June 30, 2025 • 30 mins
From spray painting addresses on sidewalks to building Canada's premier hunting and fishing network, Ryan Kohler's journey reflects the perfect blend of entrepreneurial spirit and outdoor passion. The surprising twist? He didn't grow up in a hunting family.
When Ryan's father pursued television channel licenses, Ryan advocated for a hunting network despite having no family background in the outdoors. This leap of faith transformed into Wild TV, now celebrating nearly two decades of connecting outdoor enthusiasts across Canada and beyond. Learning to hunt from friends whose father was an African professional hunter, Ryan developed a deep appreciation for the challenges of pursuing whitetails and elk in Alberta's diverse landscapes.
What makes Ryan's perspective unique is how he views hunting as more than just pursuit – it's about disconnecting from our technology-saturated lives. "Your whole body changes when you're in the wilderness," he explains, describing how extended trips into the backcountry heighten senses and reconnect us with our primal nature. This philosophy extends to his outfitting business, RK Hunts, which he started simply to spend more time guiding others and sharing those transformative wilderness experiences.
The evolution of Wild TV mirrors the broader transformation in media consumption. Ryan has adapted by developing comprehensive digital platforms while maintaining the network's authentic character. He takes particular pride in how female participation in hunting has grown from roughly 5% when Wild TV began to approximately 30% today – a change the network actively supported by showcasing women hunters.
His advice after years of full-throttle business building? Patience. "I missed opportunities because I was tunnel-visioned straight ahead," he reflects, noting that both in business and hunting, success comes to those who can wait for the right moment and make the most of it when it arrives.
Whether you're an experienced hunter or simply curious about disconnecting in nature, download the Wild TV Plus app to access twenty years of outdoor content organized by species, region, and hunting style.
Check us out on Facebook and instagram Hunts On Outfitting, and also our YouTube page Hunts On Outfitting Podcast. Tell your hunting buddies about the podcast if you like it, Thanks!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
this is hunts on outfitting podcast.
I'm your host and rookie guide,ken meyer.
I love everything hunting theoutdoors and all things
associated with it, from storiesto how tos.
You'll find it here.
Welcome to the podcast.
Hey, as always, thanks fortuning into the podcast.
(00:36):
You listening and the greatguests we have been fortunate to
have on from all over are whatkeeps this podcast going and
getting bigger every month.
So thanks, guys, we appreciateit.
This week's guest you mayrecognize his voice from a
certain television network, ryanKohler.
In between his very busyschedule and all that he has
going on, he was able to come onand have a chat for this
(00:57):
podcast.
We talk about his surprisingstart in being an entrepreneur
and how he got involved in theoutdoor world.
He has some wise advice andknowledge that you won't want to
miss.
Being the guy behind the sceneswith Canada's premier hunting,
fishing and outdoor network,wild TV, he has helped, along
(01:18):
with his great staff, give avoice to so many men and women
in the outdoor world that alsohelp to preserve what we do and
show why this network, since2004, has proudly shown the
outdoor lifestyle of so manydifferent great TV shows from
all around the world.
Because you know, at the end ofthe day, whether from Argentina
(01:42):
or Africa or anywhere else, ashunters, we're all connected in
some way and I find these TVshows can show how, at the end
of the day, how similar we arein our values, in this outdoor
passion.
Speaking about passion, theCanadian access to firearms and
other related items, this is agreat newspaper that is going to
(02:04):
tell you about firearm shows,hot deals, new gear and so much
more, and it's something you canlook at and flip through like
the simpler days before we justhad our phone screen stuck
together.
It's great to sit back and readthrough at the camp or wherever
you have the time, and it's nicejust having some paper in your
hand and going through thatinstead of the screen glaring at
(02:27):
you.
It's a good little break.
Also, if you want to reach outor come on the show or suggest
somebody for the show, you canfind us on Facebook Hunts on
Outfitting and by email,huntsonoutfitting at gmailcom,
or find me on Facebook, kenMeyer.
All right, let's talk to Ryan.
(02:48):
Uh, you know, ryan, thanks foruh for taking the time from your
busy and uh, I'm guessinghectic uh sort of controlled
chaos schedule to talk to me.
I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Yeah, it's always a busy schedule, I guess.
But you know, I think you makeit that way, right?
Yeah, if you're not busy, thenyou're not doing much, I suppose
.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
I keep pretty busy and on purpose.
Yeah, I wouldn't say you neverseem bored.
I mean you wear many hatsfather hunter, businessman,
outfitter.
But I got to ask what was yourfirst entrepreneurial endeavor?
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Wow, actually that's a fun question, because the
first entrepreneurial endeavorwas probably when I used to
spray paint sidewalks.
I'd get a stencil from CanadianTire and I would go to your
door and I would ask you if youwanted your address spray
painted on the sidewalks.
The peak delivery man could seeit easier.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Really Wow.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
That was one.
And then we, we, we also usedto go to white Ave and sell
balloons on like Valentine's day.
That was a good one.
What else did I used to do whenI was younger?
I think those were kind of thetop two or I.
We actually, you know, madesome pretty good money.
And then, when I was about 19,I went to Greece and I ran pub
crawls in Greece.
(04:05):
That was.
That was pretty entrepreneurial.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Yeah, yeah, I, uh, I never would have guessed those.
Um, I guess, ryan, if we shouldprobably back up a little bit.
Um, where do you live?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Yeah, well, I was born in Edmonton and then when I
was a young guy, we went toHawaii and my dad had some
businesses there that they weretrying to run and then moved to
Vancouver and and I was inCalgary I'm I'm now landed in
Calahoo.
I have a farm out here inCalahoo and you know we're about
45 minutes northwest ofEdmonton where it's pretty quiet
and when you can kind of getaway from um.
(04:37):
You know the office is on thewest end, so you come home and
it's real nice and quiet andyeah.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Okay cool.
So I don't know if a lot ofpeople know this.
I never found out until later.
I mean, growing up, you know,wild TV was, I guess you could
say, a huge staple in mine andmy friend's childhood.
We couldn't get enough of it.
Even when my wife and I boughtour house, we were getting our
satellite TV hooked up and sheknew already to subscribe to
(05:05):
Wild TV.
Did you grow up hunting andthought it would be cool for
people to watch this 24-7instead of just buying, like the
Jim Shockey DVDs at Walmart?
Or I mean, how did you get intothis?
Speaker 2 (05:20):
So I had a TV show called Outdoors Alive when I was
21, maybe on the outdoorchannel in the US.
So we learned how they did themodel there.
And my dad, he had ainfomercial company and back
then he sold infomercials tolocal businesses in Edmonton and
(05:42):
he went to go get licenses forfour channels, so the armed
forces channel, the cult movienetwork and a speed channel.
And then I told him, please,please, please.
So my parents didn't hunt,nobody in my family hunted at
all.
They had nothing to do withhunting and fishing.
So I kind of begged for thelicense to the CRTC, begged for
(06:03):
him to get it.
And then, you know, he did getit.
And then, you know, pass me apiece of paper and and just the
way things went, the hunting andfishing channel like really
took off compared to the otherthree.
So then we, um, you know, justkept chasing that business.
But no, I never, I, never.
I learned from a couple offriends of mine that were born
in Africa and then moved here,and they were, their dad was a
(06:26):
PH.
So we got special, some special, we learned some special
tactics from him and juststarted cutting my teeth, yamton
bozo, and hunting whitetails,which is, you know, I still
think, one of the hardestanimals in the world to hunt and
and started from there.
