Ducks Unlimited Podcast

JOIN US AT THE 2026 DUCKS UNLIMITED EXPO! July 31 - August 2 at the RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER in Memphis, TN 

The best hunting gear starts with real hunters solving real problems.

In this episode of the DUX Series, host Jimbo Robinson and co-host David Schuessler sit down with Brooke Richard of Higdon Outdoors to talk decoys, motion, product development, and what’s driving innovation in modern waterfowl hunting.

The conversation explores Higdon’s history, from the original motion decoys that helped define the brand to the newest products making their debut at DUX. Brooke shares how feedback from hunters influences every stage of development and why the company continues to push improvements in realism, durability, and usability.

Whether you're a gear enthusiast, serious waterfowler, or simply curious about what goes into designing products hunters rely on every season, this episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most recognized names in waterfowl hunting.

Topics Covered
  • The story behind Higdon Outdoors and its evolution
  • Why motion remains one of the biggest innovations in decoying
  • New product launches debuting at DUX
  • How hunter feedback shapes product development
  • Favorite waterfowl destinations across North America
  • Mentorship, calling culture, and the next generation of hunters

Listen now: www.ducks.org/DUPodcast
Send feedback: DUPodcast@ducks.org

SPONSORS:

Bird Dog Whiskey and Cocktails:
Whether you’re winding down with your best friend, or celebrating with your favorite crew, Bird Dog brings award-winning flavor to every moment. Enjoy responsibly.

Creators and Guests

Host
Jimbo Robinson
DUPodcast Co-Host

What is Ducks Unlimited Podcast?

Ducks Unlimited Podcast is a constant discussion of all things waterfowl; from in-depth hunting tips and tactics, to waterfowl biology, research, science, and habitat updates. The DU Podcast is the go-to resource for waterfowl hunters and conservationists. Ducks Unlimited is the world's leader in wetlands conservation.

Chris Isaac:

That was a horrible synopsis on No.

David Schuessler:

Actually, it's I get the I get the gist.

Chris Isaac:

There's some heavy hitters in the movie too.

Brooke Richard:

Have you ever seen free Willie?

Jimbo Robinson:

Yes.

Brooke Richard:

Has not it is exactly opposite of that.

VO:

You're tuned in to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast. Conserving wetlands, restoring habitat, and working to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow, and forever. From field tested hunting insights to the biggest conservation wins across North America, this is your front row seat to wetlands conservation in action. The DU podcast is proudly sponsored by Bird Dog Whiskey and Cocktails. Whether you're wrapping up a hunt with your best friend or kicking back with your crew, Bird Dog brings award winning flavor to every moment.

VO:

Enjoy responsibly.

Jimbo Robinson:

Welcome back to another installment of the DUX series here on the Ducks Unlimited Podcast. I'm your host, Jimbo Robinson, alongside today's cohost, mister David Schuessler. This year's DUX presented by Purina Pro Plan is July 31 through August 2 at the Renaissance Convention Center here in Memphis. But today, we have mister Brooke Richard from Hidgon Outdoors joining us. And, Brooke, you're no stranger to the podcast and our listeners, but today is a little different.

Jimbo Robinson:

And we're excited to welcome you to the DUX series here on the DU podcast. Brooke, how are you doing?

Brooke Richard:

I'm doing well. Thanks for having me, guys.

Jimbo Robinson:

You look good on camera.

Brooke Richard:

Yeah. I don't know. I don't know about all that. I've got a face for radio.

Jimbo Robinson:

Yeah. But just sit nobody has had the spec mounts and the cool things in the background that you have.

Brooke Richard:

Look. I've got a there's a spoony up there. Don't leave that one out. He's kinda tucked back, but, yeah, I got my pedestal spoony mount. Go show love.

Jimbo Robinson:

Well, Brooke, before we get started, every participant, guest, all star cast, whatever you wanna call them on the DUX series has to go through the game we call the flock shot.

David Schuessler:

Oh, boy.

Jimbo Robinson:

So, Chris, press the button.

Brooke Richard:

The flock shot.

Jimbo Robinson:

Coffee drinker or not. Yes. Coffee. It's

Brooke Richard:

Bustelo, one sugar, one cream.

David Schuessler:

All day long.

Brooke Richard:

All day long. All day long.

Jimbo Robinson:

Does not surprise me.

David Schuessler:

Like, I've hunted with him enough. It's all day long.

Brooke Richard:

Yep. I'm I've got I've done better lately here. I got off the k cup kit kick, so no more microplastics. So that's good. And then, also, I went from about five cups a day to two, sometimes three.

Brooke Richard:

So I just pace myself these days.

David Schuessler:

Yeah. Wait till November. Oh, you're getting older.

Chris Isaac:

Oh, yeah.

Jimbo Robinson:

That too.

Brooke Richard:

But oh, yeah. During duck season, that's yeah. Keep it warm.

Jimbo Robinson:

Favorite color, Gatorade.

Brooke Richard:

I'm gonna say red. You know? It's hard to beat a red Gatorade.

David Schuessler:

What's

Brooke Richard:

What I don't know. Honestly, the one you can't sleep on is that what's that? It's like cucumber. It's some type of cucumber one. It's that light lighter green.

Brooke Richard:

What? Incredible. Cucumber melon? Cucumber melon. Yeah.

Brooke Richard:

It's impressive. It makes your mouth feel like it's itching, but, you know, it makes you feel alive. Wow.

David Schuessler:

That's that's a lot to take in.

Jimbo Robinson:

That is a good thing. We just took a a big turn there. Light green would be so your favorite color red is do you know the flavor of red, though?

Brooke Richard:

No. It's just red. Fruit punch. We have fruit punch. Yeah.

Brooke Richard:

Sure. That's like it's red. You got blue Doritos and red Doritos.

Jimbo Robinson:

Which ones do you like?

Brooke Richard:

I'm a go blue.

Jimbo Robinson:

Yes. Yes. Hit every button over there, Chris. Claps. We need them all.

Jimbo Robinson:

I mean, that was a huge, huge debate between and I. Like, they were both red Doritos guys. They would just drop the blue bags in my office.

Brooke Richard:

You wanna know a random fact of the day?

David Schuessler:

If it

Brooke Richard:

I didn't I got to meet this guy doing a marketing seminar with a a dog food company. The guy that invented the flavor profile of the blue Dorito also invented the greeny dog treat.

Jimbo Robinson:

Really? I don't know if that's a

Brooke Richard:

Large beer thing

David Schuessler:

or They're very similar, Jimbo.

Jimbo Robinson:

Uh-huh. I

David Schuessler:

bet. Very similar. Taste profile is very close.

Brooke Richard:

Yeah. Maybe maybe true, may not be true, but I met the guy who allegedly did it.

Jimbo Robinson:

Have you seen the hottest thing in in, like, concession stands at sporting events is the walking taco? Have you heard about these?

Brooke Richard:

No.

Jimbo Robinson:

So Red Doritos is making a walking taco, and it's in a Red Dorito bag, but it says walking taco on it. And so, basically, you buy the walking taco bag, I would assume, and it has Red Doritos in it, and then it's, like, got lettuce and and ground beef in it.

David Schuessler:

You add you add that to it?

Brooke Richard:

To it.

David Schuessler:

So it's giving you the the bones.

