The Journey Into Outdoor Media

On this episode of The Nomadic Outdoorsman Dan talks with tv show host and outdoor fanatic Kyle Green about his journey into outdoor media and his passions in the field.

Kyle began his career in television as a fitness consultant for a local medical show, quickly rising through the ranks to become Vice President. While producing many of his own shows, Kyle was nominated for 3 Emmys. Wanting to use his experience to promote his passion for the outdoors, he left the show to produce his own. Of the original creators of the show, Kyle has always been described as "The Passion." His love for the outdoors developed while learning from his Dad on countless hunting and fishing trips. Gaining this appreciation of the outdoors, Kyle has a wealth of experience in both hunting and fishing, but still enjoys learning new tactics with the audience.

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

Connect with Dan Mathews and The Nomadic Outdoorsman

On GoWild, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook

Shop Dan's Podcast Gear and Hunting Gear

Connect with Rogue Texan Outfitters

On Instagram, Facebook, and Online

Connect with Infinite Outdoors

On Instagram, Youtube and Online

Connect with Greenway Outdoors

On Instagram, Youtube and Online

‍

[00:00:00] All right guys. Welcome to today's show and I am really excited about today's episode. This next guest is amazing. It is Kyle Green from Greenway Outdoors, and not only is his story about getting into the outdoor media space and having his own TV show and insane, he is super passionate about learning and staying humble and just trying to get as much information from other people as he can.

On top of that, he's taking the information that he gathers, putting it into great content, and trying to get more people into hunting and fishing, and making sure that this legacy of hunting and fishing in the United States continues on long after he's gone. And so I'm just pumped, you're about to hear some of the most passionate.

Podcasting you've ever heard and getting to hear his story, his journey of going all in with his buddies and now living the dream that a lot of people think is impossible. A lot of us grew up watching [00:01:00] hunting TV and it was just like, man, that would be amazing. Obviously I'm never gonna get to do that.

This guy decided that's what he was going after. So let's jump into this episode with Kyle.

Like he was doing things that were just badass. That was one of the coolest moments of my life. I was really scared, but knowing that Dan had the gun, I did have the rifle, like we would be Okay.

All right guys. Welcome to today's show and joining me on the show today, I've got Kyle Green with Greenway Outdoors. Kyle, what's going on man? How you doing, brother? Pretty good. You're down in South Carolina right now chasing after thunder chickens, aren't you? Trying to, yeah. Yeah. We're in South Carolina right now and we got here a couple days ago and so far we've been getting the runaround from Eastern Gobblers and they say in this area, specifically South Carolina, that this [00:02:00] is the hardest area in the country.

And I'm sure people have arguments on that, but the hardest area in the country to hunt long beards. And I am starting to see why. Cuz they are pretty smart. It's gonna make for a lot of good content, I would imagine. But man, you should have come over to Missouri. These chicken or these turkeys are dumb here.

I am not a good Turkey hunter and I somehow kill one every year. Yeah. I, it's a different ballgame here. I grew up hunting turkeys in Michigan and had plenty of experiences and good times with them here. In Michigan, but coming to South Carolina, everyone's talking about it.

And the headquarters here for National Wild Turkey Federation is here. We are coming here to film some content with them and even some promotional stuff for conservation for History Channel. And they're like, yeah, and there's turkeys. We'll get y'all set up in the lodge as you can see, where I'm at right now is awesome.

It's super cool. But our luck with actually shooting birds has been a little difficult so far, but we just outsmarted like we go there, they're there, we leave, they're there, [00:03:00] they're, everything like that. But just, we had one get within 60 yards of us today, but we were never able to close the deal.

And looking back, maybe I should have pulled the trigger, but I decided to hold up just cuz the camera guys weren't ready and everything else. Hopefully this afternoon or tomorrow morning will play out better for us. Man, you've got a lot more patience than I do because I keep going with, oh man, I'm gonna film my hunts.

I'm gonna get this on camera, I'm gonna do that. My mind, I can't get it to switch over to like production mode. I'm just like, it's time. I gotta pull the trigger. I, my camera will be right here on a camera arm, or I'll have a GoPro and I just forget to hit the record button. And I'm like, man, after the fact, I wish I would've done it.

But in the moment I'm like, I gotta shoot this animal. Yeah it's, I have to tell myself sometimes too, it's like I feel myself getting super excited when I'm going out just hunting if I'm taking my girlfriend out or my nieces or something like that. I find myself getting super excited and I'm like, why?

I do this all the time, but it's because it is a different mode, and at the end of the day, I've had to let wa, trophy animals and [00:04:00] different things that I'd be really excited about hunting, walk, just cuz it wasn't the right moment for the cameras and that sort of thing. And Especially when we hunt with other people.

And this goes for a lot of the content that you see in the outdoor industry too. There's a lot of people hunting that happen to be filming. We're filming about happening, we happen to be hunting and I, I gotta keep that in the forefront. But with Turkeys, man, it's just like they gotta die, oh, yeah. Yeah. I, what is it about South Carolina? Do you think that's, makes it so difficult? Is it the cover? Is it the predator pressure? Hunting pressure. I would say it's the birds, honestly. To me it seems like it's the birds. It just, they seem smarter. They seem smarter. They've got one here that they've determined is seven years old, and it's like the classic hunting show stuff, where they call it the undertaker.

This specific bird. They've got a name for it and stuff, but I just think it's the birds and the way they're pressured, the way they're covered. Specifically the pressure, though, they just seem to be smarter. They just seem to be smarter. Today we had one that hung up [00:05:00] at 300 yards, and I, there's a big ditch in between us.

He could've easily gotten over if he would've just been nice, but yeah, I just feel like they don't play. There's plenty of hens. There's plenty of hen around. So they don't need to play as much, and you make one false call and they'll flag you every time and be on their way. So I just, I think it's the intelligence of the birds.

What made 'em smarter here? I don't know. But they do seem to be smart. I know Eastern Turkeys, you can talk to anybody and like people will rank it, but I would say something like, Probably 60% of hunters would agree, maybe 70% that eastern turkeys are the hardest. You can you're always gonna have the outliers.

