Hound Media Summit

Listen in as the most recognizable voices in Hound Media and podcasting come together to discuss media and its importance to hunting with hounds in 2023 and into the future. 

Special Thanks to Ben Sheets of Tree Talkin’ Media for hosting Josh Michaelis of Fueled by Joy, Jason Duby of Full Cry Magazine, Clayton Stark of Stark Outdoors and Chris Powell of Houndsman XP.

www.houndsmanxp.com

Check out the Sportsmen's Empire Podcast Network for more relevant outdoor content!

[00:00:00] Don't touch that dial. You are not living in the twilight zone. You are listening to the Houndsman XP podcast special edition. This episode was recorded live at Autumn Oaks. Special thank you to Ben Sheets at Tree Talk of Media for pulling this all together and getting several podcasters and media personalities together to talk about the future of hounds and hunting with hounds in the United States.

We're all running this show on the same day at the same time. Same time. So whichever podcast platform, whoever you're listening to, you're going to get the same message. And then that is so important when getting an effective message out there is having a unified voice. All of us together sit [00:01:00] down in one place to talk about hounds, hunting with hounds, how we're making progress in the bigger world of the hunting industry.

Thanks Ben for pulling this together. Stay tuned folks. This is a good one. It's a box shaker. It's time to dump the box.

This is the Houndsman XP[00:02:00]

podcast. The original podcast for the complete Houndsman. Look at your coat

of golf dressin huh? Where do we get him? Where The podcast that represents our lifestyle of extreme performance.

Uniting houndsmen across the globe from east to west, north to south. You to catch a cat or a lion, you have to have teamwork. We take you to the wildest places on earth. So how many days a week can you as I can, to be honest with you, anytime that I get I'm out there. Join us for every heart pounding adventure on Houndsman XP.[00:03:00]

I'll tell you, like I tell everyone else, I'm going to hunt whether you're here or not, so you might as well be here.

We're looking to improve on the foundations that have been laid by guys like Chris and others, and I've run it by you guys and I've talked to Jason about it as well. Jason knows what I'm talking about, we got a lot of work to do on it. So I don't want to get too in depth yet, but we're coming up like a summit.

It's like a nuclear summit. Nobody wants to lay all their cards. Yeah, we can't reveal all the secrets. I'd say we're not hiding it from each other. We're just hiding it from the listeners, which I don't know if it's a good ploy or not, but I don't want to. Announce anything until, we are 100 percent ready, but just keep your eye out.

Cause all these guys that are in this podcast are going to be involved in this, dog media of all kinds. Yeah. I don't know if I can partner up with Michaela's, you already broke up once he left a bad taste of [00:04:00] his mouth. No, the thing about media and the whole reason, The reason that Houndsman XP was started is because there was no 21st century style media and I'm excited about Fulcry coming back.

I think it's going to be awesome and I think our crowd is a traditional crowd that likes having that print media in their hands and things that they can pass down. But at the time that Houndsman XP was started, there was no but there was no body in the space telling our story and what happens when You don't tell your story is other people try to tell it for you, and they get it wrong, or they miss key points and the worst thing that happens is the anti hunting community was coming out and telling our story for us, and it was affecting policy makers that were making the laws that we have to hunt by and things that were just going south, and it's pretty exciting really [00:05:00] because now, four years after we launched the Houndsman XP podcast, I was talking to Alan Gingrich about it.

There's a whole, there's a whole section of a building set up here for people to produce podcasts about hounds. And we're getting the message out and making appearances on podcasts like Peterson's hunting. I did that a few weeks ago. The largest hunting magazine organization in the world has a podcast and you get to go on there and I tell the story of the houndsman and represent us and tell our own story and the national deer association, it's no secret, Josh and I have done several podcasts about the relationships between deer hunters and houndsmen, and we've fired our shots, they've fired their shots and everything, but at the end of the day, we've got to figure out how to work together. Exactly. And being able to build something And I guess what I'm trying to say is the rest of the hunting public and the hunting industry and community is starting to recognize the values that we bring to the [00:06:00] table for wildlife management, for financial reasons, all of it together.