Jimbo Robinson:

But it's in the bag. Like, you just like, you it has the little seal on top. It's a genius idea they did, and, man, people devour them.

Brooke Richard:

They're Never that sounds great. I'm a fan of the Frito pie.

Jimbo Robinson:

Yeah. Oh, yeah. So it's just a it's called the walk walking taco, and it gives you, like, a spoon,

David Schuessler:

and you just I like it. Okay.

Jimbo Robinson:

Well, I'll do it. Alright. We gotta get back to this. Specs or waterfowl hunting?

David Schuessler:

Specs.

Jimbo Robinson:

I had to ask the question. What was your first gun?

Brooke Richard:

First gun was a Remington eight seventy. Yep. Actually, that's not true. I had a little Henry Crack Barrel four ten. But, you know, in my adult hunting life from, I guess, middle school when I really started shooting ducks out of the air, it's eight seventy Express.

Brooke Richard:

My stepdad gave it to me. It was number one.

Jimbo Robinson:

So you were a water swatter before then. Sure.

Brooke Richard:

Heck yeah, man.

Jimbo Robinson:

Weren't we all?

Brooke Richard:

Yep. Hey. I'm a fan of it. You got if you earn them and they're there shells are expensive these days. Well, I'm not a great shot most of the time, so if I can put them on the water and shoot them on the water, it's way more effective.

Jimbo Robinson:

I love that you own it. Yeah.

David Schuessler:

Alright. Hidgon's got a lot of products. Of course, you got Power Calls, the Mo Marsh line. What is the one item holistically, of all those, what is the one item you never hunt without?

Brooke Richard:

Man, that's a tough one. For me personally, it's a duck call. Right? It's any call. Like, I'm a caller.

Brooke Richard:

I like communicating with birds. So just I don't wanna go hunting if I can't call up birds, period. You know, it's just how I like to hunt. So I'll I'll say in no particular one item would be a a game call. If I can't communicate with them, it's not hunting to me.

Brooke Richard:

It's just we're out there shooting.

David Schuessler:

Alright. What's your favorite?

Brooke Richard:

I would say probably our megawatt has become my favorite call. It's kind of a hybrid style call. It's somewhere between an aggressive J frame and a cut down call, so it's it's become my go to here the last couple years, so I'd have to say that one.

Jimbo Robinson:

Alright. What what calls do you carry around what do you have around your neck?

Brooke Richard:

Typically, I've got a six in one whistle, which is just there. It's like doubles as a dog whistle if I need one. A spark spec call, megawatt, and honestly, that's really the only two I use a lot, but I'll have a third DUC call on there, whether it's a cut down call or ignition, or a more less aggressive call, like a charge, like a more mellow J frame call. So two duck calls, a speck call, and a whistle typically is what I run.

David Schuessler:

Well, you blow them well.

Brooke Richard:

Well, thank you. It's a it's a problem I have.

David Schuessler:

Alright. This is this this next one's gonna be interesting, Bo. Alright. Brooke, if you had to live the rest of your life with only one of these, so two of them you have to cut out, is it TV, music, or books?

Brooke Richard:

I'm gonna say TV. I cut out.

David Schuessler:

Alright. So now we're down to music or books. You have to cut out one of those.

Brooke Richard:

I'd keep music. You know, I think books are incredible. Don't get me wrong. You know, I think books mean a lot more than music does. But on a daily aspect of my life, music cheers me up, makes me move, gets me in the mood to do stuff, whether it's work or party, whatever.

Brooke Richard:

So it's hard to beat music. I think from a daily standpoint, music is king for me.

David Schuessler:

Put put out a snow goose spread. Gotta have music.

Brooke Richard:

That's exactly right. Y'all know I got to DJ. I can DJ at e collar.

David Schuessler:

Alright. What's your favorite movie of all time?

Brooke Richard:

Secondhand Lions.

David Schuessler:

Not familiar with that one.

Brooke Richard:

Oh, you're missing out. You gotta go watch it.

Jimbo Robinson:

Our master producer over there is shaking his head. He got excited. So

Chris Isaac:

I love that movie.

Brooke Richard:

It's incredible. It is amazing movie. You guys watch it.

Chris Isaac:

Defunct zoo that gets restored by passionate people.

Jimbo Robinson:

Okay. You're gonna have to check that out.

Chris Isaac:

That was a horrible synopsis on No.

David Schuessler:

Actually, it's But I get the I get the gist.

Jimbo Robinson:

There's some heavy hitters in the movie too.

Brooke Richard:

Have you ever seen Free Willy? Yes.

Jimbo Robinson:

Has not it is exactly opposite of that. Okay.

David Schuessler:

Alright. You've hunted all over the country, probably the continent. What is your favorite place to hunt waterfowl? What state and and, like, what habitat?

Brooke Richard:

Whoo. It's tough. Man, really, it's it's hard. There's there's a lot of sleepers out there that I really enjoy just because they're different. I grew up in Louisiana hunting rice fields predominantly.

Brooke Richard:

Here in Western Kentucky, get to hunt the woods and shoot mallards in the trees a bunch. I'd have to pick anywhere. I mean, there's just so many cool different places, and that's why I like traveling so much, but if I can only pick one, I'd probably say Missouri. Yeah, and it would probably be small timber hole stuff in Missouri. It's just consistent, for me at least, with my buddy, Ira McCauley.

Brooke Richard:

There's a lot of ducks. They do it right. You know, they're workable. You can still call them. There's not a ton of pressure.

Brooke Richard:

Whether it's public or private, Missouri's tough to beat these days.

Jimbo Robinson:

Mhmm. I know.

David Schuessler:

Okay. So so let me ask a a follow-up. What about, like, bucket list locations, like Mainiders? Right? I mean, that's just something that's incredibly unique.

David Schuessler:

What if you if if you if somebody was asking you, what do I need to go do? And and let's say that they've done the Arkansas and the Missouri and the Louisiana. Right? Somebody from this area. Right?

David Schuessler:

Sure. From the bottom end of this flyway. And they said, where do I need to go? What do I do I need to experience? Where are you telling them to go?

Brooke Richard:

Man, if you're not if you're not a caller, even if you are a caller, if you're if you're just a hunter and wanna do something different, I would highly recommend anyone who hasn't done it go up to Alberta, go hunt snow geese, you know, September, October, go up there, shoot 50 snows a day, shoot some dark geese, shoot some ducks, go for a long weekend. Alberta is just a special place. If you like wing shooting, it is lights out. For me, what I would like to do, because I haven't done it and it's so different than what I do, and as I mentioned earlier, I'm a caller. So the Eider, the Harlequin, those are all great.

Brooke Richard:

Just can't really call divers that well, so I'm not really drawn to it. I will do them eventually, God willing, just just to do it and experience the eiders and, you know, all all the different things, but I would I would tomorrow, given the opportunity, I would go to Great Salt Lake, and I would go shoot a cinnamon deal. You know? I would just go and go through big bunches of Greenwing and pick out a cinnamon on the on the Salt Flats, take an airboat out there. I think that would be really cool.

David Schuessler:

Yeah. That's a that's a bucket list. Mhmm. Yeah. That's a bucket list location.

Jimbo Robinson:

You've done skinny water in Nebraska?

Brooke Richard:

I don't know about Nebraska, have I? I think so. God, that's bad, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah.

