couple buddies in Camp still had uh tags I go walking down there where I look and there’s a truck park down there and I said oh man and I just been telling talking kind of to my mom and and I said
Man you know what I I looked my pack and I had a little old uh envelope where I had a license and I had a pen where I you could sign attack so I started writing a note like hey this is my number my name is Michael hit a bull if
You guys are hunting in the area uh just let you know if you find a six by six and he’s shot on the you know the right side with a Muzzy Broadhead in him it’s it’s my bull and uh so in my mind I’m said I’m gonna go down there so I got
Back kind of and luckily I brought my bow why I brought my bow I don’t know and I’m only about 300 yards from where I was laying on this pine tree and I’m walking I said Mama that gum I’m going to leave this guy man this Bull’s got to
Be here about the time I look out behind this dude’s truck like his truck is parked here I look and this elk walks out from behind the truck and it’s a it’s a six by six and I grabb my binoculars and I look and said God that looks like my bull and
I’m like it can’t be my bull because my bull was up the M Ridge up here why would that bull come way down here he would have had to do a loop so my mind for some reason if some game warden or somebody’s going to say well this was
Unethical I literally thought that’s my bull but in back of my mind like I can’t be sure mhm and I couldn’t tell it was on the opposite side of where I’d shot him so I couldn’t see any blood Cameron is one of the best shots ever paid life his Bull’s cutting across
He’s about 82 yards and he’s but but I can tell he’s hurt he’s yeah struggling he just you know how you seen how them wounded elker just after a fight and he just he sto and he goes walk he’s late laboring and in my mind said I’m not
Sure that that’s my bull but that’s a wounded Bull and I said but he’s too far in a range and he’s like 82 yards clipping through and there was a Deadfall and I never get I put my my pen where I where I felt like I need to hit
Him and it was wides of uh and it was in the brush but above my pins was clean so I knew my air would shoot over brush and AR in there I let that a go and immediately I knew I hit him good like run off and bro a cold chill come
Over me like oh my God I’m going to jail I just I just shot two elk freaking out I’m freaking out and um at the time it I went back didn’t even go over there thought I heard him fall and dude it was almost like I just
Robbed a bank so I go back man and I’m sitting there like and I went back like a little kid like Mama what have I done what I oh my God what do I do my buddy when they get back what do I tell them
You know so they come back and the guy that was producing or or running the camera time I said hey come here right quick and everybody’s getting out the truck and I run through here and they like where y’all going we’re going up here I said hold on a second I I was
Going to show you know I run I said man and and I went to where that that hit shot you can see I saw where he lunged I said man will you do me a favor will you find me see if you see any blood and so
He goes on the opposite where the bull had been walking from said there there’s blood he said there’s blood and I said okay he he said said God there’s good blood and I said man I think I just shot my bull mhm he said what so we I come
Back and I told the guys and guy named Perry huncker was there I said Perry I just got another erir I’m pretty sure my bull or a wounded Bull and sure enough we went over there his bull went about 70 yards my bull laying dead I put
Another air in him and the whole time I’m like man I got choked him like Mama there Go Mama done brought me some victory on that and it she did it was a weird weirdest most uh surreal thing so so yeah you never get over it you you
Know I still think about Mom I still I’ll be on the farm or have a nice meal with my family and I you know like man mom wish you was here you know so you know just people like that have such an amazing impact like your dad with you
And I don’t know yeah crazy no it’s uh I I just know that that that seemed like a critical time obviously critical time you you lose your mom but you used it what I’m I think the what I take away from that is you used it for positive
Correct you know some people get heartbroken or lose people they love or maybe get a divorce or relationship or whatever and they go the other way yeah you know then they’re the victim their whole life and and instead of um instead of that you were like I’m better at
Football I’m going to do this for you know I’m going to talk to my you know pray to my mom or talk to my mom and see if she can help me and like keep that as a just is a a positive instead of a why
Me and maybe you had the maybe you had the why me moments I don’t know but yeah I I have had some of those why matter of fact the biggest mistakes that I’ve ever made was in the why me or Justify an action because of the way I was treated