But we had a show on theoutdoor channel and it was a fly
fishing and bow hunting showand I think I was the youngest,
for sure the youngest Canadianon the Outdoor Channel and we
(06:48):
figured out the model, the waythey were doing it, and then
just brought that model toCanada.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Wow, that's incredible.
I mean so Wild TV.
It is Canada's largest huntingand fishing network.
I can't believe you didn't growup hunting or fishing, wow yeah
when I was 16, I worked at thefishing hole.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
So I think my first job was working um with the
Johnsons over there and catalogyeah, great, great company,
great guys and um.
And so then I was a fishingguide.
You know, I went and guided forthree years and then I got onto
the hunting side and guided abunch of hunting stuff and
really just kind of fell in lovewith being outside.
So it didn't really matter if Iwas hunting and fishing was
just the reason to get outside.
So it got me outside, it got meoutside a ton, and then the
(07:39):
broadcasting portion of it wasreally fun, right Cause when
you're making production andyou're doing production, then
it's a fun thing to do.
So when you put the twotogether you just had a.
You know it was easy to work on.
You can work 16 hours a daybecause it was a passion of ours
mine and we had a couple ofguys that started at the very
beginning and you could workyour ass off all day on this
(08:01):
thing and it was just super fun.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
I mean you're, you're a part of, and have been in several of
the shows on your network.
I mean, was that the ultimategoal was to be have yourself on
there Cause I remember when Ifirst started watching it, you
weren't on a whole lot, but Iimagine you were incredibly busy
, uh, behind the scenes but wasthat part of the goal was not
just to have the network but tohave yourself, you know, on the
camera?
Speaker 2 (08:22):
You know, at the beginning I thought you know,
let's definitely have a show on,so we had a show on and then
you can see, just, you can kindof grow or scale the shows.
And then you, I put more energyinto other people and their
shows and to try to make as manyshows as we could, so our sales
team could sell more content,right, and it kind of forgot
(08:43):
about myself a little bit.
And then, as the years went by,I wanted to get more into just
getting outside, right, justgetting back out and doing some
of these cool trips and gettingan opportunity.
You know you won't have thatopportunity forever, so why not
jump on it a little bit?
So then we started to make somedifferent productions that
suited me a little better, likeBos live is is a live show for
(09:04):
two weeks in november that we wego live to tape every single
night and that's a real fun oneand I can do it at home here,
right.
And then, um, the how to hunttv show that I host.
That one we do, you know, huntsfrom all over the place and
that that's really fun.
So I don't think it was a goalper se.
I think the goal would alwaysbe to try to you make a good
(09:25):
business and have a strongrunning business and be able to
employ you know people wherethey can have a great time and
make some money as well, and Ithink that's always the goal
right Is to have a good runningbusiness.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Yeah, well, I'd say you've done that.
I mean, it's, it's, uh, it'skind of surreal for me talking
to you right now because I saidmy friends and I we've watched
wild tv since it started, likeall the time.
Um, so it's, yeah, it's reallycool talking to you.
Uh, you know, getting thisnetwork started, do you?
Do you find you had more of anuphill battle, simply because it
(09:57):
is hunting, like, is it harderto get sponsors?
And all that because somepeople that aren't in it may
have more of a negative view onit at the beginning for sure.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
I mean, when you call a uh shaw or rogers or bell or
you know videotron right acrossthe nation, you're trying to
sell a hunting fish and ahunting and fishing channel.
You know, at the very beginningit was, it was really tough
right to get picked up by thosebig companies and it took, you
know, a couple, two, couple, two, three, four, five years to to
get them all and then to justyou know, you had to explain the
(10:31):
business case of it and therewas a business that was pretty
strong behind it.
So especially back in the cableand sat days when that's all
there was, when there was nosocial, you know, it was really
really strong and it's always achallenge, right, nothing is,
nothing's easy or given free.
So we grinded it out prettyhard and and then you've got a
few different revenue streams.
(10:52):
So we had we could sellcommercials and you'd get money
for subscriptions.
And then we also changed the waytv was done and you would
actually charge for programming,which is the opposite of what
you would think.
Right, you, normally you wouldhave to pay for programming.
So we we just kind of flippedthe switch there.
Outdoor channel was doing thesame thing.
So it was really their modelthat we just took over.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Okay, yeah, no, um, I mean, do you find that the view
now on hunting has changed,with some of these networks
seeing like, okay, there is alot of people into it, maybe
there's some money inadvertising here, they're more
open to it?
Or I mean, how do you thinkthat?
Has it changed for the betteror for the worse?
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Well, I think that there's always money there and
it depends on what you offer themanufacturer.
So the manufacturers drive allof that business Like they'll
drive, they'll put money intogood TV shows and then those
shows go to networks or thoseshows go to online platforms or
that content goes to social.
So it's, it's constantlytransforming, Like our industry,
(11:52):
like the industry I'm in, whichis TV.
It's, you know, it's alwaysdifferent.
So you kind of have to, youhave to always be, you have to
have your finger on the pulse atall times and you have to be
able to change.
So, as far as whether they spendmore now than they used to, um,
you know, there was a heyday 10years ago when, while TV was
the king of the world, andthat's where the money went,
(12:12):
because that's where theaudience was only in one place.
So now the audience will besegmented.
Same amount of money, though Ithink it's just splintered into
different places and that's, youknow, what social media has
done.
And, yeah, hopefully thatanswers the question.
It's, it's just, it's just alittle different.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Yeah, I was just wondering, like you know how, um
, I guess you could use the wordsome of the world's gone.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
uh woke, you could say, uh if oh, yeah, sure, yeah,
no, our world not that woke.
Yeah, no, no, we've got likeour manufacturers aren't woke.
And, um, the people that watchour station, you know like we
(12:58):
know you, you know who you are,like you could be doing surgery
in an operating room and thengoing home and watching wild TV.
So we have everything fromevery you know different type of
um group of people, from youknow zero to 10, it doesn't
matter where you're from, itdoesn't matter what you do for a
job, or you know, if you likehunting and fishing, you kind of
if you like hunting and fishing, you kind of you like hunting
and fishing and that's it.
That's, that's the uh, that'sthe story, um, so yeah, yeah,
(13:19):
yeah, just wasn't sure.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
If you know, like some uh power sports companies
and stuff would be like oh, Idon't know if we want to do
hunting, but you know I don't, Idon't, I don't think we really
saw that, we didn't really seethat.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
I think, um, you know they know their customer right.
So if, if you're looking tosell a quad or you know a truck
or anything for a you know adude that's not woke, then you
know you probably have a prettygood demographic.
If you're looking at wild tvbecause that's what we have
right like, but the, the, thewomen in the sport is growing
quite a bit.
I think it's at 30 percent nowand when I first started it was
(13:51):
at like five and, uh, I likekudos to them.
They've done such a great jobgetting into the sport hunting
and fishing.
There's so many great womenthat do it now.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
So we've got a pretty good male demographic and but
the women's side is reallygrowing, so it's really
interesting do you find thatmaybe your network has a bit to
do with that at be able toshowcase the shows with women on
it and other ones see that andlike, oh, okay, you know it is
more acceptable.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
We've always been reallyproactive, trying to get women
into the sport the whole time,right Since day one, like why
can't they be like?
And now you've got so manygreat anglers and so many great
hunters.
And as soon as we saw that awoman was getting engaged into
that content, then we're likelet's get them right away, right
(14:40):
?
