A New Frontier

There are countless ways to introduce a blog of this nature; something so expansive is difficult to sum up in few words. It is an unprecedented milestone for the rapidly changing face of our hunting culture. The immeasurable hours of work of a few people (in the grand scheme of the industry), has suddenly culminated into a movement, one that could change the very foundation of our industry. HunterVids.com has amassed a powerhouse company of unrivaled visionaries, setting the cornerstones for this new media frontier. HunterVids.com has set the stage for the hunting industry’s golden age.

As far back as I can recall, the hunting industry has been dominated by kill sequence videos, hero shots, and exalted hunter photos- all employing the same recycled formula of hunting media. HunterVids.com embodies a crucial transition from the mundane and classic methods of hunting media, to a new era of starkly refined cinematic pieces that happen to be about hunting.

This transition is steadily revealing itself in mainstream American television, with shows like ‘The Hunt’ and ‘Kodiak’, on networks as massive as Discovery and the History Channel. More significantly to us hunters, this progression is illuminating our passion in a wholly different light than before. Our passion, once considered barbaric, is being shown as a story; a stunning progression of the chase, the tireless work it requires, and the inarguable respect we give to the animal we harvest.

Some of the biggest names in hunting, such as Jim Shockey, with the creative vision of his son Branlin Shockey, have bridged the gap from classic icons to pioneers of this new age of modern adventure filming. Their concentration on filming rare and isolated cultures in the most remote places on earth has begun to inspire a different angle. Previously lost in hunting culture, this concept of filming the experience through the eyes of an explorer diverges from the clichéd ‘trophy buck’ chases of major hunting networks.

There is no better representation of this major shift in hunting culture than the success of those like Sicmanta’s Donnie Vincent, filmmaker Steven Drake, Obsessed Outdoors, and the production – personal work of Rockhouse Motion. Their ability to deliver a “Planet Earth” experience that merges with hunting not only entertains, but inspires a new generation of adventurers. This is the fundamental core of where hunting is going.

With the amount of contributions to wildlife conservation made by hunters, it is obligatory that we bring more light to the sustainability of hunting. Recent introductions of documentary style filming that delve into the green movement, such as the show ‘Meat Eater’ and ‘Huntergreen.org’, have illustrated the growing necessity for our sport to conserve our ecosystems. In hopes of educating non-hunters, they deliver the powerful reality of the ecological advantages of hunting to an organic lifestyle.

We stand at the brink of a very important era in hunting. Because of this culture shift, we can say that hunting is again growing for the first time in 30 years. With an increasing female demographic, the organic boom, and the strikingly refined films that HunterVids.com has sought to mainstream, this evolution cannot be stopped. With affiliates like Kuiu; a brand that strives to further the adventure instead of furthering the standard motivations of corporate funding, we are surrounded by industry heavyweights that stand in line with our uncompromising vision. At the end of the day, we see that the soul of our hunting is coming alive again, and we see that we are the change.

By Todd Roark – CEO HunterVids.com And Kira Mastrangelo – Writer for HunterVids.com

Photography – 46 Degrees North