I am a Hunting, Archery, and Outdoors Adventure fanatic!
I grew up in Iowa City, Iowa born and raised both in the city and on my grandparents farm where I spent every moment I could outside scraping knees bicycling, chasing critters, and fishing at the local ponds. I always had a deep fascination with the natural world. While my friends were playing soccer and baseball I was waist deep in the creek catching crawfish & turtles! I wouldn’t ever change a thing though, everyone knew I was different but for the better.
Fast forward into my early teens when I first went to family Deer Camp. I helped my family with one whitetail hunt, and it was all over from there when I found out I could do this too! My uncle Dave took me under his wing and got me pointed in the right direction with hunters safety the following year so I could join the family tradition. Opening morning of the Iowa shotgun season I was prepped and ready for blaze orange battle on a brisk snow covered hillside, where I harvested my first big game animal, a mature whitetail doe at only a few feet! By the end of the weekend I knew that I couldn’t wait another year before hunting again so my uncle and I began planning a Texas hog hunt!
That was the first of many adventures I have been fortunate to experience with friends and family members. I have always dreamt big of the farthest and most remote destination adventures. I often found myself daydreaming of giant Alaskan moose and other spectacular big game that I hoped to pursue someday.
Following high school, I worked with my family’s company, attended college for business, and made the decision to serve my country in the Iowa Army National Guard as a Combat Medic. While serving I was fortunate to be able to attend Mountaineering schools as well as many others and compete in (and win) the Best Warrior Competitions. All the while continuing to hunt and get outdoors to hunt and scout as often as the schedule allowed. Some years as much as 45 plus days a year!
It was during this time that I met MY Consultant, Russ Meyer. I was finally in a place where I could start planning those bucket list destination hunts I had dreamt about for years. Russ and the team at Outdoors International helped my father and I book and plan that trip for which I am still grateful (Unguided Alaska Moose). From that point on I have been a loyal Client of Outdoors International, and continued to work with Russ and the team to plan all of my adventures.
One day Russ reached out to me, and through conversations ended up recruiting me to be a part of the company that I had so firmly believed in! Now days I take that same relentless drive from pursuing my passions in the outdoors to best serving my clients and helping others plan their own adventures. The same as Outdoors International has done for me! Outdoors International has helped me see many of my dreams come to fruition however life is too short and my bucket list is a long one, so if there’s anything that I’ve learned it’s DON’T WAIT! Let’s talk about your bucket list.