It's exciting. Now I'm like OSG, which I'm pretty sure it owns Peterson's. They just launched their hound magazine. They're realizing that, Oh, this is a crowd. We should be recognizing, bringing, bringing to the table. Yeah, meat eater didn't do anything with hounds before we, before we started, we as a community started bringing this kind of information out and they saw the value of it.

So now, they're trying to tap into it and tell the story. So those larger media organizations and a lot of them were pro hound, they were, they wanted to be with the houndsman, but they didn't want to take that gamble. And they didn't want to dip their toes in that water because they were worried about what would happen.

And as guys like Chris and others, they brought these wonderful houndsmen up to the forefront. People, companies like that and large organizations seen that, this was well received this was well [00:07:00] done. These guys are not just hill folk that are coming down from the hills and raiding our deer hunting ground and stuff like that.

And the, how they, the science behind and the biology behind how beneficial we are for the actual wildlife and stuff like that came to the forefront and then allowed those bigger companies with more eyeballs and more ears. To take advantage of that and see that, we can delve into this space a little bit Safely without having it blow back on us because these are our brothers These are outdoorsmen just like us and it was just such a benefit.

I think what do you think pal since maybe? 2016 17 where it just started The wheels started turning on, in some of these bigger companies and they were following, leads from Houndsman XP and others and, they got into the space a little bit. Yeah, you talk about companies like Onyx.

Yeah. That, that see the value of being able to reach into this community. And there's been others, with, joy dog food's been in business for a long time but joy dog food and the fuel by joy podcast. And, it's just even [00:08:00] w w they spread their influence across the U S five years ago, you never saw a w t shirt at all mocks, you just didn't because it was quite a few.

I have to and so they were more of a Western houndsman type. Company and great lakes company. They always have a strong hold there and I'm not going to try to speak for W, but what I'm saying is now you're starting to see those, that logo show up in Virginia and Richmond, Indiana. So I think it's beneficial for all of us.

And all of it is just, and that's where I feel like we really differ in the media scene and we don't have. Bill to pay, we don't have sponsors. We can do whatever we want until we, occasionally we'll get the phone call to back her down a little bit, but, we just talking about that?

It's so it's a [00:09:00] little different, but just to see, from marketing standpoint, it's been really good for us too, because it put this in. In people's minds, and I think of this new hound magazine that just hit newsstands, like in Merlin, Oregon, you can look it up. It is not real big.

I walked down to the local raise and sitting on the shelf. And for me, like it was funny because a lot of people were You know, like it was the elephant in the room, like with us buying full cry and what we thought of it. And I said, that's a fantastic thing for us because there's a company that sees a value in what we do enough that they just sold a pile of advertising and they don't gamble on that kind of an expense.

So it's we are finally hitting that. The front end, like Chris is saying this is our chance to join forces and write our own narrative. Take back what's been taken and just... Keep putting that best foot forward month in, month out. Heck, like guys like Chris, what, you're doing three podcasts a week now?[00:10:00]

Yeah. We drop three shows a week. So you got three, we've got two over on W, you got fueled by joy. You got Ben, you got, like how many of just this immediate group of guys we know it's crazy to think about where we were like three years ago, three years ago, probably three podcasts and now there's probably 10.

It's different than what people think it is. It's not, we're all sitting here and we know how much work it takes to produce a podcast, not only work, but it takes finances to do it too. And I'm fortunate because, the state pays me not to come to work anymore, which is a good deal for both of us.

But. With retirement, but it still takes above and beyond that kind of income to be able to do it and do it effectively and getting back to what you said, Jason, we're sitting. The worst thing that the hound hunting community can do is to disengage or to back away from this [00:11:00] opportunity we have in the media world to, now's the time we're sitting right there.

The promise land in front of us. We just got to find people that are willing to follow us into it. And I'll go out on a limb and I bet a lot of you guys probably feel the same way. I think 90 percent of us started off looking at something just to get involved in the health papers and dog food or some gas.

