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Join us on the Silvercore Podcast as we sit down with Ryan Kohler, a true trailblazer who has transformed the hunting industry. From starting as a bow hunter at 16 to co-founding Wild TV and hosting popular shows like How to Hunt and Bow Zone Live, Ryan shares his journey and passion for the sport.
Discover how he captures the essence of the hunt, creating over 50 shows a year. As a lifetime member of prestigious hunting organizations and with adventures spanning Canada, Russia, Alaska, and beyond, Ryan's expertise and experiences are unmatched. Don't miss this captivating episode that dives deep into the heart of hunting and the wild outdoors. Tune in now!
https://www.instagram.com/ryantkohler/
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The Silvercore Podcast explores the mindset and skills that build capable people. Host Travis Bader speaks with hunters, adventurers, soldiers, athletes, craftsmen, and founders about competence, integrity, and the pursuit of mastery, in the wild and in daily life. Hit follow and step into conversations that sharpen your edge.
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Travis Bader: I'm Travis Bader,
and this is the Silvercore podcast.
Silvercore has been providing its
members with the skills and knowledge
necessary to be confident and proficient
in the outdoors for over 20 years.
And we make it easier for people to deepen
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If you'd like to learn more
about becoming a member of the
Silvercore Club and community,
visit our website at silvercore.
ca.
Today, we have a special guest who has
truly redefined the hunting industry.
He started bow hunting at 16, became
a fly fishing guide at 19 and founded
Wild TV 20 years ago, providing a
platform for hunters to share content and
manufacturers to grow the sport in Canada.
He's the youngest Canadian
host to have a show on the U.
S.
Outdoor Channel with 20 years
of hosting experience on shows
like Outdoor Alive and The Edge.
As the owner of Recall Productions,
he creates over 50 shows a year
capturing the essence of the hunt.
He's a lifetime member of organizations
like Pope and Young, Wild Sheep.
The Alberta Bullhunter Society
with hunting adventures, spanning
Canada, Russia, Alaska, and beyond.
Welcome to the Silvercore podcast, Ryan
Ryan Kohler: Koehler.
Cool.
That was awesome.
I thought that was really good.
I got two in one take, hey, there you go.
No, that's great.
It's so weird to hear all that
stuff, but, um, Yeah, really cool.
I'm happy to be here.
Thanks for having me, Travis.
This is going to be fun.
Yeah.
Well,
Travis Bader: we've been chatting
for a while back and forth.
It's nice to finally be able
to sit down and do this.
And you're in your beautiful
production studio there.
And, uh, I love the fact that you have
all the same, uh, same drama and headaches
and everything that I do, whatever I get,
I'm getting the cameras rolling and the
switchers and the microphones and I'm, uh,
yeah, it feels good to know I'm not alone.
Ryan Kohler: You know what?
You got to have everything right.
Right.
I think we, we tried our best to
make it a good quality for you and
have a little bit of a background
and a mic and everything else.
So what else can you do
except for try your best.
Travis Bader: So bow hunting at 16,
that's where you kind of cut your teeth.
Is it with the bow?
Ryan Kohler: Um, yeah, if you
want to, if you want to look
at it that way, um, the whole.
Like all of wild TV and everything
I've done, it's all started from the
Edmonton bow zone and hunting with
archery equipment in the Edmonton bow
zone and being 16 years old and seeing,
you know, I had a, uh, a couple of
friends that got me into bow hunting.
I, I, my family actually did that.
They don't hunt or fish or anything.
So, uh, my best friend's
dad was a pH from Africa.
So he actually taught us how to hunt.
So when we were little kids,
we got a really good education.
And you know, I remember get my red
station wagon, 1980 red station wagon,
and, and piling into it and finding,
you know, enough money for gas just
to get out into the Amazon bozone and
drive, you know, 10 minutes into, into
this area that had an unbelievable
world class white tail in it.
And we would go in the bush and we would
have no idea what we were doing really.
And instead of, you know, partying
like crazy in 16, 17, 18 on
weekends, I spent a lot of my time.
Um, you know, waking up early in
the morning and getting out in
the dark and sitting in the stand
for an hour and trying to figure
out how to hunt giant whitetails.
And that, that alone, like that
passion alone, I would say, like, if it
wasn't for the whitetail deer, I don't
think Wild TV would be here at all.
Or anything we've done, to be honest.
Yeah.
Well, 100%.
And that's what brings me back
to, to that place every year.
Um, I live there, you know, my heart's
in the hills in the Edmonton bow zone.
Um, And we've, we've recently, like, I
guess we're on season five now for, for
Boson live, that television program,
like I made it like four or five years
ago now, but it was the first program
I really wanted to make when we first
started because Drury Outdoors had
this awesome show and Realtree Outdoors
had this awesome, these awesome, well,
actually it was Realtree Outdoors on TNN.
That was the first time
Canadians had Canadian TV.
I don't know if you remember that far
back, but that was, um, When we watched
Realtree in the morning or Bushnell's
Secrets of the Hunt and stuff like that
was on and and that was just so cool and
they had a team of hunters that would
like work together and they would hunt
together so that that was the original
It Bit of production that I really wanted
to do, but I just didn't have the know
how or the knowledge or the connections
or the relationships, manufacturers, and
all these pieces that took me basically,
you know, 15 years or whatever it is, 15,
18 years before we started Boson live.
So it's kind of like, I had this plan
for the show at the very beginning,
but I never got to do it until, you
know, until four or five years ago.
So it's.
That's a funny one, actually,
that, that, that's how
Travis Bader: it worked.
Well, what planted that
seed to have that plan?
Ryan Kohler: Um, well, like I
said, like the white tailed deer
at the very beginning, I think that
was really what planted the seed.
I started, I had a television
show on the outdoor channel.
I was a, it was a fly fishing and
bull hunting show, uh, 22 years ago.
And we were, I was the youngest
guy in the outdoor channel.
We had that show for a couple
of years and we started learning
how to sell manufacturers, which
is the biggest, biggest, biggest
Piece right is, is getting, uh,
the manufacturers to support you.
And then bringing that back into
Canada, we got the license through
the CRTC for this, for the station.
And then it all kind
of evolved from there.
But if you go back to.
You know, Boson Live, the show we have
right now, which is, is amazing, an
unbelievable live show, um, there's
nothing like it, uh, that, like, that's,
like I said, the original show that I
wanted to make, but couldn't, couldn't,
we had to do all these other pieces of
the pyramid before we could get to a place
where we could do that show comfortably,
because if, to me, it was so special to
make that show, it had to be, it had to
be just perfect with the right people.
And people had to have the right
education in the Edmonton bow zone.
It's like, it's like hunting
in the Bermuda triangle.
It's the weirdest place in the
world to bow hunt white tails.
I think it's one of the hardest places
in the world to bow hunt white tails.
And, um, well, you've got, you
know, animals that live in,
in, in and around subdivisions.
Uh, permission's really hard to get.
These animals are dark to dark.
You know, there are a lot of luck, a
lot of like nocturnal type of activity
that you see, just like any other area.
But, um, You've got the cool
temperatures that kick in.
So you might be hunting in minus
15 to minus 30, depending on
what the weather's going to do.
And then they're really,
they're really wild, right?
Like they're really smart.
They're picking up on scent.
They're picking up on everything that
a normal whitetail would, would pick
up on if you're hunting in different
provinces, but I think that, uh, the
pressure that people put on the area.
It makes them a little smarter.
I mean, I'll even say this.
I would say this, like in the last
little while, I think that the mature
whitetails in the Edmonton boson,
they've figured out the cameras.
Like I'm quite certain of it.
They've figured a hundred percent.
Yeah.
A hundred percent that the smart
ones you get, you get one shot, they
get a picture, you get a picture
and you see a red light or something
happens to that camera, even a noise.
And.
It's 20 yards this way
or 40 yards that way.
They, they just don't use it again.
I, you get dumb ones.
Don't get me wrong.
You will get a dumb one every once in
a while and you'll get lucky, but the
really sharp ones, they can, they're
picking up on all sorts of stuff.
As we evolve with the technology,
I truly believe they are too.
So interesting.
It's pretty,
Travis Bader: it's kind of interesting.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I guess you'd have to, well,
that's one of those things.
Things filming one of these shows
that I guess a lot of people probably
don't consider as you're going all
stealthy and going through there,
you've got a camera person with you.