You know it could it could be in in bad marriage it could be in a situation with a friend you know and I’ve learned that cuz you know I think about people you know like I’m I meet you know people that are addicted to drugs and you see
The these uh scroll come across or or as you’re looking on you know a feed on Instagram or you know Tik Tok or whatever you’re looking at you’ll see these interviews where they’re interviewing homeless people that are addicts and it’s easy to quickly see and say man what are they thinking but
Obviously that was a pivotable point to where they were so hurt and so down and out that they turned to something or could have been that it was just a they were in a pretty happy time wrong party having a good time with their buddies and
Tryst for the first time and it just grabs to him but I think most of my friends I know they they had something tragic happen and they took a wrong turn so they turn to a crutch and uh in my life I’ve done that you know it’s like and every time I
Realize I Justified this because of something that happened to me or the way I was being treated but I was just as wrong as who react wrong I reacted wrong so so so I that took a lot of maturity too so so I never had that happen with
My mom it wasn’t like I was so down out like dude I’m just going to go to get on some cocaine and go party and just forget get the world I I you know I think there’s a reason pain is there sometimes um you know we feel it you
Know your leg’s hurting lets you know I you definitely you got to definitely take something for the pain but that that you know if there’s something hurting in your heart or something hurting in a relationship you know you got to you got to look what is this and
Sometimes it can be some it might be some mental illness or something but some but in a lot of cases it’s there’s something that needs to be fixed there and uh so inevitably you can turn to the wrong thing to fix it and it just to
Mask it yeah and then all of a sudden the problem that you went to fix that ain’t even a problem now you got this you got real problem and I’ve done that I’ve done that so I’ve made a lot of mistakes that way but I’m I’m a lot
Wiser now as to know that hey man this sucks but you just like you’re talking about Joe Rogan you go you go hug at person yeah it wrong you rather than I get him I mean look at Tupac and Biggie Smalls they’re both dead
Why I know they didn’t have to do that I don’t I guess I’m figuring out this connected maybe that’s a whole another podcast I know we we talk about we talk about Tupac all the time how young he was and how much he accomplished and then to be taken away I over something
Dumb yeah over a beef probably I guess oh for sure probably a girl mhm probably a girl girl or or territory or something yeah yeah I used to every time I walk through MGM Grand i’ everybody thought I was Goofy i’ I’d walk out of MGM Grand
Just like Tupac every time I’d I remember that video when he left MGM Grand and every time we stayed there I’d walk out and I still do it when I walk through reception I would do it every time was wasn’t it at the BET Awards or
Something leaving that or was it a Tyson fight Tyson fight that’s what it was the NGM Grand yeah and I remember we used to stay there for the SHOT show yeah yeah and I’d walk out the lobby every time people would laugh like what are you doing I’m tup pocking
Baby I was I did have uh this is my own question what do you think is the biggest threat to hunting’s Future antis politics or fellow Hunters tearing each other down I think fellow Hunters tearing each other down I really do and and political unjust I think things sneak up on us uh
Like the Colorado wolf situation um I think there’s some organizations that fight it good but man we have got to do better as in a in The Hunting Community of of of kind of picking each other out but also bringing that good accountability to the people who need it
There are some people doing some things that’s just pretty ruthless they’re not hunting out of the joy of hunting they’re hunting because they feel like this is a lane that maybe can get them some Fame they’re they’re in it because maybe it’s the last thing maybe they weren’t that good as a Motocross
Rider maybe they wasn’t that good at singing and then I was like wait a minute maybe they weren’t hot enough to be a model yeah it wasn’t quite hot enough you know maybe it’s this or that and and like wait a minute we can I can
Go buy some air time over at Outdoor Channel and do me a show or I can pretend that I know about shooting a bow or start talking the lingo and you can create a lot of facade um but but inevitably I think we’re in a good place
And I have seen it especially in the last I would say three or four years I’ve seen it and uh and following you in the culture of hunting and the people you’re hanging with it seems to me there’s been a little bit of shift where