And now it turned into this. I don't know if we wanted it or not, but we are the voices. Yeah, I know, it's still not, right? We're how many years in and we're still paying our own bills. It's crazy to think, like, how to just, guys like all of us sitting here wanting to get involved and do something on a bigger level, now it's holy crap, that fast track.

That's key right there. It's never been about, building an empire or, I'm telling you right now that it's not a moneymaker, not a huge, wait a minute, Chris, you're not getting rich off of Houndsman XP. I just, I seen him get out of a Bentley earlier.[00:12:00]

I don't know what he's talking about. I told the driver to drop me off a couple of blocks and let me walk in. Like I walked here. Yeah. Let me rent a 99 civic, so I can pull it in here, so people don't think I'm highfalutin, but it's, we're sitting on the, we're sitting on the verge of being able to break into this thing.

And if we can all stay on the same message and present Houndsman in a way that base and adds value and things like that, then we're going to get there. Exactly. And as more podcasts come out and everything, and you get more people, no matter what, you're always going to get some characters and bad actors and that's also what I want to talk about is just.

How can we try to all stay on that, on the same path and stick to that same message and, try our best to make sure houndsmen are presented in a good light and not bring those bad actors out. I don't think that's a problem for the guys that are around here. The guys that are at this table right now.

Oh, I agree. That's not and I can only [00:13:00] speak for the Eastern coon hunter and that's what I try to do. Cause even though I give Powell a hard time, I don't know nothing about bear hunting. I don't know nothing about lion dogs. That's exactly right but on the coon hunter side and I love them they're my people.

I've been raised by them and with them since I was five years old, I've been coming to these events for as long as I can remember. It's a community and a culture that I wanted to showcase the right way. This is why I started doing this with Chris years ago when we started The Truth. I didn't, I wasn't money or fame or any of that stuff.

I just wanted to be able to, you were mad because somebody else dropped a podcast that misrepresented. Yeah, I've talked to Jason about that

and so you call me, he's man, I want to do a podcast. And it's let's do it. And we turned it into the truth. You're welcome. Thank you, Jason. You're my, I've been taking Chris this whole time and it was you guys that helped me along. But, I love them, but they don't have a lot of [00:14:00] foresight as a community.

They don't they're these guys that are down in Oklahoma right now competing for 60, 70, 000 or whatever they're hunting for right now. They're not worried about five years from now. They're worried about winning this late round. Yeah. They're worried about the next dog that they have to get.

To keep doing what they love to do. These guys that are here at this event that come down to just one event a year like Autumn Oaks, they're just worried about feeding their families and their kids and their, and coming down and pleasure hunting for fun, and they get to come out here one time as a family and enjoy themselves, and that is all great.

That's all great. But somebody, and I don't want to seem like I'm, the messiah or anything, but someone has to help them along on the outside. Someone has to Speak for them. Someone has to show them, show people what they actually are. But some of those same people that you're trying to help don't understand that what you're doing.

Yeah. And they think that we're doing it for fame or do you think that we're doing it just so people can see or hear our voice or and it couldn't be [00:15:00] farther from the opposite. And so That's coming along. That's getting better. I get here to this event and it's really invigorating. Cause if everybody's shaking your hand, I love your podcast.

I love what you're doing. Thanks for everything. And that helps. But then you also get the emails that I'm an elitist and I don't do this. Yeah. And I'm, I just want to grab them and be like, I'm trying to help you idiot. And it's a fine line and I'm from Fueled by Joy podcasts and I'm here to help.

I'm like the government, you might want to be, you might want to be leery, but I just want to scream at them that I'm trying to help them. And some of them haven't realized it yet. We're just trying to help them along. Times are changing and it's a fine line between trying to preserve the culture and the community and the things that we are and move into the 21st century.

Finally, there's a reason why deer hunting media. That's been probably around longer than any other form of hunting media. And yeah that's helped build their industry. Deer hunting is an industry in the United [00:16:00] States and, but it also is, yeah, but it's also turned into having a lot of influence with people that are making the rules, the laws, and it brings a lot of money and everything like that.

