Meet Boyd and Gene of Moultrie's TGM Podcast

Even though Boyd was gracious enough to give me an interview about Moutlrie's TGM Podcast, I couldn't stop there. I begged and pleaded proposed an idea that we should take a personal look at the hosts of the podcast, Gene Matchen and  Boyd Barnett. Without even having to think about it, Gene and Boyd were on board. Considering my mild addiction to the podcast, I asked a few questions that I had been wondering for a while and tried to give the new listeners a better understand of how you're listening to. I hope you enjoy the second half of this interview with Moutlrie's TGM Podcast crew. I would also like to thank Boyd, especially, and Gene for working with me on this to bring these great interviews to you.

Boyd Barnett

Foggy Mountain Meanderings: For anyone that listens to the show knows that you are a Mississippi guy, but where in Mississippi are you from?
Boyd Barnett: I was born in Mississippi and grew up in a small town called Magee, MS. (It’s about halfway between Jackson & Hattiesburg, if you were wondering). I loved living there; small towns are great places to grow up. Plus, we had all of the open land for playing and hunting that you’d ever want! 


FMM: It sounds like you grew up in an area that was conducive to outdoor activities, what were your favorite outdoor activities growing up and who got you into the outdoors? 
Boyd: My favorite thing when I was growing up was fishing. My dad would take me fishing as often as he could, and that was a lot! Both of my grandfathers liked to hunt and fish, as well, so we had plenty of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.

FMM: It sounds like you started at an early age; do you remember what and when you first started hunting?
Boyd: I guess I started hunting birds and squirrels with my BB gun when I was about 8 or so. Unfortunately, I got out of hunting for a long time; with school and all of the extracurricular stuff I was involved with, I just didn’t have the extra time that hunting needed. I wish I had the game cameras and other things we have now; it really would have helped in my time management! 

FMM: Now that you have a little extra time to hunt what is your current hunting obsession?
Boyd: I really like hunting with my bow. I was able to get a new Tribute from my friends at BowTech Archery. I’ve always liked a challenge, and now my new obsession is trying to bring down a turkey with the bow. 

FMM: Now most of us that know you, know you’re the social media and podcast guy, but what do you actually do at Moultrie?
Boyd: I am the Marketing Assistant for Moultrie. In addition to the work I do with the social media and the podcast, I also manage the websites for Moultrie, Carry-Lite Decoys and Code Blue Scents. I also design all of the packaging for Moultrie; so if you like the new camera packages for this year, let me know!

Gene and I do the podcast as something we don’t “have” to do; we just love to do it. To that end, I’d like to thank everyone here at Moultrie that allows us to disappear into the studio for an hour or so every week to record – not to mention all of the editing time! 

FMM: How long have you been with Moultrie?
Boyd: This June I will have been with Moultrie for 2 years, and I’m not exaggerating when I say they’ve been two of the best years of my professional (and personal life). In the time I’ve been here, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to several of the most awesome trade shows in the business, met some truly awesome and legendary figures in the outdoor world, and my wife and I welcomed our first child – my daughter, Savannah – last year. To say I’ve been blessed would be an understatement! 

FMM: Now for the final question, you can only choose one Moultrie product for the upcoming deer season this fall, what would it be? 
Boyd: If I only had one Moultrie product for an entire season, it would have to be one of the Mini Cams; probably the M-80 Black (I love that camera!). Having such a small form factor with all of those features…it really is the hunter’s best friend.

Now, if I could only have one thing from each of our Pradco Hunting brands, it would read like this: Code Blue – Whitetail Doe Estrous, Carry-Lite – HD Deer Decoy, Knight & Hale – Pack Rack, and Summit – Viper SD (w/safety harness!). 

Now on to Gene Matchen's part of the interview.

Gene Matchen

FMM: As with asking Boyd, after being an avid listener I know your roots are Alabama based, but where did you grow up in Alabama?
Gene: I grew up on Logan Martin Lake in Talladega County, AL. It is about 10 minutes from the Talladega Race track. 

FMM: With growing up on a lake, I’m sure you were active in the outdoors. What were your favorites growing up and who got you into the hunting?
Gene: I grew up of course fishing and hunting and also water skiing. These activities occupied most of my time living on the river. My dad took me squirrel hunting at age six and it was then that I shot my first squirrel with a 12 gauge shot gun, but that’s a funny story for another time. I was hooked after that, but my passion became coon hunting, it is still passionate. From there I moved on to big game, it became so much of a love that I got into the industry. 


FMM: It sounds like you have a lot of hunting interest but what is your favorite type of hunting?
Gene: Bow hunting whitetail by far is my favorite; my heart still starts beating out of my chest while I am waiting for that buck or doe to get within range. You can’t describe it and do it justice. Another addiction is turkey hunting. I am waiting until I have a home that will properly display an elk mount before go attempt an elk (A promise to my wife). I also love to hunt rabbit, squirrel, and prairie dogs. 

 FMM: Besides being the co-host of the Moultrie’s TGM podcast, what is your official title and capacity with Moultrie?
Gene: I am the Customer Service Manager for Moultrie and Carry-Lite. My duties include repairs and managing the customer service department. 

FMM: How long have you been with Moultrie?
Gene: I have been with Moultrie for going on 11 years. 

FMM: Before you go, what is the one Moultrie product you must have for this deer season coming up?
Gene: The M-80 Black Flash camera, I won’t leave home without it this coming up season.