You've got, uh, maybe audio
people, maybe a crew of people with
you, all tromps and through, and
everyone's going to have to be quiet.
Like that's, that's gotta be
a difficult dynamic to manage.
Ryan Kohler: So with how to
hunt the other show, like I, I
I personally don't always have a
cameraman because it makes it harder.
So with how to hunt, I have a, I have
Corey Cook that I work with and we will
film each other because we're trying to,
for whatever reason, like we've tackled
some of the hardest hunts to film.
Like for a good, a good example
is an Alberta elk hunt in
the deep timber with a bow.
Like it's, yeah.
It's, you can kill, like guys can shoot
elk all over the place and it's a, it's a
fun hunt and it's high level of difficulty
to shoot an elk with any, with any weapon.
But for whatever reason, like these, this
deep timber elk, like you can only see
30, 40 yards in front of you where you
can maybe shoot arrows through areas and
you've got to have everything perfect.
And so we're filming each other.
We don't have a cameraman in that, in that
sense, we might bring a cameraman in for.
A couple of days to get shots of the
manufacturer's products or shots of us.
Just, you know, storyline shots
where you're, you're filming
part of the story for, for TV.
But then when the hardcore hunt
comes, we might have a guy there
for one day, maybe two days.
We, we could be there for 15 days or
20 days, and then we'll just have him
leave and then they won't be there.
And then for.
Uh, but that's, that's just
for my, how to hunt show.
If you look at the edge show with
like Steve Eklund, Joe Pell, like
they have, like they have the most
unbelievable camera guy that Greg
Yelanitsky and he's just such an
amazing human and his, his work is
unbelievable that the camera work and
the edits and everything comes out of it.
Like that's a different looking
show than how to hunt, right.
How to hunt is more raw.
And then you have Boson live where
I literally am 20 days alone.
There is no camera guy.
They, that's why making that show is.
is so difficult because
you don't have camera guys.
You have regular guys
that I've found that live.
Inside the Edmonton Bozone
that literally cut their teeth.
They do everything they can in their
power to, to help make that show amazing.
And they donate their time and it's 20
days or 30 days, or even more really,
when you look at, when you start
thinking, you know, early September
scouting and all the way through October
and to pre rut and then into, into
November where they're, they're, they're
hunting every day, if they can, you
know, and, um, that's all done alone.
So.
It's all done with camera arms, it's
all done with GoPros, and anything else
you can get your hands on that films.
Some guys have three or four different
setups going, and it's pretty cool
to see what they can, what they
come out with when they send, when
they hand in the cards for the day.
So we'll hand in cards for the day, it'll
go to the edit suite, we'll edit it, and
then bang, it's on the air for Boson Live.
So it's, it's really, really cool.
Unbelievable the way we do it.
So what's
Travis Bader: the pressure like if
you're, you got your own show and I,
and things have evolved over time.
Now we've got social media and there's
pressure to be successful and you
want to have, you don't want to have
a show of somebody just walking around
in the bush all by themselves the
entire time, unless you're able to
have a compelling story out of that.
A lot of people would tune in because
Like traditionally the hunting show, they
want to see the hunter be successful.
What, what's that like to manage
for stress level, for expectations,
for the consumer, for the viewer.
Um, can you talk about that a bit?
Ryan Kohler: Yeah, I can.
Um, I think that when you first
start into the hunting industry,
whether you're, well, this is what
it was, how it worked for me anyways.
Like when you, when we first started
doing it, I had a lot of pressure.
I felt a lot of pressure where you had
to, you know, get a kill for the show.
Like I really felt that and then um, as
you, you know, As you age, I suppose, you
get a little smarter, and your hunting
tactics get a lot better, and your, um,
the places you go, you know, you get
smarter on the decision making on where
you go and when you go, and I think
that that levels up you as a hunter.
Um, especially when you want to do well
for the manufacturers and show that you've
done a good job and then you want to
get an ethical, clean kill for the show.
So I would say that pressure's off
me a lot, a lot less than it was.
So at the beginning, um, it was
always, always, but we needed to kill.
We needed to kill.
We needed to kill.
Now, I think the kills just kind of come
because you're more prepared and you're,
you know, where to go and you know what
you're doing and it just, it changes.
I think that hunting.
As like a good example, we would
be, I always like to say this like
outfitter guides, like they, they
hunt so much during a season, right?
So if you're an out, an outfitter
guide for elk, you're hunting like
30 days, and if you're not, you're
hunting maybe a week or a weekend every
year for three weekends or something.
And so you level up to a professional
level pretty fast when you're doing
shows because you're doing it every
day, like a guide or an outfitter,
or maybe you're with two or three
guide outfitters during the season.
So, so you're putting in just.
Just more time.
And I think more time into the wild places
like that, when you're trying to, you
know, you're going hunting and harvesting,
then you're going to get better at it.
So it's the pressure would be
less, less pressure now than
it would be when I was younger.
For sure.
I thought that was the key to
everything, but really a good story.
We'll, we'll, we'll crush any,
any kill at the end of the day.
Right.
Good story, good story, good characters,
and you can do an unbelievable show.
I was
Travis Bader: talking
with Mark Kenyon about it.
And he says, you know, I
tried going that route.
I tried, you know,
it's, it's a clear path.
If you want to be famous on Instagram
and social media, and you always
got the hero shots and you're
always making the successful hunt.
And he says, but it wasn't me.
And I wasn't being honest to myself.
And he says, the second he started showing
some of his failures and the second he
started talking about the things that
he was feeling close to his heart, he
Um, all of a sudden, everything that
he was trying to pursue by following
this, this model of being the hero
hunter was just coming naturally.
And he says he got way more people
interested and, and, um, wanted to
learn more about what it was he did
just by being brutally honest about it.
Ryan Kohler: Yeah, I think people love
it when I miss like it when it goes
to, when it comes to social media,
I always look at your engagement.
I think, I think that's
the most important piece.
So if I have whatever, 15, 000
followers, but my engagement is super
high on all the posts, like I find that
there's way more value in that than
just having, if I have half a million
followers, but nobody really sees it.
Talks to me or engages
in the, in all the posts.
And what do you really have?
You don't really have anything.
Right.
So I know for sure, like if I, I
have, there's a video of me missing
this giant white tail at 20 yards
and he ducks the arrow and it's in
the snow and it's a beautiful scene.
It's an unbelievable video.
And people love that.
They love that.
Right.
Any mess or anytime.
Um, any, anything that happens in the
video where there's a little bit of
controversy or earlier mess or you're,
you're fall down the mountain and
you're hurt or anything like that.
That's real.
I think people like, I think
people even like it too.
If you just, you wake up in the morning
and you're showing them the, that you're
normal and you're having a coffee and
a workout and your kids are going crazy
or whatever, and you got to take them to
hockey and it's just, you know, everybody
like the normal part of your life.
I think that's.
I think
Travis Bader: that's good too.
Yeah.
There's a relatability to it.
You're not just some
person that's out there.
You're, you're somebody that
you can relate to that is doing
the same thing that I'm doing.
You're feeling the same pains.
How, where do you see, I mean,
we're, we're watching things evolve.
We're seeing shows like a meat
eater in the States that took off
like crazy and, uh, gotten, gotten
a lot of eyes on, um, On hunting
and fishing and outdoor pursuits.
Where, where do you see the future of
hunting in the social sphere kind of
moving towards, because at the same
time, we're also seeing social media
giants like Meta clamping down on,
if there's a picture of a firearm in
the photo or, um, or anything that
deems to be politically unacceptable.
Ryan Kohler: Yeah, I can relate to that.
I think Meta tried to shut
me down yesterday, which is.
For what?
Cause I had bears.
I think it was a bear hunt.
Hmm.
They don't like the bear hunts.
Most people are like, you know, I'm
like, what's your favorite bear?
Polar bear, grizzly bear, black bear.
And they say gummy bear.
I don't know.
It's sure.
But, uh, if I was going to say
where it's headed, I mean, a hundred
percent to the apps, um, the apps
are pretty super powered right now.
There's, there's a few out there and.
They're, they're gonna be much
better in the next couple of years.
You're going to have apps that
have all the content in them.
It'll have social content in them.
It'll have like, a good example would
be like your Onyx stuff in there.
