Latest / Ducks Unlimited Podcast / New Jersey to the Duck Blind: Christian Zeron’s Outdoor Journey (Ep 818)

Transcript

New Jersey to the Duck Blind: Christian Zeron’s Outdoor Journey (Ep 818) · Ducks Unlimited Podcast

• 0:00
  VO: You're tuned in to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast. Conserving wetlands, restoring habitat, and working to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow, and forever. From field tested hunting insights to the biggest conservation wins across North America, This is your front row seat to wetlands conservation in action. The DU Podcast is proudly sponsored by Bird Dog Whiskey and Cocktails. Whether you're wrapping up a hunt with your best friend or kicking back with your crew, Bird Dog brings award winning flavor to every moment.
• 0:31
  Enjoy responsibly. Alright.
• 0:38
  Matt Harrison: I guess we are live here at Ducks. My name is Matt Harrison. I'll be your host for this podcast. And to my left, I have mister Christian Zeron.
• 0:47
  Christian Zeron: Thank you so much for having me.
• 0:49
  Matt Harrison: And on the end, we have mister Austin Collins with the Quack Shack Podcast. And we're just now wrapping up day two. It has been absolutely insane, but I wanna talk a little bit about Mr. Christian Zeron here, also maybe known as a watch guy, but now in the outdoor industry a little bit, we had to get him an invite here to DUX. Christian, what are your initial thoughts on the expo so so far?
• 1:16
  Christian Zeron: Well, this is my first my first outdoor expo. I've never been surrounded by this much camo in my life. Okay? Camo was off limits until about January of this year, and I'm 30 years old. Okay?
• 1:27
  And now every other item I buy is camo. So it's a lifestyle, and I'm I'm glad with the decisions I made.
• 1:33
  Matt Harrison: I love it. Well, so I originally came across your content on Instagram. Love the content you were putting out there. I thought you were hilarious. Love the crossover between watches, the outdoors.
• 1:46
  Your personality was great. Then I saw where you had went on the Quack Shack Podcast with Austin. I'm good friends with Austin. We were on a podcast together last year here at Ducks. So was like, I've got to hit up Austin to connect me with Christian.
• 1:58
  We got to get him to Ducks this year to experience this awesome outdoor expo. So how did y'all two meet? Because that is what initially has us here today. So Austin, how did that relationship kinda come about?
• 2:11
  Austin Collins: Man, I think you honestly, it's just just like everybody. I saw his content on social media. And, you know, as a podcaster, the the news in... Of the waterfowl is what some people would say. I saw his stuff, and I really enjoyed the authenticity of it, and watching the excitement of a grown man experiencing something for the first time and thoroughly, you know, enjoying it.
• 2:37
  And it's something we all love to do. And so I I sent him a DM, and he answered it, and he... It worked out, and we got him down there. And it it was in the summertime, so we did a podcast and did some boating and took him on the gator tail and scared him a little bit. But we had a great time, and we're we're gonna get him up again on on a few hunts.
• 2:58
  Matt Harrison: What was that boat ride like?
• 3:00
  Christian Zeron: It was terrifying. Because, I mean, one, it's just a terrifying experience. You're going very fast. Okay, but also these people are complete strangers to me.
• 3:07
  Matt Harrison: Yeah, have no idea.
• 3:09
  Christian Zeron: Yeah, I have no idea if they're responsible if they even have a boating license. I have no idea who these people are okay. I'm texting my mother mom I love you. In Texas. I'm on a boat with strangers and I hope that I make it out.
• 3:20
  Austin Collins: But prior to that, we flew to Austin and picked him up on a on a plane. Nice.
• 3:25
  Christian Zeron: They did.
• 3:26
  Austin Collins: They did. And he was like, you know, I'm getting on a plane with people I have never met in my life.
• 3:31
  Christian Zeron: And and the re... The reason is this. You know, when I got into the outdoor, I would say space as a hobbyist, okay, back in January, I'd never really done anything like it before. Yeah. I'd always wanted to.
• 3:42
  Okay? I always had a fascination with the outdoor lifestyle. Had a fascination with with the aesthetic really and I hate to sound shallow but the aesthetic you know Ralph Lauren has a lot of right outdoor inspired collections right that's kind of a shallow way to look at it, but that that is that was my interest. If you had gone into my apartment, you would have seen stag and you would have seen, right, beautiful old lithographs of America. But it was really just, you know, looking through a window.