Moultrie's TGM Podcast Interview

As I mentioned on Monday, I was lucky enough to interview Boyd Barnett about Moultrie's Total Game Management Podcast. This was a great interview that will let you learn more about the podcast and how it has progressed. It really is a must listen podcast if it isn't already on your playlist. They also do a great job interacting via social media and are always looking for a great discussion or to help with your Moultrie products. 

Foggy Mountain Meanderings: When did the Podcast first air?

Boyd of Moultrie's TGM Podcast: Well, that’s a tricky question…see, the very first show I did was a “test” show to make sure everything was working with the recording software, microphones, iTunes, etc. The “test” show went up on May 16, 2011. Our first real show went up on May 26, 2011.

FMM: By my calculation, shouldn’t the show be coming up on milestone?

Boyd: Yes, we’re coming up on our 50^th show, and that is a big milestone for us. Honestly, when we started I didn't know if anyone would listen to it! We’re hoping to have a special surprise for that show.

FMM: What was the original layout for the show and how has it transformed over the last 40 some shows?

Boyd: I originally came up with the idea for the podcast during a big meeting between all of the other marketing folks here at Pradco Outdoors last April. I listen to several podcasts every week myself, mostly about technology, and they were so well done I felt like I had “a friend on the inside” for those companies. That’s what I wanted: a way to be able to speak directly with the people who use and love our products in a more personal way than even the social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) could provide. Don’t get me wrong; I love interacting with everyone using those things as well, and what has happened is that the social media and the podcast have started to converge.

I like to think that we’ve made great strides in both our format and audio quality since that first show. Michael McDaniel was my co-host for most of the shows, but he moved to another location and hasn’t really had time to participate lately. We brought Gene Matchen, our Customer Service Manager, in for an interview for one show, and he was so good I kept him on!

I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Dan Amrich from OneofSwords.com and Ryan McCaffrey from OXMonline.com, because they really inspired me to do the podcast and showed me what a powerful medium it can be. Plus, Dan really helped me with all of the tech needed to get a show like this “on the air.”

FMM: After looking at how it started, what is the current rundown of the show?

Boyd: The current run-down of the show goes like this: Host Intro, News, Interview (if we have one that week), Deals of the Week, Question of the Week (or Rut Reports, depending on the time of year), then the Wrap-up.

FMM: In regards to the news, as a frequent listener, I always wonder where do you get your new and stories from and what might lead you to choose them?

Boyd: I pick the stories for the News from all of the stories I receive from our friends at GrandviewOutdoors.com, Twitter, and whatever other news outlets I come across. I try to find the ones that I think are interesting or important, and it helps if I think it’s something I think we can talk a lot about. 

FMM: One of my favorite parts of the show is to see what the special guests have to speak about that week, who are some of the guest you've had on?

Boyd: We’ve been really lucky to have some great people on the show! We’ve had Gerald Swindle and Tony Smotherman from Moultrie’s “The Hit List” on Outdoor Channel; Mike Mattly, our national PR manager, who has become the “Steve Martin” of the show with the most appearances; Bobby Murray, who won the first-ever Bassmaster Classic; Chris Parrish of Knight & Hale Game Calls, who is a world champion turkey caller and a good friend of ours….those are just a few of the many guests we’ve had on. We have even more surprises in store, so stay tuned!

FMM: I’m not thinking about a lot of detail on the Question of the Week , but just say it in the lay out and that you can submit then via the comment section and social media, as I will ask you a question later about the Question of the week.

Boyd: One of our newest segments is Question of the Week. This segment is really epitomizes what we want the show to be – a great source of information about Moultrie, Carry-Lite, Code Blue, Summit and all of the other Pradco brands.

FMM: Personal, I love the show because it seems like I’m sitting at my local bow shop listening to everyone shoot the breeze with one another. Was that the original goal or did that transform over time also?

Boyd: My original vision of the show was for it to feel like you have friends here at Moultrie – my co-host and me – and I hope that’s the way people listening view it, too. We’re just a couple of guys who love the outdoors, our products and this industry. We step away from our “real” jobs for a bit every week to do the show, and we do it because we love interacting with our friends (we refuse to call them customers, because they really are our friends) every week.

FMM: I have to go back to something we talked about earlier to get a better understanding, how does the question of the week work?

Boyd: I usually ask for submissions from our Twitter followers and Facebook friends, and then, like I do with the news stories, pick the one I think is interesting and that we can really do justice to by talking it through.

FMM: What are some of the possible prizes associated with the Question of the Week?

Boyd: We’ve been really lucky to have some neat prizes to give away. We started out by giving away hats and decals (and we still do that), but when I attended the big trade shows this year (ATA and SHOT) I had an idea. I thought, “Why not bring a bit of these cool shows to the folks who don’t get to go?” So I stuffed my suitcases with extra show guides and brought them back home. Next year, I’m going to have to take extra bags to carry all of those in!

FMM: Now for the important stuff, how often and when is the podcast released?

Boyd: I do my very best to have a new podcast every week, preferably on Thursdays. Life and work sometimes override that, and it could fall to a Friday or even a Saturday.

FMM: One final question before you go, are there any plans to expand the show?

Boyd: Wow, I don’t think I could do more than one show a week! Ha! When you’re the producer, host, editor and technical support, it can get a bit overwhelming at times. However, if I ever see an opportunity to do a second show (like I did with Lawrence Taylor of LureNet with his live coverage of the Bassmaster Classic in February of this year) I will do my best to make that happen.

I’d love to hear some feedback on our show from our listeners. We had a few comments early on, but lately we haven’t been getting much in the way of comments to the individual posts. We welcome the input on how to make the show better for our friends who are listening every week and supporting what we do.