But even the early days of deer hunting media. Weren't good, but they kept at it and now they're to the point where you've got shows like meat eater and that are just rocking the charts because they stuck with it and they stayed on message and they tried to represent deer hunting. In a positive way, and houndsmen need to start celebrating the positive successes of ethical houndsmen, people that want to do things right, that have principle in their life, stop celebrating the outlaws and the cheaters and stuff like that.

The good thing about houndsports is we're always five years behind. There's always a, there's always a blueprint, right? You look at what Rogan's been [00:17:00] doing for 20 years, here we are. And you look at, what the outdoor media has done for fishing and whitetail hunting and even Western big game.

And all we got to do is follow that blueprint and, they've laid it all out for us. We just got to do it the right way. Like they did. It's easier for us than it was the pioneers and some of the other sports it's got to be. Yeah. Yeah. There was no blueprint. I ain't part of One of the hardest things across our community though you're talking to the coon hunters and we talk Western big game hunters a lot of times and it's hard because like coon hunting, Chris, I think you've said this before, it's it's one of those things where like people aren't as attached to a coon because they like, it's legitimate crop damage.

Like it's all these things, right? Like coon hunting is a massive Yeah. Yeah. Like you compared to deer hunting now, like on a way smaller scale, but these guys aren't given only trucks and 100, 000 purses if they're not making money. That's a business standpoint, right? So like their support [00:18:00] behind that community, I think, Josh, you got a leg up as long as everybody can come together or select you, like you're saying to represent that.

There's some clout behind that. Yeah. And that's where I think a lot of the western guys can get hung up. It's we're fighting hard. To keep every bit of what we have and then there's guys out there, having these hunts and it's not a battle. But I gotta remind them, it's a battle nationwide.

We're all battling the same thing. That is some of our best PR is those programs and those youth events and the Saints. You benefit hunts. Yes. Like that, you guys are great PR for us as a sport for sure. It's also Jason, it's a deal where yeah, we've been fighting hard, but at some point you've got to figure out how to fight smart, and I'm a historian.

So I look at, what we did in the American revolution with a smaller force, less trained, we were victorious. And this, [00:19:00] when you're talking about the anti hunting community and what they're trying to do in the West, it is a war and. People have got to get off the sidelines and stop Taliban now We're actually Rogers Rangers but it's time for you guys have fought those battles though, like People don't want to acknowledge that.

And even within the Coonhunter community, heathering laws, kennel rent restrictions. When you talk about Coonhunter, there's no glaring threat like there is in Colorado right now for Coonhunter in Indiana. Cause you got farmers, you got homeowners, you got fish and wildlife managers.

Like they're saying, we got too many raccoons. So the coon hunters are slower to engage on that front. Whereas the houndsman in Colorado right now, they're going to be in a fight for their life in 2024 with a ballot initiative out there. Yup. And I just got back from Florence, Colorado at the [00:20:00] Colorado predator hunters and trappers association conference.

And they are. Trying to put on a full court press, to try to stand up against this, to give you, to give people in the east, this is a slide that they showed that just floored me. There's 5. 8 million people in the state of Colorado, population wise. 5. 2 million of those people live on the eastern, the front range around Denver, Boulder and those places.

There's no way they can outvote them, so you've got to figure out a way to sway the opinions. And we can do that with positive media, with good media. Yeah. Definitely. I think that's what we're all trying to do and trying to fight the bad press that we do get from a lot of those outside influences and, those anti hunters that, like you said, they try to.

They try to write our story, and we're trying to fight back. But it's hard to break the united front, and that's just it. Everybody in this room, all differences and paths [00:21:00] aside we've all kind of stood by each other and helped lift each other up, because we all know that this is good for the Corps, and I'm, I can say I'm happy to still be working with all you guys.

Yeah. Because it's gonna take all of us. To make that difference because they'll just start chipping us away one at a time like they do the voting population, no, it's it's hard. For folks to grasp things that aren't directly affecting them right now, and me and you talked about this too, Jason we're just folks that just want to live in the hills with our dogs and come down about every three or four months for groceries like they did in the old days, get me some coffee and some flour and I'm going to go back and turn this pup loose to get those people involved into something that's happening in Colorado.