Like you'll have, you'll be able to
put all your plots and everything.
You'll be able to have
weather inside them.
You'll be able to load all your
photos and communicate with
their hunters through them.
I think that.
Um, they're on the way to a place
where you have, you know, one, probably
one single awesome hunting app.
And it's just, it's just super
powered with everything in it.
I think that's kind of
where it's probably headed.
Interesting.
You know,
Travis Bader: yeah, yeah, that it
would be interesting, the amount of
apps that we have that are kind of
dominating, like you talk about on
X or I hunter, like all these little
tools that people start bringing out.
I'm wondering if there's going to be.
A bit of a resurgence,
um, away from technology.
Like you see more and more people wanting
to go out and film and you see more
people wanting to be on social media and
show their fish or show their process.
And there seems to be.
Um, I wonder if that's
going to get saturated.
And if people are going to want to
find a different way to get mentorship,
like, is there a way to blend
technology with boots on the ground,
uh, mentorship that you could see?
Because that, that would be where I would
see a real need, a real need for people.
Cause the hardest thing for
those following you, if they're
brand new is they want to learn,
they want to see how you do it.
And maybe it's going to be a
little different in your area.
Yeah.
Ryan Kohler: Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, you can only hope
you can only hope, right?
Like for me personally, I mean, we'd
like to take the phones and put them
in a plastic bag and chuck them in
the river, like, and then get people
outside learning on how to do the
wild things either on their own, or, I
mean, I don't know if technology, like,
that's a good question to be honest,
because Like with my kids, I can just
talk about my kids, I suppose, is, is
like, I like to take them shed hunting.
I like to teach them how to hunt.
They're athletes.
They're on their phones enough where,
you know, it's, it's harder for me to get
them to do these things and to learn the
way that I learned, which was like just
really a wild way, like Chuck, Chuck them
in the pool and have them learn, right.
If people are trying to learn today
through technology and getting to
low, getting to understand, to know,
like the tips that I have or say
like any of the unbelievably super.
Incredibly smart hunters that
are across Alberta and all across
Canada, which there's a lot, right?
There's some really, really
educated, super smart guys out there.
Um, you know, I think that like,
you know, you're still going to
video, whether it's YouTube or
Instagram or whether it's an app.
Um, and like I said before, I think
it's all going to come together.
I think it's all going to be
pulled together into one place.
I think that's where it's, it's headed.
Cause right now it's so segmented, right?
There's all this stuff all over.
And so.
And, and that's, I think, like, that's
the point that, that I'm trying to make.
The point that I guess we're trying
to make with our app is our app has
got 20 years of content and it's
our 20th anniversary right now.
We've got 20 years of video in
there that you can look back on.
We've got a lot of opportunity
to put like live in there.
Our streaming live is, is in there.
But in the back end, behind the
scenes, like we're working on
building exactly what I said to you.
We're working on building something
that you can pull anything into.
So whether it's your podcast or
whether it's, it's like the Onyx app.
Having everything inside one, one place
for people to go and educate themselves.
Hmm.
I, I do know that it's tough to
get the education in the wild.
Um, and I think that I touched
on it a little bit earlier,
unfortunately, like I really,
truly believe that it's time spent.
Yes.
And no matter how much video you
watch, no matter how many podcasts
you listen to, no matter, no matter
how much you YouTube, you do.
Um, like you're, you're not going to
beat, you know, three weeks in elk camp.
You just, you just can't do it.
That's why dragging the kids out
there, I think is so important, right?
Making sure that they're out in
the wild and learning those things.
So, so I guess my answer would be, um,
you can't beat the real thing and the
real thing trumps all and more time in
the real thing is really going to be how
you get the most knowledge for, for any,
anything I think at the end of the day.
Right.
Putting in your time, your
10, 000 reps, I suppose.
Yeah, I agree with you.
It comes down.
It comes down to that for me, it does
anyway, because I felt a real change.
I feel like, I feel like there
had, there's a real change in the
way I hunt and the way I think,
and the way I do things over time.
Like I think time really makes you
a better outdoorsman at the end
of the day, you become smarter and
better at what you're doing, just
like anything else, I suppose.
Travis Bader: Now you can't
fast track this process.
This is something that time is the
process of learning happens over a
long period of time and, but there's
always that common question let's.
Pretend for a second that you
could fast track that process.
If you were to look back at young
Ryan, what are some tips that you
would turn around and give them?
Maybe save some pain and heartache.
Ryan Kohler: I don't know.
I think you have to go through
the pain and the heartache, man.
I don't think you can see, I think there's
an arcing, a hunt, a hunt arc, right?
So I think you start.
Um, you know, where you're, you're kind
of hunting everything, like you get
your, your bow, your rifle, and it's
like, I'm going to shoot every squirrel,
every porcupine, every deer, everything,
everything, everything, everything.
And then, and then you kind of go, uh,
okay, I'm going to be selective, and
I'm going to start shooting poponyongs,
or I'm going to try to get, you know,
animals that are big enough where
I can feel like I got an awesome
trophy, or maybe a big enough bow.
Loose because it's got lots of meat or
whatever kind of turns your crank and then
and then I think you get to a point Where
you're like, I'm only gonna shoot the
perfect thing And so you shoot a lot less
things and then you go full circle you
go I got to get somebody else And maybe
it's a son or maybe it's a nephew and I'm
gonna take them out for the first time
and then you get to relive Like I'm gonna
shoot every squirrel and every porcupine
and deer And I think there's like there's
an an arc to hunting where you're kind
of in this little circle I found Um,
but as far as telling myself, giving
myself tips, I think be patient would be
the biggest thing, would be slow down.
Be patient, pay attention a little more.
Um, don't sweat it.
Don't start overthinking everything.
I think, um, over overthinking is
probably the worst thing you can do.
Thoughts aren't thinking as
that's a Joel Turner quote.
Actually he's, I had him up in the
Edmonton Bozon and, uh, he was just
on the Joe Rogan show actually,
and he's an unbelievable guy
and thoughts aren't thinking was
the coolest thing he said to me.
So I'd say that to myself for sure.
Slow down the.
Slow down the thinking.
Yeah, because what are thoughts, right?
Most of the time, they're just
bouncing around in there like crazy and
they're not doing you that much good.
So maybe start with the, the, the
thinking and the, the, the truth.
Thoughts
Travis Bader: and thinking.
I like that one.
I'm going to use that one.
So, you know, you're saying
recently almost got shut down by
Metta for being on a bear hunt.
I can only imagine in your
industry and what you're doing
that this is an ongoing problem.
Process that you're always having
to navigate the, uh, restrictions
or people logging in and saying, how
could you, you're going to have people
who are behind you and support you.
And you're going to have, you
know, the bigger you get, you're
going to have both sides on there.
How are you finding the, um, the
haters dealing with the haters and
dealing with the, uh, social influence?
Ryan Kohler: We, we really
don't get much like it's not,
it's not what you would think.
Um, uh, the, the only time.
We get a little bit of backlash would
be if, if I turn the channel on to
a free view, so like it's free for
everyone right across Canada on bell
and star choice and tell us, and sorry,
not star choice shot direct and Rogers
and everything else as old, that's old
school that one, but, um, yeah, then
you'd have everybody turning it on.
And if we get, say like an African safari
hunt and somebody thumps an elephant, then
yeah, I'll probably get some emails, but,
um, Other than that, I think Canadians are
pretty good, like, to be honest with you,
like I think most Canadians are pretty
good with the fact that hunting is part of
our heritage, it's part of our lifestyle,
and, you know, farmers everywhere do it,
and lots of people do it, you can be a,
I don't know if you're, whether you're
a doctor, or whether you're, you know,
you're on your own, you know, You know,
you could have all these other title
people that may, that, that hunt as well.
Right.
Like I know one of my, like my doctor,
he's a, he's a big time hunter.
He's an awesome guy and great
human and, and hockey players too.
Right.
Like I, we actually take,
I've taken quite a few NHLers.
So you know, There's people from all
different walks of life that hunt.
And I think Canadians, I think Canadians
know that I don't get too much backlash
unless we do something that's, I mean, if
you do something, I suppose illegal, then
we're in a different conversation, right?
Then, then I think that.
Um, you're probably done like
that's kind of where that goes.
It goes to, to, we take you
off the network completely.