Speaker 1 (14:40):
so, um, yeah, no, for sure, for sure.
I know one that really sticksout is amanda lynn mayhew, and
just I know she does.
Um, so they filmed one.
They went to africa and it'sjust women only and stuff, and
it was uh, it was pretty neat towatch yeah, there's a handful
of gals like her that do a greatjob, and yeah, for sure.
You know, if someone's at homeand they do, you know they do
some self-filming and editingand thinks like you know.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
I could do it.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
I can make quality for Wild TV.
What would your advice be tothem?
I mean, how does someone get onthe network?
Speaker 2 (15:08):
I guess you could say Well, the first thing you got
to understand is everything'sdriven by manufacturers.
So you've got to be asalesperson, so you've got to be
able to sell your brand orwhatever brand you're going to
get behind, and if you can't dothat, then you're going to fall
short pretty quick, mind you.
You know there's a lot ofdifferent ways to do it today,
right?
So if you wanted to get on TV,then you got to be selling stuff
(15:29):
.
If you want to get on YouTube,then you just got to be able to,
you know, learn how tomanipulate YouTube to your
advantage so you can grow quickenough where you can gain
subscription or get some, some,some sponsors.
So it's a totally differentgame now.
So for us, we, we want mediaeverywhere, right?
Like, we want to have ourYouTube page super powered, our
Insta super powered, facebook,the channel itself.
(15:51):
We have fast channels that aregoing all over the place.
We have major launches on somemajor satellite systems right
across the world, and so it'smore like TV everywhere or
content everywhere for us, andget those numbers as high as we
can so we can get the attentionof the manufacturers.
So if you're starting fromscratch, then you want to have
for sure to get on that socialmedia because that's where you
(16:14):
can at least gain some tractionon your own without having to
get a sponsor.
Now you got to be, you know,really into it.
It's just like anything elseyou got to put a ton of time and
energy into something and itmight take two or three or four
years before you get some youknow, some traction coming back
to you yeah, yeah absolutely themanufacturers.
It's all driven by impressions,like they want to sell their
(16:36):
products right.
So they need as manyimpressions as they can get, for
you know the best they can getfor their buck.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Right, I mean, so do you guys ever get?
I'm sure you guys get a lot ofvideos sent into you and all
that, and is there any that youknow?
Speaker 2 (16:48):
sometimes like wow that really sticks out if they
have their ducks in a row withyou know sponsors and everything
that you know that could work.
Yeah, we get videos that arepretty awesome, for sure.
You know we get really goodstuff that's sent in and um,
it's pretty easy to do a dealwith someone that's got a great
production and then you know,you know they buy some time off
(17:10):
of us and away they go.
It's up to them to kind of keeptheir business running on their
side.
We're basically just, you know,a place for someone to get more
numbers.
It's another place for you toput your content up to get more
numbers so you can sell yourmanufacturer.
We're just one piece of thepuzzle, right right.
We used to be the piece of thepuzzle but, like I said, media
(17:31):
has totally changed right, sonow we have other pieces to that
puzzle that you'd have to bepart of, like our app.
Our wild tv plus app has 20years of our content all in one
app and, uh, and that, thatthing's amazing, that thing's
super powered, so that that'sreally a fun thing now that
we're doing yeah, yeah, I seethat it's.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Uh, it is pretty cool .
I mean, like you said, havingyour finger on the pulse.
I mean that's definitely a waythat you guys are and staying up
to date with you know beingrelevant with what's going on
yeah, you got to do it right,you got to change yeah, yeah,
that's right.
Um, ryan, I don't know how youdo it all.
You're so driven and everythingI want to talk a little bit
about.
Uh, you started rk huntsbecause apparently you didn't
(18:09):
have enough on your plate, soyou're on TV hunting, got the
network, and then can you tellme a little bit about what got
you starting your, youroutfitter?
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Yeah, the outfitting company is another.
I guess it's a way for me tokind of unplug from the
broadcasting side, so it's justanother way to get outside.
You know what I mean.
Like I can, I've done the showsand I've I've gone out and I've
hunted lots of animals.
I'm an archery hunter, so shotyou know a bunch of animals with
my bow.
But now it's, I feel like it's alittle more fun for me to take
other people, and so it was.
(18:43):
It just made sense to just getan outfitting company.
And then I've just made a lotof great relationships with, you
know, a lot of high level guys,a lot of athletes, um, and so
to take those guys for theirfirst, whatever it might be, you
know that's, that's, uh,something I kick out of and gets
me again out of the office andback into the field.
(19:03):
So I'm just a, you know, ahunting and fishing redneck at
the end of the day that wants tobe out there just as bad as
everybody else.
So, um, you know, you can goout there and take someone else
and make a little bit of money,and it's perfect for everybody,
everybody's happy.
That's why that business wasstarted, just literally because
I wanted to get back outsideagain.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
No, that's a great answer.
I mean, that's perfect to me.
That's what I hear from guysthat are so passionate about it
and doing it is just takingsomeone out and helping them
experience the thrill of thehunt and the harvest.
If you're lucky enough and yeah, imagine so you just kind of
turn off your phone, you'reunplugged and you're out there,
right?
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Yeah, that's right, turn off my phone and chuck it
in the truck and hopefully itmelts, and then that's two weeks
, two weeks.
It's usually melting in my handon a daily basis when I'm not
in the woods, right, so it'sringing just about every 20
seconds.
But, um, no, it's my free time.
It's just kind of like if guysgo to play golf or whatever,
right, I'm really kind of weird,like I don't even I don't
really play golf at all, becausefor me it like I I just try to
(20:05):
get outside and hunt or fish andthen that's my golf.
So it's just getting into whatyou love as much as you can.
Like.
That's probably why we've beensuccessful is because the people
that work around Wild TV'sbrand, like we all love what we
do, we all love to just getoutside and or media or the
production part of it, or theopening side of it or whatever
it might be, and that's kind ofthe whole thing, right, if you
(20:27):
love it enough, then you knowyou should do pretty good.
You just got to work, work hardand love it and you should be
fine yeah, well, I mean, uh,yeah, you guys do an excellent
job.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Like I said it, even though you love it and all that,
you do need that reset justaway from electronics and stuff,
and that, uh, this obviously isa is a great way for it.
I mean, whereabouts are youguys roughly uh with your, your
outfitting and how many huntersdo you take a year?
Speaker 2 (20:50):
um, well, it depends, right, we, we take hunters for
different species.
So, uh, you know, we could takeup to 20 hunters pretty easily
in the year and that's not thatmany, right?
So we've got some whitetailstuff, some bear stuff, got into
some elk stuff here justrecently, and some moose and
everything else.
So we kind of we've got it,we've got it covered and, um,
(21:10):
yeah, it's just a fun time?
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Yeah, You've been able to.
You've been, you know, had theopportunity to hunt lots of
different animals.
Is there one that really sticksout?
That is your favorite, if youhad to choose.
My favorite hunt or the huntthat sticks out the most.
I know that's too quick.
Well, if you have time, let'sdo both your favorite species to
(21:32):
hunt and then your hunt thatsticks out the most after all
these years.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
So my favorite species to hunt is probably
going to be it's eitherwhitetails, nametong, bozone or
elk in the deep timber inAlberta.
Here they're both just a veryhard thing to do and I like the
challenge.
I like to be challenged.
So those are really challenginghunts and I have access to them
here in alberta.
