Matt Rinella knocking it outta the park

Matt Rinella is my #1 favorite view/listen on hunting people. He may not be perfect but he 100% genuinely does not give a phuck what anybody thinks about his opinions on all those about fame and income with hunting/outdoor recreation. And he’s funny, real funny. The Halloween costume was legendary.
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But wait maybe catch a podcast on “meat care” by somebody who doesn’t process his animals ..

I concur. Dude doesn't GAF, which is awesome.
 
Matt Rinella is my #1 favorite view/listen on hunting people. He may not be perfect but he 100% genuinely does not give a phuck what anybody thinks about his opinions on all those about fame and income with hunting/outdoor recreation. And he’s funny, real funny. The Halloween costume was legendary.

Exactly. IMO we need more voices like his, and less of the slicked-up d-bags that inhabit the public hunting world.
 
Somehow “conservation” has come to mean selling boatloads of marginally useful goods and services, leasing property, spot-burning, driving ATV’s, engagement in “about hunting” activities such as banquets, events, shows, social media, and other entertainment, living vicariously through hunting celebrities, canonizing R3, and most importantly, vastly over-promoting an over-saturated activity to the detriment of wild places, wild things, and hunters.

As long as someone puts down dollars, time, and talent towards agreeably worthy causes like habitat, access, research, and political engagement, we espouse this strange dissonance that somehow this excuses, makes up for, or absolves the first list.

I concede that in some cases, worthy conservation causes laced with some quantity of poison widen the audience and mobilize advocates. Nevertheless, what I hear is an echo chamber of carte blanche support for unlimited hunting markets and commodification. These things exist solely because we keep throwing our dollars at them, and they are not going away until we conclude that they are doing more harm than good. https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/do...ng-influencers-yet.318593/page-4#post-3575388

I have no reason to doubt Ryan is everything Randy says he is. Ryan also had a prominent role in making ME into the commercial behemoth it is today, regardless of however noble his intentions were.

I’d bet Ryan has an interesting story about ME’s 2021 hard turn towards profits, including his decision to stick around with the organization once it did so.
 
Somehow “conservation” has come to mean selling boatloads of marginally useful goods and services, leasing property, spot-burning, driving ATV’s, engagement in “about hunting” activities such as banquets, events, shows, social media, and other entertainment, living vicariously through hunting celebrities, canonizing R3, and most importantly, vastly over-promoting an over-saturated activity to the detriment of wild places, wild things, and hunters.

As long as someone puts down dollars, time, and talent towards agreeably worthy causes like habitat, access, research, and political engagement, we espouse this strange dissonance that somehow this excuses, makes up for, or absolves the first list.

I concede that in some cases, worthy conservation causes laced with some quantity of poison widen the audience and mobilize advocates. Nevertheless, what I hear is an echo chamber of carte blanche support for unlimited hunting markets and commodification. These things exist solely because we keep throwing our dollars at them, and they are not going away until we conclude that they are doing more harm than good. https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/do...ng-influencers-yet.318593/page-4#post-3575388

I have no reason to doubt Ryan is everything Randy says he is. Ryan also had a prominent role in making ME into the commercial behemoth it is today, regardless of however noble his intentions were.

I’d bet Ryan has an interesting story about ME’s 2021 hard turn towards profits, including his decision to stick around with the organization once it did so.

Somehow “conservation” has come to mean selling boatloads of marginally useful goods and services, leasing property, spot-burning, driving ATV’s, engagement in “about hunting” activities such as banquets, events, shows, social media, and other entertainment, living vicariously through hunting celebrities, canonizing R3, and most importantly, vastly over-promoting an over-saturated activity to the detriment of wild places, wild things, and hunters.

As long as someone puts down dollars, time, and talent towards agreeably worthy causes like habitat, access, research, and political engagement, we espouse this strange dissonance that somehow this excuses, makes up for, or absolves the first list.

I concede that in some cases, worthy conservation causes laced with some quantity of poison widen the audience and mobilize advocates. Nevertheless, what I hear is an echo chamber of carte blanche support for unlimited hunting markets and commodification. These things exist solely because we keep throwing our dollars at them, and they are not going away until we conclude that they are doing more harm than good. https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/do...ng-influencers-yet.318593/page-4#post-3575388

I have no reason to doubt Ryan is everything Randy says he is. Ryan also had a prominent role in making ME into the commercial behemoth it is today, regardless of however noble his intentions were.

I’d bet Ryan has an interesting story about ME’s 2021 hard turn towards profits, including his decision to stick around with the organization once it did so.
You're conflating issues. Reducing the role of Ryan Callaghan as BHA's new CEO to "selling side-by-sides" to their constituency is a ridiculous exercise. Matt Rinella's unserious and unrealistic perception of the hunting and conservation landscape is what I have an issue with from him. Conservation requires advocacy. Advocacy requires cash. Especially on a national scale when both major political parties attack the NAM from opposite sides. You can lament that this is the political reality in the US, but you can't deny it.

On the other side of the coin, its completely reasonable to call out ME's hypocrisy, mission-creep, and extraction of public trust resources. I'd love to see implementation of restrictions on public land filming (or even strong enforcement of currently existing laws). I consume extremely limited amounts of outdoor content these days. But how do you propose convincing the rest of the hunting community to abandon support for these resource-extractors? Or how do you propose limiting the ability of these people to extract from the resource?

