When I first met my wife, a self-proclaimed “city girl”, she would have guaranteed you that she would never be found sitting on the ground next to me dressed in full camo and hunting my favorite game, the Eastern wild turkey.

Fast forward seven years and there she is.  The mother of my 22-month old little girl, and five months pregnant with our second child, was sitting next to me against a huge oak tree listening to two gobblers announce their location at first light of opening morning.  Unfortunately, she didn’t take one of those first two birds but the season ended later that day with her bagging her first turkey and she’s already talking about the 2011 season!

I feel fortunate to have grown up in an environment where the outdoors was not only an option, but a way of life. It didn’t matter what the season, there was always something to do outside.  The fall and winter brought most of my family — father, brothers, uncles, cousins — together every weekend to hunt squirrels, doves, rabbits, quail, or deer. And when spring rolled around, we were quick to grab the fishing rods and hit the local fishing holes or hunt the elusive wild turkey.

It was during these times that family bonds were built, core values were taught and a outdoor lifestyle was instilled. Over the last several years, I have been actively involved in marketing to the outdoor industry.  I have been fortunate to spend time with people that have a lifetime of outdoor marketing experience and speak to those that are just entering the category.  Although many times they have differing opinions of how brands should market themselves, one topic is consistently mentioned, “How do we get more young people into the outdoors?” Is there a silver bullet that any one company could use to make this happen?  I don’t believe so. It’s going to take a very strategic approach, as an industry, to make it work.