Um, we don't associate with it and we just
say that's kind of the end of the line.
So I think that's probably
where you'd get some, some hate
and that happens pretty fast.
That, that comes from every place.
Travis Bader: Well,
you're a hunting network.
You're not a poaching network.
So that's the thing, you know,
people say, Oh, look at these
hunters and what they did.
They did this illegal thing,
or they did that illegal thing.
Well, no, no, those are poachers.
Those aren't hunters.
If they're doing things unlawfully
intentionally, that's poaching.
So yeah, there's a zero
tolerance for that.
Ryan Kohler: Yeah.
Otherwise, yeah, we don't, we don't
get much, like I really, any, to be
honest, like I don't get, I don't see it.
Maybe one or two a year where
people send something in.
That's telling us we're
nuts, but that's it.
That precludes
Travis Bader: one of the questions that
came up from one of our club members.
They wanted to know how you
guys deal with criticism and
misconceptions about hunting.
But if you're not really getting that
much criticism, maybe misconceptions.
Ryan Kohler: No, no.
No, it's, I think it's the opposite.
Really.
People are asking us how to do it,
where to do it, when to do it, you
know, how do you do everything from
draws to where do you go to get
permission or how do you hunt a moose?
And I don't, we don't get too much hate.
It's just not there.
So
Travis Bader: if they, if they have these
kinds of questions, they just reach out
to you and you're the guy responding or
your, your crew there or what's, how's
Ryan Kohler: that work?
Yeah, I can.
I'm, I'm pretty easy to get, um, my email.
You could probably find it on the
internet pretty easy or, or at Ryan T.
Kohler on Instagram, you can get
me and ask me any question anytime,
anytime you want, I answer every
question a hundred percent for sure.
And if it comes in through the, through
the station, then, um, Unless there's
somebody that's better equipped to answer
it than me, then they would answer it.
But if, if it's something that I can help
and answer with, I'm happy to answer it.
Like, we're happy to, we're happy
to help grow everything too, right?
Like, if there's someone that's a
producer, that's filming, that wants to,
you know, try to grow a bigger brand and
get on TV, then, you know, especially
Canadians, like, we're really, really,
um, proactive trying to help them get
that, uh, That vision on, on television,
because I think that's the best part
of our network is we're a little, we're
a little bit different than all the
other networks in the sense that we
have a lot of Canadian content, a lot of
Canadians trying to bring you Canadian TV.
And what do you relate more to if
I'm living in Alberta and I see an
Alberta Whitetail show, I love it.
Right.
And if you're, if you're in, um, New
Brunswick or, or Newfoundland and
you see a moose show and then the
Tuckamore, like you love it, right?
So I think that people relate to
what they can, they can access.
And that's.
Really important to us and really
important to us to bring to the viewers.
So Canadians are the shit, man.
I want to have as many Canadians as we can
making content, bring it to the network.
It's, it's so important and
it makes us different too.
We're different, right?
Like we're not American.
We don't speak and talk and look American.
We speak and talk and look Canadian.
So why not just stick with that?
Hey
Travis Bader: buddy, hey guy.
Um, yeah, so far Canadians.
Um, so some of the people listening
to this are going to be, you know,
Individuals who want to get into
the content creation, uh, industry.
What would you be looking for in an
ideal person that you'd want to be having
showcased through, uh, through your
Ryan Kohler: place?
And I, I don't think
there's an ideal person.
I would, I would say that doesn't exist.
I would say the more unique and
different you are is going to probably
make you better right off the bat.
Um, and whatever you're super passionate
about, you're Should come through and
if, whether it's, whether it's a species
of animal or whether it's, um, something
that you do in the wild, it could be, it
could be, you know, like you have, you
live in Northern Alberta and, uh, in a
little home somewhere with your family
and you're just surviving on wild things
like on mushrooms and whatever else like.
That, that to me is, is
amazing and entertaining.
Um, you could be an archer, an
amazing archer or something like that.
Like, I think that, that the scope
is pretty, pretty, pretty broad.
So you don't have to be
an expert hunting guy.
I think you just have to be
someone that likes wild things.
Yeah.
Be, be pat that that's the biggest thing.
And, and.
Uh, if you're super passionate, I
can give you a quick story about
Steve Eklund, because that's
what he was like when he came in.
He came in the office, because I
used, I used to host The Edge, and
then I basically passed it to Steve.
And he ran with it, and he's
done unbelievable things.
But when I first met him, he
was, he was so passionate.
I asked him what he wanted to, to do.
You know, be and do, and he's
like, I'm going to be the next Jim
Shockey without like flinching.
And I don't think anybody
can be Jim Shockey.
Let's put it that way.
Nobody will ever be Jim Shockey, but
he was so passionate and he was so
intense about his answer that I knew
as soon as he answered me that way,
I'm like, this guy's not joking.
Like he's actually, he
actually thinks he can do it.
And so you get behind that.
Yeah, you get behind that, right?
That's something you get behind.
So when somebody calls and
they're passionate about.
Whatever it might be, whether it's a
species or a fishing thing, or it can
be, um, you know, just woodworking or
something or chainsawing animals into
little crafts or something like just,
that's all you need is a real passion.
And then obviously you're going to need.
You know, some sponsorship and
that'll be the business side where
you have to get into the business
Travis Bader: side.
So that's the, that's probably
the toughest piece of the puzzle.
The hardest part to crack because
sponsorship, most people have no
idea how to get into that, where
to start, what the value is of
what it is that they're providing.
Um, it's gotta be something that you
probably struggle with still to this
day is, uh, uh, is that, but I'm
sure you've got sort of the large
brushstrokes kind of figured out.
How do, how do, how do people
look at approaching that?
What would you suggest?
Ryan Kohler: Well, I think
there's two ways to do it.
There's the old school way, pick up the
phone and just start working, right?
Like, I mean, that's at the end
of the day, it's a sales job.
You're selling yourself.
You're selling your passion.
You're selling what you love.
You got to be able to grind
it out like anything else.
You just got to do the work.
That, that would be, that'd
be the, the answer really.
At the end of the day, you can go through,
you just got to, you got to grind it out.
You got to do the work
and it might take a year.
It might take two years.
You just don't give up and
you keep working at it.
That, that's, that is the
answer at the end of the day.
But I think that today, because of
social media, you can prove that passion.
On let's say an Instagram account,
account, or a Tik TOK account.
And that will help you
in those, in those calls.
I think, I think if you're, if you
are truly passionate enough about
something, you're going to make truly
unique content on social and that truly
unique content will hit an algorithm
and that will help you get started.
I believe in that.
I think that would be
something that you would do.
You know, if I had to start over and I
had nothing, that's, I would start, I
would start somewhere in those places
and then build that up and I'd have to
have something unique and different.
And, and then from there you could, you
know, start trying to sell yourself.
You're essentially selling yourself
in that or your idea or your story.
Right.
So.
But it's like anything else.
I mean, if you want to be a
marathon runner, you're going
to have to run a lot, right?
You're going to have to work hard.
If you want to be a hockey player, like
you're going to have to work hard at it
every single day, and you're going to have
to find every way to, to be different.
And you're going to have to, um, work
behind the scenes when no one's watching
and, and just kick ass along the way.
And I, that's, that's it.
It's like, it's just.
It's good old hard
Travis Bader: work, man.
I agree.
You know, the people that I see that are
successful in what they do in seeking
out sponsorship or being able to live
a lifestyle where they can, uh, afford
what it is they need in order to be
able to get by and still do the thing
that they're extremely passionate about.
None of these people start out that I'd
seen start out saying, okay, so I need X
amount of money and here's the sponsors.
I'll just keep looking
for one that fits a bill.
And then I'll, I'll kind of
work my way backwards from that.
I've never seen it work that way.
Maybe it does.
The ones that I've seen successful
are the ones that work from,
I'm passionate about it.
And I would do this, whether you're paying
me or not, and they're selective about
the people that they want to work with.
And it's a relationship and that
relationship I found is easier
to start if both parties have
skin in the game, not a problem.
You don't have to pay me anything.
How about you just loan me some
kit and I'll use it for a few
things and I'll, I'll, I'll use it.
And if I'm happy with it, I'll
tell other people about it.
And you'll see kind of if
that's worthwhile to you or not.
And I found that approach to sponsorship,
um, a way more effective way.
Okay.
