Freak's charged with felony

[Dust Rider]

Dammit. I have six year old Kryptek Typhoon seat covers in my work truck. Not getting rid of seat covers, but Kryptek should dump MF. Financially crippling MF might be the only way to stop this ass clown.

 

[*zap*]

I just hate freaks....

 

[OXN939]

However, he hasn’t been convicted and he gets benefit of the doubt until that happens.

From his 2017 conviction. Tough to find online- looks like his legal team did a good job covering the tracks from that case. Pretty sure he was also cited for trespassing in 2007 as well, although the court documents from that one are elusive.

Also, here's a little throwback for anyone else who's still on the fence here:

TL;DR- Van Woerkom shoots the wrong antelope at almost 700 yards. Gets up to it, acts disappointed in the buck he killed. Then says "We got the wrong one. That's the way it goes. That's hunting." Then proceeds to post the video, which seems to be framed as a way to advertise his long range shooting prowess (they mention the "perfect shot" he made several times), for likes and views.

I really just encourage anyone who is interested in the future of our sport to consider what it is like to have people like this representing us... because this man and his business partners spend all day every day exerting effort to get attention and act as the face of our sport.

 

[Baddog]

These big companies need to come to on this. I did a poll on here a few months ago... over a hundred respondents said they were 8 times as likely to avoid a product they see being used by an influencer as they are to buy it.

Make the outdoors about being outdoors again.

I don’t disagree with your stance at all but I’m willing to bet the sales data disagrees with your rokslide poll.

 

[OXN939]

I don’t disagree with your stance at all but I’m willing to bet the sales data disagrees with your rokslide poll.

I'm sure some influencer campaigns do increase sales, but not to the kind of mostly experienced and knowledgeable outdoorsman on here who's writing gear reports to help others with DIY hunts.

And, from a 10,000 foot view, I seem to have seen something recently about a company that maybe should have spent a little more time considering which influencers they wanted to support before alienating their fan base... hopefully it's a learning point the outdoor industry picks up on.

 

[CorbLand]

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From his 2017 conviction. Tough to find online- looks like his legal team did a good job covering the tracks from that case. Pretty sure he was also cited for trespassing in 2007 as well, although the court documents from that one are elusive.

Also, here's a little throwback for anyone else who's still on the fence here:

TL;DR- Van Woerkom shoots the wrong antelope at almost 700 yards. Gets up to it, acts disappointed in the buck he killed. Then says "We got the wrong one. That's the way it goes. That's hunting." Then proceeds to post the video, which seems to be framed as a way to advertise his long range shooting prowess (they mention the "perfect shot" he made several times), for likes and views.

I really just encourage anyone who is interested in the future of our sport to consider what it is like to have people like this representing us... because this man and his business partners spend all day every day exerting effort to get attention and act as the face of our sport.

I don’t want to watch the video but did they edit out where he blames it on the spotter and other guy with him?

That was my favorite part of the old one. The look on their faces when he tries to tell them they told him to shoot the wrong one. It is clearly on video that they were telling him the other goat.

 

[Still Hunter]

Amazing want some men will do for antlers. They absolutely lose all reasoning.
The worse are the ones that poach an animal and cut the head off and leave the rest to waste.
Never have watched one of this guys videos or shows.

Had an outdoor show come out on a deer lease I had In Texas and film a "Spring Turkey Hunt". The whole thing was rigged. They set up a Pop Up blind and filmed the entire " Hunting" sequences in the pop up 50 feet from the camp house. To make matters worse all the actual film of the Turkey's and the shots were not even filmed on the ranch. They never even saw a Turkey that weekend. Pretty sad.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Amazing want some men will do for antlers.

Make no mistake, these influencers are doing it for the money.

Straight up poachers do it for the horns and thrill and wouldn't broadcast their escapades all over social media out of fear of being caught. Influencers broadcast their content on every platform available in an effort to maximize income potential.

 

[OXN939]

I don’t want to watch the video but did they edit out where he blames it on the spotter and other guy with him?

That was my favorite part of the old one. The look on their faces when he tries to tell them they told him to shoot the wrong one. It is clearly on video that they were telling him the other goat.

Bizarrely, it's still in there. I guess when you look at liver king, the bowmars setting their truck on fire, or stuff like this, the influencer crowd really does subscribe to the "any publicity is good publicity" line of thinking.