Furthermore, the conservation landscape is not a monolith. Even within the same area. Deer in my region are not even remotely approaching over-extraction. Deer hunting is not over-saturated. The single greatest to wildlife and wild places here are housing developments. Sure, the hunting industry has partially contributed to lease price increases, but I assure you that it pales in comparison to the work DR Horton has done.
 
Matt Rinella is my #1 favorite view/listen on hunting people. He may not be perfect but he 100% genuinely does not give a phuck what anybody thinks about his opinions on all those about fame and income with hunting/outdoor recreation. And he’s funny, real funny. The Halloween costume was legendary.
View attachment 392047View attachment 392048
But wait maybe catch a podcast on “meat care” by somebody who doesn’t process his animals ..

Please tell me you’re entered to win the elk hunt with him
 
You're conflating issues. Reducing the role of Ryan Callaghan as BHA's new CEO to "selling side-by-sides" to their constituency is a ridiculous exercise.
BHA sells side-by-sides. So does ME. BHA is deeply in denial about standing neck deep in hunting markets. Outgoing BHA CEO Patrick Berry has been a sharp and outspoken critic of Matt R. It wasn’t enough though, apparently. BHA decided to outdo itself by bringing in one of Steve’s top two collaborators to send a jarring message of BHA’s undying devotion to “hunter” recruitment - thinly-veiled as recruitment of conservation advocates - but in practice primarily functions to funnel $$$ to realtors, outdoor goods, outdoor services, and G&F departments. BHA accepts loads of donated gear and services from outdoor companies to fuel recruitment. And who better than to have as CEO a prominent hunting gear manufacturing entrepreneur?

I hope everything turns out well for BHA and for Ryan. He is obviously a highly-talented individual. BHA chapters collectively devote 50% or more of their present resources towards recruitment. Is Ryan going to keep BHA’s R3/hunting industry emphasis chugging along, bumping PR dollars up to fund more R3? Maybe lead the organization out of the hunting industry’s pocket, and divert more resources into access and habitat? Time will tell.
 
BHA accepts loads of donated gear and services from outdoor companies to fuel recruitment.
I find this odd?

Where/how did you draw this conclusion?

If you raffle something to get $ for conservation, how and why is it all/only about r3?
 
BHA sells side-by-sides. So does ME. BHA is deeply in denial about standing neck deep in hunting markets. Outgoing BHA CEO Patrick Berry has been a sharp and outspoken critic of Matt R. It wasn’t enough though, apparently. BHA decided to outdo itself by bringing in one of Steve’s top two collaborators to send a jarring message of BHA’s undying devotion to “hunter” recruitment - thinly-veiled as recruitment of conservation advocates - but in practice primarily functions to funnel $$$ to realtors, outdoor goods, outdoor services, and G&F departments. BHA accepts loads of donated gear and services from outdoor companies to fuel recruitment. And who better than to have as CEO a prominent hunting gear manufacturing entrepreneur?

I hope everything turns out well for BHA and for Ryan. He is obviously a highly-talented individual. BHA chapters collectively devote 50% or more of their present resources towards recruitment. Is Ryan going to keep BHA’s R3/hunting industry emphasis chugging along, bumping PR dollars up to fund more R3? Maybe lead the organization out of the hunting industry’s pocket, and divert more resources into access and habitat? Time will tell.
So is your belief that companies shouldn't be able to develop and sell products to hunters? And that hunting nonprofits must disavow any corporate connections? I dont see much hope for effective advocacy if thats the case.

When you talk about BHAs drive for recruitment, are you speaking of hunter recruitment or member recruitment?

And where on earth is BHA selling side-by-sides?
 
Matt Rinella is my #1 favorite view/listen on hunting people. He may not be perfect but he 100% genuinely does not give a phuck what anybody thinks about his opinions on all those about fame and income with hunting/outdoor recreation. And he’s funny, real funny. The Halloween costume was legendary.
View attachment 392047View attachment 392048
But wait maybe catch a podcast on “meat care” by somebody who doesn’t process his animals ..


I bet Matt had to retake that at least once because his hammer was peeping out.
 
Imagine you build up an empire as a American Outdoorsman based on hunting, fishing, conservation, and cooking and your brother partakes for a bit, then flips the script and dedicates all of his free time to shitting on your business and everything you do. Yeah, I can't believe Steve would want to share a Thanksgiving dinner with Matt at this point. Matt has adopted a persona to basically push back on everything Steve is doing.

Steve admired Matt. Look at the nice piece he wrote about him 13 years ago. https://www.themeateater.com/hunt/general/matt-rinella-a-meateaters-meateater
 
I read Matt’s IG post today. In a comment Matt said he was estranged from Steve. Sad.

Imagine that. S**t publicly over your younger brother’s business and reputation and impugn his motives and what does a guy expect?

In the conservation world Matt is the metaphorical equivalent of a drunken Norse Berserker swinging his battle axe without regards to friend or foe. It might be interesting to watch his “doesn’t give a flying F” approach from a distance and his mockery of Hanes, Rogan and other bougie hunters is amusing but he’s not someone I’d want to work with.

I’ve wasted too much of my time and emotional energy on people whose egos won’t accept anything other than their version of “the way” and seemingly couldn’t care less about how it affects those around them. His intentions might be good but his methods alienate potential allies and marginalize the effectiveness of his criticism when it might potentially be helpful to affecting change. Folks like that eventually alienate everyone and end up bitter and alone.
 

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