The Voices for Voices TV Show and Podcast Episode 46 with Guest, Amanda Lynn Mayhew
Welcome to the Voices for Voices TV Show and Podcast sponsored by Redwood Living
thank you for joining us today I am Justin Alan Hayes founder and
executive director of Voices for Voices host and humanitarian
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now I founded Voices for Voices to provide a platform for folks to share
their stories with others as we work to break the stigma around mental health
accessibility and disabilities while also helping people get the help
they need and also helping them prepare and or transition into the workforce with the
Voices for Voices Career Center where we connect Talent with opportunity
for both job Seekers and employers alike from coast to coast and in every
industry in job level and who can forget about merchandise
the Voices for Voices merchandise shop is now up and running at
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all donations are one hundred tax deductible now before we get into today's episode I
want to also give an announcement for our third annual a brand-new day Gala
fundraiser which this year is going to be held on October 13th, 2023, from 6 30
pm to 8 30 p.m. at the Leona Ferris Lodge
and the address is 5027 Stow Road in Stow Ohio
44224 USA in a previous episode of our podcast we
had our keynote speaker for this year's event Dan flowers he's the president and
CEO of the Akron-can regional Food Bank we're also going to be giving away in
presenting this year's Voices for Voices ambassador of the Year award to the
honorable Judge Allison Breaux who works with the Summit County Court of Common Pleas and founded the Hope
Court for individuals with felonies we're gonna have music we're gonna have
artwork we're going to have American sign language interpretation from students at the Kent State University
program that join us from time to time on the podcast raffle baskets a much
more to support members in the community who are battling addiction mental health
and accessibility and lastly tickets for that fundraiser
are going to be a hundred and fifty dollars for an individual ticket and 750
dollars for a table of six we hope to see you there and tickets can
be found and purchased on Voices for Voices.orgnow I'm very excited to welcome in
today's guest she is I believe in Durham Ontario Canada
she is an actress producer of that hunting girl creator of just Hunt Inc
and keynote speaker and I can't forget she is also one of today's most popular faces of the
outdoors the Canadian Hunter and U.S Hunters follow her adventures
with just Hunt Inc including her new TV series that hunting girl with Amanda
Lynn Mayhew which errors on the Sportsman Channel in Canada
so today's guest is Amanda Lynn Mayhew thank you for joining me today
thanks for having me exciting actually
yes, yeah, you're definitely in a busy season from what I I've seen with trade shows and being out and about for
our listeners our viewers to get a little bit of a level set about your story would you maybe talk a little bit
about kind of beginning of where you are or today what got you involved and what
what things were happening that kept that career continuing and now being
a Mainstay on TV well if we go back to when I was born
I was born and raised in the hunting industry, so I was born and raised hunting and fishing with my parents in a
small remote town in Northern Ontario and kind of grew up that way when I hit my mid-20s I was diagnosed with Graves
disease and I went into a big slump, and they fed me all kinds of different
medications to try to toto reset my thyroid and your thyroid is in your neck
and it's kind of your brain of your body and I didn't feel comfortable
taking all of these different pills and I just kind of didn't feel like myself so what I had done is I was
watching an infomercial and so happened that Chuck Norris was using the Total Gym and it looked it looked fun and
so I had gone to Walmart actually and bought a total gym and I changed my life I started bodybuilding I changed my
appearance I changed my strength I was dedicated to getting rid of all of those
medications and just being as strong as I could be for what I wanted to do and I
didn't want to feel like a zombie anymore and I didn't want to feel tired and fatigued so I did that and within
doing the fitness and the bodybuilding and whatnot I was still out there hunting and fishing and doing all the
outdoors things that I love but I was doing it with more energy and more like oomph and it made me feel better
to connect my fitness with the outdoors things that I did in the meanwhile
raising three boys pretty much on my own and then
I don't know like from being in the spotlight in the media with Fitness and doing different interviews and doing
different charity events which I've done my whole life for Progeria for Ms for
all different types of rare diseases and then creating my own Fitness Magazine
and then pulling the outdoors into that Fitness Magazine and then social media