• 4:05
  I had no actual exposure. So when I when I posted a video in in January of of my first ever duck hunt, which was unbelievable, I got, you know, invitations, and people were being nice to me. And I said, okay. Well, I could... I...
• 4:16
  You know, two roads are diverging. Right? Or one road's diverging into two, and I have a choice to make. I can either be, you know, like, flattered and think it's cool and try to make content around it or or I can actually say yes and start going and meeting these people. But I have to get on planes then.
• 4:30
  I have to meet strangers. Yeah. Yeah. And I need to do things that make me feel uncomfortable. I need
• 4:34
  Matt Harrison: to, you
• 4:34
  Christian Zeron: know, fly to Texas with a bunch of strangers and, I guess, hunt for turkey. I didn't even know turkeys could fly. Okay? I knew nothing about it. I...
• 4:42
  I've seen nine year olds. I'm serious. Really? I found out turkeys could fly about three days before my first turkey hunt. Wow.
• 4:47
  Yep. And I got my first Easter in the morning. Yeah.
• 4:50
  Matt Harrison: You killed an eastern.
• 4:51
  Christian Zeron: I killed an eastern in Rio in
• 4:53
  Matt Harrison: the first season. That is really hard to do.
• 4:55
  Christian Zeron: Yeah. Well, you know, I'm a natural.
• 4:56
  Matt Harrison: Yeah. Yeah.
• 4:57
  Christian Zeron: I love it.
• 4:58
  Matt Harrison: I love
• 4:58
  Christian Zeron: it. I love it.
• 5:00
  Matt Harrison: So... Okay. So you you said that, of course, you just got into it. Okay. Hadn't even been a full year yet.
• 5:06
  Right? What made you finally take that leap? Kinda what led to that first opportunity? Right? Like, I know that...
• 5:12
  How old are you now?
• 5:13
  Christian Zeron: I'm 30. Okay. 31. September.
• 5:14
  Matt Harrison: So pretty much twenty nine and a half of your years, you did not hunt. So what made you just finally say, okay. I'm doing it. Right? Was it an opportunity?
• 5:21
  Was It's a one opportunity.
• 5:22
  Christian Zeron: And and and that was the first opportunity I ever had. Wow. Right? People from where I'm from, right, metropolitan areas, you know, generally speaking, do not have any exposure to the outdoors or to hunting. Yeah.
• 5:32
  Even outdoor exposure is, like... It's really not common. And and if it is, it's, you know, decidedly partisan. Right? Like, it's really not like a thing that most people
• 5:42
  Matt Harrison: are doing.
• 5:42
  Christian Zeron: Whereas in the rest of the country, the outdoors is like... It's like a necessity. Like, everyone is outdoors. Everyone is, you know, enjoying the mountains and the fresh air and the stars. Where I'm from, that's really not the case.
• 5:53
  Yeah. It really isn't. Maybe a little bit of the beach. Yeah. But even that, not a ton.
• 5:57
  Yeah. Okay?
• 5:58
  Austin Collins: It's crazy because when when he was on our show and he was giving us the the perspective of where he comes from, you know, the Eastern Coast, New Jersey, New York area, and the fact that there's people that don't even know that what we do exist. Yeah. And then you you put it into our perspective, and we don't know any different. Right?
• 6:20
  Matt Harrison: A 100%.
• 6:21
  Austin Collins: Like, I mean, we were we were hunting since we were babies. Right? And so, like, it's crazy to think that. You know? And and and and and I guess it's crazy to think that because of how big social media and the Internet itself is.
• 6:35
  Like, it's not hard to find. You kinda touched on that. Like, it's not hard to find, and it's not hard to do. You just have to do it.
• 6:43
  Christian Zeron: Yeah. I mean, you know, the... You know, social media has a funny way of keeping you in your bubble as well. You're right. You can...
• 6:49
  I mean, you can be on social media very actively, even addicted to social media, and never really find the waterfowl world, never find the outdoor world at all. Yeah. And now, you know, my algorithm has totally changed, and the only content I get now is outdoor content. I mean, that that really makes me very happy. But before that, I never had any.
• 7:06
  Matt Harrison: Yeah. Yeah. You know, one thing that really stuck out too is... So when I first came across your content, I I saw where a lot of outdoor people were commenting. Right?