Brooke Richard:

I have.

David Schuessler:

Yeah. It's tough to be to to be broke.

Brooke Richard:

I I

Jimbo Robinson:

don't know. Let me think. Have I have I been to Nebraska?

Brooke Richard:

Oh, I've definitely been there. I don't know. Yeah. I've done some skinny water stuff in that area, you know, Snake River stuff. And, I mean, yeah, it's yeah.

Brooke Richard:

Yeah. It's that's one of my favorite styles of hunting. Just those little small warm water creeks like that, man, it's it's intimate. If you like shooting mallards up close and seeing some cool stuff and that the little small water skinny creek stuff is bad to the bone.

Jimbo Robinson:

I was supposed to go last year, and I got snowed, iced out, and couldn't leave to go. And it was, like, sad, but at the same time, it was epic where I was.

David Schuessler:

I was gonna say, you you we did we did okay.

Jimbo Robinson:

Yeah. So, like It's tough to be Jimbo Robinson. Yeah. We did alright. When that weather comes, though, you have to be like, you you gotta be there.

Brooke Richard:

Yeah. Yeah. For sure. I think that's the name of the game there. Bo Brooks that works with us here, you know, he he grew up doing a bunch of that, man.

Brooke Richard:

It's just so, you know, you you get in December and January. You know, you start getting into late December, January, you're looking at negative temperatures, but these warm water warm water is spring fed, creeks and river systems don't freeze, and the ducks people think ducks migrate when it gets cold. The ducks that are there, if they can stay there, they will, and there's a bunch that stay. You're talking it's like 10,000 ducks in a fishbowl.

Jimbo Robinson:

I

Brooke Richard:

mean, it is so cool. It's the name of the game is scouting, but when you find them, if you can hide, man, it's cool.

David Schuessler:

And and, really, the only thing those hardy ducks, like in Nebraska, right, that are in that warm water, about the only thing that'll move them is foot upon foot upon foot of snow. Yeah. Because it it it didn't then no food. Yeah. There's no food.

Jimbo Robinson:

Yep. Yeah.

Brooke Richard:

I mean, it's gotta be like that from what I mean, doctor Mike Brasher, I'm sure he knows down to the minute, but it takes a week. They can go a week without eating if they have to.

Jimbo Robinson:

I mean, it's like And I don't know that exact day, but it it feels like a week. I know that.

Brooke Richard:

If they have water, they're happy. And until they run out of food, you're exactly right. I've I've been in those areas when it's happened, and it takes a lot. I'm ready to leave way before they are.

Jimbo Robinson:

Yeah. Exactly.

David Schuessler:

Yeah. I think at I think at four days, they start to get hungry. Yeah. Right? And and they can they can go seven, I believe.

David Schuessler:

Yeah. I think that's what Mike's told us. Yep. But at four days, when you have snow on the ground for four days, it's like, okay. These these birds are about to get real hungry, and it's about to get real easy.

Jimbo Robinson:

Yep. Alright. For your last question, what was your first car?

Brooke Richard:

First car was technically, my first vehicle was a 1991 Jeep Comanche that I restored before I had my driver's license, and then some guy pulled in and offered to buy it from me. And I should have never sold it, but I sold it. And the first vehicle I drove in high school was a 2004 Ford f one fifty. It was red.

Jimbo Robinson:

I'm assuming you want the Comanche back.

Brooke Richard:

I would love it. I don't know who has it, but I would love it back. If you're listening to this, and I highly doubt that person was a duck hunter, but if they are and you're listening to this, you you bought a Jeep Comanche off 100 Kaiser Drive in Broussard, Louisiana back in, I don't know, 2005, call me. It was red.

Jimbo Robinson:

You can make some money. Well, thanks, Brooke. You you passed with flying colors

Brooke Richard:

Well, thank you.

Jimbo Robinson:

The flock shot. So let's let's roll into Hidgon Outdoors and DUX and and another another partner, corporate partner that has been with

David Schuessler:

us all Since the beginning.

Jimbo Robinson:

Since the beginning from Texas. I I remember helping Brooke move in and out of Texas, and and, you know, one of those those long standing corporate partnerships has been with us the whole time. And and I know you liked the indoors of the Rensa Convention Center last year. So

David Schuessler:

Yes.

Jimbo Robinson:

Are y'all excited about this year?

Brooke Richard:

Very excited. Yeah. D the DUX event really filled a hole for us as a not even our companies, but our industry. Like, yeah, there's a lot of decent sized events leading up to duck season, but the DUX event has become just the pinnacle of the who's who, the where it is, what's new. It's a great platform for our industry and our community to come together and see the new things and start gearing up and thinking about duck season.

Brooke Richard:

So it's a really cool event. As a hunter and as a person, I enjoy going just to go. Yeah, it's a lot of work for me because it's my job, but it's great to see everybody. It's a very well organized event. I've done a bunch of them, and very few have volunteers helping you unload and load your booth, so that alone is a blessing.

Brooke Richard:

So it's nice, but, I mean, we have got so many new items coming.

Jimbo Robinson:

Don't don't don't spill them all yet.

Brooke Richard:

I'm not spilling any of them.

Jimbo Robinson:

Hold on. So speaking of, you know, you hit on the overall experience of DUX, And and one of the things that that that was came to light last year is that DUX is is really about bringing the waterfowl hunting lifestyle to life in early August. Right? What when y'all are creating your booth, what what experience are you creating for the attendees when they walk into the to the booth? Like, what do you want them to feel?

Brooke Richard:

So I I think it's a multifaceted question. Being that we're a house of brands. We have multiple waterfowl brands, Hidgon, Mowmarsh, Power Calls. Every demographic, whether you're a dog guy or a caller or decoy nut, everyone's a little bit different generally. So what we like to do is just make a big open space.

Brooke Richard:

Here's some products that you can actually interact with. There's an expert that knows about the product or helped bring it to life, or that she used already that can answer your questions and see if it's a good fit for you. So we just want people to feel like they can walk up and come talk to us and and ask us about stuff, make recommendations, or, you know, whatever. Take a picture. Just hang out.

Brooke Richard:

So as long as they feel welcomed in our booth, we've

David Schuessler:

done our job. And I think this year, we you know, we've made some adjustments to the floor pan for Hidgon, and I think this year, it's gonna it's gonna offer almost that entire aisle type feel to what y'all are gonna be doing.

Brooke Richard:

Yeah. We went to the other room. We got a little bit bigger booth space, and I don't know. It's like 70 foot. One's 70 foot, and the other one's 20 foot or something like that.

Brooke Richard:

So it's

David Schuessler:

a That's a big space.

Brooke Richard:

We got plenty of booth. You'll can't miss us walking to Hall B, I

Jimbo Robinson:

think it is, and look for the giant Hidgon sign hanging from the ceiling.

Brooke Richard:

You'll probably you'll probably hear us before you see us, so just figure it out.

Jimbo Robinson:

Speaking of that, and I need to add that to my list. Glad you said that.

Brooke Richard:

I don't know what you're jotting down, but I'm terrified.

Jimbo Robinson:

Giant Hidgon sign. I forgot all about

Brooke Richard:

Good. I sent Logan the artwork.

Jimbo Robinson:

Oh. I thought he nailed it.

David Schuessler:

Good. It's covered.