You're like, oh, you don't know what you're talking about, or this or that. Cuz no one seems to ever agree completely in the outdoor industry. But yeah, I'd say 60% would at least agree that eastern turkeys are probably the hardest. I'm glad I didn't start Turkey hunting in South Carolina, cuz I probably would've got given up by now.

I. I enjoy it for sure, and I'm getting more and more into it every season, but I'm very [00:06:00] fortunate to have virtually unpressured land, tons of turkeys, and somehow I've figured out a way to pull the trigger each year I've been out. Yeah, if you need a place to come down and shoot some turkeys, whether you're filming or not.

Yeah, I've got some, I've got some turkeys that will make you feel like the world's greatest Turkey hunter. We would love that. I would and matter you bring some up here or down here today. That'd be great. Yeah. Yeah. I'll just go pick them up quick and drive 'em over. We should do a hunt together though, I think That'd be awesome.

Yeah, it would. Why don't you share with people, I know we've been talking for a little bit. Why don't you share with people a little bit about yourself, how you got into hunting and then maybe your journey into the hunting industry. Cuz you've got a TV show, it's been on a couple different networks and now you guys are on history channel.

Which congrats. That's awesome. Thank you. Yeah, that was that was a big move for us recently. And we've been in the industry for about eight years now. The show itself started, it's me and my best friends actually. [00:07:00] So we started about seven and a half, eight years ago. My background was actually when I turned 18, I started selling cars.

I worked at a dealership and I ended up stockpiling quite a bit of money. And after I had done that for a while there was a new local medical talk show in the area and this was like when Michigan was doing like the film incentives and stuff like that. So a lot of TV shows and stuff were popping up.

And I had, my background was actually, I was a certified personal trainer as well. I just did that out of like interest in personal training and at the time, I heard about the show and they needed a personal train around the show. So they called and I ended up doing like an interview with them and I ended up going on set.

And after being there one day, I like looked around and saw the cameras and the lights and all the stuff. And I just got so excited about filming that. I was like, I wanna work here. So I was like, are you guys hiring? And they were like no, we don't have any paying jobs right now. I'm like I'll work for free.

And that's how you pretty much, bulldoze your way into anything. You tell someone you work for free and that you just won't go away. And eventually they say yes. So I started working there [00:08:00] for free. So I walked away from a six figure job where I was doing great. I was a manager at the time, I was running the internet department and I walked away from that in order to, figure out something else that I just found so interesting.

Stay single for a while. That's my best advice for a young guy out there or a young woman trying to get into this cuz I was able to do not easy to walk away from a six figure job and do that, but after a few weeks I learned how the medical talk show worked and they had some ideas for episodes, and each episode was like, about a specific thing.

It could be breast cancer, it could be, ear infections, it could be whatever it was. So I started researching all the topics that were gonna be talked about. So then in the production meetings, I, my job was literally to get people coffee. I started saying ideas and then eventually I got a seat at the table.

After about six months of doing that, I ended up being nominated for three Emmys. And I was the vice president of that show. Yes, when I, we ran a production crew of about 85 people and learned the industry. So I did that for a couple years and then [00:09:00] I wanted to step away and do my own thing. I'm an entrepreneur at heart and my love and passion was always the industry, and I always say that the medical industry itself didn't act like that medical talk show.

It made me know that starting a show and managing it was possible and production and how to organize things, but that's about it because. In no way, shape or form is inside a studio, anything like what I do now. But it did make it possible. And then my background at least got me in the conversation with some of the right people.

And then I went to, I sat down with my friends. I was like, all right guys, we're all gonna put in every dollar we have. We're gonna risk everything and buy camera equipment. Here's how we're gonna do it. Here's how we're gonna run it. And then we came up with the idea, and this has been the same premise since day one.

60% of hunting and fishing licenses are sold to white males over the age of 55. And the problem with that is that's what pays for our natural resources, our species sustainability efforts, our anti-poaching efforts, our forests, our clean water, [00:10:00] all of that money comes from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses.

Yet 60% of that money. Is coming from an age group that is almost done. Yeah. Which means in 10, 10 to 12 years time, they're gonna be out of the industry. And then we're gonna have no way to replace that. Although I'm sure the Democrats want to tax us more but that won't even do it. The outdoor industry makes up 3% of our G D P, which is actually more than oil.

So that gives you an idea that it's extremely important to our economy and the entire country. Our clean water, our forest, all that. So we needed to create content that would inspire the next generation to get into the outdoors. When I looked at the current spectrum of hunting and fishing shows I grew up watching 'em, like you said, I watched, we had something called Michigan out outdoors on P b s in Michigan.

And then when I was old enough to get cable, we had the outdoor networks and stuff like that. I always grew up watching Ted Nugent and I loved his energy and all that. All those different shows and once I got a look at the whole [00:11:00] groundwork of everything though, I said, there's no real high production and I'm talking movie quality production.

Yeah. In, in, in the outdoor industry, I'm seeing a lot of GoPros. I'm seeing a lot of kill shot shows. I'm seeing a lot of blood. I'm seeing things that might not wanna bring a new person into the industry. And I was thinking about this morning and this is like a weird concept, but you see all these mounts on the wall here behind me.

It's every I walk past 'em and it's cool, but if I shot that deer, you bet I'd be looking at that deer every single day when I walk in. Yeah. A amongst all the other ones, even if the other ones were much bigger, it's like the amounts are so significant to the person, but they have little, the no value to anybody else but the person who did the hunt, they have a lot of value.

And I believe that hunting shows went down that same path where it became like an infomercial thing about sponsorships and the production quality suffered because really all it was about was getting the memory of the kill shot. And I was seeing that in all the content as far as that infomercially feeling, like NASCAR type of.

Product pushing. And I was like, anybody new to the industry is not gonna [00:12:00] watch this and be like, hell yeah. You know what I mean? I want in. That's what I want. But yet, if you talk to a hunter or a fisherman and you have a real conversation with them, they're gonna tell you about the sunrise.

They're gonna tell you about the smells in the morning, about the good times with their buddies, the feelings that they get, that seeing that bober go under for the first time, or feeling that trout hit the line or seeing that buck come in and that overwhelming sensation and feeling that they get.