• 7:15
  Like, you had a big bunch of big brands comment and a bunch of big influencers comment. And then, you know, one thing that I think people really enjoy about you, Christian, is, you know, a lot of people when they get into the outdoor space, they want to kind of put that persona on that, like, I already know what I'm doing. Like, I kind of got it figured out. Right. But I think what a lot of people really enjoy with you is like, you love showing people that like, you didn't know all the ins and outs to it.
• 7:38
  Right? Like how your experience was when you learned how a turkey could fly. Right? Like a lot of people may be shy of that and like, I don't wanna be embarrassed by putting that out there because I don't know. Right?
• 7:47
  But a lot of people relate to that with you and they appreciate like, I appreciate that even though, like Austin said, I grew up hunting, right? Like deer hunting, turkey hunting, duck hunting, like I've lived it pretty much my whole life. But when I see somebody that's generally got an excitement about it and they're honest, look, man, I had no idea a turkey could fly. Like, I'm like, I love the honesty there versus, oh yeah, I do that. You know?
• 8:09
  So I think
• 8:10
  Austin Collins: you relate. He's authentically him.... Percent.
• 8:12
  Christian Zeron: You you know, a little bit of, like, humility is, like, such a relief. Yeah. Because you never have to pretend like you know something that you don't. A 100%. I mean, I'm going around saying, oh, my god.
• 8:21
  I have no idea what you're talking about. Would you teach me? And people are like, of course. I love to teach you. So now I'm getting all these amazing experiences and meeting these people who are, like, taking time out of their day to show me, like, a million things about ducks, about tarpon, right, about, you know, redfish Yep.
• 8:36
  About about all different kinds of hunting. Right? Didn't know the difference between a 12 gauge and a 20 gauge.
• 8:40
  Matt Harrison: Wow.
• 8:40
  Christian Zeron: I had no idea these two things even existed. Okay? And now I have people that are being nice and kind of letting me into their world Yeah. Because you say, I'm so sorry. I'm an idiot.
• 8:49
  Could you explain this? And they're so generous with their...
• 8:52
  Matt Harrison: Well, one thing a hunter, you know, takes a lot of... You know, one thing a hunter likes to do is teach other people. Absolutely. And some people may be a little too much. They like to tell you how to do things, you know, and kind of...
• 9:03
  But one thing is a core about hunters is they really do like showing other people how to do it. Right? Like that's one of my favorite things about hunting in general is taking a Kia Turkey hunting for the first time. Yeah. Or somebody duck hunting for the first time.
• 9:16
  So a couple of years ago, Barstool Outdoors, Sydney Whales, great friend
• 9:19
  Christian Zeron: of mine.
• 9:20
  Matt Harrison: We had a couple of her, Wonton Don Mhmm. And Feidelberg. We opened them out. Never... I don't know if you know who they are with the...
• 9:29
  Austin Collins: They're from the New York. Yes. Like the
• 9:31
  Matt Harrison: most Yeah. Most non hunters. Right? But they were like, let's try it. So we took them out to Arkansas and it was the most crazy epic experience.
• 9:40
  Like so many ducks coming in at once. And one time Don's over there. He's so cold. He's like, my hands are so cold and I can't work my gun, but this is freaking awesome. Like, just...
• 9:49
  It was so cool and, like, just getting to see the experience and somebody see that for the first time, like, nothing can compare to that joy scene to somebody else.
• 9:58
  Christian Zeron: Totally. And I think that I think I think that the country is very is very, you know, split in the sense that
• 10:05
  Matt Harrison: Yeah.
• 10:06
  Christian Zeron: People don't even realize how welcoming people that are nothing like them would be to them Correct. If they actually
• 10:12
  Matt Harrison: met... That's a
• 10:13
  Christian Zeron: great idea. From where I'm from do not think that they would be comfortable or welcome Yep. In other parts of the country where they'd be a fish out of water.
• 10:21
  Matt Harrison: Yeah.
• 10:21
  Christian Zeron: Little do they realize that, you know, the people in the rest of the country, rural America, you know, country America are, I mean, so kind. They are so lovely. You know, where I'm from, you know, the stereotype is... And I I think it's I think it's intentional. I think it's malicious.
• 10:37
  The stereotype and the understanding of of the South or of the Midwest is that they're real kind to your face, but they're real backstabbers behind. And that's something that that that New Yorkers and New Jersey folks, and I think people from Boston and Massachusetts say almost as a way to comfort themselves. Yeah. Because it's not actually true. And no...
