Michael Waddell is without question the biggest star in the outdoor world.

To my gun- and bow-toting brotheron, he’s sort of our LeBron James. Well, except when he was a big-time free agent in the hunting industry a couple years ago, he didn’t do an hour-long show on the Outdoor Channel to tell everybody about it. In fact, hardly anyone knew about it. He’s that kind of humble.

He’s gone from a part-time grunt with Realtree Outdoors to the most sought-after representative for every outdoor product manufacturer. He’s developed two brands that carry significant value in the outdoors. And he’s done it by staying true to himself. I respect that very much.

He kind of reminds me a lot of Marty Smith with ESPN. Smith is beloved by NASCAR fans because he is different by being normal. Does that make sense – different by being normal? The normal for both Smith and Waddell helped fit a niche that was needed in their respective industries.

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