Mojave
WKR
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2019
- Messages
- 2,442
About 8 or 9 years ago I met "Max Hunt" Haukke Braun in Anchorage. We had dinner and I picked him up at the airport and dropped him off at the hotel. https://www.hmfcranes.com/news/max-hunt-adventurer-and-family-man
I had met him before in Germany and had enjoyed his videos on youtube.
It was worth 3 hours' worth of education on how the outdoor industry works.
Not sure if the juice is worth the squeeze.
Those guys that got picked up 15-20 years ago and are living the Craig Boddington, Jim Shockey, Buckmasters, Realtree, Elk Talk life have 100% generated their own revenue. They spend thousands of hours being "on" for the industry hacks, and those that idolize them. These guys are the top 1% of the industry, and able to turn this into a big thing for them. The Tom Miranda's of the world have even made themselves into millionaires doing this.
The hunting personalities, **** each other over, even telling the sponsor companies that they are the producer to back door each other over.
I am not sure if the women have an easier time of it, or if the women are able to shake the sugar a little more and end up with better sponsorships. There is some African camp talk of several of the better-looking ones doing this. Not sure if it is real or just gossip.
The only way to have a good go is to:
1. build a product and have success bringing it to market.
2. Generate enough social media, TV media, Newsmedia interest that you are marketable
3. Go to work for someone big like Ruger, Hornady, whoever and work your way up into a marketing position or engineering position and become the face of the company.
The biggest problem is that the market is flooded with pretty faces, charming dudes, and interesting veteran stories. 20 years ago, a Navy SEAL or Army SF dude who could write and stand in front of a camera could bring this together. Social media has made it an everyone game.
I have an Instagram account just for the contest. I don't spend a lot of time on there, but every once in a while, I will be on there looking for a product release and see one of the 2 or 3 friends I have on there (both are outfitters I have hunted with) and see a comment which leads me to look someone up. Then I see the problem, there are literally or figuratively thousands of assholes tied to FB and IG pimping themselves with monochrome photos and big animals. Hundreds of beautiful women in skintight camo or loden with a beautifully groomed mane and full make up gripping and grinning as well.
The women get treated like skanks by the anti-hunting crowd and get told everything from "rape you into not hunting" to "what a stupid ****". The British crowd gets cut down the worst, it has even gotten so bad that lady hunters have committed suicide over it.
For some reason the IG hunter dudes types don't get shit on as much as women do.
I would not choose to be sponsored in the traditional sense where I am whoring myself out to the world to wear or shoot or drive a particular product.
I gladly take military discounts, and I am happy with that.
I prefer to stay low profile on the internet. I don't post photos of my kids anywhere and only email them to people that I trust (only some family). I don't use social media for family, friends or work. Just to see what the product releases are. I used to get about 10 hunting magazines, but they have gotten so lame I quit subscribing to anything I am not already a life member of.
If there was not a catch to being sponsored, I'd pick Bass Pro/Cabelas, Euro Optics, Sportsman's Warehouse, Turner's Outdoorsman, or another major hunting chain. Very little I buy couldn't be had in one of those stores. For vehicles pretty much anything would work.
I had met him before in Germany and had enjoyed his videos on youtube.
It was worth 3 hours' worth of education on how the outdoor industry works.
Not sure if the juice is worth the squeeze.
Those guys that got picked up 15-20 years ago and are living the Craig Boddington, Jim Shockey, Buckmasters, Realtree, Elk Talk life have 100% generated their own revenue. They spend thousands of hours being "on" for the industry hacks, and those that idolize them. These guys are the top 1% of the industry, and able to turn this into a big thing for them. The Tom Miranda's of the world have even made themselves into millionaires doing this.
The hunting personalities, **** each other over, even telling the sponsor companies that they are the producer to back door each other over.
I am not sure if the women have an easier time of it, or if the women are able to shake the sugar a little more and end up with better sponsorships. There is some African camp talk of several of the better-looking ones doing this. Not sure if it is real or just gossip.
The only way to have a good go is to:
1. build a product and have success bringing it to market.
2. Generate enough social media, TV media, Newsmedia interest that you are marketable
3. Go to work for someone big like Ruger, Hornady, whoever and work your way up into a marketing position or engineering position and become the face of the company.
The biggest problem is that the market is flooded with pretty faces, charming dudes, and interesting veteran stories. 20 years ago, a Navy SEAL or Army SF dude who could write and stand in front of a camera could bring this together. Social media has made it an everyone game.
I have an Instagram account just for the contest. I don't spend a lot of time on there, but every once in a while, I will be on there looking for a product release and see one of the 2 or 3 friends I have on there (both are outfitters I have hunted with) and see a comment which leads me to look someone up. Then I see the problem, there are literally or figuratively thousands of assholes tied to FB and IG pimping themselves with monochrome photos and big animals. Hundreds of beautiful women in skintight camo or loden with a beautifully groomed mane and full make up gripping and grinning as well.
The women get treated like skanks by the anti-hunting crowd and get told everything from "rape you into not hunting" to "what a stupid ****". The British crowd gets cut down the worst, it has even gotten so bad that lady hunters have committed suicide over it.
For some reason the IG hunter dudes types don't get shit on as much as women do.
I would not choose to be sponsored in the traditional sense where I am whoring myself out to the world to wear or shoot or drive a particular product.
I gladly take military discounts, and I am happy with that.
I prefer to stay low profile on the internet. I don't post photos of my kids anywhere and only email them to people that I trust (only some family). I don't use social media for family, friends or work. Just to see what the product releases are. I used to get about 10 hunting magazines, but they have gotten so lame I quit subscribing to anything I am not already a life member of.
If there was not a catch to being sponsored, I'd pick Bass Pro/Cabelas, Euro Optics, Sportsman's Warehouse, Turner's Outdoorsman, or another major hunting chain. Very little I buy couldn't be had in one of those stores. For vehicles pretty much anything would work.