But I never felt like it was articulated well in the outdoor content. So my dream was to create that Now, If you look at our season one stuff, you'd say you failed cause it sucked. But we worked very hard at it, and and we come at it from a very humble standpoint. As it was funny too, it's like I probably overdid it cuz the guys here that we were hunting with, they're like, so you haven't really hunted turkeys before?

And I was like why'd you say that? He's you asked me a million questions, like you're brand new. I was like, if I come in acting like I know everything, Then you're not gonna teach me anything. And we tried to have that super humble mindset going into all these different locations where we would go [00:13:00] out and we would cover one species per episode.

It would be about a specific tactic for a specific species, about 50% hunting, 50% fishing. We might be jigging for Hui on the Detroit River. We might be in Hawaii hunting access deer. We might be in Texas hunting pigs. Or we might be noodling for catfish in Oklahoma, but whatever it might be.

We covered the gear that you would need. So someone new who's what do I need? What do I need to take with me? So we had a segment called the Greenway Gear Checklist. We covered the conservation of the species for hunting turkeys right now in 1960, the Wild Turkey was extinct in Michigan. But because of hunters dollars and conservation efforts in the National Wild Turkey Federation, now we have a huntable population.

When I joined N W T F, I buy my hunting license. I buy the equipment I need. All that money goes into creating more turkeys and better habitat and more sustainability. So because I hunt, there's more turkeys, and I felt that decriminalization and that understanding wasn't really given in the content either.

People did a good job of giving thanks, I will say. And I liked a lot of the religious factors [00:14:00] that were in there for people, but I never felt like the decriminalization to teach new people about hunting was there. And in such a divisive world, I felt like it was important using truth, logic, and common sense to explain those things so people be like, oh, that's what conservation is.

I get it. I understand now why those dowers create more turkeys and he's. Maybe only taking one of 'em. If you're in South Carolina, you probably won't even do that. The, that was the point of the conservation, the gear, we would show everyone the hunting or fishing trip into reality show style format.

I did some market research at the time, and at the time, reality shows and cooking shows were the top two forms of content with millennials and now generation Z. So because of that, we show you how to cook what we get at the end of every episode, but not over the grill with a little pepper on it and blah, blah, blah.

We try and do a five star cuisine recipe in our studio kitchen that would get you amped about wanting to eat it. So we cover that field to table aspect while covering the conservation, the gear. The [00:15:00] actual hunting or fishing trip. Conservation. And then the cooking. And then we always include a Bible verse and kind of the lesson we learned in the field.

The idea behind that is we call it planting mustard seeds, which if you know the mustard seed story, yeah, the mustard seed is so tiny, but it creates this great big tree that's powerful and strong. And in the same sense, we do the same thing with the Bible verse that. We have this lesson that we learned in the field that the audience can relate to, and then we sneak in a Bible verse in there, and by then they already start believing they don't even know it yet.

So that's how we we go about doing that. And we started out with that same mission, and it's the exact same as it is today. We've always had that clear cut path. But just now recently, we're finally getting to what the vision really was as far as production quality goes. The team that's with me is the same team that's been with me since day one.

We've never broken apart. It's the exact same people. I believe in loyalty and friendship and family. Not to mention the fact if you're gonna be traveling the world constantly and on the road all the time, it's good to do it with your best friends. So yeah, that helps. And I just have the [00:16:00] best team in the world.

They're relentless at improvement. They're relentless at getting the best production quality right now, they're out filming. So in this episode, you'll see the truck doing all kinds of things, and you'll see me talking in it. But they'll spend the next three hours building the scene. Of whatever that will be.

I don't even know. I'll have to go out there and get told. But that's what they're working on right now cuz they just never stop. So I have the best team in the entire world. It's all best friends. And then I'm rambling now, but you had mentioned how we got into the industry. I guess that's a little bit of the story of how we started is the outdoors was my passion.

That 60% of hunting and fishing licenses being sold to white males over the age of 55. That was the thing that was stuck in my head is I wake up every morning like. If I succeed, the world might actually be a different place because if we don't have those funds for our natural resources, as soon as those national parks get sold, as soon as that state land is gone, as soon as that next generation isn't involved in hunting, you're gonna hear things like you don't need guns anymore.

You're gonna hear things like that. As soon as we're not hunting anymore, as soon as we [00:17:00] don't have people involved anymore, and I truly believe that if we can succeed and make the content the best it can be to inspire that next generation. Then in that sense, we might save, what this country end up becoming and that's what wakes me up every morning.

And I literally believe that. I know it probably sounds a little farfetched, but I do believe it. No that's amazing. And I think we need more minds like yours out there doing the same type of thing. Because it's funny going to trade shows and I talked to different people about the hunting industry and I've heard from multiple people like, Hey, it's the same old white dudes doing the same old white dudes stuff.

And it, it does it, the buildup all culminates at the one second it takes to pull the trigger, to send the arrow to, get the fish in the boat. And people wanna know how do I do that? I know I can pull a trigger in the moment. How do I get to that point? What gear do I need to use? What tactics and strategies, how do I find the right property, the right public land to go after them on?

And so the [00:18:00] educational. Side of things is really what's gonna get people out there. And if they can see it and they can see just how attainable it is, how doable it is, they're gonna be way more likely to get into the sport, especially if they have somebody to help coach them along the way. All right, guys.

If you've been listening to the podcast, I'm sure you've heard me talk about the helicopter hog hunt that I did down in Texas. Now, I went down there with rope Texan Outfitters and Landon and Brandon, the owners put us on the animals. We killed 150 pigs in 19 coyotes, just from the air. On top of that. We went out thermal hunting at night and got up close and personal to more hogs.

I didn't have to worry about bringing guns or ammunition because all of that was provided for me. And it is to this day, the most action packed day of hunting I've ever had. I stand by what I've said in the past, and that's that helicopter hog hunting is the funnest thing that you can do with pants on.

In addition, they offer Sandhill crane hunts, and predator calling. So if you're looking for the most exciting hunt of [00:19:00] your life and something that you're gonna want to come back and do year after year, go check out rogue texan.com and book your hunt today.

Yeah. And I, when I think about it too, is when you watch these shows and people are passing on 12 point bucks that I would do, I've never even seen anything like that in my entire life. So they can shoot a 16 point buck named Fred that they've been watching for eight years, that has all these points on this property that's fenced in, that has, 800 acres, that they spend $2 million on a year.