appeared and the outdoors industry was noticing that hey there's this girl she's out there she's hunting and she's
fishing and she's doing all these things she's got her kids involved let’s do something with her so then
it rolled into being an ambassador for Cabela's and Bass Pro and just being
involved more in different Publications and then all of a sudden, a network in Canada contacted me
during a shot show convention in Vegas in 2016 and they wanted to put me on TV, and I didn't want to be on TV
um that was very nerve-wracking, but I said okay let's try it and it was very well received being a female in the
outdoors now on network television and it just kept rolling from there and then including
all of the educational aspects of what I do the girls really wanted to get out
there as well so it was inspiring more women to get outdoors and so I created a
bunch of Outreach programs which is range days and take me hunting and take me fishing and now here I am on
Sportsman Channel still doing the same things that I was born and raised doing and just expanding on knowledges and
experiences and opportunities to give those to others and myself fantastic
maybe you can talk about maybe one of your more recent experiences I was able
to see on social media that had you and an alligator involved maybe you
could just walk our audience and viewers through that because I it was just awesome to see that
great humbling and honoring to be included in such a huge event and so I decided that
I was going to drive and so I drove to Nashville I did the speaking engagement
it was just an incredible event, and it was really cool to be recognized as a
Canadian hunter in the states and I didn't even realize I had such a huge following in the States but people
waving on my way down to Nashville and honking and stopping me at gas stations and such then I decided to just
continue on to Florida and go on a vacation but I guess I don't know how to have a vacation because I always find
something to do so I had done some deep-sea fishing and those were captured for
the TV show and I got a hold of a couple buddies down in Florida and we went alligator hunting and as something that
I didn't know I really wanted to do until I actually got there and then I was like oh my God this is amazing and
uh yeah it was incredible you go into this beautiful compound and I've never
really been to a place quite like this I mostly a do-it-yourself Hunter and
um they set you up with everything that you need to know you sign your life away and off you go and you go into
this compound with alligators everywhere and I mean hundreds and hundreds of them, and the guide will reel in or cast a rod
it's got a big trouble hook on the bottom of it with a heavy weight he
gets the gator gives you a ride to you reel it in so you're fighting this alligator with everything you have and
then you reel it in and then you hand Your Rod back over to the guide and God gives you a firearm and you harvest your
animal and then you pull it up and off you go sign it up harvesting an eight foot but 100-pound alligator my first
Gator and it was just really exciting and thrilling and through all of this
that's happening and going on and reeling and shooting and pulling up on shore there's alligators everywhere and
uh I really wanted something really epic to have a memory of the
alligator not just the tan hide and the Euro mountain and eating it or whatnot I wanted a picture so my
parents are both passed away and I have a little bit of crazy in
me because you only live life once and once, I started you know doing all these
um creative opportunities or wild things or whatever you want to call them I wanted to get in the water with the
alligator and kind of have this epic picture with me in the water in this alligator me and my guide thought that I
you know kind of lost my marbles and he's like well you know what if we're gonna do this we're gonna do this it's
kind of an 80 20. maybe 70 30 ah whatever 50 50. let's do it so he got
into the water first and this water is a pond with over four hundred alligators in there
and he got in there he stepped down put the alligator on the log and then he you
now let's go let's go let's do this let's do this in a hurry and the cameraman is kind of like okay
what is happening here, and the guy was telling the cameraman you know watch
for alligators well we got the picture we got the video it's very humorous and when once we got out of the water a
couple of alligators had raised up kind of where we were standing so oh my gosh that's incredible the story is awesome
and I invite everybody to check that that portion out
um four we also have students and individuals that are looking for careers
and might not know what way to turn or maybe they're being closed off and being
told well this is how you have to do it, and this is the way we've always done it this is the way our family's done it
what type of advice or recommendations because I like your outside you
know talking about you know we only live once obviously you're doing as much safety around that that living ones but