Jimbo Robinson:

Perfect. You

Brooke Richard:

knew that. You knew that.

Jimbo Robinson:

I did. You know, so everybody's gonna be getting their DU magazine, and the new Guns N Gears always a very exciting time for a waterfowl hunter. It kinda reminds me of the old days of receiving the Max Prairie Wings catalog, which is a great catalog still to this day. But the new guns and gear to me is is kinda replaced that in my older age, and and I'm excited about it. But as I was flipping through it the other day, I noticed a lot of of new products.

Jimbo Robinson:

So you guys have always, in my eyes, been leading edge of realism and innovation. What new products or technology are people can people expect this year at the DUX show from y'all?

Brooke Richard:

Man, it's a it's a lot

Jimbo Robinson:

what was in the magazine.

Brooke Richard:

Yeah. We've got a lot of stuff, and and Chris Jennings and Hoffman, they're in the the magazine department, have told me which ones they're featuring. There's just so many, but the big thing is for Hidgon is we're just making things We're known for durability, quality, and value, and realism, but we're just taken to that next level with all categories, whether it's the motion items that everybody loves, we're making them more durable, easier to use, longer running, more realistic. So you'll see that in all of our, the pulsators, the swimmers, the floating flashers, the crazy kickers, the clones, the flasher pros. I mean, all of it is just going to that next level of just what matters as a duck hunter.

Brooke Richard:

Like, hey. This thing's too hard to charge. We fixed it. Hey. It doesn't run long enough.

Brooke Richard:

We fixed it. Hey. I can't throw it off a roof. We fixed it. You know?

Jimbo Robinson:

So Did you get all that from, like, my our text messages?

Brooke Richard:

Most of it. You can break an anvil. You two, especially, together.

Jimbo Robinson:

Yeah.

Brooke Richard:

Oh, no. But, yeah, we've got so much and there's honestly a lot of cool stuff that I'm sure there's a reason. We've sent so many new items that they can't fit all of in the magazine. Your magazine would be too long, but we've had a lot of cool stuff too that we're bringing that's that is not in the magazine that people are gonna get to see for the first time. We're not gonna show it to anyone, not on our social medias or anything until DUX.

Brooke Richard:

So it'll be DUX has become the the physical representation of what everyone knows new gear and gun, the new gear and gun issue to be is it's kinda your first crack at all the cool new stuff, but we have a ton of new items this year, and they're all gonna be in our booth. Come see it. It'll be the first place anyone can see it. You'll you'll see it there first. We won't post anything on social media till after the event, so come see it at DUX.

David Schuessler:

See, that's that's what we envisioned Yes. This show would be. You know, when when we when we moved it to we were when we were out in Texas, we were we were Sunburned? Well, no. Not just sunburned.

David Schuessler:

We're at we're at the mercy of the race schedule, you know, at the racetrack. And here, we're able to say, okay. It's always gonna be that first Saturday in August, which is getting close for Yeah. You know, especially states up north. I mean, they're looking at forty five days out, fifty, sixty days out of opening day, and we wanted to be that venue where new items could be presented.

David Schuessler:

And we know that of a couple of companies, firearm companies, who are actually already planning releases in '27, and they're looking at that as, okay. This is where we're gonna let the public see it for the first time.

Brooke Richard:

Mhmm. And we're doing the same thing on our on our road map and new products, even stuff that is which you guys will probably get to see it because I'll probably send you some so you can torture test it this dog season. But we've got 15 new items that we'll that we'll be able to test and use this year, and we're not gonna release them until DUX twenty seven as well. I mean, dozens, if not you know, I mean, at least a dozen, if not several dozen.

VO:

Stay tuned to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast sponsored by Bird Dog Whiskey after these messages.

Jimbo Robinson:

Well, was exciting to get the magazine because, you know, I I we I you had told me about a few of them, but we didn't go into great depth. It's always hard to describe a a new, I feel like, a waterfall item like that to describe to somebody. But then when you see it in the magazine, which is cool because I think when people see that and when after you know, the listeners that listen to this, they're planning to be a DUX, I think you're gonna run over there to see them because they are there's a lot of of really cool things. What I like most, obviously, it came out late last year, but the the pole the pole flasher. Right?

Brooke Richard:

Oh, yeah. The Flasher Pro.

Jimbo Robinson:

Flasher Pro that's on a pole now, spinner, that, you know, everything that you can do, lose the wings, y'all fixed it. Right? They're on there. Quiet. They're on there.

Jimbo Robinson:

They're quiet. Like, there's a lot of things that two different body styles. Right? We argue well, not argue, but it's like, hey. When somebody goes and puts it out in the water, I'm like, dude, bend it.

Jimbo Robinson:

Push it forward. That thing looks terrible. Yeah. It's like it's flying backwards. Like but y'all fix that.

Jimbo Robinson:

Two different you know, you can set them up two different ways. That's awesome.

Brooke Richard:

Yeah. Yeah. Just man, a lot of we're we're just duck hunters at end of the day. Like, we're not bunching well, I guess we are nerds at some capacity. I won't speak for everybody here.

Brooke Richard:

I won't take them down with me, but, man, we love it. We're we're deer nuts. We make stuff and try to fix problems and by design our products that help us. Like, that's all this is. You know, we're blessed to get to do what we do for a living.

Brooke Richard:

We can figure out how to make it work, but yeah, if you see something with our name on it, it's what we're on with, and it's we made it because we wanted something better. Period.

David Schuessler:

One of

Jimbo Robinson:

the things in the magazine is a is a it's a swimmer that the head moves. I mean, we could talk about that because it's in the magazine. It'll be on peep it'll be in people's mac in their mailboxes next week or this week.

Brooke Richard:

It's on the way. Yeah. So They're in the mail.

Jimbo Robinson:

How did that come to be?

Brooke Richard:

Man, so Mark Hidgon, the original founder of Hidgon Outdoors, Ben and John Hidgon's father, the first product we ever made as Hidgon decoys back in, I mean, it was like the nineties, I think, or even late eighties. I was not here, of course. I was not even born, but it was a goose that the head, the head had a spring in it with black pantyhose over it, and you'd pull a string, and it would like feed on its wing and the wing would flap, and it was called the finisher. And that's where Hidgon decoys got its start with Mark Hidgon. Well, Mark's no longer involved with Hidgon.

Brooke Richard:

His sons operate the business now, but he still comes in all the time and tinkers. He's 80 years old, walks with a cane, but he just had this vision. He wanted to make a duck version of it, and he spent months in our basement with our engineers figuring out a way to make a a swimmer do that. So he and just in his head, even, you know, over the last fifty years of him designing decoys and and being involved in the decoy industry, he never lost that fire. He just wanted a realistic decoy.

Brooke Richard:

So that is that is Mark Hidgon's latest brainchild brought to life by our engineers and current technology.

David Schuessler:

I remember that first decoy, and I did not know that it was the first. Yeah. But I because it was revolutionary at the time.

Brooke Richard:

Yeah. I mean, it it was like the first product that put your goose flag away from you.

Jimbo Robinson:

Yeah. Yeah.

Brooke Richard:

Yeah. Yeah.