And you're like, you're a kid watching this, and you're like that's not me. That's not a thing that's not relatable. So I'm not against, obviously I'm not against mounts, I'm not against anything like that. But we're not, and I hate to say this cuz I'm all in support of trophy hunting in the sense that, antlers are a trophy, and putting 'em on your wall and remembering the hunt and enjoying the meat.

And not wasting a thing on the animal is so important, and that is a trophy, so I don't wanna say that, but it's [00:20:00] like the, these every show having 16 point monster bucks that no one's ever seen being like the whole culmination of the entire season or episode or something, it's just not relatable to people.

And it's the same old shtick over and over again. But man, you see someone out there for their very first time shoot a five point, and their life's just. The most fulfilled they've ever felt in their entire life. My first year was a it would've been to some considered a spike. To some it would've been considered a four point cuz it was just two little things in a coming out like that.

I've never been more excited about anything my entire life. And I ate every scrap at that meat and those antlers are on my wall now and I'm just as proud of that as anything else. So I think too, doing adventurous things that aren't just whitetail deer, Turkey hunting and bass fishing. And getting out and doing, we're hunting pythons in the Everglades.

We're in the mountains in Idaho, ice fishing. We're in main hunting moose. We're hunting buffalo with Native Americans in Oklahoma. We're doing all these things that are attainable, but, we're not we're not shooting the biggest moose you've ever seen in your entire life.

We're not, the, the [00:21:00] buffalo hunt is something that is attainable for people if they finally get drawn on one of those super rare tags. Better. Tough to get, we try to make it more relatable, but super high adventure, but stuff people could actually pull off and we take a lot of consideration into which episodes we do.

As far as traditional episodes go. This Turkey episode for History Channel is probably the only one that is like a very normal one for outdoor type content. Like I said, the pythons and the buffalo and things like that are off the wall a little bit and we like to do things different.

The weirder the better. Yeah, no, I get that man. And I love. The whole premise behind the nomadic outdoorsman is traveling and getting to experience cool things all over the place. And I'm not paying to go on crazy hunts anywhere. I'm not the guy that's out there shooting 400 inch bulls or 200 inch bucks.

And I want, I think that it's valuable for people to understand that and to get a realistic snapshot of what hunting is. The average guy's gonna go out there and shoot a two year old deer that might have six, might have eight [00:22:00] points. And there's nothing wrong with that. I don't have a strict, this is the only fear.

I don't ha I have to shoot one that's this old. I have to shoot one that's this many inches. If I go out there, I get excited about it. I'm gonna send an arrow, I'm gonna pull the trigger. And talking with people all around the country who have that same mindset, nobody knows them from Adam, one of my favorite one of my favorite guests of all time, his name is Will Worthington.

This guy was one of the most passionate people I've ever talked to, and he just went around Florida and fished neighborhood ponds. He's I get off Dan. I get off work and I go with my rod and I'm walking out the sidewalk and I cast and I catch a peacock pass. And I mean like his energy was just electric.

And to help people understand, you might live in the middle of the city, but you could probably go right down the street and fish for something and have a great time. Sure. Take your kids with. And, support the conservation department in your area. You could maybe go one state away, two states away, three states away.

You [00:23:00] could be hunting and fishing in five different states every year on a really tight budget and have the time of your life at each one. It doesn't have to be a big extravagant. Go to Alaska, catch salmon and shoot a moose. Shoot a caribou. You can do awesome adventurous things right in your backyard.

Yeah. And it I couldn't agree with that more. And it's more or less just getting people to go outside. Cuz once they start breaking in, when they start getting familiar with things like you, you grew up in Wisconsin, I grew up in Michigan. We were talking about ice fishing a little bit is that was a very attainable thing.

They call it the poor man sport. Cause you can, you get a bucket and a pull and that's all you need. And the polls are like seven hours to start, like the old school schoolies that you could get. And that's how everybody kind of starts. So you can get out there real cheap and then the debates may be two bucks and you're good to go.

I. But it's that started me out where it's every winter I go ice fishing. Okay. And then all of a sudden rabbit hunting, okay, shotgun shells weren't too expensive for a little kid. I was able to go out rabbit hunt, start doing that, and then it's it starts to, then it's wait.

You [00:24:00] can shoot ducks. Are you kidding me? And then you know, it grows from there. But it's just getting people out there for the first time. And I will say too, There, there seems to be two types of people in this, in the outdoors that I've encountered and I've encountered thousands of people now, and you've got the people that are really excited to take out kids.

Matter of fact, the lodge that we're at right now, and I'll give you, I'll send you the information on it so you guys can see it. They take out a few different kids that are either orphans or a single mother takes 'em and has 'em, and they take 'em out every year for Turkey hunts and different hunts and things like that.

And you see a lot of people involved. Getting women in out the outdoors is a much bigger thing now, which I love to see. Getting the kids in the outdoors, which I love to see. People really passionate and have a wherewithal of Hey, we gotta get the next generation involved in it. Guys like my second dad, his name's Pete, Tommy, he was very involved.

He's the one that gave me my first deer hunting opportunity. And from that morning on, I knew I was gonna be doing this for the rest of my life. Those planting those mustard seeds matter. And then there's another group of people that you seem to find 'em when [00:25:00] you go to an archery shop or you go to a gun shop and that sort of thing.

And it's like a condescending judgmental alpha male thing. And I blame it on the fact that there's no grading scale. So like in a, in school, if you took a test, And you got 80 out of a hundred, then you got an 80%, and there's no way fans or butts about it. And if somebody got 90, they did better than you.

But in hunting, like if a duck flies by and I shoot it, I'm the only one that got to experience that duck and that scenario on that day with that temperature, with that wind, with that movement facing that way. Yep. So because there's no grading scale for it, it's like it creates like this alpha mindset and everybody's better than the next guy.

And it's like they're the, like you walk into a gun shop and obviously I know what I'm talking about or a bow shop and it's just the condescending nature and the alpha male mentality in the outdoor industry that's there, especially in the, on this side of things where you and I are. I just think it, it does such a disservice.