just having that creative spirit and sometimes in today's day and age that
sometimes gets lost and I think it's very refreshing for somebody like you to
share that so maybe you can give some advice or some thoughts of things that people can
due to test out to see if they like certain things well there's a couple of different
things so for me I have sort of an itinerary of what I plan to do during
the year but then sometimes it just goes offside so if it's in your heart and you feel
it in your guts just do it obviously take safety measures into
into you know like think about what you're doing safely but don't hold back
if you have a dream or a passion or something you want to try there's always
going to be somebody out there that's going to help you or put you in the or like put you in the right direction and
for me I create those opportunities for people, and I had one lady who wanted to
go bear hunting she has a rare blood rare blood cancer, and she wanted to go bear hunting and she never thought that
she could and so I took her, and I gave her that opportunity and she succeeded and it's inspiring and I don't think
the worst thing you're ever going to hear in life is no yeah so if you can
think of any question or anything that you want to do and you're either going to get fifty yes or fifty no if you can handle
being told no then there's then try it just go and do it and my dad always said if
you want to do something then just do it just do it just try to do it and if you need a stepping stone or a helping hand
then there's always going to be somebody there that will definitely help fantastic
um and so the just do it and the just hunt did that have any anything
to do with it with the thought process and no I so growing up like people were
always asking me what are you doing I'm just hunting what are you doing I'm just hunting what are you gonna go do I'm just gonna go hunt so it just I created
my company way back in like 20 I started saying I was just hunting in like 2008
but created a company in 2015 because it was it just made sense I just hunt and
my dad was watching kind of all of this from the sidelines and he I would ask him
like should I and he was always saying well just go do it just do it just do it yeah and so
finally you know like even in my birthday cards he would sign I love Dad just do it and yeah so now
um it's something that my friends will say if I'm like having second thoughts about something they're like oh your God would say just do it so now I
just do it yeah you just do it yeah, I don't think about the consequences financially or
um how tired I'm gonna be at the end of the adventure or anything like that I go, and I get it done and then I figure it all out after
so how do you manage all that you do for your company I know you have
help on the TV side but with trade shows and the equipment and the
merchandise and the setup how because that could seem overwhelming to someone's like oh my gosh like I could
do this because I can on my phone, or I can try to start their own TV show but
when it comes to you know doing a trade show that that's you're really getting into it there that it a lot goes into
the designing and obviously the traveling making sure you can get what you need to get there before the show
starts not after but can you maybe walk through some of those types of things
so 100 percent ninety-five of it is all meat so it's all me it's
me designing me I design all my clothes on my clothing line what the booth is going to
look like we do everything myself I tag all the clothes I price the clothes I do everything when it comes to the actual
setup of the trade show then I have a team, so I have the just hunt Ambassador
team and there I have them spread out across Canada, so it doesn't matter which province I'm doing a trade show in I
always have some help that's gonna that is gonna come out but yeah Toronto is the biggest show and
we have a team of ten and so we have somebody that runs the cash is always looking at inventory fixing clothes
talking to people and we have people in the Ambassador team that have participated in either range days take
me Outreach whether it's hunting or fishing so when people come into the booth that if I'm not available because
I'm signing autographs or talking to someone else they're versed in what the programs are like what they include and
how you can sign up for them, so I have a really strong team when it comes to the trade shows when it comes to filming I
have sometimes an ambassador or two will join me on one of the adventures to help
film and produce the shows but for the most part it's yeah, it's all me it's kind of crazy I think I need to hire
some people no I think that that's great that you share that because I know some
students in in classes that I've taught they sometimes think that well they're
just going to have a team to do everything and they're just going to show up and that is probably farther
from the truth and to hear somebody like yourself very successful known a
celebrity and you're doing like you said ninety-five of it you have to be told you have to be