Ryan Kohler: I, I, I, I, I agree.
I guess like our origin story is
sort of along those lines too.
Um, you know, when I started wild TV,
I was working in an unfinished basement
in Calgary, sleeping on a sleeping
bag on a shitty old bed, and, uh,
And with a poker table full of like
all the TV shows on the poker table.
We had no staff.
We didn't know really how to do much,
except for make one TV show that we
had made for the outdoor channel.
And then, um, did
Travis Bader: you still have
the, we got the licenses?
Did you still have the station wagon?
Ryan Kohler: Uh, no, I, oh man, the car I
had then, if I remember the name of it, it
was this little, I can't believe it ran.
The oil was like spitting out of
the tail of the, the, of that thing.
Like constantly on a.
Daily basis.
I was working for an advertising
agency, so selling ads, um,
but doing this on the side.
And then, um, I met a guy by the name of
Scott Sterling, who still works for us.
And I gave him a pair of sheds.
I traded him a pair of
sheds to build me a website.
So he built the first wild TV
website with a pair of sheds.
And then we started working on it.
And.
I had, uh, we built these servers, we
put all the content in these servers,
and then we went to Saskatchewan
Access Communications to launch
Wild TV for the first time, but
we had no idea what we were doing.
We had a camper, we went there, and Scott
walked in and plugged this thing into
their big head end and tried to make it
work, and we sat there for 15 minutes
going like, I have no, I have no idea
Travis Bader: how to do this.
I could literally picture Scott
Ryan Kohler: doing that.
Yeah, yeah, it's really funny.
He's sweating bullets, and
he's just pressing buttons.
Not a clue, but we worked for a
couple years before, you know,
uh, We ever got to that point, and
we worked for a couple years just
selling commercials for a dollar.
The first SHOT Show I went to,
I slept in the basement of the
Flamingo, because we couldn't,
like, we couldn't afford the rooms.
How
Travis Bader: do you sleep
in the basement of the
Ryan Kohler: Flamingo?
They have these super shitty, they
had these crazy rooms down there where
they were like really cheap rooms.
And like me and Scott and a couple
of guys were all in this one room.
Like I slept on the floor of
the hotel at my first shot.
So I think I've done like 13 or 14
shot shows and that was the first one.
And then we, we, um, and then when I was
there, like the first couple of years,
like I would tell people about wild TV
at like a Edmonton Bolton sportsman show.
And they would say like, No way.
Like you're crazy.
There's no way you can do this.
And I'd say the name and they'd
be like, that's a terrible name.
Like, I remember the people specifically
that told me today, like, Oh yeah.
And I remember, um, you know, the
network saying like hunting on TV.
Like, no way.
Like, Shaw, no way.
Like, tell us, no way.
Like, you know, Bell, Expressview,
these guys are like, no chance.
This is, we're never
putting a moose kill on TV.
Like, so we had a couple years
of real challenges where we
had to grind it out, right?
You had to work really
hard and grind it out.
And, um, I remember the year
I was at the SHOT Show and I
slept on the basement floor.
Uh, a guy by the name of Bob Walker,
he used to own Walker's Game Gear.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So this is like 19, 18
years, 18 years ago probably.
And basically he was like the
gangster of the hunting industry.
He, he was, he was the shit.
Like he, he knew every single player.
He was, he was big time.
He really was like a gangster to me.
And so when I was there,
I was this young guy.
I was really had tons of energy.
I'd, I'd go to every single booth.
Like my feet would be bleeding.
Cause if you've been to shot show and
you try to go to all the booths, like
you're running everywhere and, and,
uh, I literally had bleeding feet.
Like, um, that's not even a joke.
And, um, And, but he, he, I was really
lucky with him because when I told him
our story about Canada and bringing all
these shows to Canada and bringing all
the manufacturers to Canada through the
station, like, he really believed in it.
And so, Um, he actually, he actually
took me from booth to booth.
So he like put me under his arm and
walked me to all the top players.
And he's like, Hey, let me introduce you.
My friend, Ryan, this is my friend, Ryan.
He's got this idea for
this thing in Canada.
And so he like really introduced
me to a lot of the top
manufacturers 18 or 20 years ago.
And that, that was, that was key.
That was really, really helpful.
And another guy that was
really, really helpful.
Key would have been, I
mean, Jim Shockey, right?
Like Jim Shockey put, when I called
him the first time and he still
wasn't Jim Shockey, like, you know,
he was 20 years ago, Jim Shockey.
So like he was selling DVDs and, and, uh,
and I said like, I'm going to do this.
And he was like, I'm all in, I'm
going to send you everything I got.
And so like every, I had all the
tapes of his, and it was just
like this crazy pile of tapes.
And then we started putting it into
the schedule and building it all up.
And, and Jim was really helpful that way.
Right.
So, but there was so many people that
helped, uh, create it and put it together.
My brother worked day and
night on the back end, like
the, the putting content in.
And like, I think he worked for
three months without like eating.
And then, and then my dad would do,
um, do Would do like the high end, like
carriage deals with the Shaw and Bell
and that stuff, and then eventually
I would take all that kind of over.
But, um, yeah, we had many years,
like we sold, I was saying, like we
sold commercials for a dollar at the
very beginning, like it was a buck, 1.
Travis Bader: And why, tell me
why you did it for a dollar.
I think I know why you did it
for a dollar, but you tell me.
Well, just cause
Ryan Kohler: we just wanted to get a
business, like we were at SHOT Show
and, and you got to remember too,
um, like I would work 16 hours a day.
And it wouldn't faze me ever because it
was always exciting for me the whole time.
Like if I'm going and I'm going to
go meet like the guys at Primos.
Like I'm not gonna, I'm
not gonna lie to you.
Like I'm so pumped.
Like I'm freaking out.
I'm meeting the Bushnell people, Primos.
I'm meeting, um, like the Realtree
guys at first, like Bill Jordan.
Like I'm, I'm meeting all of these
hunting manufacturers, like Hornady,
like, and I'm, I'm like, I'm freaking out.
Like I'm scared.
I'm pumped.
I can't believe I'm talking to them.
Like.
It's all totally unbelievable.
So for me, it wasn't that hard
because it was so much fun and I could
work like 12 hours, 16 hours a day.
It would never be like work.
So if I had a competitor, if I had
a competitor that was doing the
same thing and you know, they'd
come home after eight hours and be
like, Oh, I worked so hard today.
Like I would just crush
that competitor because.
It was, it was never like
work, if that makes sense.
It totally
Travis Bader: makes sense.
It's the, the guy who's
running races, right?
Cause he wants to get medals, right?
Maybe a better story would
be, um, uh, what was it?
Uh, the Wright brothers.
You've heard the story
of the Wright brothers.
So they, um, uh, Wilbur and what is it?
Jonathan Wright, who flew
the first plane, right?
Ryan Kohler: Yeah, I know the,
I know they got the planes.
Right.
So what did they
Travis Bader: have?
They had a bicycle factory and they're
playing around with different designs,
trying to make these things fly and
spending every dime that they had,
and they had a real passion for it.
At the same time, the government, uh,
US government had top researchers and
engineers, and there's a bunch of money,
but at times there's one group and there's
one individual in particular to go out and
make a plane, make something that can fly.
Sure.
And it didn't matter how
much money they threw at it.
They, this guy wasn't able to be the
first person to have, to make a plane.
And the second that the Wright brothers
got the plane up and go on, he quit.
He's, he's not interested anymore.
And the reason the Wright brothers
are able to do it is because
they had a passion for it.
And they'd be doing this and they
were doing it despite the fact
they weren't getting money for it.
The person who loves to do what it is that
they're doing will always outperform the
person who's doing it for the end result.
Ryan Kohler: Yeah, I believe
in that a hundred percent.
I mean, a hundred percent.
Like, like with the same, it goes
hand in hand with like the bozone back
to that show and hunting whitetails.
Like I will literally
scout 16 hours a day.
I will, I'll go in the truck, I'll drive
around or I'll walk, rub lines or I'll,
I'll do a million different crazy things.
Just so much more that I think most
people are even like willing to
do, or maybe they can't even do it.
They don't have the time they'd
like to, but maybe they don't.
Like, I think putting in that time
and energy, that's what makes it, uh,
the success at the end of the road,
a little easier, maybe, I guess.
