I’m not going to bore you with my life story here, but I want to explain where this passion for the outdoors comes from and how I became a freelance outdoor writer. I’ve loved the outdoors since I was a kid. Some of my earliest memories are catching bluegill with my dad and joining the dove season opener with my uncles and cousins. I loved being outdoors. A few years later, I remember killing my first deer and then my first turkey. Every outdoor experience added fuel to the fire. I wanted to be as involved with hunting as I could. I wanted to be a hunting television show host, a taxidermist, a wildlife biologist, and basically anything else related to the outdoors. The seed of obsession was planted; I just needed watering.
My dad fostered my obsession with the outdoors. If I wanted to go duck hunting, he took me. If I wanted to try to catch a limit of bass before church, he woke me up early. We did everything. This is where I developed my generalist nature. To this day, I still don’t just stick to one type of hunting or fishing. Not only did he take me every time he went out, but he also taught me. I wasn’t a nuisance; I was a pupil. I learned every lesson, and eventually the leash was lengthened, allowing me to learn on my own. The obsession was fostered, and now the fundamentals were built.
Fast forward to my high school and early college years, and I started to develop friendships with other outdoorsmen. My high school and college hunting buddies left an impression on me as well. Hunting and fishing didn’t have to be enjoyed alone. The camaraderie and fellowship were just as important as anything. We had a lot of fun and learned some tough lessons from dumb decision-making, but that was part of it. I now had a deep obsession, a good knowledge base, and a community to share it with.
As I got a little older, I developed a thirst for a deeper understanding of why the outdoors were so appealing. Of course, calling in a stubborn gobbler or reeling in a big bass are reason enough for addiction, but I knew there was something more. This is when I decided to start educating myself on conservation, clean resource extraction, and self-sufficiency. The more I read and the more I researched, the more it all made sense. The outdoors are so much bigger than any one person or one animal. It takes many pieces to make this whole thing work, and all are equally important.
As my college career started to come to a close, I decided to try my hand at outdoor writing. I gathered editorial information from multiple publications and started writing. I wrote a couple dozen pieces that I’m sure weren’t any good, but I pitched them to editors anyway. I got very few replies, and the ones that I did receive all pointed towards me needing to hone my skill as a writer. Finally, in October of 2019, I killed a buck with my bow, and the story of how it all came to be was interesting and exciting. I felt it in my heart that I could produce a good story. I sat down and poured my everything into that one article and pitched it to Fur-Fish-Game magazine. I finally got a reply that I had never had before: “submit on speculation.”
The weeks following were brutal as I awaited a reply from the editor. It finally came, and I was amazed at what I saw. He offered me $150 for the story and wanted to publish it in one of the Fall issues. I quickly responded and accepted the offer. I even had to have the editor teach me how to put together a freelance writing invoice. I finally had some momentum, and my confidence grew. Because of this newfound confidence and a publishing credit, I was able to talk myself into a contributor gig for Wide Open Spaces. That quickly turned into a contributor gig for Drury Outdoors’ DeerCast. As my portfolio grew and my experience deepened, I was able to work with a few more publishers. Today you can find my writing at Wide Open Spaces, DeerCast, Okayest Hunter, Bowhunting.com, Fur-Fish-Game magazine, and Mossy Oak Gamekeepers.
Now, I find myself wanting to take another step in my writing and to produce a field journal and a blog. I want to share my hunting and fishing stories and provide others with a framework to achieve their hunting and travel goals. I also want to throw in some tips and recipes along the way. I plan to see some awesome places and chase some interesting critters in the coming years, and I’m excited to share those adventures with you. I was once just a kid with big outdoor dreams. I’m chasing another one now, and it’s to show outdoor adventure through the eyes of an everyday outdoorsman.