• 10:52
  And no... I mean, I'm sure that, of course, there
• 10:54
  Matt Harrison: are people that are wrong
• 10:55
  Christian Zeron: to it, but that is not the culture by any means. But it's something that our culture kind of has told itself to feel better about our outward rudeness
• 11:04
  Matt Harrison: Wow.
• 11:04
  Christian Zeron: Which is terrible. Yeah. And now I've been trying to tell people, like, you don't realize how nice the people are in Texas. You don't realize how kind people in Arkansas are. Listen, people, they're amazing.
• 11:14
  Yeah. They're so generous, and and, you know, I I just don't think that my experience is unique. Yeah. I think that that is the experience
• 11:21
  Austin Collins: For sure.
• 11:22
  Christian Zeron: That anyone would have
• 11:23
  Matt Harrison: No doubt.
• 11:24
  Christian Zeron: Had they actually ventured out into the rest of their country.
• 11:26
  Austin Collins: For sure.
• 11:27
  Matt Harrison: Yeah. One thing you... Like, the South man in general, like, and the more time you spend down here is like, they're... They're saying southern hospitality. That...
• 11:34
  Austin Collins: It's real.
• 11:35
  Matt Harrison: It is. And don't get me wrong. Like you said, Christian, you have your sour apples. Okay? Like Absolutely.
• 11:40
  You've got them. But truly man, like if you're leaving out of here today and you had a flat tire and you're on that side of the road, I guarantee you within five minutes, if you were coming out to Ducks, somebody stopping to help you change your tire. Absolutely. No doubt. A 100%.
• 11:51
  Like the South truly has that hospitality of like, Hey, we're gonna care for each other. We're gonna love each other. Look, you know, we're gonna have our differences, me and you. I'm sure our political views or religion views may be different, but at the end of the day, man, I love you. Won't do anything to help you.
• 12:05
  We're humans. Let's care for each other, take care of each other and love one another. You know? And that's one thing I feel like the world... The whole world in a whole is missing.
• 12:11
  Christian Zeron: Exactly. And I think that, you know, as with all, right, kind of mend, starts from common ground.
• 12:17
  Matt Harrison: It does.
• 12:17
  Christian Zeron: What do we share? What do we have in common? Yep. And I think that if there's anything that folks from different parts of the... Different sides of the aisle Yeah.
• 12:26
  Walks of life can agree on is protection of nature. Yeah. Okay. 100%. Land.
• 12:32
  Matt Harrison: That is
• 12:32
  Christian Zeron: the one thing that the most radical liberal and the most radical conservative Can agree. Can say
• 12:36
  Matt Harrison: is Matt Harrison. Right. 100%. Absolutely.
• 12:39
  Christian Zeron: And then they may not like the fact that they're on the same side as someone that they thought was so foreign to them. They might be... Yeah. It might be like, I don't wanna I don't wanna agree with that person. But the truth is, you know, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
• 12:48
  Matt Harrison: Correct.
• 12:49
  Christian Zeron: And together, if we can actually build this bridge kind of across the aisle and across culture, and it's not just political, but across culture, I think that, you know, mobilized
• 12:57
  Matt Harrison: Yep.
• 12:57
  Christian Zeron: We can have a lot more power. A lot more power.
• 12:59
  Matt Harrison: And that's the beautiful thing about Ducks Unlimited, you know, and why we're here is our core mission is to conserve wetlands other associated habitat for North American waterfowl and other wildlife. Like, that is what we do is I don't wanna... I I don't know the exact percent, but it's like over 80% of the the money that DU raises goes right back into the dirt for wildlife. Right? So like what we're doing is truly to better conserve our habitat for wildlife.
• 13:27
  Right? And we can agree on that. Like, you know, course our views on many different things may be different, you know, a lot of people, that's the common ground is, hey, we can come together, we can make a difference, right? And let's team up and truly make a difference for conservation and the outdoors, right?
• 13:50
  VO: Stay tuned to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast sponsored by Bird Dog Whiskey after these messages.
• 14:03
  Christian Zeron: You know, I said to I said to Austin, it was actually the first podcast I ever started talking about it on because I just felt like I knew the guys so quickly. They were such... They were so lovely. And I started talking about, you know, I'm from New Jersey. New Jersey is known as the garden state.