(21:57):
In alberta you have such anarray of animals, from the like
the antelope down in theprairies in southern alberta to
the big horn sheep the top ofour mountains in the wilmore.
So I mean, like you've got somany beautiful animals that you
can go after.
We've got an abundance ofanimals in alber.
It's the best place in theworld to hunt by miles, but
there are some specific animalsthat you can hunt with a bow and
arrow.
It's a real challenge and andthat the, the elk and the white
(22:21):
killer.
For me they're tied and thenthe hunt that I probably will
never forget will be I went toRussia, in Kamchatka, and I
hunted a snow sheep in the topof their mountains and that was.
That was a big story, wow.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
Yeah, that's, uh, that's.
That's something to be able totell people that you, uh, you
have done that.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Yeah, that was a neat one.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Yeah, did you.
Was there any uh, sketchymoments?
I guess you could say goingthrough Russia.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Yeah, filled with sketchy moments.
Yeah, between our guides, ourguides carrying Uzis and
helicopters that I didn't thinkwould even get off the ground.
It was a major adventure, right, probably a pretty dangerous
one, but for me personally, Ikind of thrive off it and I,
like I really enjoy it.
I don't, I love getting out andI love I love going further
(23:08):
than you should.
You know what I mean.
Like there's a lot of timeswhen let's just go a little
further, let's just see what'saround this corner, and people
are looking at me like why, well, right, you punch the envelope
and then you've got an awesomestory at the end of the day.
Yeah, for sure.
I think I've got myself intotrouble quite a few times
pushing the envelope, but um, atleast it's uh, you know it's,
(23:33):
it's fun so it's part of yourcharacter.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Uh, I'm going actually to Alberta in September
.
I'm taking along with a friendon a bighorn sheep hunt up there
in the Rockies.
Uh, any advice for somethingthat you like would definitely
say, to pack.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Oh geez, it's probably a lot, but um, you know
what?
Actually, I'm really theopposite of a lot.
I just take what's necessaryand I don't really pack much
anymore.
I mean, if I'm on a bighornsheep hunt something that I
(24:09):
wouldn't want to forget to packa good pair of Zeiss binos, I
would say that for sure.
Yeah, you know, you need aspotting scope.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
You know you're going to need a real good spotting
scope.
And then just probably thebiggest thing for bighorns is
the understanding that you knowthere's not a lot of rams out
there and if you can find alegal ram then you're 90% of the
way there.
So and then just bring a wholelot of patience and a little bag
and carry that around with youand a really good attitude.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
Okay, well, that sounds good.
The guy I'm going with thiswill be his fifth year hunting
them.
Seen some, but no legal ramsyet, so I'm excited.
I told him he's like you shouldcome out with me.
He's been bugging me toobecause he said this is my year.
I think I'm like, yeah, maybe Ishould, just in case.
And the experience.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
No, definitely, it's definitely worth the trip and I
I would recommend that trip toto anyone.
Um, you know you can.
You can get a horse, you canget guys with horses, get some
wranglers, some outfitters totake you out into the mountains,
even if they, even if you'renot a hunter and you want to
experience something new for thefirst time, that's, that's
absolutely amazing.
You know, you get a good crewto take you out to just whatever
(25:15):
.
Say it's 10 hour ride out tothe back of whatever somewhere
in Alberta in the mountains andyou experience that experience
traveling across country on ahorse and then experience wall
tent living and then go forhikes around the mountains when
you're there, like basicallythat's a sheep hunt.
So like I would really recommendthat to people that don't hunt
even, or even some fishermenthat find some lakes and streams
(25:38):
that you can go and do.
But that right there will unplugyou from you know, like the
everyday world that you live in,where you've got a ceiling over
your head and you've got acomputer in front of you or a
phone in your hand.
Like I really highly recommendthat people do like a two week
trip doing just that, where theycan just get back to nature,
(25:58):
get back to basics, just groundthemselves and it really changes
you, like you'll find that yoursenses will heighten your
eyesight, you'll hear better,smell better.
Uh, you probably get a littlebit stronger, a little bit
tougher, because you're you'resurviving in the wilderness a
little bit and you know yourwhole body just changes, like
(26:20):
everything just changes, and itjust makes you feel so alive.
Yeah, so if anybody was lookingfor a trip just to do something
different, like that, you cango with you and your wife and
your kids or whatever it is, andjust get out in the mountains
and experience them and go for awalk, and it really is
something else.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
Yeah, no, he sent me videos and pictures and uh, yeah
, it looks amazing and, like yousaid, to alberta, I mean, the
amount of hunting opportunitiesthere in game is just, it's
incredible.
Like you said, yeah, it'sprobably the best hunting in the
world really yeah, I think itis.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
I think alberta is the best place.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
It's definitely the best place, in my opinion yeah,
no, I'd, uh, I've been therebefore, not hunting, but uh,
worked out there and yeah it's,it's incredible what it has to
offer.
And, like you said, it's true,like I believe, what you're
saying about, um, you know your,your senses are heightened and
you're stronger and you know allthat being out there because,
yeah, we kind of go back to ouruh I guess you could say
(27:11):
primitive, uh state how, becausehumans now you know we're so're
so soft, more or less.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Oh yeah, we're definitely soft.
Like I always say to guys, if Igo to bear camp or I go to elk
camp or moose camp, I usually dotwo weeks.
I try to do two weeks and then,you know, if I had to fight
myself before the guy at the endof the camp would be a lot
tougher.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
Yeah, yeah, no, that's a good way to put it.
You know, Ryan, if you couldgive advice to a younger self
yourself, what would it be?
Kind of knowing what you knownow and how you've got so much
on the go and just going fullthrottle.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Oh, just patient.
Okay, I think for me, like Iwas really full throttle when I
was younger, I was always tryingto just, you know, run straight
ahead as fast as I could, ashard as I could at everything.
Um, you know, I played I stillplay hockey, and I played hockey
like that and my body'ssuffering for it, and I think
that I missed a lot ofopportunity because, you know,
(28:11):
you're, you're just kind of justlike tunnel vision, straight
ahead like an arrow, and um, now, you know, I'm almost 50 now.
So it's, it's, you learnpatience as you get older and
you realize that you take alittle bit of time to pay
attention a little more andlisten a little more and find
pockets of opportunity that arereally good, instead of just
(28:31):
charging forward.
And, um, on the hunting side,patience is the biggest thing
there is right, like you gottahave real good confidence in
what you're doing and then bepatient for the moment, and then
it's what you do with thatmoment that makes a difference.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Right, yeah, no, that's well put.
You know, Ryan, like I said,Canada Wild TV it's such a great
network and so many good showson it and people on there.
You know I can't thank youenough for coming on doing this
podcast.
I know you've been incrediblybusy and you've always got
something on the go, so thisdoes mean a lot.
I don't want to take up toomuch more of your time.
(29:07):
Is there anything else you'dlike to add?
Speaker 2 (29:11):
No, I think maybe just quickly talk about the app,
if you don't mind.
We've got a brand new app.
That's that's on.
You know you can download onyour phone, it's available on
all the smart tvs, it'savailable basically anywhere
wild tv plus and 20 years ofcontent.
All the shows you've seen forthe last 20 years are all loaded
in there.
And we've we've built someawesome swim lanes where you can
like pick your animal that youlike and pick your province that
(29:32):
you like to hunt that animal in, and really broken it down and
aggregate all the content foreveryone that's going to.