David Schuessler:

So it was a big deal. And and so I think it's all these years later, it's so neat that still this push for innovation, innovation, motion, motion, which I don't know if back then everybody understood exactly how important motion is. I think most owners understand it today, but to still be on that cutting edge of what is going to be better motion, that's pretty cool. I I think that the comp I mean, that that's staying true to your true to your roots, true to your core. Yeah.

David Schuessler:

Which is

Brooke Richard:

can't get Ben Hidgon off of trying to make new decoys. He's a he's a decoy. If you can make it look better and do something cool, he's all about it.

Jimbo Robinson:

I mean, I you know, Hidgon when I was first started as a regional director in in 2010, I remember, you know, the Hidgon partnership was a long phone conversation years ago between John Hidgon and I. And and when I met Ben and John, it it was so interesting because John is such a he he's a numbers guy. Right? You gotta have one of those. And then Ben is such a r and d guy, like, constant development.

Jimbo Robinson:

And, man, we shared so many late night phone calls and throughout the years about all the different man, just the products, but he is. He's he's that guy.

Brooke Richard:

Yeah.

Jimbo Robinson:

But at the core of him is is their dad, and and and that's an interesting thing. It kinda leads me to the next question. You know, when people are walking the expo floor, and they may not be familiar with Hidgon, right, what do you believe is the one product that tells your brand story the best?

Brooke Richard:

Man, that's a tough one. I think when people think of Hidgon, and I'm too close to it, but I think the pulsator is what Hidgon's known for.

Jimbo Robinson:

Very interesting.

Brooke Richard:

The pulsator just I mean, it's just the thing that people, whether they knew the name of our company or not, they probably hunted over one or owned multiple of them. You know? So I I think that's that product's in a league of its own. But, you mean, we've got several. Right?

Brooke Richard:

But like I said, I'm too close to it. It's the Battleship Ballard's big, phone filled, beautiful, high contrast stuff, our new legacy stuff, all of our motion. We've just gotten so wide now. It's really tough to nail down just one because we have so many different items, and so and we cover so many categories, but I think the pulsator would probably be the most consistent answer if you asked a group of people that.

David Schuessler:

Jimbo, what what would you say?

Jimbo Robinson:

Well, now that he said that, he's right. He's probably right. I would have said the the foamed filled battleship. That would have been my that would have been my answer, but the pulsator brings both of those together. The foam filled butt decoy with motion.

Jimbo Robinson:

Right. And so it makes perfect sense, and and and I would probably agree with that.

Brooke Richard:

I would've so so funny. Just real quick, really small world story for you. I was a freshman in high school working at my uncle's crawfish restaurant. They were opening up a gun store across the street, and I got a job there just so I could get discounts on decoys. I was getting hot buys for, like, $12 a box.

Brooke Richard:

It was great. Thought I was killing it. And one day I got hooked up with Buck Gardner. Just calling order calls and end up with Buck Gardner, and that phone call changed my life and got me here today. He offered to teach me how to get into contest calling.

Brooke Richard:

I did. Became good friends with Buck. God bless his soul. But the first time I went up to Memphis to visit Buck, we were going to I think we're coming to Union City to final fight for a calling contest.

Jimbo Robinson:

I flew up because I wasn't old enough to drive,

Brooke Richard:

of course, but flew into Memphis. Buck picked me up in his old diesel excursion, went over to the shop, and

Jimbo Robinson:

I was boom. A duck called in

Brooke Richard:

the back of the warehouse, and I had owned several pulsators at this point. I had scrapped pennies together and owned two pulsators to hunt with, and I had no idea what Hidgon was even at that age, you know, and there was a pile of decoys back there, and they were giant. I'm like, fuck. What are these things? He's like, those are Hidgon battleships.

Brooke Richard:

You know? And that that was the my first experience with the the name Hidgon. I had already owned pulsators and never even knew battleships existed. I didn't even know foam filled decoys existed. I thought hot buys were the only thing that mattered.

Brooke Richard:

You know? And it was very interesting is, you know, now I ended up working here at Hidgon, but Buck Gardner actually named the battleship. He was working with Ben and John then as kind of a pro staff guy when pro staff was professional, and Buck made a comment. Man, we should name them battleships. And this is in 2006, whenever it was.

Brooke Richard:

And so Buck Gardner named the battleship, and Buck Gardner introduced me to Hidgon, and here I am.

David Schuessler:

That's a great story, and it is the perfect name for that decoy.

Brooke Richard:

It is. Truly is.

Jimbo Robinson:

I did not know that. I didn't either. I didn't know Buck would name that.

Brooke Richard:

That's crazy.

Jimbo Robinson:

Like It is crazy.

Brooke Richard:

Just he was just buying decoys or whatever he was doing with Hidgon at the time, you know, way before my time here.

David Schuessler:

He's probably hunting them.

Brooke Richard:

Yeah. He was. He was hunting them in in Arkansas. Was a place Maggie's retreat in Arkansas. Yeah.

Brooke Richard:

I went I went hunting there with him a couple years after that. He invited me up to go hunt once I could drive. And a buddy and I, Alex, drove up there and hunted with him for a week, and, I mean, he had, you guys know where his property is probably, but a wonderful place, bunch of rice fields mainly, but, I mean, loaded with Hidgon battleships. Like, this okay. This is what a real decoy spread looks like.

Brooke Richard:

You know, that was kinda my peek behind the curtain on how the rest of the world, dovecots, if you're serious about it, you're not just a Cajun trying to shoot a couple ringnecks on a dollar.

David Schuessler:

There's nothing wrong with ringnecks, though.

Brooke Richard:

No. I'll I need I was talking about that the other day on a deal we did. I I don't have a ringneck mount. I need one.

David Schuessler:

They cost extra because of how hard it is to cut the skin off of the meat.

Jimbo Robinson:

That's crazy. You spend a lot of time in the field. We've kinda hit on this a little bit. But does your real world hunting experience shape what y'all do at DUX and what you're bringing to display or show off at events? I think bring it all.

Brooke Richard:

Yeah. I mean, we try our best. We try to bring our heavy hitters there, at least what's new, but really really, it's a place for us to showcase what we're proud of. And and luckily, the people around the Greater Memphis area and and most of, you know, the DU organization's members are hunters like us. They're kinda hunting.

Brooke Richard:

They want to or they do hunt in a similar way and see value in similar things that we do. So it's kind of super organic. The stuff we bring is stuff we're proud to show that demographic, and it's quite frankly the thing that we're most passionate about, and that's our style of hunting, you know, shoot mallards. And whether it's mallards or not, but your ice field hunters, your flooded timber hunters, your river hunters, that's what we do best, and that's we make products for those guys, and we're proud of them.

Jimbo Robinson:

I think what was mind blowing to me, I used to go to shows a lot when I was younger. I don't go as much anymore because the show comes to me. Just kidding. But I think what was mind blowing to me last year was number one, how early people got there. That that that never crossed my mind that somebody would drive all

David Schuessler:

night long. I don't think we understood that part of the show world. No. No. Like, people

Brooke Richard:

It's crazy.

Jimbo Robinson:

I went over crazy. I got up one morning, went worked out, 05:30, went, got back, changed clothes, walked across the street. It was, like, 06:45, And I had gotten a text message from Alex White who kinda opens the show for us every day. And it was like, hey. There's a there's a father and son standing in line that drove all throughout the night from Pennsylvania.

Brooke Richard:

It's crazy.