totally invested from like the physical side the emotional side that there's no two ways around it that if not then
the thing the company the brand it's not going to be able to advance
is that safe to say that's exactly it and I
um I like getting other people involved in some of the things that have to be delegated out but at the same time I
like to make sure that this is this is my thought this is how I want it to look, and this is my company so I'm the one
that's responsible for the outcome and what whatever whether it's a hat I
designed or a shirt or an event or whatnot I do have a lot of help when it
comes to the actual event but in the organization the design of it and what I want from people to take out of it
that's all me and where was it going with this I
can't remember I'm sure it'll come back at some point, so I see the cross
around your neck how important is your faith to kind of what you've done what you do to help
maybe give you an added boost like yep like you said the just do it from you know your dad would say to
that that thought process of just knowing that there is guidance
coming from a higher level so the crossroad on my neck is actually
my dad's ashes oh okay I'm sorry about that no it's okay I've always worn a
cross around my neck I have a cross on my yeah, I saw that I believe that
um I don't know how to talk about this I've never been asked that before I believe that when you give you get in in
everything in life and I believe that the more people you help the more it's
it's kind of like a Karma thing and I believe like I can tell you this incredible story that
would it's going to be a part of the TV show that's coming out and my sister told me at the end of it she said the
holy spirit is more powerful when two people pray at the same time and
I believe in that I believe like my mom passed in 2016 before the TV show ever
started and my dad just passed a year ago it'll be tomorrow, and I can talk to
them and I don't know what that sounds like to people viewing this but when I'm in the bush when I'm in a tree stand in
a ground blind fishing on a boat whatever I talk to my parents all the time and even when they were alive talk
to my grandparents I talked to people that were a part of my Heritage my grandfather was a huge Hunter I have
inherited all his firearms and those are the ones that I use when I'm out hunting, and they answer me and
they may not answer me like yeah Amanda I know what you're talking about they answer me in what I'm what I am thinking
and how I see a conclusion in in my hunts or my fishing Expeditions December my first
muzzleloader hunt we didn't see deer all week me and my buddy Rob and I'll tell you the story as
compressed as I can but my dad's name is Alexander Frank and his dad's name was Frank and we were hunting with his uncle
Alex and his uncle Alex got a deer on the Wednesday, and we hadn't seen any
deer all week and on the Friday, we were being a little bit silly and Rob’s
dad had passed away three years ago from the same thing my dad had passed away from and glioblastoma which is brain
tumor and so we got out of the truck, and we turned the video camera on and he's like okay Dad Frank let's get some
deer out on this field it's Amanda's last day you know let's see what we can do and I kind of shoved him a little bit
and I'm like wait a second if we're if we're if we're praying you know to our dads for some deer and you're praying
for Joe you know Dad Alexander could you send me a big buck and I'm gonna
I'm gonna you know I want a big deer and I'm gonna I'm gonna Harvest him at 403
p.m. and Rob's like well why 403 and I'm like I don't know it's just the number I chose I actually texted my son at 402
and we were in this big blind so big window in the front side windows Rob was looking out that window here and I
texted my son at 402 and I put my phone down on the floor and I looked up and I'm like are you for real it's 402 and
there was a deer on the field I didn't know what it was yet because it was kind of behind a tree, so I elbowed Rob and
I'm like you're not gonna believe this and he's like well calm down I'm like calm down I don't care that there's a
deer on the field it's 403 like I called it to the minute and then that we're
telling my sister I harvested him and called my and whatnot and I told her the
story and that's when she said the power of the holy spirit is stronger when two people pray at the same time
that that's powerful yeah, no two isn't that that is amazing that so yeah
so and when you tell that story to other hunters and other people in the industry who have had similar stories of
losing their loved ones they have similar stories, so it just goes to show that there is somebody out there
listening there is a higher power and it it's for real yeah thank you for
sharing that helping others that that's what a lot of what I try to
instill and talk about with my organization and it sounds to you
that it's the it's very much the same because you talk about the story
about taking the one lady bear hunting and she never thought she would