So it's a really sweet app andso we're we're pushing that now
and trying to get everybody ontothe app and, and it really is a
great service, we've gotchannels in there, so if you
love bears, you can hit the bearchannel.
We'll play bear shows for 20years and white tails, elk,
(29:52):
whatever you like.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
So it's pretty special yeah, yeah, I've been on
there and it's well puttogether and it's very easy to
uh to navigate through yeah,that's about it.
That's our, that's what we'reworking on now, so that's that's
what's fun today yeah, yes,actually, you'll have your
finger on the pulse for the nextthing around the corner, I'm
sure I hope so yeah, that's theplan, uh, well, uh, yeah, thanks
(30:14):
again, ryan well, thank you, Iappreciate that.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Uh, you're thinking of me to come on the podcast and
anytime, call me anytime.
this is hunts on outfitting podcast.
I'm your host and rookie guide,ken meyer.
I love everything hunting theoutdoors and all things
associated with it, from storiesto how tos.
You'll find it here.
Welcome to the podcast.
Hey, as always, thanks fortuning into the podcast.
(00:36):
You listening and the greatguests we have been fortunate to
have on from all over are whatkeeps this podcast going and
getting bigger every month.
So thanks, guys, we appreciateit.
This week's guest you mayrecognize his voice from a
certain television network, ryanKohler.
In between his very busyschedule and all that he has
going on, he was able to come onand have a chat for this
(00:57):
podcast.
We talk about his surprisingstart in being an entrepreneur
and how he got involved in theoutdoor world.
He has some wise advice andknowledge that you won't want to
miss.
Being the guy behind the sceneswith Canada's premier hunting,
fishing and outdoor network,wild TV, he has helped, along
(01:18):
with his great staff, give avoice to so many men and women
in the outdoor world that alsohelp to preserve what we do and
show why this network, since2004, has proudly shown the
outdoor lifestyle of so manydifferent great TV shows from
all around the world.
Because you know, at the end ofthe day, whether from Argentina
(01:42):
or Africa or anywhere else, ashunters, we're all connected in
some way and I find these TVshows can show how, at the end
of the day, how similar we arein our values, in this outdoor
passion.
Speaking about passion, theCanadian access to firearms and
other related items, this is agreat newspaper that is going to
(02:04):
tell you about firearm shows,hot deals, new gear and so much
more, and it's something you canlook at and flip through like
the simpler days before we justhad our phone screen stuck
together.
It's great to sit back and readthrough at the camp or wherever
you have the time, and it's nicejust having some paper in your
hand and going through thatinstead of the screen glaring at
(02:27):
you.
It's a good little break.
Also, if you want to reach outor come on the show or suggest
somebody for the show, you canfind us on Facebook Hunts on
Outfitting and by email,huntsonoutfitting at gmailcom,
or find me on Facebook, kenMeyer.
All right, let's talk to Ryan.
(02:48):
Uh, you know, ryan, thanks foruh for taking the time from your
busy and uh, I'm guessinghectic uh sort of controlled
chaos schedule to talk to me.
I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Yeah, it's always a busy schedule, I guess.
But you know, I think you makeit that way, right?
Yeah, if you're not busy, thenyou're not doing much, I suppose
.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
I keep pretty busy and on purpose.
Yeah, I wouldn't say you neverseem bored.
I mean you wear many hatsfather hunter, businessman,
outfitter.
But I got to ask what was yourfirst entrepreneurial endeavor?
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Wow, actually that's a fun question, because the
first entrepreneurial endeavorwas probably when I used to
spray paint sidewalks.
I'd get a stencil from CanadianTire and I would go to your
door and I would ask you if youwanted your address spray
painted on the sidewalks.
The peak delivery man could seeit easier.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Really Wow.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
That was one.
And then we, we, we also usedto go to white Ave and sell
balloons on like Valentine's day.
That was a good one.
What else did I used to do whenI was younger?
I think those were kind of thetop two or I.
We actually, you know, madesome pretty good money.
And then, when I was about 19,I went to Greece and I ran pub
crawls in Greece.
(04:05):
That was.
That was pretty entrepreneurial.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Yeah, yeah, I, uh, I never would have guessed those.
Um, I guess, ryan, if we shouldprobably back up a little bit.
Um, where do you live?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Yeah, well, I was born in Edmonton and then when I
was a young guy, we went toHawaii and my dad had some
businesses there that they weretrying to run and then moved to
Vancouver and and I was inCalgary I'm I'm now landed in
Calahoo.
I have a farm out here inCalahoo and you know we're about
45 minutes northwest ofEdmonton where it's pretty quiet
and when you can kind of getaway from um.
(04:37):
You know the office is on thewest end, so you come home and
it's real nice and quiet andyeah.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Okay cool.
So I don't know if a lot ofpeople know this.
I never found out until later.
I mean, growing up, you know,wild TV was, I guess you could
say, a huge staple in mine andmy friend's childhood.
We couldn't get enough of it.
Even when my wife and I boughtour house, we were getting our
satellite TV hooked up and sheknew already to subscribe to
(05:05):
Wild TV.
Did you grow up hunting andthought it would be cool for
people to watch this 24-7instead of just buying, like the
Jim Shockey DVDs at Walmart?
Or I mean, how did you get intothis?
Speaker 2 (05:20):
So I had a TV show called Outdoors Alive when I was
21, maybe on the outdoorchannel in the US.
So we learned how they did themodel there.
And my dad, he had ainfomercial company and back
then he sold infomercials tolocal businesses in Edmonton and
(05:42):
he went to go get licenses forfour channels, so the armed
forces channel, the cult movienetwork and a speed channel.
And then I told him, please,please, please.
So my parents didn't hunt,nobody in my family hunted at
all.
They had nothing to do withhunting and fishing.
So I kind of begged for thelicense to the CRTC, begged for
(06:03):
him to get it.
And then, you know, he did getit.
And then, you know, pass me apiece of paper and and just the
way things went, the hunting andfishing channel like really
took off compared to the otherthree.
So then we, um, you know, justkept chasing that business.
But no, I never, I, never.
I learned from a couple offriends of mine that were born
in Africa and then moved here,and they were, their dad was a
(06:26):
PH.
So we got special, some special, we learned some special
tactics from him and juststarted cutting my teeth, yamton
bozo, and hunting whitetails,which is, you know, I still
think, one of the hardestanimals in the world to hunt and
and started from there.
But we had a show on theoutdoor channel and it was a fly
fishing and bow hunting showand I think I was the youngest,
for sure the youngest Canadianon the Outdoor Channel and we
(06:48):
figured out the model, the waythey were doing it, and then
just brought that model toCanada.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Wow, that's incredible.
I mean so Wild TV.
It is Canada's largest huntingand fishing network.
I can't believe you didn't growup hunting or fishing, wow yeah
when I was 16, I worked at thefishing hole.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
So I think my first job was working um with the
Johnsons over there and catalogyeah, great, great company,
great guys and um.
And so then I was a fishingguide.
You know, I went and guided forthree years and then I got onto
the hunting side and guided abunch of hunting stuff and
really just kind of fell in lovewith being outside.
So it didn't really matter if Iwas hunting and fishing was
just the reason to get outside.
So it got me outside, it got meoutside a ton, and then the
(07:39):
broadcasting portion of it wasreally fun, right Cause when
you're making production andyou're doing production, then
it's a fun thing to do.
So when you put the twotogether you just had a.
You know it was easy to work on.
