Matt Evans on the Changing Size and State of Our Industry

Soraya Smith is President of Backpacker’s Pantry. A legendary brand that creates some of the healthiest and tastiest meals to help us thrive in the outdoors. 

We discuss everything from the quality of food to the reverence of the animals we pursue and our chosen way of life. Soraya and her talented team are continually innovating in the MRE space and they’re doing it with real ingredients that taste like real food. Something we can all appreciate when spending weeks in the backcountry. 

Backpacker’s Pantry is committed to conservation, our heritage of hunting, regenerative agriculture, and wild food. We couldn’t more excited to showcase brands we don’t normally associate with hunting but are every bit as important as camo clothing, rifles, or packs. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

Joe Genzel is a fresh voice for Outdoor Life, one of the most venerable publications in the world of hunting and angling. With his talented editorial team, Joe is working to evolve traditional hunting and angling narratives and reshape them for today’s modern audience. 

Joe shares his take on our industry, influencers, marketing, the role Outdoor Life plays in our world, and other forces shaping the future of hunting and angling for generations to come. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

Given the recent events in America, it’s time to address the issue of acceptance, inclusion, and openness within the hunting and angling industry. 

We have to accept new talent and new voices in the hunting and angling industry if we’re ever going to accept and grow with new consumers and new audiences. 

We already have a litany of rules and do’s and don’ts posted at every trailhead. So let’s not create any more when it comes to the outdoors. 

Nicole Qualtieri of Gear Junkie is a new, strong, articulate, and well-spoken voice that brings a fresh perspective. Not only for her readers, but the industry at large. Her efforts to bring more women into the mix, foster more inclusivity and diversity, and open our industry’s aperture to see outside of our small bubble are nothing short of inspiring. 

We’re honored to sit down with Nicole to hear more about her background, how she broke into the industry, and her thoughts on the current state of things. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

Hunting and angling brands create some of the most innovative products in the world. Yet many brands still follow a fairly traditional marketing playbook. 

One brand that’s harnessing new ad technology in more inventive ways is Gunner Kennels. Sure, they make what is arguably the best dog kennel out there. But they also use augmented reality, inventive SEO/SEM strategies, and other progressive marketing tools to get the job done. And their results speak for themselves. 

The Tailgate Podcast aims to inspire brand leaders to explore new ideas and strategies to re-inspire their core while winning the hearts and minds of new audiences. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

Word on the street is that one of the strongest leaders across all marketing disciplines in our industry is Andrew Gritzbaugh, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Gerber. 

Andy and I luckily had a small window to sit down with Andrew to hear more about what he’s building at Gerber. And it’s pretty clear that he has a strong command of how modern advertising is structured, how to tie it all together at all levels inside an organization, and how to turn his team loose to develop some of the most memorable creative out there.

The Tailgate Podcast aims to inspire brand leaders to explore new ideas and strategies to re-inspire their core while winning the hearts and minds of new audiences. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

Editors are some of the most powerful voices shaping our industry. Their far-reaching media platforms wield a strong influence on how we think, talk, look, and behave. That includes how brands show up in the world. Yet new voices that challenge entrenched beliefs and industry party line are often met with hostility. 

One editor who isn’t afraid to court controversy with strong, often contrarian opinions is Wes Siler, Editor of Indefinitely Wild for Outside Magazine. 

We recently sat down with Wes to discuss his unapologetic take on the rhetoric, marketing, influencers, and many other elements dominating our industry. Wes doesn’t pull punches, he speaks his mind, and he’s certainly one of our more controversial guests to date. Whether you agree with him or not, you sure as hell can’t ignore him. 

Note: This is our least family-friendly show. This episode has profanity and some “adult situations” as they say in TV land. 

The Tailgate Podcast aims to inspire brand leaders to explore new ideas and strategies to re-inspire their core while winning the hearts and minds of new audiences. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

There’s a deluge of new hunting and angling brands bursting onto the scene. Most fall either on the hunting side or the angling side and few bridge that stubborn gap between the two to win the hearts and minds of both. Let alone do it well.

One brand that does gets it right is Duck Camp. A truly modern, direct-to-consumer brand out there on the racetrack.

We recently sat down with the talented minds behind Duck Camp at their headquarters in Austin, TX and covered a lot of ground. Sim Whatley, founder, and James Elledge, partner and head of marketing, took us through the entire Duck Camp who, what, where, and why. 

After listening to their passion for new outdoor voices and ideas, innovative thinking, and belief in more boots-on-ground, personable marketing, you’ll see why. They’re the brand you want to have a beer with. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

Hunting and angling brands are putting out a lot of soulful, overly poetic work that turns every moment in the outdoors into a life-changing event. While we love a great emotional power-ballad now and then, it seems like our industry is losing a bit of the fun. 

Thankfully, there’s Howler Brothers. An antidote to the self-important and super-serious vibe found in a lot of outdoor brands. Andy and I recently visited Howler at their headquarters in Austin, TX to get to the bottom of how this great lifestyle brand does its thing. With beers in hand, we sat down with Howler’s Chase Heard, Founder and Design Lead, and Rick Wittenbraker, Chief Marketing Officer. While it may appear as if they operate on island time, their intensity and intentionality behind their progressive design and marketing is meticulously thought through and executed with real craftsmanship. How they blend fly fishing, surfing, travel, adventure and coastal pursuits is the result of hard work and unbridled passion. Yet they manage to keep things light and remind us that we all live our best life with good friends, good tequila and limes, and fly rod in hand. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

Outside of magazines and celebrity hunters and anglers, high-performance apparel brands are some of the most influential voices in the industry. Few show up with unwavering conviction and sense of purpose like First Lite. We recently sat down with Ross Copperman, President, and Kevin Harlander, Community Manager and Brand Partnership Lead, to get an inside look at the company and brand. 

In this special edition of The Tailgate Podcast, we’re coming to you from First Lite’s backyard in beautiful Sun Valley, Idaho. Their remarkable brand is the sum of their talented people and evolves with each new hire. Their deep knowledge bench about the true needs of hunters is reflected in every inch of the brand experience. From the products they make, the people they hire, their creative work in the marketplace – right down to their customer service on a live webchat. If you’re not a rabid fan of this brand already, you will be after hearing their story. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

Simms is a legendary brand that not only reinvented waders, their talented team gave professional guides and hardcore anglers the bomber gear needed to go further, stay out longer, in the toughest weather Mother Nature can dish out. They added more days to an angler’s season. Yet they’re a brand that means far more than the products they make. And today we hear that story. 

In this episode, we sit down with K.C. Walsh, Simms owner and Executive Chairman, to hear more about his company’s culture, values, conservation efforts, talented team, and how those important company elements are the starting points for their brand marketing. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com