• 14:15
  Matt Harrison: Yeah.
• 14:15
  Christian Zeron: Right? And I'm 30 years old. And for the last thirty years, I've seen New Jersey go from a garden to a parking lot. Okay? And it's...
• 14:22
  And now I'm not I'm not saying that there aren't areas. There's Vineland, New Jersey. There's super far West New Jersey, Tewkesbury.
• 14:27
  Matt Harrison: Yep.
• 14:27
  Christian Zeron: That... Okay. Still our garden. Yep. But the truth is that that that name Yep.
• 14:33
  Is no longer honest because the people fell asleep at the wheel and started saying, ah, you know, like, you know, who cares? You want a new, you know, apartment building or a new shopping complex or new this or new that. And everyone's, you know, didn't ask themselves, well well, that means that something's being displaced. Correct. Means that we we have less nature than we did.
• 14:52
  Yeah. It's not over one year. It's over five years, ten years, twenty years. And over the last twenty years, I've seen my home. I don't just mean my neighborhood.
• 14:59
  I mean, the the entire, really, Northern New Jersey, Central New Jersey go from a beautiful place, rich in resource and color Yep. To a place that is gray Yeah. And bleak. Yeah. And it's...
• 15:11
  And that that to me is far... I think that's my mission if anything.
• 15:15
  Matt Harrison: For sure.
• 15:15
  Christian Zeron: It's not just to get people into hunting. Yeah. It's to get people saying, hey, man. Yep. Something's happening if we don't band together.
• 15:23
  Yeah. We won't even have a country.
• 15:24
  Matt Harrison: 100%
• 15:24
  Christian Zeron: now. We have nature.
• 15:26
  Austin Collins: Percent. We... There's... Like we talked about on the podcast, the the... Anytime the congress goes to to pass a bill, there's something to do with public land or Yeah.
• 15:36
  Wildlife, you know.
• 15:37
  Matt Harrison: We're seeing it right now in the Prairie Pothole region.
• 15:39
  Austin Collins: Right now.
• 15:40
  Matt Harrison: Right now. Yeah. That's why we have collectively over the few days we've been here thousands of signatures that we've collected. There's, you know, some issues right now, US Fish and Wildlife Services. There's there's some things going on in the Prairie Pothole region.
• 15:52
  I'm not gonna get off into all but you know, where we gotta we gotta take a stand. Right? Absolutely. You know, that's why I'm so passionate about my job is conserving water, you know, habitat for waterfowl. Like, DU just finished up a campaign where we raised over $4,000,000,000.
• 16:08
  Billion for conservation. Right? Conservation for a continent. We just wrapped
• 16:12
  Austin Collins: that up.
• 16:12
  Matt Harrison: I mean, over $4,000,000,000 for the ducks. Right? And it benefits, of course, all other wildlife. So that's like y'all... Both y'all said, it's it's important that we realize that a lot of our habitat is being demolished or degraded.
• 16:28
  And what... What's the next hundred years gonna be? Right?
• 16:31
  Austin Collins: Yeah. If we don't start fighting back now
• 16:33
  Christian Zeron: Oh, it's all over. And it's all over.
• 16:34
  Austin Collins: Our kids' kids, well well, they're... They won't have anything to... Anywhere to hunt.
• 16:39
  Christian Zeron: And I think so much of it is, obviously, you know, getting, you know, folks like me, younger people that otherwise never would have found this hobby Right. In this space to start seeing how not just fun it is and it
• 16:49
  Matt Harrison: is a blast
• 16:50
  Christian Zeron: Yeah. But also how important it is, how eternally, like, important it is. Yeah. Because, God willing, they'll go on to have families
• 16:57
  Matt Harrison: 100%.
• 16:57
  Christian Zeron: And they'll have sons, and they'll have daughters. Yep. And then they're gonna teach their sons and daughters how important conservation is. Because when I was a kid in our... My area, and I grew up in a lovely area, but the truth is, fathers taught their sons...
• 17:10
  What? Fathers taught their sons how to play sports Mhmm. And that you gotta get a job. Yeah. Right?
• 17:15
  Yeah. These were not like... And I don't mean to be too judgmental. I'm I'm careful in that. But these are not like eternal lessons in manhood or conservation or or, you know, what it really means to be an American.
• 17:26
  It's not. You know? I think it's great that if a father teaches his son how to play catch Yeah.