It's so awesome to be nice to people. Matter of fact the woman here that does all the [00:26:00] cooking at the lives that I'm at right now, she goes, it's so great having people here that actually talk to me. I was like, people don't normally talk to me. She goes, people are either really nice here, or they're rude.

And I'm like, that's the, that's what I'm talking about in the industry. It's one or the other. And I just like those alpha. We've grown to tease them, especially when they come in on our tos and stuff. But I just think it's so much better to be nice and it's so much better to inspire the next generation.

Cause you will find the nicest. Purest, kindest people in this industry. And you will find the most judgmental assholes you've ever met in your life too. And it seems like it's one or the other. And that's why I was excited to your podcast cause I knew you were on this side. But it's sad to see that, that is the case.

So I. I think giving that conservation message, coming in from a humble standpoint of listen, I do so many different things from Turkey onion to access deer to ice fishing. I can't be an expert in anything. So I learn from people in the show because I'm humble enough that I don't have to be the expert on everything, and hopefully we'll get other people like, okay, he did it and he didn't know what he was doing.

I can get out there and do that. [00:27:00] And just taking at it from, that standpoint. Yeah, absolutely. I think there's that element of. Competition, between hunters, but also there's just. There's a whole group of people that are just out there to ruin your day for whatever reason. And I'm with you, I like to troll the trolls.

I don't know if that's productive or not, but it's very fun to me. Like, all right, we can go down this rabbit hole. But yeah, a lot of people just form really strong opinions about things they know nothing about or they just make assumptions and then form opinions off their assumptions, which were wrong to start and to.

To be more inclusive. And I'm not a huge fan of that word, just because of some of the connotations that come with it. Yeah. But to be more inclusive as a hunting community and understand like exactly what you said, have some hum humility, know that you don't know everything. You can be taught something by everyone you encounter.

And if we could wrap our heads around that and quit making these false [00:28:00] assumptions. We're gonna be way better off. We're gonna be way more united and from the outside people are gonna come in going, man, this is amazing. I wanna be part of that group. These people seem awesome. They seem very supportive and you find that in different communities all over the place.

Unfortunately, when people discover hunting and fishing and the outdoors online, they, you only have to go four lines down and you're gonna find some negativity and people who know how to do it better than everyone else. Yeah. Yeah. I so we posted a TikTok recently and it had 500,000 views and 2000 something comments.

And it was about the National Wild Turkey Federation and some of the studies they're doing. And I was explaining the studies and you had people saying everyone knows that idiot. Why are you bothering to even say it? And then you had other people saying, That's stupid. You're an idiot for believing it.

Nobody knows that. And it's in the same, they're like on top of each other. And you're saying the opposite things, but no matter what, you're just looking at be mean. [00:29:00] And then like people will be like, oh he, he doesn't know anything about turkeys. Come to Georgia and we'll show you how we do it down here.

And I just, it's and they're like, they call me a Yankee. I'm like, what year do you think it is? He's what year is it? Like we're calling people a Yankee still. So it's, it's silly stuff like that. But then, for the. 200,000 likes that it has. You just gotta remember that there's 200,000 likes and only, 50 mean comments.

So it is what it is. But yeah, I end up always throwing him back and I got one guy good actually, yesterday it was, I shouldn't, I know it's bad, but you love this. I know he posted about I posted about turkeys as well. It was another Turkey video and he popped on and said, I'm in. Nor I'm in northern Minnesota and they're considered a nuisance here.

And we blast every one of them to get rid of them. And I was like he, oh, he said, they're in invasive nuisance. And I said actually turkeys are not invasive. And I'm surprised you think they're nuisance. Have you ever eaten them before? And he said, they are invasive and they're not non-native.

And I said, they are [00:30:00] native to Minnesota, period, even Northern Minnesota where you're at. He said, no, my family moved here. In 1890 and they weren't here then, and now there's since 2000. There are some. I said, okay. In the beginning of the 19th century there was actually a lot of 'em, but because of over hunting, He said in 1900, that was a forest fire.

You dumb ass. I was like, the 19th century started in the year 1800 and I know that's probably too big of a a scenario for you to understand cuz the word, the number 19 confused you. But that actually started in the year 1800 when you had a lot of them and now they're back. He said shoot everyone I can.

I was like, okay, all right, you get rid of him. He's they're destroying the woods. I'm like, I doubt it. It's I wonder what do what say to this. I wonder what it is because it's every single thing that we talk about as hunters, fishers, and outdoorsmen, it's controversial. Like you can't find anything.

It seems like that everyone agrees [00:31:00] on, and the outdoor industry is like walking Trump, exactly. Yeah. No matter what you do man, I really enjoy this fresh air. Oh yeah, you like the fresh air. Maybe you should start hunting urban areas like. Really? Is that what you're coming back at me with? So we came up with a name, Dan, and I think you'll enjoy it.

And I'm sorry if you shoot one, but it's the running joke of what we do. And actually Kellen shoots one, so it's even funnier. We decided. That we call those people 28 gauger. And we're actually making a shirt that says Don't be a 28 Gauger. And then it's gonna have all these stupid sayings on it that they say, like, all the different things they say cuz like the whole point is like, we were it all started cause we were out moose hunting and this was a D n R officer who said this to me.

He's everyone comes out with these bazookas for moose. You don't, I don't use anything bigger than a 2 43. And I was like, That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. That's a dumb thing to say, but it's like [00:32:00] the, this minimal minimalist act. Oh, I used a pellet gun to hunt bear. You know what I mean?

It's okay, you win. It's cuz I was using a 28 nozzle. He is geez, what do you need that bazooka for? I was like, okay, it's a moose. But so then we, it all got started is like when you like go upland hunting and these people that, they start out with a 12 gauge, then go to 20, then they're at 28.

So we, and they're like, you don't need anything more than that. But if the bird's 20 yards away, you certainly do. That's the joke. Cause like we call those people 28 gauges and they're all over the place. So we're gonna make a shirt and then put all the phrases on the back. We have a list of 50 right now.

We're gonna narrow it down to the best 30 and then put it on a shirt and say, don't be a 28 gauger on the front and then all the phrases on the back. I think it's gonna do well. I hope it as well. I love that there's enough people like me and you that anyway. Yeah. Oh yeah. There, there's gonna be people who.