Or that's happening in Washington state or what's happening in Colorado should be just as important to a person turning a hound loose in Indiana or Missouri or anywhere else is it is to that guy, turning that a hound loose because they're not going to stop [00:22:00] there once they accomplish what they're doing there, they're going to move to the next thing and people are like, yeah, it's.

Oh, that was Colorado. I don't want mountain lions anyway. We keep a hound. And so the way they try to defeat it here is with tethering laws, kennel bills, bring your dog in what's below 50 degrees and above 70 degrees, animal welfare bills is what they're trying to come. Yeah, to push on us here.

So they're going to regulate us out of business. If we don't make a stand and come together, we got to back the guy in Colorado, the New Mexico houndsman, they have a different story in a different past, but they've got a common thread and that's their houndsman and what they do is special to them and it will affect us.

And it is affecting us. Oh yeah. And on the flip side, while we're fighting, to keep things. There's also the flip side where we're fighting to gain some things, Montana had a big win just recently with the getting, South Dakota is trying to open some more up for lion hunting.

So we've got to fight that fight too. So [00:23:00] the deer hunters in their sport and others have been so good about never being satisfied with where they're at. They never slowed down. They were always, you look at a Delta waterfowl banquet down in Texas or something like that, and you just look at these huge organizations that do so much for conservation and stuff, but they just, they never were satisfied, they kept fighting and even when they thought they've made it, they, they were still, going guns blazing all the time and we got to do the same thing.

And it is hard, especially when your pals age and you're old. You just, Hey, at least he's retired and he doesn't have to work a day job and do all this and I can still beat your leg wrestling. Yeah probably I've learned I'm the most terrible leg wrestler in the Mississippi.

That's right. No doubt. You got West too. Cause Seth's West of the Mississippi. Yeah, I guess so. You're in the it's just a deal where you've got [00:24:00] to, there's a couple of things that, that from my perspective that are key to our future, we've got to be able to talk about the values that we add to the hunting community, not only the hunting community, but to the non hunting community.

If you enjoy, you get, we as a community, every houndsman needs to be able to, when somebody stops him and says, what's that box in the back of your truck and why are you doing what you're doing? And they've got to be able to articulate what values they add to society. Yeah. Just like this weekend right here, it's a 12 million shot in the arm for the community of Richmond, Indiana.

They're not in any hurry to get rid of automobiles, restaurants are full. Hotels are full gas stations are selling stuff, it's just rocking. We've got to be able to explain that and showcase that in a way that people understand. And then on the wildlife side, we've got to be able to say, these are the values that we add.

When there's a lion study done in the Rocky Mountains, not only does it help wildlife managers understand what [00:25:00] lions populations are like, but they find the bones, and from a lion kill. of a deer and they take that back and they make decisions for the health of the mule deer populations.

So there's a lot of crossover but people aren't talking about that stuff. So when you get the person in the Subaru that likes to go to Rocky mountain national park and they've got to know, huh? So don't be knocking Subarus. Hey, I got one man. It's got all kinds of hunting stickers and stuff on the back of it.

And my business partner is you're just trying to piss everybody off, but we've got to be able to tell that story and tell those people there's an elk there because I'm a hunter and I helped put it here for you to come out and look at today. Yeah. Looking towards the future, how can we better do this across all these platforms?

Like I said, podcast, YouTube, maybe going a little more mainstream also, and with magazines and stuff. What do you guys think as far as what we should be doing and how do we stay united and how do we keep this in the forefront? You just got here, Clayton. What do you think?[00:26:00] It's nice to be here.

Welcome to the party, bro. I would say just what all of us have been doing is just we don't really have to do anything fancy or do anything different. Just show... What we do for what it is because I've told a lot of people if there's anyone out there that actually likes dogs and being around dogs, if they just see the relationship that we have with our families and our kids and the dogs that we have, that they're bare minimum, they're going to be open to it if not fall in love with it if they get a chance to go.