• 17:30
  Matt Harrison: For sure.
• 17:31
  Christian Zeron: For sure. Far more important to raise a son who knows that, you know, knows his values. No doubt. For that he needs to protect his land because someone else is gonna take it.
• 17:39
  Matt Harrison: There's no doubt.
• 17:40
  Christian Zeron: Absolutely gonna... Yeah.
• 17:41
  Austin Collins: There's no doubt. That's definitely gonna happen. And that's why, you know, as conservationists, obviously, we have a beautiful Ducks Unlimited that that does stuff like that. I mean, that's why they're here. Right?
• 17:52
  This is all the fun and and stuff like that, but behind the scenes, they're doing way more than than any, you know, than I could do or you could do, you know, but it takes us.
• 18:02
  Matt Harrison: It does. Our volunteer... You know, Ducks Unlimited is not Ducks Unlimited without our volunteers. Absolutely.
• 18:07
  Austin Collins: Have tens
• 18:08
  Matt Harrison: of thousands of volunteers across The United States and even into Canada and New Mexico Yeah. Where they don't get paid a dime.
• 18:14
  Christian Zeron: Right.
• 18:15
  Matt Harrison: They're out at events. Right. They're raising money for the Ducks. They're out soliciting for the Ducks, you know, trying to get other volunteers involved. They're out there making a true difference, you know.
• 18:24
  And it is truly, truly remarkable, you know. Yes. Like Austin said, this is beautiful. This is fun to come hang out, got a new watch out to hook and gap. Right?
• 18:31
  We're gonna talk
• 18:32
  Austin Collins: about that.
• 18:32
  Christian Zeron: Beautiful moon series.
• 18:33
  Matt Harrison: Yeah. Hook and gap watches here. Like, all this is fun. Right? But what are we doing?
• 18:39
  Right? But we are here to make a difference in conservation and make a difference for waterfowl. Right? Like, that's why I wanted you here. I wanted you to experience the culture, the friends, the family, the faith, the experience.
• 18:52
  It's all great. Right? But at the end of the day, I want Christian to be like, okay, Ducks Unlimited, what do they actually do? Right? Are they just a cool brand with the DU logo that I've seen on the back of a bumper before?
• 19:01
  Like, no, there's so much more than that. DU is fighting, like fighting, going to battle for wetlands conservation and making a difference and making sure that we sustain our habitat for wildlife. Well,
• 19:15
  Austin Collins: DU does a lot. DU does a lot, and they and they all over the country, like you said, up into Canada as well. But we... It's... They're an asset to to, you know, our way of life.
• 19:27
  Christian Zeron: Yeah. Absolutely. And I think the next step in what you guys do is incredible. I mean, actually, the way I found out about you is everyone else told me about you. It wasn't even you guys.
• 19:35
  It was like everyone, oh, you gotta get involved with Ducks Unlimited. You know? It's a... That's... The brand's that strong.
• 19:40
  Yeah. But for me, the next step is, not just personally, but think as an industry, it's okay. The the the in... Within the industry, people know your mission. People know how valuable the, you know, the cause is.
• 19:52
  But now the question is, outside of industry, does your average person understand
• 19:56
  Matt Harrison: Right. What we do. What you do?
• 19:58
  Christian Zeron: Does the average person
• 19:59
  Matt Harrison: Bingo. Understand
• 20:00
  Christian Zeron: the value that hunters bring actually to the country? They're not taking. They're actually leaving behind
• 20:07
  Matt Harrison: Bingo.
• 20:08
  Christian Zeron: More than they actually... It's... They don't understand that, and and
• 20:10
  Matt Harrison: it's not
• 20:11
  Christian Zeron: because they're evil. It's just because they haven't been messaged to yet. And I... That's my that's
• 20:15
  Austin Collins: my mission.
• 20:15
  Christian Zeron: And I can't do it alone, of course. Yeah. But I wanna I wanna get people speaking about
• 20:20
  Austin Collins: it Right.
• 20:20
  Christian Zeron: Yeah. Outside of the outdoor industry because if I can even play a small role in that
• 20:25
  Matt Harrison: You're doing your part.
• 20:26
  Christian Zeron: Man, I'm I'm the happiest guy in the world.
• 20:28
  Austin Collins: And as you... I mean, our podcast did great with him. Yeah. And and when... We had multiple people reach out to try to get to Christian.