Like, it's just, just, I can just do more.
I'm just a psycho that way.
I just get, I like full ADHD.
Well, I was going to bring that
Travis Bader: up.
I mean, you mentioned it
before, before we got on here.
I know a thing or two about that.
Ryan Kohler: Yeah.
If you're like, if you're just, I
just, I hyper focus on things, right?
So, and like competitive,
it's, it's in my bloodstream.
So as soon as, as soon as there's some
competition, like I really, I really
wake up if things, if, if there isn't
competition or if something, someone's
not attacking me in some way, Way in
the business is just going smoothly.
Like I fall asleep.
But as soon as, as soon as there's, as
soon as there's chaos, you know, I, I
like to say that there's opportunity
and chaos, always opportunity chaos.
And I really get going.
I really get going for competition.
Like when sportsmen's Canada came into
Canada, into Canada, like I was like,
let's go, let's go, this is going
to be, and I, and I, I can honestly
say at this point now that there's,
there really is no competition.
Like we have done such a good job to, to.
To just absolutely crush the US side.
I can say that without worrying
about it because there's so many
areas that we do such an unbelievable
job and we do it for the producers
on our network and the Canadians
watching and every, everybody else.
That's part of, of the.
Of the network, I suppose, but that's
where, that's where I get going.
That's what fires me up.
Like, give me some,
Travis Bader: you need that competition.
Yes, there is opportunity in, in chaos
at one person to say, I was like,
how can I feel so comfortable when
everything around me has fallen apart?
When everything is in chaos.
I'm centered, I'm focused.
I'm, this is where I
feel most comfortable.
And this person said, well, maybe it's
because your outside environment is
now matching your inside environment.
What's going on in your head?
Yeah,
Ryan Kohler: that's a good one.
I like
Travis Bader: that.
Okay.
Maybe.
And they said, maybe you should work
on calming down the inside environment.
So you can feel that same sort of comfort
without everything having to be falling.
Yeah.
All the wheels falling off.
That
Ryan Kohler: goes back to
thoughts aren't thinking.
Thoughts aren't thinking.
That's right.
And that's, that actually
works so well in shooting.
Because that's his, that's one of his,
I mean, for me, um, I learned so much
from, from Joel on how to shoot better.
And that was one of the things that
really stuck with me, but that would
be, this is a whole different podcast.
If you wanted to get into like
this, the, the, the shooting
stuff that I learned from Joel.
But.
To give you an example, when he left,
I was shooting a barebow, so no sights,
a compound barebow with no sights.
I was shooting a deer at
40 yards, like, in the eye.
Which I couldn't do before.
No kidding.
Like, let me, let me get this, like,
I, I can shoot, I'm not a 3D guy.
I shoot animals for a living, and, and
I've practiced a lot at that, so I think
you do that enough, you get better at it.
Right?
But, and then, but Joel Turner
came and he, he is Wayne Gretzky.
So
Travis Bader: what did he do?
What did he, how did he
flip that switch for you?
Ryan Kohler: Oh my God.
Um, there's so much to it.
He's got a course online.
Um, and for me, it would be in depth for
me to try to give you, The details on what
he does on this podcast would be too hard.
It's an, I would say you have to be
able to know the difference between
open loop and closed loop shooting.
And, um, that you need to do some
research on, go listen to Joe
Rogan's podcast with Joel Turner.
He's going to tell you, get onto
any of the stuff that he's got on
social media, he's going to tell you.
Um, I was an open loop shooter
in the Edmonton bow zone because
the environment that we hunt in
is always, there's, there's a lot
of chaos going on and to try to.
Have these animals sit still so
you can shoot a closed loop shot.
Closed loop basically is keeping
that thought processed on the target,
I suppose, making sure that you're
doing like proper steps through the
process and you're not allowing those
thoughts in because those thoughts
are what creates that target panic.
And so you're just using the thinking part
to make sure that you do a perfect shot.
So, um, Yeah, that's a big question
and and I'll be honest with you I
am not like there's there's so many
good archers and good hunters Like I
was saying before that I I would say
that I'm not like amazing at this.
I work at it I need to work at it more
and the more I work at it the better I'm
gonna be and Joel would probably Give
me a swag and say like it's either you
do it or you don't because it's true
It's either you do it properly or you
don't and if you're if you're if you're
thinking through the process And you're
you're not doing us all their bullshit.
Then you're probably gonna send a perfect
shot or a perfect arrow every time So
it's uh, if you're into it, I would
say look up Look up Joel It's amazing.
It's life changing.
If you have any kind of a target panic or
you have anything that, um, whatever you
want to call it, or you hit the trigger
or you, you, you, you, your heartbeat goes
through your chest and, and you have, you
get panicked out when, you know, a big
moose is coming in, then I would say that
there's nothing better than his program.
It's, it's the best on earth.
Yeah, for sure.
One hundred percent.
The only thing that you could do
that would be close is, you know,
Like I was saying before, what I
do, which is just time, like I could
shoot a big bull moose, no problem.
Anytime I believe I know I can like,
and I'll smoke them because I've shot a
bull moose every year for, I don't know,
for 20 years, like something like that.
There's that old
Travis Bader: saying, right?
It's practice.
Doesn't make perfect practice makes
permanent, perfect practice makes perfect.
So time in doing something
in perfect way, just further
ingrains, perhaps, uh, negative.
Ryan Kohler: Oh, yeah, for sure.
So when I, when Joel came here, I
had what you would call just an ugly
golf swing, but I was good at it.
Like, you know what I mean?
Like it's, it's, I can do it.
You know, I trained myself to have this
ugly archery technique, but like, I'll
tell you what, like I could do it over
time, but, um, but yeah, you're right.
There, there's a, there's
a better way to do it.
There's a smarter way to do it.
All right.
And,
Travis Bader: um, I'm going to have
to check out that stuff by Joel there.
Cause that sounds interesting.
I like that a lot.
Everyone talks about, you hear
it, you'll hear it in hockey.
You'll hear it in sports.
You'll hear it in shooting.
Oh, it's, it's 10 percent physical.
It's 90 percent mental.
And then all the coaches go
out there and they focus on
that 10 percent physical side.
Oh, you got to stand like this
and you got to hold it like that.
Uh, Ryan Stacey's been on the
podcast a number of times and
talk about mental marksmanship.
He's a, uh, six, seven time national
service rifle champion doing great
things in the PRS game right now.
Uh, Linda Miller and Keith Cunningham,
they've been on the podcast.
They wrote a book on mental marksmanship.
That mental piece of the puzzle
is absolutely game changing.
And if Joel's got some, some cool
thoughts and ideas on that, Yeah,
I'll be checking that one out.
Ryan Kohler: Oh, it's game.
It is, it's life changing.
It was for me for sure.
It's, it's unbelievable because you
can, the stuff that he teaches, you
Travis Bader: can apply that
to every aspect of your life.
You can apply it to business.
You can apply it
Ryan Kohler: to, yeah, it's, it's funny.
We've like, he's applied it to like
darts and pool, so he's training the
top athletes in basketball and baseball.
Like he's got really high level customers.
And, uh, the one, the
one he can't get though.
And we're, because we're trying, because
I keep, because I, I have a, a big hockey
family, and we, we just, hockey is like,
Most of my life is spent in an arena.
And, um, because hockey is chaos, that's
a tough, it's the toughest sport to
figure out and he's, he's been trying
and trying and I've sent him all kinds
of hockey IQ stuff and all this trying
to get them plugged in where you can
plug an athlete into this type of, uh,
thinking and, um, And it's, it's the
hardest one that, that hot, it's a tough
Travis Bader: one.
You know, the other piece of the puzzle
that you've alluded to, and you've said
in here, uh, for your business that I'm
picking up and I've seen it in other
businesses as well, it's not what you
know, it's who, you know, so you've got
the passion, you've got all the drive,
you've got all this great technology.
Uh, effort that you're putting into it.
But the second that, um,
you were there with, uh, Mr.
Walker, the gangster fellow taking
you around, you've got somebody on the
inside and these connections that you
make, they don't just happen by chance.
Usually they happen because you're
putting yourself out there and it takes
time to build these relationships.
People tell me, oh,
Trav, it's not personal.
It's just business.
I disagree.
Business is personal.
It's based on relationships.
It's based on trust.
Which takes time to establish.