Amazing want some men will do for antlers. They absolutely lose all reasoning.

Agreed with Weiserbucks above, and I think it's an important distinction. There have always been people who have poached big bucks, but this is entirely new. These guys are using the resource as a means to get attention from strangers on the internet, and the reality is that anyone with a cameraman and an instagram account can do it... which is why it's so important to present a unified front against the bad apples.

 

[hunterjmj]

I don’t want to watch the video but did they edit out where he blames it on the spotter and other guy with him?

That was my favorite part of the old one. The look on their faces when he tries to tell them they told him to shoot the wrong one. It is clearly on video that they were telling him the other goat.

That is the only video I've watched of his. Trying to throw blame on those other dudes. I can't imagine those guys hunt with Eric anymore after that toddler tantrum.

 

[Dos Perros]

It's a storytelling evolutionary arc. Shows that started as reality slowly morph into staged and eventually mostly scripted. And everyone realizes its fake and loses interest. And something new/shiny pops up that's REAL. And it happens again. Maybe more of a cyclical arc.

 

[OXN939]

Make no mistake, these influencers are doing it for the money.

YouTuber deliberately crashed plane in mountains for views and a sponsorship deal

Trevor Jacob has signed a plea deal admitting he crashed his plane in Santa Barbara County for views on his YouTube channel.

fortune.com

Different embodiment of the same exact thing. Social media has caused people to really lose the forest for the trees in their efforts to get attention.

I hear a lot of people say there is nothing they can do about this. I disagree. Social media is these guys' entire lives, and we can absolutely use it against them. Don't think anyone still sponsors the Freaks after their first several convictions, but if you see a brand that "partners" with them or voices public support- politely reach out to them and let them know that you'll be boycotting their service, whatever it is, as a result of their association with convicted poachers like Van Woerkom. And spread the word to all your buddies to do the same. This hits them where it hurts worst, in the "likes and views" department.

Who knows. Maybe with enough of this, the next guy looking at a 180" buck the day before season opens considers whether a sweet instagram reel is really worth the risk of becoming a pariah for the rest of his life.

 

[87TT]

I have "reached out" to Kryptek and Camofire/Black Ovis. No response. No more Kryptek for me and I don't even look at Camofire anymore.

 

[IrkedCitizen]

YouTuber deliberately crashed plane in mountains for views and a sponsorship deal

Trevor Jacob has signed a plea deal admitting he crashed his plane in Santa Barbara County for views on his YouTube channel.

fortune.com

Different embodiment of the same exact thing. Social media has caused people to really lose the forest for the trees in their efforts to get attention.

I hear a lot of people say there is nothing they can do about this. I disagree. Social media is these guys' entire lives, and we can absolutely use it against them. Don't think anyone still sponsors the Freaks after their first several convictions, but if you see a brand that "partners" with them or voices public support- politely reach out to them and let them know that you'll be boycotting their service, whatever it is, as a result of their association with convicted poachers like Van Woerkom. And spread the word to all your buddies to do the same. This hits them where it hurts worst, in the "likes and views" department.

Who knows. Maybe with enough of this, the next guy looking at a 180" buck the day before season opens considers whether a sweet instagram reel is really worth the risk of becoming a pariah for the rest of his life.

Dude is lucky that nobody happened to be hiking in the woods that the plane could have struck and killed. Ridiculous.

 

[Touchdown88]

Does anyone know when the next hearing is?

 

[WeiserBucks]

I'm thinking the defense is going to draw out the proceedings as long as possible so that Erik can continue hunting as long as possible,

 

[MEdude]

I'm thinking the defense is going to draw out the proceedings as long as possible so that Erik can continue hunting as long as possible,

There’s always Mexico….

 

[WeiserBucks]

There’s always Mexico….

Bet you $50 he already has a few dates booked regardless of the outcome of this case.

 

[mikeafeagin22]

Bet you $50 he already has a few dates booked regardless of the outcome of this case.

Quite a few cool critters in Africa too lol Year of the Deer Antelope

 

[mtwarden]

I worked a case with the USFWS several years ago, suspect being a very wealthy individual. We got him convicted in Federal court on several Lacey Act violations. During the sentencing, the judge stated he was revoked from hunting worldwide for 10 years. His attorneys objected saying that the judge didn't have jurisdiction outside of the US to revoke privileges in other countries. The judge said he had to agree and then ordered his passport forfeited