Take it for what it is. And they're like, this is good. This is funny. Like we all know somebody like that. And then there's gonna be the people who are like, I'm gonna buy this shirt just to burn it. There's, yeah, you'll always get those, my buddy. Perfect. Yeah. By 20 of 'em. [00:33:00] Burn 'em all. My, my buddy Hunter, he's down in Alabama and he is, he's really great at creating the satire stuff.

He will make talks. And the whole thing will be like, The only thing worse than a benelli shooter is someone who shoots a six five. And it's just cause he knows everyone's just gonna flood the comments. And he has built a pretty successful TikTok off of it. He's yeah, the only thing you can shoot out there is a Remington, or, you can only shoot an eight 70.

Anything other than that, you're not a man. And people just leave their minds and it's just it's good, fun humor. But then you realize, yeah, there's people just, they just don't understand. Like they don't, they can't rip their heads around somebody making a joke that's actually very applicable and everybody in the outdoors is gonna understand.

I love that. Yeah. I like the six five thing. Cause that is such the cra that would be fun to do. Yeah. I love that, that, that's the perfect thing to say. You know what I mean? Oh. Anyone who [00:34:00] doesn't use a semi-auto shouldn't be allowed to hunt. And they're all like, oh, I use a pump. You can't say this.

You know what I mean? Oh. It's like they just, but that's the 28 gauges and there's too many of them. It's the worst. I'm telling you though, I think it's cuz there's no grading scale. I would love if God could come down and be like, all right, everyone get together. We're gonna do this. Yeah. F, right down the line.

All right guys. I'm excited to introduce the new age of accessing private property for hunting and fishing with Infinite Outdoors. I joined the Infinite Outdoors Crew on a duck hunt in Colorado this fall, and the experience was unmatched. We were able to book the property right on their app, get directions to the blind, and had the whole place to ourselves all for a super reasonable price.

Infinite Outdoors has developed a unique way to combine conservation, technology and private land access all through their US built app and website. By working closely with landowners and on staff biologists, they aim to bring you the best [00:35:00] parts of accessing private land. At the touch of a finger, they provided ventures for big game turkeys, waterfowl fly fishing, upland birds, small game predators, and more.

As yearly leases get more expensive and secluded, public land gets harder to find. I believe this is the way of the future. To check it out for yourself, download the Infinite Outdoors app. Or visit infinite outdoors usa.com and use code nomadic 15 for 15% off your annual membership of 39 99.

That would be amazing. Let's jump back into hunting cuz I'm curious what you've got planned for this year, for the season that you're filming right now. 2023 kicked off and Yeah. What's on the agenda? What hunts, what fishing trips? Yeah, so I know we had mentioned a little bit too, and I was supposed to touch on it for, is the history channel stuff.

We started out with we [00:36:00] were on like Pursuit channel and then moved to Sportsman channel. And then now obviously we signed this deal with History Channel. It's gonna be in the second half of this year. I know what the starting date is, but I'm not allowed to say it because things in get moved around and changed and that sort of thing.

So I'm not allowed to say right now. But it'll definitely, labor Day would be a good time of year to start a show. I'd tell you that right now, right around that time. Yeah. But if you were gonna do it and you we'll be in the outdoor block with Show in the outdoor block right now, shows you'd know be like Duck Dynasty alone.

Swamp people, mountain men, but a lot of those shows are in their rerun season, so they'll be building up to us being the new show. It'll be a 10 episode series. You'll have there's five Saturdays in a row and there'll be two episodes per Saturday, both brand new episodes. So there's 10 in, total.

And so far we have four. That is, we did a moose hunt. That was in Maine and that moose hunt was so interesting because we worked with a department of natural resources there and they have a winter tick problem and get this dude. [00:37:00] So you, when you think ticks, what's the first thing you think? I just think Lyme's Disease.

Yep. Disease, exactly. So these ticks are killing moose. But not because of exactly what you would be thinking. Disease, they're killing them from blood loss. Imagine how many ticks would have to be on a moose for blood loss to be the reason they died. 80% is the mortality rate for the calfs right now in this area.

So it's a 1600 square mile chunk of paper owned co paper company owned. Property managed by the dnr. That's where our tag was for, and they are basically eradicating the moose, for lack of a better word. The tick is species specific, so if you get rid of the moose, you get rid of the ticks.

So they're trying to basically eradicate the moose, including the calves. Actually mostly the babies and the moms. Those are the ones we're really trying to get rid of, which is messed up cuz bring yourself to shoot a baby. You know what I mean? Oh [00:38:00] yeah. But they want you to, although the baby's 300 pounds of great meat, so you know, you probably figure it out.

But They they're trying to get rid of 'em so that the ticks will go away, give it a couple years, and then they'll start reintroducing moose back to the area to save it. So we're a part of that process. We're able to harvest a moose and live off the grid like eight hours back into that property.

Like the 1600 square miles has one main road that goes all the way from Maine all the way to Canada. And sidebar, this is super random, but you told me you liked the riff, so I gotta tell you the story. There was a guy that was trying to get into the United States and he got all the way in down this road and it was like he, they figured he went 110 miles on his bicycle and they picked him up because you're not allowed to have bicycles in that area.

And that's how they figured out that he was immigrating into the United States. So he made it all the way here, but the only reason why he got caught is cuz he did it on a freaking bicycle because he was riding his bike. I'm not, to be honest with you, I thought I, I was rooting for him. I'm all for border walls, but him, I wish he would've made it.[00:39:00]

Yeah, just keep on cycling, man. Sad as shit. He's he made it all the way and then you did that to him. But anyhow, we were back in there and there's nothing but that one road, which is a dirt road and it's sketch at best. You don't wanna be going down that road tr with a trailer. Matter of fact, the guy we went with said he's been down there 20 times and this is the first time that he didn't have to change a tire.

It's that bad. And then there's two tracks that go off of it. So we went seven hours into this lake that nobody goes to. Stayed right on the water and used it for cooking and everything like that. Stayed in the tent and lived off the grid for seven days. And the gi a moose, it was unbelievable.