Jimbo Robinson:

And I was, like, kinda laughing, but I was like, woah. Like, that was the moment for me during the that was probably the moment for me Hell. During the show that I was like, not we've made it, but we've made there's an there is something here.

David Schuessler:

Like

Brooke Richard:

Absolutely. Yeah. Bo posted on Bo Brooks, we were releasing that super exclusive doc call, and he he posted on social media, like, that night before it opened. Like, we're gonna have the first the only 50 or whatever it is. Come get them.

Brooke Richard:

It's the only place you can get them at the duck show. And when we woke up that morning at 06:00 or our phones were blowing up. Kids were sending videos to us on social media. I've been in line since been driving since 2PM yesterday to get here from Arizona, like, wherever they were coming from. Like, woah.

Brooke Richard:

Yeah. I had that same feeling like, okay. Not that we've made it, but we're making a difference. Like, man, this is so cool that people would do this. They they they wanna be here so bad.

Brooke Richard:

It kinda validates and solidifies that what we're doing is right and good, you know, know, good for everybody.

Jimbo Robinson:

And that's that's exactly that was where I was going with that because y'all were in front of us. We could I could see the madness happening in your booth from the duck den. And when people would come in that door, they were running and taking a right to get in line for those calls. And that's that's where I was going with that. I was like, man, y'all created y'all you know, not just not just what y'all were doing there, but that was one of those social media and pushes that happened that just blew this thing into into another space that I didn't think could be.

Brooke Richard:

Yeah. Man, I'm really, really proud of it, and of course, Ducks Unlimited does a great job with with the youth. But Bo, I have to have to toot his horn for him. He's too humble, but he's done such a good job of just cultivating and catering to the new hunter, whether it's older people or younger people, but he is so good with kids and getting kids into hunting and giving kids that wanna learn or mean, he's just so great with the young duck hunter, and all hunters really, turkey hunters too. But, man, it's really cool to go to an event like that where you expect it to be a lot of people, you know, our age.

Brooke Richard:

Right? The person who's duck hunting buying duck gear to see it. But there's so many dads bringing their kids to these shows who are all fired up to be there, and they're you can just see it. Like, that fire's burning still in humanity. Like, they they want to be the duck hunter in thirty years.

Brooke Richard:

That's so cool to see.

Jimbo Robinson:

Yeah. I mean, my I I had met Bo a couple times, didn't know Bo that well. And, I mean, I think Tripp came over there. Obviously, you know, Tripp knows you and and some of the others in y'all's booth, my kid, but he he him and Bo hit it off. He comes back with a cut down.

Jimbo Robinson:

He's like, look, dad. I gotta cut down from Bo, and he had kinda shown him how to blow it. And and he I mean, like, he had fun with Bo all weekend, and Yeah. And they were they were messing around. But, yeah, that that kind of Bo has a special niche for kind of, you know Yeah.

Jimbo Robinson:

Poking that fire with the next generation.

Brooke Richard:

Man, he does that with every it doesn't matter. I can't hardly walk around in Walmart with him anymore. You know, he's he's just kinda blown up there. Just social media influencer, celebrity, if you will. But man, like, the way he treated your son, Tripp, he would treat a kid on the corner here in Paducah, Kentucky.

Brooke Richard:

Like, he it does not matter who the kid is. If they're like, hey, can you show me something? They're they're best friends immediately. You know? And he's like, here's my phone number.

Brooke Richard:

Call me. Oh, you wanna go hunting? Yeah. If I'm around, I'll call you. Like, what you see is what you get, man.

Brooke Richard:

It's it's really cool to see the younger the younger group of kids coming up and hunters having that much passion about as about it as we as we do. You know? It's it's cool.

David Schuessler:

And I think, you know, whether it's our show or other shows, it's one thing that it does offer that you don't get just selling retail.

Jimbo Robinson:

Oh, of course.

David Schuessler:

Right. Or selling online. It it it's a it's a heightened interaction between Hidgon and your customers, your potential customers, or just the industry in general. So our hopes are that we provide a space for three days to facilitate that between all of the exhibitors and sponsors who were there and the 20 plus thousand. Like, I don't know how many it's gonna be this year.

David Schuessler:

We know we had over 20 turnstiles last year, so I would have to think it's gonna be a little bit more this year. But that's a lot of face to face. A lot of a lot of opportunities.

Brooke Richard:

There's a lot of people going to the the Ducks event this year. There's we we knew it would get big, and we didn't know how the first year would go, of course. We we our socks are blown off. It was a very good show, very well attended, very well ran, and I can tell you, I've I've got about three times the amount of interaction of people who are committing to going, you know, just people I've talked to as compared to last year. So I would not be shocked if 50,000 people walked through that.

Brooke Richard:

Jeez. That is a big deal. Hope they

Jimbo Robinson:

do. See there, Brooke.

Brooke Richard:

Come on with it.

Jimbo Robinson:

I don't need any more surprises today, but our our good buddy, Jimbo Robinson, he he he made a comment to to Schuh's this week that said, bub, you better be ready. Yeah. Yeah.

David Schuessler:

I mean So along those lines, Brooke, we are as great as the calling contest was in the amp the auditorium, the theater, we're actually gonna pull it out because we've expanded down a floor and opened a whole new exhibit hall. Unnoticed. We're going to use a space down on that 1st Floor to where the calling contest, which those happen all day Saturday, can be easier access by folks going between the upstairs and the downstairs, and, you know, you could go over. We're gonna put a concession stand there where you can have lunch and,

Brooke Richard:

you know,

David Schuessler:

watch some competition and then go catch the next hall, and that's what Ronquist and I were doing. And we and we think that's gonna add greatly to the show as well just from from the colleague aspect. Absolutely.

Jimbo Robinson:

And that's the mid floor. Right? That'd be kind of the mid. Right? No.

Jimbo Robinson:

It's ground level.

Brooke Richard:

It's lower. It's lower level, isn't it?

Jimbo Robinson:

It's ground level, but it's not lower level. No. I think No.

David Schuessler:

You're right. You're right. The calling contest will be ground level. It's the level that you come up the escalators, and then you get on another one. It's the it's the main entrance.

Jimbo Robinson:

Yeah. So we have all three floors.

David Schuessler:

All three floors. I didn't

Jimbo Robinson:

think about that till you just said that. I didn't

David Schuessler:

think about it till you just

Jimbo Robinson:

said it. That's cool that that basically every floor is occupied with something cool,

Brooke Richard:

Something wonderful too. Yeah. World cut down's awesome, and I agree, David. Jimbo actually called me a couple weeks ago and was asking me a few questions about the contest, and I think moving it to that location is better for everybody. I think more people will be by it.

Brooke Richard:

It'd be cooler for the callers. I'll be there judging, I'm sure. Yeah. Yeah. I'm just glad you got a concession stand down there.

Brooke Richard:

That's what I'm talking about.

Jimbo Robinson:

We know you like food. Skinniest man I know that eats like you do. Wish I had your

Brooke Richard:

I had

Jimbo Robinson:

your metabolism. You know, it's that's gonna be I think that calling contest is is much and as cool as that setting was. We got a lot of compliments on that. You it was kind of on an island. Right?

