The goal of a wilderness athlete, put simply, is to run up a mountain, shoot an animal, and carry the animal back down. Well, that’s exactly what Train to Hunt is about. Understandably, over the past few years, there was some struggle involved in making TTH happen.

Today, the great news is that Train to Hunt is back. Kevin and Chris Denham sat down and spoke with Kenton Clairmont, one of the founders of the event, about its return and the principles behind it.

Kenton lives out in the wild, so you may hear some of the ambiance of that lifestyle in the background, but you're probably used to it. We hope you enjoy the conversation and start planning your trip to compete.

https://traintohunt.com/

This episode of the podcast features one of our favorite people in the world. Pedro Ampuero is among the most extreme hunters alive today and has both the rap sheet and occupation to prove it as the manager of the European division of KUIU ultralight hunting.

He’s often referred to in our office as the “most interesting man in the world.” So crack open a cold Dos XX, lace up your running shoes, or set the cruise control, because this is gonna be a good one.

Most never dare to dream what a 1,000-mile race in arctic conditions with a team of dogs is like; others live for it. Ryne Olson, a 7-time competitor of the Iditarod and Yukon Quest runs us through the ins and outs of preparing her team, body, and mind for these monumental treks between man and dog.

Tony Peterson knows dogs. He is an outdoor writer, hunter, and canine enthusiast who regularly shares related articles on Themeateater.com. He is enthusiastic about training and takes a strategic approach to both dog selection and lifestyle implementation. In this episode, he and Kevin discuss these topics, along with canine nutrition, breeding trends, and the types of dogs that fit into the lifestyle of hunters and outdoorsmen.

Legends like Chris Denham don’t get that title just by being great at one thing. Producer and host of the best hunting show on TV, wordsmith, a straight-up killer, iron-jawed hiker, CrossFit athlete, elite father and husband, and a true salt-of-the-earth role model for how to be effective and have fun in this industry. In this episode, Chris talks to us about how WA came to be, Western Hunter TV, his feelings about gluten, how diet changed his life, and much more.

Mark Denham - avid golfer, former US Marine, Western Hunter, and L1 CrossFit coach, is perhaps the youngest manager of any company in the hunting industry at Outdoorsmans. Youth in this line of work has its advantages and certainly its obstacles. We talk about what it was like growing up with the legendary Chris Denham as a father, what the culture and energy are like in our HQ of Outdoorsmans, Wilderness Athlete, and Western Hunter, and of course some fitness tips for anyone with a hunt right around the corner.

Ever wonder how it feels to have a protection dog with the training of a Navy Seal attempt to remove your arm? Well, I do, but there’s more to the story.

Kim Greene, a true alpha female, is the owner and one of the founders of Svalinn - an elite company in Montana that breeds and trains protection dogs based not on pedigrees, but a specific mix of the most desirable and unique characteristics from very old bloodlines. Beyond the thousands of man-hours and methodology that makes Svalinn dogs unparalleled, we discuss the innate connection between man, family, and K9 that each of us connects with.

Spend enough time in the hunting industry and you begin to realize there is no curriculum or typical path that lands someone in the profession. Todd Harney and Ben Britton are two dudes who followed their passion and guts working for Kuiu, learned invaluable lessons about building things the right way, and have some fun stories about their adventures along the way. 

None of us are immune to the realities of aging, but some of us are too hard-nosed to let it slow down the pace of our life. Mark Paulsen and Chris Denham are impressive examples of men who have taken ownership of their health, knowing full well that age is not synonymous with slowing down. We cover the major shifts in their diet, mentality, and approach to keeping their axe sharp.

Josh Kirchner is as hard-nosed and blue-collar as they come. If there are two paths to take, he chooses the harder one if there’s more to be gained from it. In this episode, we discuss his evolution as a hunter in Arizona, how he discovered backpack hunting, and what his new book Becoming a Backpack Hunter offers anyone willing to lace up their boots and live out of their backpack.

If you don’t know who Kristy Titus is, you’re either living under a rock or not paying attention to the people that are making a difference in the hunting and shooting community. In this episode we dig a little deeper into how she got started in the hunting industry, her experiences with body building, what we learn from our parents, and what it means to be proud of your reflection in the mirror.