That trip and the storyline and that show is so good and so real. The story is the story and that's what's so cool about it cuz it, I don't wanna give too much more away, but it's. It's something special and oh, there was grouse everywhere. And they're dumb as hell. They're like, you're turkeys.

You could use a rocking limit. Like they're dumb. Like everywhere we went [00:40:00] the first morning we get out and we like get out and grouse crosses the road, big male. And I'm like, I gotta shoot this thing. He's like, all right, grab the shotgun. I run out, put orange on, shoot it, grab it, get in the car. We go like another 50 yards, another one comes out.

I'm like, what are the odds? It was the 28 gauge right? No, it wasn't. It was a 12 gauge. I obliterated the thing like you're supposed to like the good Lord intended. And then we go up a little bit further and another one goes across the road and I get out and shoot it. I'm like that's my limit for the day.

You're out three a day. And I was like, that was like eight minutes. I was like, what are the odds? They were pretty good. It was like that the entire trip. So we ate gross every night for dinner. It was awesome. Geez. So that was pretty cool in the show too. It was like, The only thing is you couldn't get him to fly.

So I'm sure I'll get the the hunting police on me for that. Cause we were ground swatting him. This one I was like stomping and he was like dancing with me. Like he wouldn't, I'd stomp, he'd stomp. I couldn't get him to fly. These things have no clue what hunting is. Yeah. It was unbelievable. So that was funny.[00:41:00]

But we ended up shooting a bunch of those and eating them. And it, if you ever wanted great meat in your entire life, That with the we're sponsored by Rufuss Tea, but it wouldn't make a lick difference if we wouldn't. I'd be telling you, this is just the same way. It's a spice company. They have this poultry rub.

We put that on it with some flour and pancake mix together all three of them. And then we deep-fried it right there at camp in corn oil. Dude, it was obnoxious how good it was. We were eating that every day. The meat, it was funny, aj, our director had never had it before. He is it's like glowing white.

I'm like, dude, it's the cleanest thing you can eat. It's so good. He's if chicken and butter got together and made a baby, that's what that would be. So that is the best way to describe that grass there. So that's just one episode. And it's tough to pack in all that into a half hour, but I'm excited to and it is quite the trip.

And then we did a buffalo hunt in Oklahoma. And that was with, if you're familiar with the Comanche Indians. Now this is this is something I've been combated with many times, but in my [00:42:00] research I have found that it is correct that the Comanche Indians are the only Native American tribe did not surrender.

And Theodore Roosevelt actually became an honorary member, and they were the buffalo protectors basically. So when the white men were coming and killing all the buffalo in order to put the Native Americans on welfare, So that they could own them and take their land from them, then that they were the ones that were killing the white man to stop 'em to do it, and protecting the buffalo and the goal of it too was they would go in and they said, okay, you can have this land.

As long as you don't need any food or anything from moss, you guys can keep the land good. Then the white man went in and killed all the buffalo, so then they didn't have enough food and that they would have to go on welfare. And that's actually what got them to surrender and lose their land. But the Comanches never did.

Theo Roosevelt had so much respect for him that he actually became an honorary member. Henry arms, the gun company made 300 rifles as a commemoration to [00:43:00] them and actually had the great, we had the great grandson of the last Comanche chief. But that. Comanche chief was actually engraved into the gun and his, I got to see it.

And we had his great grandson out to do a ceremony with us over at Campfire and tell us the stories of what they would do before Buffalo hunts and how to be successful and the spirituality of it. It was interesting too, cuz he is a Christian pastor, so he had a really interesting outlook on everything from his ancestors, but also, as Christian roots.

We had a veterinarian come out and actually talk to us about proper shot placement. To make sure that the buffalo wouldn't suffer. But in addition to that, he also told me that, Disease is actually one of the biggest problems with buffalo and that the white men and the Indians are not the ones that killed off all the buffalo.

That a majority of the buffalo actually died from disease. And the narrative that the white men actually went in and killed them all is laughable no matter what dances with wolves should tell you. It turns out that [00:44:00] it was actually mostly disease and that's something that they're still combating today.

Trying to stop 'em from dying, from disease, the wild herds, as well as the Native American property owned herds, as well as the commercial farming. We got out and did a buffalo hunt. We harvested two. Talked about meat that you could eat forever. Oh my gosh, is it good? Better than beef in every way, shape and form.

Clean clean. That's the only way I can describe it. And we had a freezer full of that at the office, although it's dwindling fast. We made a lot of friends after shooting those buffalo, I'll tell you that. Oh man. That, that's amazing. You want some of that meat? Yeah. Yeah. That's gonna be, tho those two episodes specifically are ones that I'm super excited about.

And then with the new camera equipment, I always go back to that production mindset. But the the new camera equipment we're shooting in 6K with cinema movie cameras that are just the story, the storylines, the guests. Camera equipment, and I'm just having the best crew in the world. I am the luckiest person alive, that my best friends are also the most talented people in [00:45:00] the world because it's gonna come together no other.

And I'm, it's just we live, sleep, and breathe it all the time. This is all I talk about. It's all I think about. It's all I do. It's just building that story because I know when people watch it, I know the feeling that I'm try, I'm getting, in those moments. And we're creating that for people when they watch it.

And I just hope that we're planting those seeds to, push people forward. And then we also did some crazy stuff. We just got back from the Ford Everglades. We're there like 14 days hunting pythons in the Everglades. Now, a lot of people don't know this, but there's 250,000 pythons in the Everglades right now, roughly, give or take, honestly give or take a hundred thousand cuz they don't really know and because they're so well hidden and there's other shows out there right now, I know Swamp People's doing Aversion and I'm not gonna say anything about anybody specific, but here's what I will tell you.

We were with the number one python hunters in the world and we got one in 14 days. So whenever you see content and they have five in one night. [00:46:00] That happens once a year, maybe that people get that lucky. So if you're seeing it consistently, then you're not really seeing it for real. Yeah. I will tell you that hands down there are not that many, there are that many pythons, but finding them is just impossible.

And a lot of people don't know this, but the Everglades are gone. I'm here to tell you they're gone. 99% of every animal with fur is gone. Two species per week. We're going extinct for the last. Three years. And now the only reason why that number's gone down is because we're pretty much outta species.