You can work 16 hours a daybecause it was a passion of ours
mine and we had a couple ofguys that started at the very
beginning and you could workyour ass off all day on this
(08:01):
thing and it was just super fun.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
I mean you're, you're a part of, and have been in several of
the shows on your network.
I mean, was that the ultimategoal was to be have yourself on
there Cause I remember when Ifirst started watching it, you
weren't on a whole lot, but Iimagine you were incredibly busy
, uh, behind the scenes but wasthat part of the goal was not
just to have the network but tohave yourself, you know, on the
camera?
Speaker 2 (08:22):
You know, at the beginning I thought you know,
let's definitely have a show on,so we had a show on and then
you can see, just, you can kindof grow or scale the shows.
And then you, I put more energyinto other people and their
shows and to try to make as manyshows as we could, so our sales
team could sell more content,right, and it kind of forgot
(08:43):
about myself a little bit.
And then, as the years went by,I wanted to get more into just
getting outside, right, justgetting back out and doing some
of these cool trips and gettingan opportunity.
You know you won't have thatopportunity forever, so why not
jump on it a little bit?
So then we started to make somedifferent productions that
suited me a little better, likeBos live is is a live show for
(09:04):
two weeks in november that we wego live to tape every single
night and that's a real fun oneand I can do it at home here,
right.
And then, um, the how to hunttv show that I host.
That one we do, you know, huntsfrom all over the place and
that that's really fun.
So I don't think it was a goalper se.
I think the goal would alwaysbe to try to you make a good
(09:25):
business and have a strongrunning business and be able to
employ you know people wherethey can have a great time and
make some money as well, and Ithink that's always the goal
right Is to have a good runningbusiness.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Yeah, well, I'd say you've done that.
I mean, it's, it's, uh, it'skind of surreal for me talking
to you right now because I saidmy friends and I we've watched
wild tv since it started, likeall the time.
Um, so it's, yeah, it's reallycool talking to you.
Uh, you know, getting thisnetwork started, do you?
Do you find you had more of anuphill battle, simply because it
(09:57):
is hunting, like, is it harderto get sponsors?
And all that because somepeople that aren't in it may
have more of a negative view onit at the beginning for sure.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
I mean, when you call a uh shaw or rogers or bell or
you know videotron right acrossthe nation, you're trying to
sell a hunting fish and ahunting and fishing channel.
You know, at the very beginningit was, it was really tough
right to get picked up by thosebig companies and it took, you
know, a couple, two, couple, two, three, four, five years to to
get them all and then to justyou know, you had to explain the
(10:31):
business case of it and therewas a business that was pretty
strong behind it.
So especially back in the cableand sat days when that's all
there was, when there was nosocial, you know, it was really
really strong and it's always achallenge, right, nothing is,
nothing's easy or given free.
So we grinded it out prettyhard and and then you've got a
few different revenue streams.
(10:52):
So we had we could sellcommercials and you'd get money
for subscriptions.
And then we also changed the waytv was done and you would
actually charge for programming,which is the opposite of what
you would think.
Right, you, normally you wouldhave to pay for programming.
So we we just kind of flippedthe switch there.
Outdoor channel was doing thesame thing.
So it was really their modelthat we just took over.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Okay, yeah, no, um, I mean, do you find that the view
now on hunting has changed,with some of these networks
seeing like, okay, there is alot of people into it, maybe
there's some money inadvertising here, they're more
open to it?
Or I mean, how do you thinkthat?
Has it changed for the betteror for the worse?
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Well, I think that there's always money there and
it depends on what you offer themanufacturer.
So the manufacturers drive allof that business Like they'll
drive, they'll put money intogood TV shows and then those
shows go to networks or thoseshows go to online platforms or
that content goes to social.
So it's, it's constantlytransforming, Like our industry,
(11:52):
like the industry I'm in, whichis TV.
It's, you know, it's alwaysdifferent.
So you kind of have to, youhave to always be, you have to
have your finger on the pulse atall times and you have to be
able to change.
So, as far as whether they spendmore now than they used to, um,
you know, there was a heyday 10years ago when, while TV was
the king of the world, andthat's where the money went,
(12:12):
because that's where theaudience was only in one place.
So now the audience will besegmented.
Same amount of money, though Ithink it's just splintered into
different places and that's, youknow, what social media has
done.
And, yeah, hopefully thatanswers the question.
It's, it's just, it's just alittle different.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Yeah, I was just wondering, like you know how, um
, I guess you could use the wordsome of the world's gone.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
uh woke, you could say, uh if oh, yeah, sure, yeah,
no, our world not that woke.
Yeah, no, no, we've got likeour manufacturers aren't woke.
And, um, the people that watchour station, you know like we
(12:58):
know you, you know who you are,like you could be doing surgery
in an operating room and thengoing home and watching wild TV.
So we have everything fromevery you know different type of
um group of people, from youknow zero to 10, it doesn't
matter where you're from, itdoesn't matter what you do for a
job, or you know, if you likehunting and fishing, you kind of
if you like hunting and fishing, you kind of you like hunting
and fishing and that's it.
That's, that's the uh, that'sthe story, um, so yeah, yeah,
(13:19):
yeah, just wasn't sure.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
If you know, like some uh power sports companies
and stuff would be like oh, Idon't know if we want to do
hunting, but you know I don't, Idon't, I don't think we really
saw that, we didn't really seethat.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
I think, um, you know they know their customer right.
So if, if you're looking tosell a quad or you know a truck
or anything for a you know adude that's not woke, then you
know you probably have a prettygood demographic.
If you're looking at wild tvbecause that's what we have
right like, but the, the, thewomen in the sport is growing
quite a bit.
I think it's at 30 percent nowand when I first started it was
(13:51):
at like five and, uh, I likekudos to them.
They've done such a great jobgetting into the sport hunting
and fishing.
There's so many great womenthat do it now.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
So we've got a pretty good male demographic and but
the women's side is reallygrowing, so it's really
interesting do you find thatmaybe your network has a bit to
do with that at be able toshowcase the shows with women on
it and other ones see that andlike, oh, okay, you know it is
more acceptable.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
We've always been reallyproactive, trying to get women
into the sport the whole time,right Since day one, like why
can't they be like?
And now you've got so manygreat anglers and so many great
hunters.
And as soon as we saw that awoman was getting engaged into
that content, then we're likelet's get them right away, right
(14:40):
?
Speaker 1 (14:40):
so, um, yeah, no, for sure, for sure.
I know one that really sticksout is amanda lynn mayhew, and
just I know she does.
Um, so they filmed one.
They went to africa and it'sjust women only and stuff, and
it was uh, it was pretty neat towatch yeah, there's a handful
of gals like her that do a greatjob, and yeah, for sure.
You know, if someone's at homeand they do, you know they do
some self-filming and editingand thinks like you know.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
I could do it.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
I can make quality for Wild TV.
What would your advice be tothem?
I mean, how does someone get onthe network?
Speaker 2 (15:08):
I guess you could say Well, the first thing you got
to understand is everything'sdriven by manufacturers.
So you've got to be asalesperson, so you've got to be
able to sell your brand orwhatever brand you're going to
get behind, and if you can't dothat, then you're going to fall
short pretty quick, mind you.
You know there's a lot ofdifferent ways to do it today,
right?
So if you wanted to get on TV,then you got to be selling stuff
(15:29):
.
If you want to get on YouTube,then you just got to be able to,
you know, learn how tomanipulate YouTube to your
advantage so you can grow quickenough where you can gain
subscription or get some, some,some sponsors.