And I think that your passion that
you had for what you're doing was
contagious and it allowed you to
make some of these connections, which
allows you to get to the next level.
My observation.
That's
Ryan Kohler: true for sure.
Yeah.
I mean, getting to Bob was
probably 500 phone calls in though.
Sure.
That might be the part I left out.
Sure.
Like getting to talk to Bob Walker was
not, not instant, you know, it was.
I remember my little call sheets.
Like I had these little call sheets
and I'd mark down the company and the
phone number and the yes or nos and like
comments and, and like I had lots of them.
So to get to that, to get to that
spot where he walked me around,
that was just the juicy part
of the story I could give you.
But the tough part of the story would,
would be the days and days of days
and days of, of like making phone
calls, like phone call, phone call,
phone call, phone call, phone call.
So yeah, it's just hard work at the
end of the day, but the relationships
you have, you have to get them.
You need them.
And the only way you're going to get them
is just by not being afraid to step out
aside the box and call someone and just
talk about whatever you need to talk
about to try to make a relationship.
I don't even know if I think it's
hard for people to do these days where
they're picking up the phone and not
just going to their phone and texting
or, you know, or going through social or
writing an email, like to me, Um, there's
nothing more personal than a phone call
unless you want to write me a letter.
If you want to write me a letter
on a piece of paper with a
pen, I don't care what it says.
I'm getting back to you.
Totally.
I will get, no, it doesn't matter what
it is, like, I will get back to you.
We actually had a guy write me a letter
that was 40, I think he was 42 or 45
years old that had never written before.
What?
So he wrote, he wrote me his first letter.
Did you frame that was
the first letter he wrote?
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
We have it in the office downstairs.
100%.
It's like super inspiring.
Right.
He's like, I really wanted
to write you a letter.
I watch wild TV.
I learned how to hunt watching wild
TV growing up for the last 15 years.
And I decided that I would.
Go outside the box and make and, and, and,
and like, put myself out there because
I was embarrassed he couldn't write.
Right?
Mm-Hmm.
. But he said he's gonna put himself out
there and he wanted to send it to me.
And, and it was like this
totally crazy inspiring letter.
I mean, it's unbelievable, right?
Like, you get this letter
and you're floored.
Yeah.
For one, you're like, I can't
believe he wrote me a letter.
like, gosh.
And then, and then you realize that.
Um, you know, he put
himself out there, right?
Like, and that's super important to
be able to just step outside, put
yourself out there, every, like, what
did, what are people going to say?
Like you can't write, like, I
mean, that's, that's pretty wild.
That's crazy.
So you gotta be, you just
gotta be brave, right?
You gotta be brave and
just go for it sometimes.
So yeah, I
Travis Bader: agree on
the letter thing too.
You know, we've got one individual.
Belongs to the Silvercore club.
And he renews every year by check.
And we like, we don't accept
checks, but doesn't matter.
This guy will mail in a
check and he always has a
handwritten note and a letter.
And then he does some political
cartoons that he draws.
And it's first time I got this thing
and I had like cartoons and it was all
handwritten and it was, um, I picked
this thing up and I'm looking to see
if there's anything leaking out of it.
And do I want to open this
letter up outside or what?
And, uh, it turned out, uh, nope, just,
um, just a very passionate club member.
And, uh, and I saved those letters too.
You're right.
It, it does stick.
So meeting in person,
calling up, doing a letter.
Yeah, it makes a difference.
Um, so another question
we had from a club member.
Uh, he's new to Alberta and he's like,
what are these bush bucks that all
these Albertans are talking about?
Why do they call them bush bucks?
What does that term all about?
Ryan Kohler: Bush bucks would
probably be like your Northern.
I'm, I'm guessing, uh, bush bucks
are going to be your Northern, like
Alberta whitetails that live in the
bush that maybe never see a person.
I think like we've got enough forest
up here in, in Western and Northwestern
Alberta that you could have, there's spots
that whitetails live and I, I'm quite
certain they can get up to 220, 40 inches.
White tails that have never seen a person.
So I'm guessing he's talking about those.
I think they're pretty hard to hunt
because you, you know, if you're setting
up your tree stand or I suppose a rifle
on it would probably be different.
Um, I don't, I don't hunt bush bucks.
I've, I've dabbled with them.
Um, because they're enormous.
Some, some places have enormous,
super giant bush bucks.
Not every, there's little pockets
of genetics in Alberta that
have these like crazy deer.
And, um, yeah, they're just hard
because if you set up on whatever,
let's say you set up on a scrape
or you find a really good ridge and
you set up on it and you see them
on a camera once, that might be it.
Like it's just so big.
The forest is so big that that
might be it, that you might,
you may never see it again.
And that's been my experience with it is,
um, because it's so big and because they
can travel up to, you know, five miles
or whatever people want to say about
white tail traveling during the rut.
And even their core areas in a bigger
area like that will probably be
even bigger than what I'm used to.
Um, it's just hard to catch up
with them, but I think when you
do, they're, they're dumb as nails.
Like, I don't think they're.
They're not that bright.
Like they're going to
be way less educated.
So if you have rattling horns
or you have the right timing,
you know, timing has to be good.
Um, that's probably the most
important part is timing.
And then, and then any, any type of
calling or anything like that, if he,
if they hear it, like they're coming
because there's not anything else
to come to, you know what I mean?
Like it's like, you know, whale in
the ocean, if there's one whaling
over here, they'd be like, Oh, let's
go, let's, let's, let's hang out.
Right.
So you, you got a big space of, of.
And I'm not an expert on it though.
I, I would say that there's probably
more to it than that for sure.
There's probably, you
know, Albert Outfitters.
That would be in that area that hunt
that area that would have really good
techniques to, to kill those deer.
Um, I don't pretend to know what they are.
And like I said earlier, and I'll
say it a million times, like I'm
not the best hunter in the world.
There's so many hunters
that are way better.
And there's so many that are
good, especially in Alberta,
there's different species, right?
We've got Rocky mountain sheep
all the way down to antelope.
So.
You've got this like giant expertise
right across the board on all the species.
And when you get into different
species, you'd get into different,
you learn more stuff, right?
The more you, the more you learn,
the better you get, I guess.
Travis Bader: So your biggest thing
that you're looking for is, well,
number one, you just said timing.
Timing would be one of the
most important things for you.
Timing for sure.
And what are you looking for in that?
Is there, do you also
follow salunar phases?
Are you looking for, uh,
quick shifts in weather?
Um,
Ryan Kohler: I would be proof of life
first, a hundred percent proof of life.
I don't pretend to hunt anything.
If I don't have proof
of life on it, then no.
I'm not guessing.
Like I, I, I, at this point, that's why
I said I think it makes a big difference
between where you go, when you go.
And you should know
what you're going after.
If you don't, then you should at least
have an idea that there's something there.
So that's where your game
cameras would come in.
They help with proof of life.
Um, or you're going to just, you know,
scout and watch and, and drive around
and cruise around and look like,
I mean, Whitetails are going to go
mostly, if they can, they're going to
go to some type of food source, right?
Somewhere.
So if you can watch that food
source with spotting scope or
binoculars, then you should be
able to get proof of life that way.
Or, or, you know, if you have
well placed game cameras, I think
game cameras are, are very tricky.
I think you can take, you know, 60
game cameras and put them in a section
of land and you could have two big
bucks that never get their picture.
Mm hmm.
Like I think you could there's I I don't
think that I actually I know that because
I've tried it so You'd be amazed at at At
what is there that you don't know is there
and that's why proof of life is important.
And then not just proof of life,
but proof of some type of truth.
Travel routes or some type of activity
that like something they've done.
And if you can't get it, like if you see
an animal, then at least try to follow
it through a scrape line or a rub line.
Or I think the information gathering
is super important if you can get
information and you want a lot of it.
Um, either you're, or you just get
lucky, which is also awesome because the
experience with either one is, I think,
just as high quality, like getting lucky
is just amazing and doing all the work
and killing something that you're after
is, is, is different, but it's also just
as equally amazing or even just getting
out and filling your freezer with meat.
Like they're all equally amazing to me.
Not, none of them is, is a, as
a, at a higher level than the
other at the end of the day.
It's just, where are you in that arc?
Funny, the
Travis Bader: harder I
work, the luckier I get.
Interesting how that works.