Everything's gone. You got a couple raccoons left, couple panthers left, crocodiles, alligators, and pythons. And the pythons are killing everything. They're outcompeting, all the natives. And it was a mixture of a few things. There was a facility there I wanna say it was in like early 2000 or late nineties that there was a hurricane that came in.

And this facility bred pythons for pets, food and leather. Or I guess you'd say, for their skins. Yeah. Or different [00:47:00] things. And basically the facility got wiped out. The pythons got out, the ecosystem was perfect for 'em. They thrived like everything else in the Everglades is, there's lots of invasives there right now.

They got out, did well. People let pets go as well, that outgrew their tanks and stuff and these things. Now there's a breeding season. You know what I mean? Like they're fully functioning in that environment and they're moving as far north as they possibly can. So we went out there to tell that story.

But what's crazy about it too, and this is bureaucrats, being morons, is the like way that works. Like the permits that we had to get to be able to go in the Everglades to actually harvest these snakes was so hard to get. It took months. They only allow six to 10 people into the Everglades National Park to do it at all.

And those people who are experts who are there every night are lucky to get one a night. Sometimes they'll get three, but a lot of nights they get none. And then these shows expect you to believe. You go out and they're laying everywhere and you just grab 'em. That is not the case. That's complete [00:48:00] bs.

It's never real. It's always fake and it makes things really difficult because people believe you just go out and catch 'em, but that's not the case. And the numbers just keep going up. And then the policy-wise, they don't allow enough people to go in there. You can't take a firearm in there, so you have to catch 'em by hand.

They're catching 18 foot pythons that will kill you with their hands, cuz that's the only way you can do it. And then you have to euthanize it with a nail gun, but it's beating the hell outta you. We caught a, nine footer and it bit one of the camera guys. It went nuts.

Pooped Oliver, Jeff, which was hilarious. But it's a chaotic thing. They're so strong, they're so powerful. The one thing we have going for us though is they only have one lung. So if you can get ahold of 'em and wear 'em down, once they get tired, it's like they're just like lethargic.

So that's, you just gotta wear 'em down without getting bit. And their teeth, they're like hypodermic needles and they're pointed backwards. And if they grab you and you try and pull away, you can't. That episode from an interesting factor was definitely incredible. The stuff [00:49:00] we saw was nuts. And the people we had in that episode were just really good.

So that one's one of the ones as well. Now we're here doing a Turkey hunt. We also did a survival episode in the 10,000 islands area on the back of a Sea-Doo fish pro. And we slept in hammocks and ate what we caught which would've been easier without red tide in retrospect. But But we did that.

And so those are just the five or six that we have so far. But we got a few other adventures coming up. I know we're doing a bear hunt in September which I'm really excited for in Maine. I'm really pumped for that one. We're gonna be doing some sturgeon fishing in July. We've got a gator con coming up next month as well.

So there's a few other ones on the list that I'm excited about too, man, that, that's all incredible. You're living the dream and I love. I love everything that you guys have going on. The education, the information, the recruitment aspect. Trying to get new people out there, teaching them how to cook good meals.

Not like we would cut up our venison and [00:50:00] cook it well done and dip it in ketchup when I grew up, that was like just a normal meal for us. And so teaching people, yeah, not only can you get out there and do this, but. It's actually good. It's not like you don't have to explain to everybody. Ah, it's gonna be a little gamey, no, you can yeah. Cook that right out of it. I love it if you know how to cook. If you know how to cook. It's a game changer. It's funny too, is like we had some bad experiences, especially in the first few seasons. Our director, aj, he's not a hunter at all. He's big into filming and editing and stuff like that, but he's been on more hunting trips than almost anybody you'll ever meet.

But he was never a hunter, so he hadn't tried a bunch of wild game. So getting them to try the wild game, like when we were first learning. He was like, this is terrible. Especially just chili. He made this chili one time and I swear to you it was just seeing you in Tao cuz he didn't know what he was doing.

But don't let him tell you any different either. It was terrible, it smelled bad when it was cooking. That's when you know something's up. But now with all these recipes and all these different ways to cook it properly, It's like all AJ eats his wild game now. He made a, [00:51:00] before we left, he had a, a moose pot roast going in his crockpot at home, which is funny cuz it was like so outside of his norm now buying meat at the grocery store sounds disgusting.

Like even the thought of what it probably went through as far as how they processed it and what they did and. Not for me, man. I got I, I'll get it myself. Thank you. Yeah, absolutely. No, I love that man. And I really do appreciate you hopping on. I feel like you and I could talk for five hours. I know you're down there in South Carolina with the goal of shooting at Turkey.

And I wanna let you get back to your hunt, but before we hop off, where can people find you? Where can they follow along both social media and watching the show? Yeah, so if you look at our Facebook and Instagram pages and Twitter pages are just the Greenway Outdoors, so at the Greenway Outdoors.

And then as far as History Channel goes, we'll be airing, like I said, in the second half of this year. So watch for that in the outdoor block. There'll be a lots of announcements from the History channel as well about the show. But yeah, follow us on social media. The greenway outdoors.com is our website on our YouTube channel.

You [00:52:00] can see some of our past episodes there right now. There's not too many there. But soon you'll get to see this new content that I'm talking about. We also have a weekly video podcast, which we gotta have go on as a guest. We do that every single week. It's released on Fridays at five 30 Eastern.

And then we also have. Our outdoor education series, which is like how-to videos to teach people all the how-to stuff that they need to know, but in a place that they can find it and actually use it. Cuz lord knows when you're trying to tie a fishing now at two o'clock in the morning and you don't know what you're doing and you go on YouTube, you get 30 bad videos before you can finally find the one that actually shows you how to do it.

And then we have our outdoor or our hunt cast online series, which is more of our raw along for the hunt type show. And you can find that on our website as well, the greenie outdoors.com. But find us there and we gotta have you on for a podcast as well. And hopefully everyone will tune into the History channel later on this year.

Yeah, absolutely, man. I'm gonna keep catching up on content. Anticipation for the last half of the year. [00:53:00] And yeah, we'll get on, do a podcast together again and good luck out there in South Carolina, man. Thank you, brother. You have a great day.

‍