So it's a totally differentgame now.
So for us, we, we want mediaeverywhere, right?
Like, we want to have ourYouTube page super powered, our
Insta super powered, facebook,the channel itself.
(15:51):
We have fast channels that aregoing all over the place.
We have major launches on somemajor satellite systems right
across the world, and so it'smore like TV everywhere or
content everywhere for us, andget those numbers as high as we
can so we can get the attentionof the manufacturers.
So if you're starting fromscratch, then you want to have
for sure to get on that socialmedia because that's where you
(16:14):
can at least gain some tractionon your own without having to
get a sponsor.
Now you got to be, you know,really into it.
It's just like anything elseyou got to put a ton of time and
energy into something and itmight take two or three or four
years before you get some youknow, some traction coming back
to you yeah, yeah absolutely themanufacturers.
It's all driven by impressions,like they want to sell their
(16:36):
products right.
So they need as manyimpressions as they can get, for
you know the best they can getfor their buck.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Right, I mean, so do you guys ever get?
I'm sure you guys get a lot ofvideos sent into you and all
that, and is there any that youknow?
Speaker 2 (16:48):
sometimes like wow that really sticks out if they
have their ducks in a row withyou know sponsors and everything
that you know that could work.
Yeah, we get videos that arepretty awesome, for sure.
You know we get really goodstuff that's sent in and um,
it's pretty easy to do a dealwith someone that's got a great
production and then you know,you know they buy some time off
(17:10):
of us and away they go.
It's up to them to kind of keeptheir business running on their
side.
We're basically just, you know,a place for someone to get more
numbers.
It's another place for you toput your content up to get more
numbers so you can sell yourmanufacturer.
We're just one piece of thepuzzle, right right.
We used to be the piece of thepuzzle but, like I said, media
(17:31):
has totally changed right, sonow we have other pieces to that
puzzle that you'd have to bepart of, like our app.
Our wild tv plus app has 20years of our content all in one
app and, uh, and that, thatthing's amazing, that thing's
super powered, so that that'sreally a fun thing now that
we're doing yeah, yeah, I seethat it's.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Uh, it is pretty cool .
I mean, like you said, havingyour finger on the pulse.
I mean that's definitely a waythat you guys are and staying up
to date with you know beingrelevant with what's going on
yeah, you got to do it right,you got to change yeah, yeah,
that's right.
Um, ryan, I don't know how youdo it all.
You're so driven and everythingI want to talk a little bit
about.
Uh, you started rk huntsbecause apparently you didn't
(18:09):
have enough on your plate, soyou're on TV hunting, got the
network, and then can you tellme a little bit about what got
you starting your, youroutfitter?
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Yeah, the outfitting company is another.
I guess it's a way for me tokind of unplug from the
broadcasting side, so it's justanother way to get outside.
You know what I mean.
Like I can, I've done the showsand I've I've gone out and I've
hunted lots of animals.
I'm an archery hunter, so shotyou know a bunch of animals with
my bow.
But now it's, I feel like it's alittle more fun for me to take
other people, and so it was.
(18:43):
It just made sense to just getan outfitting company.
And then I've just made a lotof great relationships with, you
know, a lot of high level guys,a lot of athletes, um, and so
to take those guys for theirfirst, whatever it might be, you
know that's, that's, uh,something I kick out of and gets
me again out of the office andback into the field.
(19:03):
So I'm just a, you know, ahunting and fishing redneck at
the end of the day that wants tobe out there just as bad as
everybody else.
So, um, you know, you can goout there and take someone else
and make a little bit of money,and it's perfect for everybody,
everybody's happy.
That's why that business wasstarted, just literally because
I wanted to get back outsideagain.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
No, that's a great answer.
I mean, that's perfect to me.
That's what I hear from guysthat are so passionate about it
and doing it is just takingsomeone out and helping them
experience the thrill of thehunt and the harvest.
If you're lucky enough and yeah, imagine so you just kind of
turn off your phone, you'reunplugged and you're out there,
right?
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Yeah, that's right, turn off my phone and chuck it
in the truck and hopefully itmelts, and then that's two weeks
, two weeks.
It's usually melting in my handon a daily basis when I'm not
in the woods, right, so it'sringing just about every 20
seconds.
But, um, no, it's my free time.
It's just kind of like if guysgo to play golf or whatever,
right, I'm really kind of weird,like I don't even I don't
really play golf at all, becausefor me it like I I just try to
(20:05):
get outside and hunt or fish andthen that's my golf.
So it's just getting into whatyou love as much as you can.
Like.
That's probably why we've beensuccessful is because the people
that work around Wild TV'sbrand, like we all love what we
do, we all love to just getoutside and or media or the
production part of it, or theopening side of it or whatever
it might be, and that's kind ofthe whole thing, right, if you
(20:27):
love it enough, then you knowyou should do pretty good.
You just got to work, work hardand love it and you should be
fine yeah, well, I mean, uh,yeah, you guys do an excellent
job.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Like I said it, even though you love it and all that,
you do need that reset justaway from electronics and stuff,
and that, uh, this obviously isa is a great way for it.
I mean, whereabouts are youguys roughly uh with your, your
outfitting and how many huntersdo you take a year?
Speaker 2 (20:50):
um, well, it depends, right, we, we take hunters for
different species.
So, uh, you know, we could takeup to 20 hunters pretty easily
in the year and that's not thatmany, right?
So we've got some whitetailstuff, some bear stuff, got into
some elk stuff here justrecently, and some moose and
everything else.
So we kind of we've got it,we've got it covered and, um,
(21:10):
yeah, it's just a fun time?
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Yeah, You've been able to.
You've been, you know, had theopportunity to hunt lots of
different animals.
Is there one that really sticksout?
That is your favorite, if youhad to choose.
My favorite hunt or the huntthat sticks out the most.
I know that's too quick.
Well, if you have time, let'sdo both your favorite species to
(21:32):
hunt and then your hunt thatsticks out the most after all
these years.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
So my favorite species to hunt is probably
going to be it's eitherwhitetails, nametong, bozone or
elk in the deep timber inAlberta.
Here they're both just a veryhard thing to do and I like the
challenge.
I like to be challenged.
So those are really challenginghunts and I have access to them
here in alberta.
(21:57):
In alberta you have such anarray of animals, from the like
the antelope down in theprairies in southern alberta to
the big horn sheep the top ofour mountains in the wilmore.
So I mean, like you've got somany beautiful animals that you
can go after.
We've got an abundance ofanimals in alber.
It's the best place in theworld to hunt by miles, but
there are some specific animalsthat you can hunt with a bow and
arrow.
It's a real challenge and andthat the, the elk and the white
(22:21):
killer.
For me they're tied and thenthe hunt that I probably will
never forget will be I went toRussia, in Kamchatka, and I
hunted a snow sheep in the topof their mountains and that was.
That was a big story, wow.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
Yeah, that's, uh, that's.
That's something to be able totell people that you, uh, you
have done that.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Yeah, that was a neat one.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Yeah, did you.
Was there any uh, sketchymoments?
I guess you could say goingthrough Russia.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Yeah, filled with sketchy moments.
Yeah, between our guides, ourguides carrying Uzis and
helicopters that I didn't thinkwould even get off the ground.
It was a major adventure, right, probably a pretty dangerous
one, but for me personally, Ikind of thrive off it and I,
like I really enjoy it.
I don't, I love getting out andI love I love going further
(23:08):
than you should.
You know what I mean.