• 20:37
  Yeah. And and we we talked about several of them. And... But like I told Christian, you have to protect yourself.
• 20:43
  Christian Zeron: For
• 20:43
  Austin Collins: sure. Because you're an outsider that is obviously authentically loving breaking into the outdoor industry, but you have to protect yourself. But when Matt approached me Yeah. About the podcast, I was like, you know, Matt's with DU. DU does phenomenal things.
• 21:01
  You're in Jersey. And our our conversation on the podcast of trying to break into that market in the, you know, Manhattan, Jersey, you know, all the East Coast of the people that don't know, that that don't have access or don't think they have access. Right?
• 21:21
  Matt Harrison: Yeah.
• 21:21
  Austin Collins: I... The reason I even approached you about that is one, because Matt's a friend Mhmm. And I trust Matt. But also because I think I think there's something that you can do.
• 21:31
  Matt Harrison: Yeah.
• 21:32
  Austin Collins: You know, you were like, well, I can't do it myself on the podcast. And I was... You know, with the help of DU, I think I think there's something that can be done. For sure. To to, you know, the the places where people don't have access.
• 21:46
  Matt Harrison: No doubt. And that's that's that's it. You know? And that's part of my job as Ducks Unlimited. You know, I'm the digital communications manager.
• 21:52
  I oversee all of our social media, but I'm also like, okay. Who are people with The Voice? Right? Like, you know, a lot of people follow you maybe for your watches or your personality. But like you mentioned, Christian, there's a lot of people that don't know what Ducks Unlimited does.
• 22:05
  Right? They just see the brand. Like, I cannot tell you how many people that I've come across and Oh yeah, y'all sell hats. And I'm like, man, we do... Yeah.
• 22:13
  We sold a hat before, but like, that's not what we do. Right? Or, Oh, I've seen y'all's logo on the back of somebody's four by four Ford F-one 150. And I'm like, yeah, but man, there's so much more I want you to understand about Ducks Unlimited, what we're doing to try to conserve habitat. You know, I love being able to get people in and even people without big voices too, right?
• 22:35
  Like our goal is to share the mission, is to share the mission. So, getting you here, I was like, I want him to experience it. I want him to see that this is a family ride. Everybody has the same passion, but also explain to him like, Hey, we are fighting for conservation and we are out putting boots on the ground, putting dollars back into the ground to make a difference. And we need people when our name is brought up, right?
• 22:58
  When you're at duck count next year and you hear the conversation come up, man, you know, I wish that we did more here. We put more money in there. Christian can say, well, know, Ducks Unlimited is a great nonprofit organization that puts millions of dollars back into the dirt, you know? Cause you know how I know? Cause I got the experience and I saw what they do.
• 23:16
  I see how they raise money. I see the people that care about it and they're a great organization sign up for, you know, $35 a month and become a member and get a subscription to a magazine. Right?
• 23:25
  Christian Zeron: A 100%. A 100%. I think that once once, you know, people outside of industry, right
• 23:31
  Matt Harrison: Yeah.
• 23:31
  Christian Zeron: Start to realize, particularly in metropolitan areas because then it spreads like wildfire. Right? I mean, they're so densely populated that everyone knows once one person knows. You know? And once they realize that, you know, it's essentially one way or the other, Either you are active in conservation Yeah.
• 23:46
  Even if that just means being a member.
• 23:47
  Matt Harrison: 100%. Right.
• 23:48
  Christian Zeron: Either you're active in conservation and you are a part of the protection of the land Yeah. Or you are someone that might as well just be opening the gates and letting, you know, letting the
• 23:57
  Austin Collins: the the people... Being a member helps a lot....
• 23:59
  Christian Zeron: Hurt the land. 100%. Yeah.
• 24:01
  Austin Collins: It helps more than people realize.
• 24:03
  Christian Zeron: Yeah.
• 24:03
  Austin Collins: I'm
• 24:03
  Matt Harrison: sure. Becoming a member, just understanding, and you're a voice. All play a part. Right? The more people that join in, the louder you become.
• 24:11
  And it's just so important that we're getting that message out there so that people see and realize the importance of you guys over 50% of wildlife, over 50% use a wetland. 50%, not even just ducks, 50% of wildlife use a wetland. And that is what we are trying to conserve as wetlands and other associated habitat for wildlife. So how important is that that we give back to make a difference? You know, so sorry, I get a little passionate.