You and I grew up as kids hunting so absolutely if we get to go to the desert red or we get to go to a really cool place to hunt elk on a reservation or go to the heila right we we absolutely going to be strategizing like dude man
There a 3 we’re going to try to kill a big elk but I’m noticing the people I’m around they’re wanting to just learn how to do it and how to eat elk chili like we did last night yeah they’re they’re they’re mesmerized by that so being a
Provider yes so I think the trophy hunting stuff ain’t over but I’m starting to see it’s less important um over all to the culture and I think with Society Politics the way the world is like you were telling me there’s a lot of people in New York City that love what you do
They would love a day to hang with you to see what you do whether it’s the fitness or just your life or eat the chili um you know you look at Duck Dynasty what those guys brought to the table there was people all over La that those bearded you know rednecks duck
Hunting from Louisiana willly and all the boys and and so uh in heavily there’s some positivity to that to realize that there’s culture that people want to explore and now with the uncertain of politics and what’s going on in society can you go buy a chicken
Breast at the store and buy a ribey so I think people are starting to look at us a little different they’re not looking at us as just a stone cold killer they’re like that man right there can provide for his family he put he puts meat in
The freezer with his own hands that’s correct he’s not afraid I mean I’m I don’t like a lot of the politics going on but to be honest I have zero fear of of uh I do have fear of some of the stuff and and say uh you know let’s
Let’s call it some type of weird uh you know what what are these people that’s coming across the border is there some type of it is OD that they military age male what is going on will we have to fight but when it comes to this like hey
Electricity goes out and whether I’m stuck out here with you or your family stuck with mine dude we going to have a good time be all right we going we going to eat good it’s going to be a little hot you know it might be a little warm
If it’s in July and we’re in Georgia like gez you know uh but but I’m not worried about that and I think a lot of people and a lot of these personalities celebrities that are coming to you and I they’re like hey I don’t have to kill a
370 but can you teach me the right way to shoot a bow and if I were to shoot it in an elk where should I aim and how do I dress him what’s the best part to eat yeah you know you know I saw ranella you
Know he ate some he ate the eyeballs out of a caribou is that good you know like yeah you I don’t know I mean let’s start with the back strap but if it gets too hard get the eyeballs that’s all right yeah exactly so so inevitably uh uh
Maybe it was Rella who kind of shed a light on that part at the beginning but inevitably I think that’s a good place hunting can go is this it’s crossing over to where it ain’t just people wanting to learn it’s I feel like it’s a little more accepted in one way to a
Degree um because people are yeah I think Rogan’s helped Ran’s helped a lot and you know and you know people there’s people in our industry who like to take a shot at Joe just because he’s had some amazing opportunities and one thing I’ll say about it is I’ve been with him on a
Lot of hunts and yeah he’s killed some giant bulls and people will say oh well it’s you know best places he’s guided he’s whatever it’s he he has never said what does that bull score in fact he’s like there’d be a one-horn bull that broke off its whole one side it might be
A a little Sixpoint on the other side and he’ll be like can I shoot that one he doesn’t care hun does not care about any score how big it is whatever he just loves to hunt so it’s like to that your point reminded me of that like we’ve
Been so infatuated with score for so long and it was all about you know we got guys out there like 200 inch Buck I killed this many 200 inch bucks I think it is getting to it’s shifting a little to where it’s like just being that provider just being self-sufficient and
That’s that’s the draw instead of the score of these animals and because Joe is such a a vocal supporter of hunting and why it’s important it’s great that he he never has mentioned score I never heard him say anything about a score of a of a bull’s killed one time oh 100%
Yeah it it hit me to it hit me too last night when we were talking we were just talking about hunts and you asked me if I had anything coming up and I said well we getting ready to go turkey you know March and I said and also we’re a I
Might go hog hunting or something you said man I’m going hog hunting too and so it’s like yeah me and ryell and Joe might go hog now think about it who who’s going to go we the Hogs or measure Tusk but who would want to be in that
Camp how fun would that be to be hanging out and so uh to be with Rogan and ranella and and I can only imagine the campfires and the the BS the sarcasm and the cutting up and again there’s your trophy where I got some bues that are
