Outdoors with AJ

Bryan Walker, Founder of River Rat USA Fishing Rafts

Bryan Walker, the owner of River Rat fishing rafts, joins Outdoors Podcast to talk about what makes his rafts the most approachable fly fishing boats on the market. Joining the conversation is long time friend of the channel, Fish Hands Franky, who just so happens to own a River Rat boat.

We talked about:

• Why Bryan started the company

• What makes their boats such a great option for a wide range of anglers

• Why Bryan is dedicated to making boats that a lot of people can afford

• Where these boats are getting taken and what they're being used for

• Exciting news about new products and upcoming adventures

You can find more information about the company and these amazing fishing rafts at:

https://riverratusa.com/

https://www.instagram.com/riverratus/

Or join the facebook owners group at:

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/15qasFPFLY/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Piper Bates - Professional Timber Faller & Tree Climber

Piper Bates, or UrLocalLumberJill on Instagram and Tiktok joins the show to talk about her background in the outdoors and her career as a professional timber faller & tree climber.

We talked about how she got her first job in the industry, what a day in her life looks like in both roles, and how she has progressed in the industry.

Piper is such a fun person to talk to, and she was just a joy to get to know.

Enjoy

Scott Jensen - CEO and Founder of Near Zero Outdoors

Scott Jensen, CEO and Founder of Near Zero Outdoors joins the podcast to talk about a whole bunch of exciting news from Near Zero. We talked about Scott's youth, growing up as an Eagle Scout, and the outdoor skills that he learned through the program.

Scott spent the first 15 years of his career in corporate supply chain in the medical device and aerospace industries, which gave him exposure to global manufacturing partners and best practices. With a move back to the United States from China, Scott and his family turned their sights on the outdoor industry and founded Near Zero, to provide high quality backpacking and camping gear to the industry, at a more affordable, and accessible price.

We spent time talking about the new 3rd generation of the Dean Backpack, and all of the updates the've made to the backpack, the little dean, their new 10 piece backpacking bundle and more. Finishing up the conversation, we talked about Near Zero's future, including working with more wholesalers, their growth, and even a new rental program they are launching to make backpacking even more accessible.

Check out everything we talked about on the episode and more at: www.nearzero.co

instagram.com/nearzero_outdoors

tiktok.com/@ultralight_backpacking

youtube.com/@nearzero_outdoors

Chris McKleroy, Founder of NOCS Provisions

Chris McKleroy, Founder and CEO of NOCS Provisions joins host AJ Eads to talk about his background in the outdoors and the events that lead him to starting a Binoculars company that is shaking up the industry. 

NOCS Provisions got its start in the Bay Area of Northern California and now operates near the outdoor haven of Lake Tahoe.  Chris and the team have taken a very different approach to most of today's product companies and grown the business organically with their own cash flow, as opposed to the massive investments of private equity and venture capital companies. 

This has allowed the business to stay true to its mission of connecting their customers with the outdoors and reducing the waste that is typical with most retailers today.

This was a really insightful conversation and Chris really helped me understand what an ethical company can do to make an impact on the world.

Enjoy.

Nicole From Dope Kitchen

Nicole, the host of Dope Kitchen on Youtube, Tik Tok, Instagram and all of the other social media channels joins the show to talk about her love of backpacking and the outdoors in general. 

She shared some incredible stories about harrowing tales from different backpacking adventures including being flooded out of a campground, running from wildfires and escaping mountains via helicopter.  

I had an absolute blast getting to know Nicole and it might be my favorite episode yet.

Adam Hudson - Blue Line Co Flies

Adam Hudson grew up fishing for bass with his family in northern Alabama, where traditional gear fishing is king...hell it's practically religion.  Thanks to an uncle who brought a fly rod on a family trip to the smokies, Adam fell in love almost instantly and changed the course of his life forever.

A couple decades later, Adam and his friend Steve, opened Blue Line Co Flies and started offering specialty pattern flies to target the small mouth and large mouth bass that was common to their area.

Fast forward even further, and the guys have a wide range of flies, fly lines and other products to help you be more successful on the water.

www.bluelineflies.com

Maddie From Beer In Beautiful Places

Maddie, the host of Beer In Beautiful Places on Youtube, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook joins the podcast to talk about her recent through hike of the John Muir Trail (JMT) in Northern California and her upcoming adventure through hiking the Appalachian Trail.  

Chef Corso - Professional Chef, OutdoorEats

Chef Corso, owner of OutdoorEats and outdooreats.com sits down by the campfire in St. Genevieve Missouri at Hawn State Park for a conversation about his career in cooking. We talked about his love for food and the family members that helped him along the way. Chef Corso dove into the culinary school experience and his different jobs in the food industry.

After leaving a career in the test kitchens at Starbucks, Corso took a chance on himself and his passion for cooking outside. He built his own brand, website, cookbooks and started launching content. He’s developed over 200 recipes that are tested by campers like us and added to his meal plans.

I loved learning about how he comes up with recipes and adapts them to the trail. We even spent time talking about how we each overcame our nerves of launching new channels.

Chef Corso and I also made a video about our backpacking trip. Check it out here: Chef Corso and I Went Backpacking

All of Chef Corso’s meals are 10 ingredients or less, 30minutes or less, no pre prepping, no dehydrating and weigh close to or even less than the dehydrated alternative. All of the recipes are also organized by dietary restrictions and styles of meals.

We also talked about the types of ingredients he loves for outdoor cooking and where he likes to source his ingredients from.

Chef Corso asked me really fun ranking question that you’ll hear at about 50 minutes in and I’ll be using this question for the rest of my life.

John Lagow - Fly Fishing Guide, Arkansas River

John Lagow, professional fly fishing guide out of the historic Ark Anglers Fly Shop in B.V. Colorado joins the show.  I had an absolute blast getting to know yet another incredible guide, with another super unique story.  John found his way to guiding after coming to Colorado to paddle her storied waters at the young age of 19. 

We had a super lively conversation about his love for the Arkansas River, the whitewater that presents unique challenges to anglers, both new and experienced, and the landscapes that he gets to explore in the area.  We also spent time talking about some of the destinations John has traveled to like Cuba, Tanzania and Mexico in search of species like Tigerfish.

I'm looking forward to our next conversation about his life with sled dogs, a profession that John takes up at the end of his fishing season each year in Colorado.

Until next time, John, thanks for an incredible hour.

Erica Haller - Fly Fishing Angler/Guide & Python Hunter

Erica Haller is who we should all aspire to be in the outdoors; adventurous, curious, humble, educated and enjoyable.  Erica is exactly who I have wanted to meet since the day I started this podcast, several years ago.

We spent time talking about her background in the outdoors, her passion for public lands and teaching people about the incredible landscapes that we, as Americans, get to explore.  We also got to dive into the insane practice of invasive python hunting in the everglades, how to ethically dispatch of snakes and what Erica is able to do with those animals, honoring the resource.

We talked about fly fishing for tarpon, redfish and snook, among other species and her upcoming transition to trout in the American West.  

I loved hearing about the creative side of such an adventurous person and I'm honored to have gotten to know this woman, whom I now get to call my friend.  I'm so looking forward to hearing more about Erica's next chapter as a fly fishing guide in Montana, a profession that I know she is going to crush.

IG: EricaHolla