One of the biggest battles we face today as we see it is the fear-based, “training wheel” world kids are being raised in. With two Millennials and two Baby-Boomers in the room, there’s a lot of ground to cover and no shortage of crazy stories to get us there.

Willi Schmidt is a longtime friend of WA and has been a great example of the type of hunter-athlete we all strive to be. He’s had a pretty crazy year, and we thought it would be great to have him on to tell us about it.

Willi, in good health and with no pre-existing conditions, experienced a seemingly random stroke while working out - as he would on any normal day.

Thankfully, his journey to full recovery seems to be moving at a good clip. We’d like to thank Willi for sharing this story and the insights he’s gained from it. We hope you find this one as fascinating as we do. 

Remi Warren is no stranger to the Wilderness Athlete tribe, but what you might not know is how he stays in shape for the mountain and how much spine-shrinking weight this man packs out every year running his outfitting business. We dive into the mental warfare of the COVID-19 world, hellacious pack out stories, and preparing wild game for non-hunters.

Heather Kelly, the creator of Heather’s Choice Meals For Adventuring, sat down with us after getting off the river to tell us all the gritty details of a month rafting white water in the Grand Canyon. Inspired by her appetite for adventure, mind for nutrition, and connection with one of the most rugged places on earth, Heather is changing the way people eat and feel in the backcountry with her healthy and delicious meals.

Featured: Heather Kelly, Kevin Guillen, Courtney Denham, Chris Denham.

https://www.heatherschoice.com/

What better way to launch this podcast than to catch up with our founder Mark Paulsen to hear how this company, this team, and this lifestyle all began? We discuss the heart-thumping elk hunt that opened Marks’s eyes to what fitness meant in the woods, the critical minds that make all the difference in a supplement company, and the one sole focus that he had then and still does today.

Featured: Kevin Guillen, Courtney Denham, Mark Paulsen

We sat down with the team to talk about our inner office fitness challenge, “Squid Gainz.” It was blood thirsty competitive, ridiculous at times, a little fun, and majorly eye opening. Get to know the people who make this great company possible!

Dr. Seth Bynum is a veterinarian, an avid bird hunter, and a talented photographer –  not necessarily in that order. It’s not every day when conversations with your vet and your hunting buddies can overlap, but that’s what we get when Seth sits down with us to talk about K9 health and how his interesting career came to be.

Remi Warren sits down with us at the 2022 Sheep Show to share the adventures of a new born who’s always along for the ride, his new podcast that’s about to spread its wings, and the big bull and culinary tricks of 2021.

CrossFit Games athlete, Director of Athletic Performance at Tennessee Tech, and avid outdoorsman Matt Hewett drops some knowledge on us from his lifelong career of building muscle, endurance, and speed. Without a doubt, there are some invaluable tips to pull from this podcast that you can take into your own pre-season training.

Tana Grena and her brother Trevor Schneider recount the “this is how it ends” moments following 3 well placed shots then a jammed rifle on a 1,000+ pound Alaska Brown Bear. Running for their lives and retrieving a pistol that fell in the snow, they lived to tell the story with luck on their side and a few well placed rocks that gave them cover. We’ve all heard intense bear stories when the hunter turns into the hunted. Few will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up like this one and leave you in awe of the strength and will of the largest bears on earth.

Living hundreds of miles from the nearest road system in remote bush Alaska, Tana Grenda has a different need than most for staying fit, healthy, and prepared. As a pilot, parent, hunter, podcaster, and nutrition and fitness coach, you won’t meet many people who take life head-on like Tana.

Over the course of this pandemic, there has been a mind-numbing volume of information thrown at us, some good, some bad, and some just plain stupid. We sit with Carla Denham, a board-certified psychiatrist and palliative care doctor, to discuss the foundations of our health, immune system, the mind-body connection, and how stress plays a huge role in all of it. Disclaimer: If any opinions or advice dispensed in this podcast offend you, please don’t hesitate to contact us directly. We encourage open dialogue around this complex subject.

https://themodelhealthshow.com/maskfacts/