So I think it's a lot of just exposure and the right exposure. Because. Up until recently if you did not have a family member that did it or if you didn't have a family member that would get Like the magazines you might not have known what it was. Yeah, it was it's a a cult thing It's an a regional thing where out west there are more bear hunters than lion hunters to stuff because that's what they have here and I've told people before If we had bear where I live I'd bear hunt too if I can hunt it with a dog I would [00:27:00] do it.

So I just I think it comes down to just Being good people and raising good kids and having good families and just showing who we are. I think is just represent us for what we are and There's always gonna be people that don't like it, but those people are They're just better people and there's some people you can't reach, but I think the majority of people that everyone likes dogs, most people like dogs and they see our dogs get taken care of a lot better than a lot of people do in this country.

To be honest, I don't like any of my dogs. You'll have that sometimes. They're special ones, but I think Clayton touched on it too. I agree, and we need to get content like we're doing for the every man, for the every woman, for the, that suburban house mom that's got a labradoodle that she thinks that she dresses up for her birthday parties and stuff.

Those folks need to be exposed to what we actually are and not what they think we are. [00:28:00] To do that, we need mainstream media just like these guys are doing, like Clayton and Chris and Ben and Jason and me. I think all these guys here have done a really good job of representing the houndsman in the correct way.

And we all have talked about this. There's so much more we can do. We can do more and we're working on it. There's a solid leadership principle that I always rely on. And I used it when I was a supervisor. But you got to show people what a good job looks like and you've got to step out there and everybody here wants to be able to hunt 10 years from now, but what's that going to take?

So it's up to us as media to showcase the people that are doing it right and the people that are honorable and principle driven and showcase that and show people what a good job looks like. And those people are entertaining. There's a lot of people that are like that, that can entertain someone who doesn't even know what we're doing out [00:29:00] here.

For example, look at Duck Dynasty. Look what they did for duck hunting. They made it huge. And why? Because they were entertaining. Because they were characters. It was a character driven format. Even, because I remember the first time, and I've been lucky enough to hang out with Phil and Jason Sy, all of them, a few times.

What on that show is usually what you're going to get. Maybe they were putting on a show for me, too. But before they were big Phil used to go around and do revivals. They would book him. They booked him at a church at Danville, Iowa. And I think they were on Duckman 4 on VHS. Oh, yeah.

And I went to get, because I love waterfowl hunting. I still do. And I would go get their VHS, and they weren't big. Nobody knew who they were yet. Just the duck hunting community, the hardcore duck hunters knew what they were. And I would just to hang out with them and to see them and to be around them.

It's no different than going over here to Hoop and Tater's trailer and listen to them for a little bit. It's no different than going here and talking to Heath and Chris and Chip Kosher's in there. Don't even, he's got a Boykin Spaniel, but it's fun, yeah. And it's the [00:30:00] same thing. And if we highlight them in the ways that they are, you don't have to sugarcoat it.

You don't have to change it. You don't have to edit it. Just highlight the good people and 90 percent of us are good people, me excluded, but like I'm elitist, everybody serves as a good, as an example, even if it's a bad example, I'm a good example of what not to do. We've got a great opportunity now.

Like you were saying, Clayton, it's about family and kids and morals and values. And to me, that. Directly correlates with, all the whole Duck Dynasty theme and what they've done on with their Ashamed podcast and like all of that. It's just, those are real people and you think about around this table, all joking aside, Josh, like we're all real people with a calling to do something that's bigger.

And the world right now is craving, it's so crazy out there. People are craving stability and family and stuff like that because a lot [00:31:00] of people aren't exposed to it, you know They don't get the same opportunities that look at what? Who is it? Oliver Anthony?

Yeah. The guy that wrote the song. He's an overnight sensation. Number one iTunes. We just need to get Rogan to make one post about us. We're there. We're there. Yeah. Yeah. I don't think it's that far off either because some of the guys out west he bow hunts with, they hunt with dogs. Clay Newcomb, who's friends of ours.

Yes. We can, he was on, yeah, he was on Rogue. We're making those strides, but it's a slow process and we just got to stay very vigilant and we're going to stay consistent. I think that's the biggest thing that we can all do. And it's easy for those of us sitting at this table, I deal with it.