Jimbo Robinson:

And and and I think one of Jimbo's big points was that he in order to grow it, right, we need more people to see it. And what better place to see it than amongst all of the attendees. Agree. And so Saturday is gonna create buzz. I really believe that that there's some big announcements we got coming that Saturday is gonna create an incredible buzz around the show itself, but also bring people in and kinda show them that world of cut down, which, you know, is kinda taken over in the in the in the pure callings form.

Brooke Richard:

Yeah.

Jimbo Robinson:

Oh, I mean blowing in. It is incredible. And so it'd be a lot of fun to to see, you know

Brooke Richard:

Yeah. It's it's an I mean, even if you're not a caller, but you you I mean, who doesn't own a cut down call these days? They become really popular just to hunt with. Go watch this. These are the best cut down callers in the world.

Brooke Richard:

I mean, just go and spend ten minutes listening to these guys, and and you'll learn something.

Jimbo Robinson:

You know who's toot toot on a cut down now?

Brooke Richard:

Is it Trip? No. What?

Jimbo Robinson:

Yep. I broke him last year.

Brooke Richard:

Good. Hey.

David Schuessler:

It works. It took about three weeks, and and then and then I thanked him. Yeah. But for about three weeks, I was telling him, Jimbo, which is I just can't do it. I just can't do it.

David Schuessler:

Just can't do it. And finally, one morning, we were hunting together, and I ripped off on it. He looked at me and said, you got it. You figured it out.

Jimbo Robinson:

Awesome. Yeah. It's so cool.

Brooke Richard:

You need a better teacher. That's Ed David.

Jimbo Robinson:

That's not

Brooke Richard:

his fault. That

Jimbo Robinson:

is a fact.

Brooke Richard:

So You got my number.

Jimbo Robinson:

Let me ask you about one of the one of the, you know, the interaction at at a show type thing. Right? That's a big part to a to a exhibitor like like y'all.

VO:

Of course.

Jimbo Robinson:

You know, the feedback you get. Do do y'all get a lot of feedback from attendees on that end? That's half

Brooke Richard:

the reason we go to these things. Like, the the the reason that people may think companies like ours go to those shows, which is they're probably thinking to make a bunch of money, is the last thing we're worried about. I don't even know if we're selling anything there. It's to literally go and show people what we offer and receive that feedback is the thing that I'm thinking about when I'm driving down to Memphis. Like, I can't wait for people to see this thing me and my team have been working for years to get it to this spot.

Brooke Richard:

We finally get to show it to the world, or whether that's a new product, a new category, something super innovative, or just a simple upgrade, an existing product that people have had issues with in the past that we've noticed, that is the only reason in my in my heart that we even go to these things.

Jimbo Robinson:

What two two part question here, but what's your biggest, in your opinion, for fun and and just for the show, what's your biggest fail Hand. That you thought was gonna be a hit that wasn't since you've been at Hidgon?

Brooke Richard:

That's a tough one. I don't know. It's really hard to answer. Just a loser. Honestly, I think if I had to pick probably our it's not even a loser.

Brooke Richard:

I just people I just don't think enough people know about it yet, and that's as a director of marketing here, it's probably my fault, but the MoMarsch VersaBlind, it's like a panel style blind that's got telescoping legs, you can hunt it out of like an a frame style blind or panel style blind, you know, but you can do it in water or mud, and it's just such a cool product. You know, we really poured our hearts and souls into that one, but I think it's just it's expensive for the average person, And not a lot of people are are using panel style blinds in water situations. They're using, like, our Invisi Man or they're hiding behind a tree. But, you know, it's a it's a dang good product. It is lights out.

Brooke Richard:

But I I just don't know if not enough people know about it yet. We'll have one at DUX Henson. Come see it.

David Schuessler:

Jimbo, think about it in ditches.

Brooke Richard:

Yeah. That's how we use it.

David Schuessler:

Like, we we hunt a lot of ditches. Like

Brooke Richard:

Yeah. Oh, it's incredible. Like, like, we went on that snow goose hunt this year. Those same four Versa Blinds or the same four Versa Blinds I took to Saskatchewan five months before that. And we hunted with them in Saskatchewan.

Brooke Richard:

We hunted with them in Missouri. We hunted with them in Arkansas. We hunted with them in Kentucky. We hunted with them in Tennessee. We hunted barley fields, rivers.

Brooke Richard:

We hunted a ditch for snow goo season with you guys. We hunted the edge of a flooded cornfield at the Hidgon farm. Same four blinds. I mean, that's that just speaks volumes for that product, but they're they're incredible. You know?

Brooke Richard:

Yeah. They're they're pricey, but it's because of how good they are. It's not like we're making the price high just for fun, but it's tough. A tough market, man. There's a lot of great competition out there.

Brooke Richard:

There's a lot of great products, but man, that one's just like that one just had my card from day one. It's such a good thing. I thought it would just sell itself.

Jimbo Robinson:

Well, sometimes you're a result of your own success. Right? And and you said it. Like, the you have the Invisa Man. You have the Invisa Blinds.

Jimbo Robinson:

Like, you have these other things that have been staples to Mo Marsh Mhmm. From day one. Yep. And so when you come out with something that's kind of different than that, people look at it and go, well, I don't need that. I have this.

Jimbo Robinson:

Like, the like, the water. Like, you have Invisimands. Like, you use them on the edge.

David Schuessler:

It changed the way I hunted.

Jimbo Robinson:

Right. And so yeah. I don't know that I call that a fail, but I am with you, though, on the sales side of it. Yeah. It didn't come to fruition like you thought.

Brooke Richard:

Yeah. We're pretty safe here. I mean, we're we're everybody here and I'm not gonna take any credit for this, but our product development team, our marketing team, our sales team, we've all Every department is led by someone who's been doing it for ten plus years and doing it successfully. So very rarely do we come to market and spend a ton of time on a loser from Go. I can't think of one that's truly been just, man, we can't sell 10 of these things.

Brooke Richard:

We've got a thousand. We can't give them away. We haven't had that here, but I think that's just our style is we're not in any rush to do anything. We move at our own pace. We don't chase anybody else.

Brooke Richard:

We're not gonna come out with it if it's not good, and it's not something we would hunt with. So most of the time, that results in at least a mediocre product, if not a category leading product.

David Schuessler:

Absolutely. Hey. Let let's go back to the to shows for a minute because I I wanna pick both of y'all's brains. Everything in society today would point you to believe that shows would be dead. Right?

David Schuessler:

Between everything you can see on your phone, you can see online, everything you can, you know, get everywhere. Yet not not just the DUX show. I mean, you know, it's I understand fishing shows like that big one down in South Florida, like, it's hard to get a ticket to it. What is it something about us as sports people

Brooke Richard:

I think so.

David Schuessler:

That it's just our personalities that want to go and and be around people like ourselves? If you read if you read industry magazines, they tell you that conventions are dying.

Brooke Richard:

Yeah. It's conflicting. You know, I can I'll use a really weird comparison, but it'll make sense to a lot of people is I get told that all the time from people, both in industry and out industry of, man, broadcast television's dying. I can't believe you guys have a TV show, and you guys have the longest running waterfowl TV show. We've got one.

Brooke Richard:

We're going on season twelve, but the numbers are growing. You'd think that everybody just be on YouTube or Instagram or Facepage, wherever they wanna end up, you know, instant gratification, TikTok. But, man, I think shows are the same way. Duck hunters and outdoorsmen and sportsmen in general still wanna go to the mom and pop gun shop to touch that new gun that they heard of or their friend had and just kinda test drive it. You know?