Going to chase a big white tail and man I love kill a big white tail you and I both have shot some really nice high scoring white tails so I don’t want to be that guy like he said well it’s easy for y’all because y’all done it um but
Man it’s it’s it’s almost like uh I I got some friends that’s got some lonely Dusty trophy rooms man and they have to go in there and drink their expensive Bourbon and cigar and look at it look at it and like nobody wants to come hang with you man because you’re an [ __ ]
You are so driven yeah you can’t even make love to this animal matter of fact your wife didn’t even make love to you more because you killed it she she hates you for it too that yeah 380 meant more to you than her yeah or friendship and um but when I say that
I get it because i’ I’ve never crossed that line to get to that area but I’ve been close a few times boy I’ve been right I Pi like oh wait a minute come back over but you know you know what’s interesting to me is so we’ve been
Together now for two days hanging out shoo bows other than the bull you talked about that your mom helped you find and get that other arrow in we haven’t talked about a a a score of an animal a it it it’s just been about our love of
What we do so it’s like yeah we hunt and we kill that is how you define yourself as a hunter but that’s not it’s everything else it don’t it don’t I’m looking here I mean like if we did I I’m I’m pretty well versed on understanding elk scores there is some high scoring
Elk that you killed in this room and um but what’s cool about it is my my point on that would be like congrat congratulations to you because I know that was a trophy it don’t make me love or like you anymore because I you know I’m going love and like you because I
Know the man you are and I’m just happy for it gets back to a financial thing I’m just happy for you it doesn’t you know your kid didn’t love you anymore your wife didn’t say now you sexiest beast alive you kill that big elk and um
And I think that’s what people Miss they think people are going to look at them different to a degree but I think it’s the the whole journey uh inevitably to where I I’m just happy for you and a goal and and and I can look at like holy
Cow Cameron what did that score that’s a giant where did you get it you know we could get to that point if we had more time but right the most important things is like what’s been up where’s been going our journey I know you good I know
You’re a good elk Hunter so I know if you’re in the mountain you’re probably going to have a chance to be successful and uh and so inevitably I’m not s I’m not surprised by this you you already you already had me as a friend and a fan
Without having to do that that makes sense that makes sense no it does I mean I just think that you know what what and it’s just it’s not like we’re trying to prove anything like what’s important to us but what’s important to us comes out
And and it wasn’t do you see oh do you see this this one scored blah blah blah cuz I you know I know you have too I’ve been in Camp nothing has turned me off worse than I remember I was in this camp in Colorado this guy showed me this
Video and he’s just like he goes you think this bull would score 353 and I’m like I I I don’t I have no idea he’s like cuz I I I killed a 353 and if this one they they wanted me to kill this one and if this one doesn’t score over that
Then I’m going to be pissed off and I was just like I said who cares I said who cares what that bull do you want to kill that bull or not I was just pissed and it’s like I almost I don’t know if I almost got kicked off there CU it’s a
Great place but God that made me upset the same way man I’m just like it doesn’t [ __ ] matter what it scores exactly what does it matter it’s almost like the biggest bull I ever shot was he was right at 380 and um again it was it
Was on the hila that’s a big bull by the way that was such and I got him with my bow and I was so happy uh I I I didn’t know how big this bll was going to be we we’d seen him been hunting him and and
Oddly enough het toer had an arrow had a Carbon Express he had been shot the year before in him it was craziest thing when we we packed them out but um they’re tough animals God they’re so resilient but uh I remember that night we sitting around old fire out there in New Mexico
And uh one of my friends said man what you going to do now W you killed you a 380 with your bow what you going to do now what I said kill the first 260 I see that comes bugling in I said you know it’s almost almost like I feel like I
Can go down now that’s like I did this I don’t want to beat it that was a pinnacle like I’m I’m good you know it it almost gives me more secure security to go somewhere hunt you know I understand that well uh I just looked at