That's, I don't know that it is sometimes because it is, this business is driven by downloads and how we perform for sponsorship. That's what's got us the onyx types recognition is. Enjoy dog food. Yeah. Enjoy [00:32:00] dog food. N. W. How do you supply? Come on. We're all plugging. Stark Outdoors.

Stark Outdoors. Stark Outdoors. But I'm just saying, you can't sell and get the brand recognition if nobody's going to tune in. That's just way business works. Yeah. So we have to pay attention to that. But the thing for me Is I know what podcasts perform well for me and which ones don't I look at those numbers all the time.

Yeah, and but I'm not willing to sell out We've got just for the sake of downloads and ranks and charitable and all that goofy stuff, you know I'm gonna stay on message because I believe that we've got to speak the truth We've got to provide the entertainment, but we can't back off A thousand people listening to something valuable that's going to help the sport is more important than 500, 000 people listening to something that's detrimental.

Yeah. Agree. We just have to... And Chris does such a good job of the, [00:33:00] of fighting that fight. And I don't do as good a job of it. I like to do the podcast that I like. And I'm a selfish guy when it comes to that. I'm not going to lie. I'm right there with you. I get it. I want things that interest me.

If it's interesting to me, then I put it on the podcast. And that's what I do. And I should do that. But then I look over and I'm like, Chris is already doing that. He's got my back. We'll just leave it to pal, cause, it's... It's something that we all have to consider, that how are we being perceived constantly, when I show up out here and even how I put my clothes on in the morning, if I'm going to be out here in front of everybody, which it doesn't look like it today, but a lot of times, it makes a difference, how you appear to the public and how you act and how you react is so important.

Yeah. Now we have so many platforms that like this confluence in time, like before, full cry was the original 1939. That's what we had. And then there was, you move in, you got F and T tailgate adventures. When I first got into hounds, like out here on the West coast, that was my only contact.[00:34:00]

That was my connection. And then you move on to Facebook taking its thing and now we've got the podcast, which I feel like was the first big boom. Like that, we're still feeling the ripple effect and we're still riding that wave and seeing the benefits it can have for our sport. But now it's like, Clayton, we've got YouTube, we've got the podcast with all of us, we've got print media, we've got mainstream Netflix, like exposure to a degree.

Like it's literally, all these things are right now. And I feel like there's a group of us that really feel the gravity of that and what we can do together. And then there's the rest of the people that are gonna hopefully never see a hiccup. And the reason for that is we're all working behind the scenes with a consistent message.

And putting those things forward in repetition, every form of media at this point, we're looking at a potential influence. Look at our podcast guests lately. You got Shaki over here on Houndsman XP, you got Giannis Patelis over [00:35:00] here on the W. We're really making strides into other areas where we're getting just.

And everyone's Oh, like I mentioned, Mr. Bear grease over on the Rogan podcast, doing his thing. Yeah. It's just, it's getting there and we're, we are riding a wave right now. I'm telling you, man, I think we're right on the, we're right on the crest of the hill and we can see it.

We just gotta, we gotta be consistent and follow through. There's gotta be follow through. Yeah. Yeah. And do what we're all doing right now. And be, I hope this is an example to the whole hound hunting community. Everybody at this table is here for a reason and it's you listening. Or you reading, or you watching.

That is the reason we're all here. And that's what we all need to do. And the media has brought us YouTube

channel. And making a stupid video that Powell liked, he never would have called [00:36:00] me and put me on Houndsman XP. I never would have got the job with Joy Dog Food. I never would have went into this next venture that I'm going into. All this stuff has benefited us as well. You look at the downloads that Clayton's getting.

You look at the listenership that Ben has and what W's doing with their stretch. This media, it has helped us. Don't get me wrong, we've benefited from it. But also we've been very good as a community about doing it the right way too. No, I think that goes to the type of people that are doing it.

Obviously you're not going to set out if your goal is just to make money. You're probably not going to be. Filming or doing podcasts for getting a bird dog, promise you won't think nobody here on this podcast gives care about money. That's exactly right. It's gotta be a passion and you look at the founding fathers, they risked life, limb, business fortunes, all that to ensure that we had this country that we live in today.