• 24:37
  I get fired
• 24:38
  Austin Collins: off. That's awesome.
• 24:38
  Matt Harrison: I'll maybe spit on you a little bit, Christian. I just, I love what I do and, you know, I love seeing people who love the outdoors and I see your passion for the outdoors because I can kind of see in a little bit of you just love being out there. You love enjoying the moment. You love just what God has given us and just being out there. Exactly.
• 24:57
  What happens when that goes away? It gives me chill bumps like it literally. Like, that breaks my heart.
• 25:01
  Christian Zeron: There's nothing really more masculine that that a young man or or a man... Really a man can do Yeah. Than raise a family and protect his country, protect his land. Okay. Protect what God has given us.
• 25:12
  Matt Harrison: You're giving me chill bumps.
• 25:13
  Christian Zeron: That's it. Ellen, you... And if you can't if you can't do that, I don't care how big your portfolio is. I don't care the position that you may have at a large organization. I don't care how many languages you speak, how many books you've read.
• 25:24
  I really don't care. Yeah. The rest of it, god bless you. Yeah. Yep.
• 25:27
  Really, you've only done side quests. You're right. Right? It's the most important charge. Yeah.
• 25:33
  Okay? Yeah. Having a family Yeah. And protecting this land. Yeah.
• 25:36
  That's it. And the way that I've been talking about it to people that are not in the community yet Yeah. Is like, if you're not protecting the land, that... That's kind of pathetic. You...
• 25:47
  Matt Harrison: What are you doing?
• 25:47
  Christian Zeron: Like, you're pathetic. Like, you're kind of... You know? Yeah. And that's...
• 25:49
  And they're like, oh, yeah. You're right. That is pathetic. Like, I'm letting someone else take my gun. Like, I'm letting someone else take the trees.
• 25:55
  Matt Harrison: Like, that's not happening. I'm a trees. Billionaire, take
• 25:58
  Christian Zeron: my trees.
• 25:59
  Matt Harrison: Damn it. Yeah.
• 26:00
  Christian Zeron: Yeah. You know, it's funny how quickly even a conservative becomes an anarchist. Right?
• 26:03
  Matt Harrison: Yeah. I'll take
• 26:04
  Christian Zeron: them down. I'll take them. You know?
• 26:06
  Austin Collins: If you're gonna take them, I'm
• 26:08
  Christian Zeron: a take them. Yeah. And all of a sudden. Right? And that's what...
• 26:11
  That's bipartisan. People can agree about it on both sides.
• 26:13
  Matt Harrison: 100%.
• 26:14
  Christian Zeron: People can agree.
• 26:15
  Matt Harrison: 100%. Well, Christian, I've enjoyed. I hope you've enjoyed it. Again, check out this watch he got hook and gap. Beautiful.
• 26:23
  Moon on the front.
• 26:24
  Austin Collins: Moon's Look at him.
• 26:25
  Christian Zeron: Look at
• 26:26
  Austin Collins: him. With the Ducks Unlimited on there.
• 26:27
  Matt Harrison: I mean, just... Man, it's awesome. It. But Christian, man, truly, I'm not just saying this because we're on a podcast and we're about to go out and have a good time. Listen.
• 26:35
  Thank you. Thank you for coming. Thank you for getting to experience it. Thank you for your voice. Austin, thank you.
• 26:41
  Without you, this is this is impossible. Right? So thank you for caring enough. Right? Like you said, a lot of people reached out to you for the relationship connection there.
• 26:49
  Thank you for being willing to play a part in Wetlands Conservation and to grow Ducks Unlimited and what we're we're trying to do here. Thank you all so much. Alright. Thank you all so much for taking time to listen to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast. Y'all take care, and God bless.
• 27:02
  Christian Zeron: God bless
• 27:03
  Austin Collins: you all. See you.
• 27:04
  Matt Harrison: Oh. Oh.
• 27:06
  VO: That's a wrap for today's episode of the Ducks Unlimited Podcast brought to you by Bird Dog Whiskey and Cocktails. From post hunt unwinds to celebrations back at camp, Bird Dog delivers award winning flavor to every moment. Enjoy responsibly. Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe, and check out ducks.org/du Podcast for more science, and all things waterfowl. Guest opinions are their own and don't necessarily reflect those of Ducks Unlimited.
• 27:31
  Until next time, stay fired up, stay focused, and stay tuned to the Ducks.