Ryan Kohler: Yeah.
Yeah.
That's, that's it.
Yeah.
That's the, that's the.
So
Travis Bader: what, what are some of
the, in your opinion, what are you
seeing as some of the, uh, more pressing
challenges as well as opportunities that
are facing our hunting community today?
And would you have any thoughts
on how we can address this?
Ryan Kohler: Uh, the challenges that
are facing our hunting community today.
Um, well, I mean, you're always going
to be faced with, you know, government
changes on, on laws and regulations
on whether they're putting down new
regulations on sheep hunts or whether
they're putting down regulations on a
grizzly bear hunt in BC or the, some kind
of CWD thing that might happen with deer.
That are like, I think you're, You're
always going to be faced with the
fact that like our industry is,
and our culture and what we do is
like a grain of sand on the beach.
We're, we're, we're small.
So if you don't have organizations
like Wild Sheep Foundation, the Beard
Bowl Hunters Associations right across
Canada, or like the SCIs and like these
organizations that are helping fight,
um, against the laws and regulations that
would stop us from doing what we love,
then you're, you're probably going to be
in big trouble if you don't pay attention.
Right.
So our voice is loud if we
speak up, but if we don't,
then things can get taken away.
I think, especially as, you know, as
our world changes and the way it's
changing now with, Just the way different
people like to live their lives.
And you know, whether it's people
living in a different country and
looking in on what we're doing, like
somebody in Europe in a building
downtown and saying like, Hey, you're
shooting a deer, you're brutal and bad.
And, and everybody has their opinion,
but at the end of the day, you know,
we have to speak up for our culture,
I think, and just be loud about it.
Just be loud about it.
Like, yeah, I like to
shoot elk and eat the meat.
Like, Hey, that's what I do.
I'll, I'll eat the heart and blood
will pour down my face with a
Travis Bader: Yeah, you
Ryan Kohler: should be
loud and proud about it.
I mean, it's just an amazing,
uh, the whole thing is
amazing to be able to do it.
In fact, that we can do
it is, is, is amazing.
So, um, well,
Travis Bader: COVID seemed to present
a massive opportunity for exposure,
for people wanting to be more connected
with nature and some people looked
at hunting as a possible way for
meat procurement and, Probably didn't
realize the amount of, uh, effort and
money and hard work that, uh, that is
actually required, but it seemed to
turn a lot of people on into foraging,
hunting, fishing, outdoor pursuits.
Did you find that from your perspective?
Did you find, uh, shows, viewership spike?
Ryan Kohler: A hundred percent.
Yep.
A hundred percent.
We had, uh, our viewership
definitely spiked.
Um, we had a lot of
people paying attention.
I think that, I, like, I could
just say that our industry is,
is really growing all the time.
Like, from my point of view, from
watching it from 20 years ago to now,
like, we have an, uh, we have a swim
lane in our app that's for women.
The women, women in the outdoors and
they're, it's unbelievably awesome.
Like it's awesome.
Like these women are amazing.
And 20 years ago, you
wouldn't have anyone.
Like there was no one like maybe
Vicki Siena, like on Archer's Choice.
Like she was like the queen.
Right.
But now we have a lot of women
that are, that are in the industry.
We have a lot of different cultures.
I would say too, like in Canada,
there's different populations
and different cultures.
And I think a lot of those
cultures are starting to pick up on
hunting and, and wanting to learn.
And that's, so it's, it,
it is, it's It is growing.
Like it's, it's absolutely growing.
I think paying attention to
them is important, right.
To everyone that wants to go hunting and
fishing, no matter where you're from.
Like it's, I think that's important.
Um, but as far as COVID, uh,
yeah, that huge, huge spike.
And I think social media is driving
it to like socials, driving it.
Um, And I, I don't know if I know enough
about say the data or information from
the hunters that have really are coming up
and coming like the young hunters on how
far they're, they're taking the passion.
I don't, I don't know that yet.
I think that's something
that's going to show up.
Whether it's in content or like
a podcast or a great idea, right?
Like, or a great example, like podcasts
are popping up all over the place.
The younger guys are getting into it and
showing their passion through podcasts
and through passion through, um, any
type of media on Tik TOK, or like I
said before, all social media platforms.
So it's all grown, especially when you
look back 20 years, like there was,
like I said before, there was TNN.
Yeah, that's a good point.
I think Bushnell's Bushnell's
the secret and realtry, right?
Like they had those two shows.
That was it.
And so there was no, there was no
Cabela's, you know, there was no, there
was no, um, there was the manufacturers
in the U S they didn't really exist.
They didn't come in here.
People couldn't express themselves unless
it was through an article in a magazine.
That's a good point.
That would be, that'd be it.
Right.
So we had big buck magazine for me.
That was the biggest thing.
And then when you bring the network to
Canada, then you had, you know, You know,
all these opportunities for everybody to
put their stuff on the network and grow.
And then manufacturers had an opportunity.
And then we actually, we had a show
called HuntFest that was a trade
show and we brought Cabela's to it.
And that's why Cabela's came to Canada.
Because we sold like six truckloads of
gear out of our trade show out the back.
Are you serious?
That's
Travis Bader: why Cabela's is in Canada.
Ryan Kohler: A hundred
percent, a hundred percent.
They tested the market
through our, our trade show.
Right.
So we used to have a test right across
the board and then, um, and yeah,
that was just one of our clients
and we convinced them to come in.
I said, come on in here with all your
stuff and we're going to sell it all.
And we did, we sold tons of it.
Good for you.
Travis Bader: Tons of it.
Well, is there anything that
we should be talking about that
we haven't talked about yet?
Ryan Kohler: Um, I mean, obviously,
um, we want to try to get people
to, to look at the app that we have.
I think we have an
unbelievable app that we built.
Last couple of years, we're building
this app with hunters, like hunters are
hands on on it and it's got all 20 years.
It's our 20th anniversary, um, for
wild TV, which is exciting and kind
of unbelievable at the same time that
we've been doing it for that long.
But yeah.
The app has all that content in it.
It's a super powered app and it goes by
province and Each swim lane has specific
animal species in there So if you're
like a whitetail guy Lives in Alberta you
can go straight after the whitetails in
Alberta all the shows for 20 years or if
you're in BC and you like Goat hunting
you can go watch all the shows that
were shot in BC and just keep going on
each genre like that all the way through
We've got the, the, the channel in it.
Um, so the live streaming
channel is available on the app.
You can watch the live
channel anytime on there.
Of course, every, all platforms
available on all platforms.
And, and the thing is, is I think that
the coolest part is we're, we're going
to do exactly what I talked about at
the beginning of the show is we're going
to be bringing everything, everything.
into one place.
So we've built a really strong back end.
We've got really excellent guys coding,
some of the coolest stuff, and the next,
the next couple of years, you're going to
see so many pieces, so many, I would say,
I would just, I would call it added value.
So many things that we're going to add
to this app that's going to make it like,
Just unbelievably amazing for a hunter
to have in the back pocket with not just
the video, but every other little thing
that you'd want to have, whether it's moon
phases, whether it's weather or whether
it's, it's, it's a mapping, uh, uh,
piece or whether it's access to all the
podcasts or the live streaming channel, or
maybe even other live streaming channels.
It's, it's really kind of,
um, it's really going to be.
Something special.
So we have over 10, 000
shows in there right now.
Our shows are coming up, you know,
weekly there's new content coming up.
All the live stuff that we have
and Bose on live will be inside it.
We're going to be, we have a show
that's going to be, uh, on there, uh,
bear week, kind of like shark week,
but it'll be like bear week on wild TV.
And we're going to go live on
bear week as well with some.
Some of the Boson live crew.
So it's just constantly evolving and, um,
it's going to get better and better as we
Travis Bader: go.
Well, Ryan, we'll make sure
to get links to all of that.
So anybody listening to this and wants to
see it for easy reference, we'll have a
links to the podcast links on the YouTube.
Thank you so much for taking the
time to be on the Silvercore podcast.
I really enjoyed speaking with you and
I've got my head spinning with a bunch of
other questions that I want to ask you.
I'll be asking them off air and.
We might have to do a
follow up to this episode.
Thanks for being on the podcast.
Yeah, Travis.
Ryan Kohler: Thanks for having me.
I appreciate it.
I think these are so cool.
So thanks for having me.