And [00:37:00] I look at this group of, guys and innovators sitting in this podcast right now. I look at them the same way, because I can tell you, if I was making the bank, I wouldn't be driving a 2007 Tundra with 200, 000 miles on it, yep. And I'd have better dogs. I think we all would.

Yeah. I feel odd man out. I was wishing I could have been there to see it all. But like now there's been the media booth and you guys obviously not knew it. Oh, what's the feedback like from like general population? Are you guys getting a lot of interactions from listeners and feedback and stuff like that?

I get very little negative feedback when I'm in public ever, at this hunt, it's always positive. I'll get a. Maybe a guy I side eyes me or something walking by but those guys though. They only talk on the internet, But when we're at these events, it's fantastic and I also get feedback From people that are not houndsmen [00:38:00] that are, I never knew this, or I can't believe you guys are hunting for a hundred thousand dollars.

And, this is crazy. I've got bird dogs and I want to do this, I don't know why we can't do that. And so it's overwhelmingly positive. And it does overwhelm me sometimes because the last thing I want is noticed. And I think all these guys are the same way, but it is good feedback and I think we are doing a good job as a community and I don't.

Yeah, we're all going to get some negative about an opinion that I have because I am, I'm one of my bad habits is that I do a voice those, but yeah, you're going to get a little bit of negative feedback, but as a whole, and I think Chris and Clayton and Ben are going to say the same thing.

It's been pretty positive. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Anytime I go to an event like this, I have never gotten any sort of negative reaction whatsoever. As soon as we're done here, I'll give you some names and numbers. No, I'll give you my opinion. No, I'm kidding. No, it's been... Handwritten letters [00:39:00] that are complaints lately.

Oh, geez. I like those. Those are fantastic. Nobody does that anymore. That can't. Oh, dude, let me tell you. They're still out there. Oh, I love that. That's because we're not in print media. Yeah. Plus, I've been writing your name on public restroom walls with your number and address. If someone has a complaint about my podcast or my opinion or my live feed or something like that.

Sit down, get some really nice stationary, get a quill pen, ink whole works, write it out, and I promise you then, I will pay attention. I'm like, that guy, he may have a point. You really pay attention when it's hieroglyphics, man I had to remember people still use shorthand. Oh, nice. That is fantastic.

I would love to have some, any kind of feed, negative, especially. I would love to have some negative feedback written out like that. That would be impressive. I would be impressed. I would put them on the podcast the next week. There you go. Everybody write your letter and send it to, what's [00:40:00] your address, pal?

Stick man, stick dog, cave wall drawings. Yeah. Oh man. Guys, I know we're all busy here, so I don't want to hold us up. I really appreciate all you guys sitting down. Yeah. I think it's been a great conversation. I think we're moving in the right direction. I think like Chris said, you just we're at the crest of that hill and we just need to keep our foot on the gas and make sure we follow through.

So definitely. Thank you guys all you guys. Yep. Thanks for being there and representing all of us. This is a big deal. I know there's. It's a huge turnout for not just those of us sitting here, but the community we've surrounded ourselves with. And it's awesome to see the showings there at Oak. So thanks all you guys for all you're doing.

Thanks for tuning in to this bonus episode of the Houndsman XP podcast. And we're calling this the Hound Media Summit. There's great sit down with Josh Michaelis with Fueled by Joy podcast, Jason [00:41:00] Doobie of Full Cry, Clayton Stark. of Stark Outdoors. And again, special thanks to Ben Sheets for doing the editing, the final edit, and all of us agreeing to drop this podcast on the same day.

Putting down all of the differences, all the competitive nature, this message was so important to all of us that we wanted to make sure that we took. The opportunity and we did a simulcast on each one of our own feeds so that no matter if you tune into a podcast on this date, it pops up, you're going to hear this message.

Great job, folks. Thanks for tuning in. Come find us on the interwebs and on Facebook and places like that. That's all I got. This is Chris Powell with the Houndsman XP podcast. This is Fair Chase.

‍