The time I got to get you over to the airport but Michael it’s been a huge honor to have you here my in my home and to share these stories with you again I’ve looked up to you for decades for decades wow you’ve been this this icon
In the industry maybe you didn’t start as an icon but you are definitely the the biggest TV icon in hunting that I’ve that might ever be now for sure because of how the industry’s changed or the network changed but it’s you know so much respect for what you’ve built what
You do who you are thank you for coming thank you for sitting down and talking bow hunt with me thank you I’m Cameron same thing man I can EO the same sentiments it’s been uh I knew it’d be fun but it’s been even more special
Almost to the point of where um I don’t know man I feel like just rekindled everything that we’ve had a chance to see each other do and now it’s just like I’m looking forward to to doing more and uh officially that way we can’t get out
Of I’m definitely I heard you had never hunted a turkey I got to get you on a fun that’s what we have to do maybe we just have to get together a big group of some of our our friends and uh go chase some turkeys and do something laidback
And I’m sure we could pick up another stories I ain’t afraid you ain’t got to twist my arm too hard on we got to make up for last year right you had that you had that tough year last year that’s but that’s bow hunting you know people
People think that hey you just show up and the animals die we got to earn that [ __ ] so anyway thank you Michael big honor let’s uh let’s keep it going thank you Cameron appreciate it Bud all right keep hammering guys they tell me stop I use every
Comment hate that makes my f GA up my energy and boom I hear them talking saying the way that I move is so reckless that is a part of my mind I’ve been blessed with giving my blood so I am Relentless my fault they want someone
To blame they s their hate it fuels my Pace I am Roy tough I am the change the like cams
23 Comments
Your both great Iam glad I got to know you both in person God's Blessings to you both on all your adventures
Awesome podcast! I’d love for you to get any of the Robertson’s from duck dynasty on the podcast. Would be a great episode! 🔨🔨
my 2 fav. bow hunters great podcast God Bless thx guys keep doing you…
Congrats to you both! This was awesome!!!
Outstanding pod, man. Had a chance to meet waddy in the early days of Roadtrips, and hearing him talk and taking in his wisdom and stories is always a pleasure. Hope to see more of y’all in the future! Keep hammerin!🤙🏼
Great video. Everybody who carries, should train!
Loved this! ❤
Man that boy can talk! Great Podcast……
To the most respected men in Bo hunting. Genesis 27.3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me venison; I’m just a simple truck, driver, that loves to bow hunt. Long long before any of us drew our first breath, I have respect for both of you. Keep on keeping on God bless and take care.
Two of the best voices hunting could have ever asked for. 🙌🏼
👍
This is AWESOME 👌
Waddel on the keep hammering collective! Is there a hunter on the planet who doesn’t know who he is? Such a humble guy it seems like too. Great show. I could listen to him tell stories all night
Im from Marbella, Spain, hunting is a big part of our original culture but lately the whole country took a more liberal, socialist approach and definitely social media is damaging our hunting community. Misinformation and lack of values stand within our society, it’s sad to say but we are facing the worst time to be a serious hunter and trying to monetice professionalism as almost everyone rejects it, it’s only small groups and private land.
This is the most important podcast in many years. The friction in the community has been growing for so many of the reasons discussed here.
I’ll admit I’ve probably been one of the jealous guys at times, but watching Cam and Michael talk brought it all back home. So much mutual respect between 2 icons who have found a way to stay humble.
Share and share more.
Happy hunting gents.
That was a great interview. I have been a fan of Micheal Waddell since he first hit the scene.
Awesome! I’ve been a Roadtrips fan since the beginning! I was watching Michael when he worked for Bill Jordan and have been following Cam for years! Two important voices in the hunting community!
Love both of you guys! I was hoping to hear y'all take about the reasons you both shoot carbon vs aluminum? Cam seemed to have swapped back to aluminum why Michael sticks to carbon, is there any reason? Only interested because I like to improve my set up!
Excellent podcast and so glad it was filmed. You can see the genuine respect and happiness from both hunters to the other. Being 52 I’ve got to watch it all unfold and thanks for letting us all join and watch your success and your hunting stories through the years. Keep hammering fellas!!!!
Somehow hunting is a heritage but how to pass it on is tough .
St. Elmos!! Great place to eat in Indianapolis.
2 GREAT guys right here!! Hunting and a laugh. What more do you want??
We love you Michael.