Like there's a lot of timeswhen let's just go a little
further, let's just see what'saround this corner, and people
are looking at me like why, well, right, you punch the envelope
and then you've got an awesomestory at the end of the day.
Yeah, for sure.
I think I've got myself intotrouble quite a few times
pushing the envelope, but um, atleast it's uh, you know it's,
(23:33):
it's fun so it's part of yourcharacter.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Uh, I'm going actually to Alberta in September
.
I'm taking along with a friendon a bighorn sheep hunt up there
in the Rockies.
Uh, any advice for somethingthat you like would definitely
say, to pack.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Oh geez, it's probably a lot, but um, you know
what?
Actually, I'm really theopposite of a lot.
I just take what's necessaryand I don't really pack much
anymore.
I mean, if I'm on a bighornsheep hunt something that I
(24:09):
wouldn't want to forget to packa good pair of Zeiss binos, I
would say that for sure.
Yeah, you know, you need aspotting scope.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
You know you're going to need a real good spotting
scope.
And then just probably thebiggest thing for bighorns is
the understanding that you knowthere's not a lot of rams out
there and if you can find alegal ram then you're 90% of the
way there.
So and then just bring a wholelot of patience and a little bag
and carry that around with youand a really good attitude.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
Okay, well, that sounds good.
The guy I'm going with thiswill be his fifth year hunting
them.
Seen some, but no legal ramsyet, so I'm excited.
I told him he's like you shouldcome out with me.
He's been bugging me toobecause he said this is my year.
I think I'm like, yeah, maybe Ishould, just in case.
And the experience.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
No, definitely, it's definitely worth the trip and I
I would recommend that trip toto anyone.
Um, you know you can.
You can get a horse, you canget guys with horses, get some
wranglers, some outfitters totake you out into the mountains,
even if they, even if you'renot a hunter and you want to
experience something new for thefirst time, that's, that's
absolutely amazing.
You know, you get a good crewto take you out to just whatever
(25:15):
.
Say it's 10 hour ride out tothe back of whatever somewhere
in Alberta in the mountains andyou experience that experience
traveling across country on ahorse and then experience wall
tent living and then go forhikes around the mountains when
you're there, like basicallythat's a sheep hunt.
So like I would really recommendthat to people that don't hunt
even, or even some fishermenthat find some lakes and streams
(25:38):
that you can go and do.
But that right there will unplugyou from you know, like the
everyday world that you live in,where you've got a ceiling over
your head and you've got acomputer in front of you or a
phone in your hand.
Like I really highly recommendthat people do like a two week
trip doing just that, where theycan just get back to nature,
(25:58):
get back to basics, just groundthemselves and it really changes
you, like you'll find that yoursenses will heighten your
eyesight, you'll hear better,smell better.
Uh, you probably get a littlebit stronger, a little bit
tougher, because you're you'resurviving in the wilderness a
little bit and you know yourwhole body just changes, like
(26:20):
everything just changes, and itjust makes you feel so alive.
Yeah, so if anybody was lookingfor a trip just to do something
different, like that, you cango with you and your wife and
your kids or whatever it is, andjust get out in the mountains
and experience them and go for awalk, and it really is
something else.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
Yeah, no, he sent me videos and pictures and uh, yeah
, it looks amazing and, like yousaid, to alberta, I mean, the
amount of hunting opportunitiesthere in game is just, it's
incredible.
Like you said, yeah, it'sprobably the best hunting in the
world really yeah, I think itis.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
I think alberta is the best place.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
It's definitely the best place, in my opinion yeah,
no, I'd, uh, I've been therebefore, not hunting, but uh,
worked out there and yeah it's,it's incredible what it has to
offer.
And, like you said, it's true,like I believe, what you're
saying about, um, you know your,your senses are heightened and
you're stronger and you know allthat being out there because,
yeah, we kind of go back to ouruh I guess you could say
(27:11):
primitive, uh state how, becausehumans now you know we're so're
so soft, more or less.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Oh yeah, we're definitely soft.
Like I always say to guys, if Igo to bear camp or I go to elk
camp or moose camp, I usually dotwo weeks.
I try to do two weeks and then,you know, if I had to fight
myself before the guy at the endof the camp would be a lot
tougher.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
Yeah, yeah, no, that's a good way to put it.
You know, Ryan, if you couldgive advice to a younger self
yourself, what would it be?
Kind of knowing what you knownow and how you've got so much
on the go and just going fullthrottle.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Oh, just patient.
Okay, I think for me, like Iwas really full throttle when I
was younger, I was always tryingto just, you know, run straight
ahead as fast as I could, ashard as I could at everything.
Um, you know, I played I stillplay hockey, and I played hockey
like that and my body'ssuffering for it, and I think
that I missed a lot ofopportunity because, you know,
(28:11):
you're, you're just kind of justlike tunnel vision, straight
ahead like an arrow, and um, now, you know, I'm almost 50 now.
So it's, it's, you learnpatience as you get older and
you realize that you take alittle bit of time to pay
attention a little more andlisten a little more and find
pockets of opportunity that arereally good, instead of just
(28:31):
charging forward.
And, um, on the hunting side,patience is the biggest thing
there is right, like you gottahave real good confidence in
what you're doing and then bepatient for the moment, and then
it's what you do with thatmoment that makes a difference.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Right, yeah, no, that's well put.
You know, Ryan, like I said,Canada Wild TV it's such a great
network and so many good showson it and people on there.
You know I can't thank youenough for coming on doing this
podcast.
I know you've been incrediblybusy and you've always got
something on the go, so thisdoes mean a lot.
I don't want to take up toomuch more of your time.
(29:07):
Is there anything else you'dlike to add?
Speaker 2 (29:11):
No, I think maybe just quickly talk about the app,
if you don't mind.
We've got a brand new app.
That's that's on.
You know you can download onyour phone, it's available on
all the smart tvs, it'savailable basically anywhere
wild tv plus and 20 years ofcontent.
All the shows you've seen forthe last 20 years are all loaded
in there.
And we've we've built someawesome swim lanes where you can
like pick your animal that youlike and pick your province that
(29:32):
you like to hunt that animal in, and really broken it down and
aggregate all the content foreveryone that's going to.
So it's a really sweet app andso we're we're pushing that now
and trying to get everybody ontothe app and, and it really is a
great service, we've gotchannels in there, so if you
love bears, you can hit the bearchannel.
We'll play bear shows for 20years and white tails, elk,
(29:52):
whatever you like.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
So it's pretty special yeah, yeah, I've been on
there and it's well puttogether and it's very easy to
uh to navigate through yeah,that's about it.
That's our, that's what we'reworking on now, so that's that's
what's fun today yeah, yes,actually, you'll have your
finger on the pulse for the nextthing around the corner, I'm
sure I hope so yeah, that's theplan, uh, well, uh, yeah, thanks
(30:14):
again, ryan well, thank you, Iappreciate that.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Uh, you're thinking of me to come on the podcast and
anytime, call me anytime.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Law & Order: Criminal Justice System - Season 1 & Season 2
Season Two Out Now! Law & Order: Criminal Justice System tells the real stories behind the landmark cases that have shaped how the most dangerous and influential criminals in America are prosecuted. In its second season, the series tackles the threat of terrorism in the United States. From the rise of extremist political groups in the 60s to domestic lone wolves in the modern day, we explore how organizations like the FBI and Joint Terrorism Take Force have evolved to fight back against a multitude of terrorist threats.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com