If you’re an outdoorsman and you’re into hunting, we’ve got the podcast for you this week on the newest episode of Uncut with Jay Cutler. Adventurer, explorer, biologist, conservationist, and sportsman Donnie Vincent stopped by Outsider Studios recently to talk about his passion for the outdoors and much more.
Host Jay Cutler is an avid outdoorsman as well who has been on countless hunting excursions through the years. The former NFL quarterback is a big fan of Vincent and his work, so they immediately dive into his career in the hunting space. One look at Vincent’s Instagram account and you realize hunting isn’t just a hobby, it’s a way of life for the adventurer. So he had plenty of knowledge to share on the podcast with Cutler and his listeners.
The guys open up the show by chatting about Vincent’s viral video “Who We Are.” Vincent originally created the video for National Geographic and to explain the hunting lifestyle. He then talks about his strong beliefs and views on the responsibility of hunting, which he takes very seriously and has since a young age.
Next, Cutler asks about Vincent’s experience hunting caribou in the Arctic Circle. Even while broke and in college, the adventurer found a way to scrape money together to make the trip happen and travel to Alaska. That’s how dedicated Vincent is to the lifestyle and has been for years.
The pair also have a great discussion about kills that are the best to consume. Cutler has heard that coyotes, bears, and lions taste awful, but Vincent disagrees and told the host they’re great to eat. Vincent then shares some of his wildest close encounters while hunting. He also explains why he’s rejected every opportunity to have his own TV show. We’ve got that and much more on the newest episode of Uncut with Jay Cutler.
Donnie Vincent Talks Responsible Hunting on ‘Uncut with Jay Cutler’
From an early age, Donnie Vincent gained an appreciation and profound respect for animals he hunted. When growing up, he didn’t come from a hunting family. But his father owned guns and had a massive book collection that included texts on wilderness survival, hunting, fishing, and cooking.
Without knowing it at the time, the books became the inspiration for his love of the outdoors as he poured through them as a young man. Vincent became fascinated with wildlife as a kid and over time learned that there’s much more to hunting than just killing an animal.
“Most people go hunting, they pull the trigger and that’s it. And there’s a lot more to it than just that,” host Jay Cutler said to his guest.
“Yea, if you’re present and you’re aware of what you’re doing and where you’re going and why it is that you’re doing it, it’s way more. Obviously there’s camaraderie that comes along with it. You go with friends, you go with family. You spend time with your parents, or buddies, brothers, sisters, whatever. But taking an animal’s life is a big step,” Vincent said on Uncut with Jay Cutler.
“And then eating that animal, skinning that animal breaking it down, carrying it out. That’s a really rewarding aspect of being alive and living,” Vincent added. “Not only do we come from hunters, not only do we come from warriors. But human beings, that’s how we’ve evolved, that’s how our brains became so big. It’s how we became so adaptable and having understanding. We foraged for meat, we scavenged for meat, we hunted for meat, and then we cooked meat. And in doing so we gave ourselves an evolutionary catalyst to becoming human beings. I mean it’s literally who we are. It defines what it is to be a human being.”
Donnie Vincent Shares Some of His Craziest Encounters While In the Wild
For someone like Donnie Vincent who spends days, weeks, and even months in the wilderness, he’s had numerous crazy experiences while in the wild. Some of his craziest encounters have been around packs of wolves, including them completely surrounding his camp. Even crazier, it’s happened multiple times during his various journeys.
During one excursion, Vincent and his crew were stalking a bull moose. However, so was a pack of wolves. As each group continued their hunt, the wolves made their presence known. At one point, Vincent spotted a lone wolf about 20 yards from their camp casually sitting up on its hind legs like a dog. Vincent had his cameraman take footage of the wolf, but the group should’ve known the beast wasn’t alone.
“It reminded me of Jurassic Park with the velociraptors,” Vincent explained. “So we’re filming her and all of a sudden she stands up and walks away… Then all of a sudden there’s one right here. It’s funny because the three of us were like, ‘How did she get there so fast?’ And then, oh, she’s back and here’s this one. It’s really haunting how they do it, but it’s almost like a horror film. You look at the alders and then you just see their golden eyes… You see them and you’re like, oh there’s one, oh there’s one.”
The wolves surrounded them and moved in within 5 yards of the group all while communicating with each other. While that experience with wolves was unnerving to say the least, Vincent assured his crew they were totally fine.
Years before on a separate trip, Vincent spent almost two months around a small pack of wolves during a five-month research excursion. They became so intertwined with his daily life, that one of the females formed a bond with Vincent in a way. Vincent and the wolf would howl at each other and when Vincent would go fly fishing, she’d tag along just a couple feet behind him.
While things seemed cordial, the wolf had its boundaries. If Vincent looked her in the eye, she’d show him her teeth to let him know they weren’t exactly friends. But past that, Vincent acclimated to the pack and vice versa. In fact, when he’d go hiking, several of the wolves would go with him.
Donnie Vincent Opens Up About Rejecting Multiple TV Offers for His Own Show
For someone as knowledgable and mindful about the outdoors, the wilderness, and hunting as Donnie Vincent, you better believe he’s been offered plenty of opportunities to film his adventures. His hunting excursions and research trips while living out of a tent for months at a time would make for great TV. Yet Vincent has been wary about working with with not only television networks but hunting companies as well.
“I’m sure you’ve been offered a million TV shows. Why did you never do one?” host Jay Cutler asked.
“I didn’t wanna constrain the story down to 22 minutes. And I didn’t want to deal with companies in the hunting industry,” Vincent said on the podcast.
“Basically the model in the hunting industry is you purchase airtime,” he continued. “So basically you’re buying yourself a TV show. Then you have to put your films together, put your pieces together – your content. Then you have to go to companies: bow companies, gun companies, backpack companies. Sell yourself, see if they’ll give you a sponsorship. You record a commercial on your show or they give you a commercial to air. And then you try to get these companies to cover your airtime and then you keep the rest. That was just… I had no interest. I just wanted to tell stories.”
Donnie Vincent talks about that and much more during this week’s new episode of the podcast. Make sure to check out his full conversation with host Jay Cutler in the video above, or tune in and listen to Uncut with Jay Cutler on Spotify, Apple, or wherever else you listen to your favorite podcasts.
