This Life Ain't For Everybody

If you ever get a chance to meet Kevin Brooks, you'd see why we think he is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. Kevin has great stories growing up in Kentucky, knowing the history of the Kentucky coal Mines, making moonshine and its ties to Nascar Racing, bluegrass music and the Kentucky Derby. Kevin's skills in wood working and love of music got him into building custom mandolin guitars and even some of those guitars were played in the Grand Old Opry! In business Kevin has done very well in his lumber and construction business, Future Designs and Ground Auger, a company that has patent a revolutionary corkscrew auger pole design that has applications in gardening, fishing and hunting products. Beyond Kevin's entrepreneurial spirit his philanthropy work to help the communities in Kentucky just goes to show you what kind of person Kevin is. We hope you enjoy and we look forward to part 2 of our conversation with Kevin. Check out his products at www.groundauger.com

Bill Konway is a professional outdoor, hunting, fishing, lifestyle, documentary and product photographer. Bill has been a staff photographer and photo editor for Realtree for a number of years. His skill with the camera and keen eye for creating dynamic imagery has earn him the reputation as being one of the top photographers in the Outdoor / Hunting World.

We’re at the NWTF convention in Nashville, TN and got a chance to talk with the one and only Bobby Pinson. Bobby has had 13 songs go number one on the music charts, 40 songs in the top 5, a grammy nomination, Songwriter of the year in 2009, and the list goes on! Bobby shares stories writing songs with artist like Eric Church, Toby Keith, Jason Aldean, Jake Owen, Leith Loftin, Dierks Bentley and others. Bobby also talks about learning the craft of songwriting and always having your antennas up observing to buildup your songwriting toolset. Bobby and Chad also talk about going back to the old country music when it was focused on the lyric.

Barrett Hobbs was born in Nashville, TN and his son is 5th generation Nashville. With his deep roots in the area Barrett created the Cumberland Hospitality Group which manages a number of popular downtown Nashville and Gaylord/Music Valley bars and restaurants, including; Whiskey Bent Saloon, Bootleggers Inn, Doc Holiday’s Saloon, Nashville Palace, Scoreboard, John A’s and more. The group also creates and oversees some of Nashville’s biggest outdoor festivals.

Chad and Barrett talk about country music industry and how Barrett is in the Honky-tonk Business. His Grand Father started the Nashville Palace in 1977 and was and is a place for Nashville artist to develop and get discovered. He recalls artist like Randy Travis, Ricky Van Shelton, Alan Jackson and Lorrie Morgan getting their start there. Barrett also recalls one of his special experiences was working with Dean Dillion, singer/songwriter.

Tyler Jordan is the host of Realtree Outdoors on The Outdoor Channel and Realtree365 and Realtree Spring Thunder. Tyler grew up in arguable one of the most recognizable hunting families, son to Bill Jordan who started Realtree. The guys get into conservation, hunting, and working to develop and perfect new camouflage patterns. This podcast was recorded during the NWTF convention in Nashville, Tn.

Andy Griggs is an American country music artist who’s had numerous country hits on the Billboard charts. Andy talks about growing up in a musical family but it wasn’t until the passing of his brother and in his grieving he picked up a guitar and got into the country music world. Andy recalls one of his favorite moments in his career was his singing a Shine on Me duet with Waylon Jennings. Andy played a few songs during the podcast, You Won’t Ever Be Lonely, She’s More, D’em Boyz, Rambling Man and Outlaw Women. T-bone from team Realtree and co-host of Bone Collector joins the conversation late but jumps right in talking country music and the shared passion for hunting and the outdoors. According to Andy if you play a G-note on a guitar near a bees nest you’ll find yourself running from a pack of angry bees.

We’re at Honey Brake Lodge in Louisiana hunting with Troy Link, owner of Jack Link’s Jerky. Troy talks about his long family heritage and generational knowledge in the meat industry and how their humble family run business has grown to the most recognized meat snack in the world. It’s truly an American success story and Troy attributes the success to the Jack Link’s work culture and his “Team” of talented workers that has helped get the company to where it is.

Founder and host of the wildly successful Bone Collector TV series and Realtree Road Trips, Michael Waddell brings positivity and fun into his filmed hunts which has earned him the reputation as being one of the best TV show host in TV and for sure in the hunting industry. Michaels success was due, no doubt, to his upbringing and how his father taught him the value of working hard and staying humble. In this podcast Waddell shares stories from his roots growing up in rural Georgia, his influences and how his competitive turkey calling helped him get connected with Realtree which then eventually launch his career in the hunting world.

Everyone knows Jim as the professional big game hunter but how about Jim the competitive waterpolo athlete or singer/songwriter? We got a chance to sit down and have a conversation with the legendary Jim Shockey at the SCI convention in Reno, NV. Jim shared stories from his past hunts and tense moments he encounter while in dangerous parts of the world. Plus, we get into the current state of politics in both the US and Canada for gun and hunting rights. However, with characters like Ted Nugent, Joe Rogan, Cameron Hanes, Lee and Tiffany, Steve Rinella and others hunting advocates the message is spreading into the mainstream on preserving the hunting lifestyle. Jim doesn’t seem to be slowing down as he talks about his current endeavors with his Rogue River Outfitting business in the Yukon, starting up a new tv show called Shock Therapy (“starting soon on The Outdoor Channel”) and his Hand of Man Museum on Vancouver Island, which has rooms full of interesting cultural and natural artifacts, a 16-foot Woolly Mammoth, and a world-class library of natural history and exploration from around the world.

This episode is brought to you by FreedomHunters.org. Be sure to check out The Annual Jim Shockey Classic Military Tribute event March 22-23, 2020.

Most would say making your profession out of riding bulls is crazy and you'd be correct. However, it would seem Chase Outlaw was predestined to live that cowboy life. He was riding calves at 4 and was only 10 when he rode his first bull, so it came with little surprise when Outlaw won the third PBR event. Chase has battled back from serious injuries but keeps coming back to the sport he loves. We get a chance to hear from him how he balances family and his career in what is considered “The most dangerous eight seconds in sports”.