Brooke Richard:

So I think hunters just have that. They are willing to do the old traditional thing because it's the most pure form of it, and it's the most it's just the most developed and mature way to actually experience new items or new people. You know, it it's the best way to do it. I mean, I'm I'm a show guy. I like going to shows and seeing everybody and making face and seeing what everybody else has that's new.

Brooke Richard:

And I think if you don't go, you're missing out. And if you wait until you get a new DU, new gear, and gun issue, that's great, but you're still gonna wanna see more. Right? You're gonna wish you would've got to hold it.

David Schuessler:

Well, yeah, it's not all in there.

Jimbo Robinson:

I think I agree with Brooke. I think there's two things that I think have taken shows to a whole new level, and it's gonna be something y'all aren't. But I think direct to consumer Sure. Has has created a a show opportunity. And I think that social media and influencers and positive role models is the is the it would be my second reason.

Brooke Richard:

That's the tell.

Jimbo Robinson:

That it so when you take both of those and you combine them and you also have the guys that sell the the the box store companies that sell in box stores, but not everything, you know, and you bring that all like, at the end of the day, I was made this comparison earlier. Like, every company is direct to consumer to a certain degree because there's no way one retail store can carry everything that Hidgon has. Absolutely. It doesn't happen. I mean, Brooke and I have talked about it.

Jimbo Robinson:

Ben and I have talked about, like, you are from a certain area, you may not have ever seen something that Hidgon has. So you it's almost it has to be direct consumer from the website, or you have to order it from somebody else online. Yep. Another retailer that carries it online. So you have that aspect, and so a show brings all that together under one roof along with the opportunity to meet and talk to the people that use this from that company that are positive influencers and positive role models in the industry, and they're all the same people that we are, that they are, that the consumers are, and it allows this opportunity to level the playing field for the time you're on that floor.

Jimbo Robinson:

And that's what I think is is a it makes the show. I I

David Schuessler:

think you're you're right, and it's seeing the products. I'm thinking about some of the things that I purchased last year. I had seen them on social media. And, you know, I'd looked at it, and I'd kept scrolling.

Jimbo Robinson:

Right.

David Schuessler:

But then I walk by it at the show, and I go, woah. Look at that thing. Look how, you know, look how much water that thing's throwing.

Brooke Richard:

And Yeah. I didn't realize it actually did that.

Jimbo Robinson:

Exactly. Yeah. And so, you know, I think that that that's what makes it, but I I told the RDs and the new RD training yesterday that, you know, we can provide and I've said this numerous times. Ducks Unlimited organization, DU Inc, can provide the platform for this show. We can do all of the billboards and marketing we can for this show.

Jimbo Robinson:

But without our corporate partners, without the exhibitors, and without the social media reach of everybody else, the show does not happen Yeah. Without all of y'all.

David Schuessler:

No. It's a team effort. 100%.

Jimbo Robinson:

It's a massive team effort. And when people say, oh, thank you. I'm like, no.

Brooke Richard:

Thank you. Like, we we were there platform.

Jimbo Robinson:

Yeah. We were there thanking vendors as they're as we're packing them up and and getting them out on Sunday night. We were thanking people, and and they're returning the thanks. And so that teamwork of of the back and forth and and and I mean, you go back to this show from day one. You know, David talks about this all the time.

Jimbo Robinson:

He talks about DUX publicly to that, you know, it was the exhibitors and the vendors saying, hey. Y'all need to hit the reset button, and here's what we think you ought to do. It took those those people that are invested in DU long term for us to say, you know what? You're right.

Brooke Richard:

Yeah.

Jimbo Robinson:

And and so that team effort made it, and I think that it, you know, it was obviously a massive success, and and everybody keeps say like, last year, I I when we when we had to put a number of how many people were going to come, my number was a lot lower than everybody else's. And I don't remember who got the closest, but there were some people that said fifteen, sixteen thousand plus. I don't know that anybody said 20. But the numbers were here in this year. I'm I'm it it blows my mind of what they think, and so I keep knocking on wood.

Jimbo Robinson:

Yes. But I I'm excited.

Brooke Richard:

You know what? If no one comes, we're still gonna have fun. More more fun for us. You're missing out if you're not there.

David Schuessler:

You you'll have fun. Well, shortly after the show, hunting season starts.

Brooke Richard:

Man, hunting season starts July 5.

David Schuessler:

You're right.

Brooke Richard:

You're right about that. Man, rednecks here fireworks, and off we go.

Jimbo Robinson:

Off we go. The dogs get more exciting.

David Schuessler:

Well, Brooke, where are you hunting this year? Before we go, where where are you hunting? Where do you have it scheduled?

Brooke Richard:

Or wherever the ducks are. That's what I do. I don't know. I'm gonna be hunting with you at some point. Yep.

David Schuessler:

Hope you're there.

Brooke Richard:

I'm be hunting your blinds. So whether I'm poaching or hunting with you is, you know, here or there. But, no, I honestly don't know. I'm sure I'll hunt here in Kentucky. I'm sure I'll hunt Tennessee.

Brooke Richard:

I'm sure I'll hunt Missouri. Sure I'll go home and hunt Louisiana, but I honestly don't have any big trips planned. I really like to wait, as weird as that sounds, for, like, a lot of our filming stuff. Gotta have DUX. So and until they start doing their thing, you know, we we chase them.

Brooke Richard:

You know? We're not gonna sit there and wait for them to show up. We'll we'll wait we'll let them get doing what they need to be doing and show up in areas where they should, and then we'll then we'll get a plan and go attack them. So whether that's Nebraska or Florida, you just never know. We go where the Ducks are.

Jimbo Robinson:

That's cool. Well, Brooke, as we begin to wrap up the show, man, you know, Hidgon Outdoors has been a corporate partner of Ducks Unlimited for a long time. We really appreciate y'all's support, not only here organizationally, but but at DUX. Truly looking forward to hanging out with you again and and seeing y'all's booth space and what it looks like. And but do you have anything else for that you want the listeners to know before we sign off?

Brooke Richard:

No. Not really. We appreciate you guys having me. Looking forward to seeing everybody in Memphis. Hopefully, it's not too hot.

Brooke Richard:

Hopefully, there's great parking. We're gonna have a good time. Come out and see us. I don't know what our booth number is, but we're not hard to find. Go to

David Schuessler:

Hall B and look left.

Jimbo Robinson:

That's all you need to know. Well, we appreciate y'all. And to our listeners out there, on behalf David and I, thank you for listening to another episode of the Ducks Unlimited Podcast. We will see you in Memphis for DUX July 31 through August 2, Memphis 2026. Look out for yeast.

David Schuessler:

And them alligators.

VO:

That's a wrap for today's episode of the Ducks Unlimited Podcast brought to you by Bird Dog Whiskey and Cocktails. From post hunt unwinds to celebrations back at camp, Bird Dog delivers award winning flavor to every moment. Enjoy responsibly. Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe, and check out ducks.org/dupodcast for more science, and all things waterfowl. Guest opinions are their own and don't necessarily reflect those of Ducks Unlimited.

VO:

Until next time, stay fired up, stay focused, and stay tuned to the ducks.