be able to do it and how that made you feel inside so how good how
so how do those things make you feel like that keep you going is that a
little bit of the fuel that keeps you going when you have an experience like that, you're like Yep this is what I
was meant to do oh for sure when Kathy and I were sitting in that tree stand and we were
sharing our experiences and she had had a conversation with her grandfather who has long past, and we had seen a
cardinal and there's all these little signs and then the and then it happens, and the animal comes out and
the trigger is pulled, and you know the tears are flowing and oh thank you and you know watching the smile and
watching that person be so you know like wow this really happened and that is
it's like I I've shot so many bears and so many big
game animals that it's almost more exciting for me to see someone else
succeed and to see someone else go through what Dave wanted to do and be
successful at it and be happy about it and proud of themselves and know that they could do it and now she can go out
there and she could go bear hunting on her own she doesn't need me because she learned everything that she needed to yeah great just to get a high
level I don't want any specifics but for somebody who has thought about shooting a TV show just everything
that goes into it like you said you have your calendar for the year just of okay well it's 2023 and it's this date
and so you know you have these things coming up in their location, so you have to get there how you're going to travel who's going to help and all those
things I guess how many different Adventures do you have to go through and
maybe this is a moving number depending on how what actually happens for a
season is it exactly the amounts I think sometimes people think like oh yeah, they go and do
one they go shoot it they plan to do it and it's a perfect day and what's gonna
and that animal bowl is going to come out right at that at that time and it's gonna happen all right can you talk
about a lot of that the work that goes into that the preparation and then in
the time that it takes to actually go through what a an episode gets condensed down into all that
wow it depends which animal that you're hunting for a fishing episode can
usually be done in one day okay the alligator hunt was it was done in one
day but I mean that was a compound and it was you know it was set up a lot differently than what I'm used to but
for an example when we do the moose hunt, we're usually gone for seven days, and we set up a camp and there's usually a
group of us between 6 and 11 people and everyone kind of grabs the camera
and does their own thing and sometimes we don't even get an animal it's about
the adventure it's about the camaraderie of being out in the outdoors together uh
some shows you can do it just all depends on I can do a deer episode and you want about 10 hours of
footage a day give or take because then you get to grab all the highlights and
make a good story and my show is different and it's been recognized for
that because I'm not just out there hunting but I'm telling the story and I'm sharing a story with you and it
just like me and my one girl Jenny she'll jump in the truck with me and
last year we drove all the way to the Yukon, and we were gone for a month we were fishing in the Yukon then we were
elk hunting in Alberta we were moose hunting in Alberta so it's just I mean everyone does it differently and I don't
watch other Outdoors TV shows because I want mine to be who I am, and I don't
want to take from anyone else so I just do me, and I plan my Adventures
um as they become opportunities so some the going season is usually
Ten episodes and I can get that done no problem I'm already four deep in
this production year okay and I’m actually filming seventeen episodes this
year and I can Bank a couple because I'm going to Africa and I'm going into Nebraska, and I have all these
opportunities that are coming up and I don't want to say no so I want to go and another thing
too we started Retreats so I was in Mexico earlier this year and like I said in Florida so now we're starting to do
these Retreats where we can bring other people with us so they can experience the same adventures and we're filming
everything for TV so it now my ten episodes
um are going into twelve with the 13th but then I get to bank a couple for
the next year because who knows you know I mean anything can happen yeah and I think content is huge but you
can't create more content if it's ten out to 10-hour days you have 20 hours of
footage you can create 22 hours out of that you so to have that amount and
like you said to be able to bank some for the future that if you wanted to you
could do bonus episodes in the current season or you could wait till next year, but you have that option whereas if
you're just trying to cut it close or exactly a number and then okay if
something happens and the world gets shut down or whatever in the first couple months of when your show is going
to run in 2024 then then it could be a little bit of a problem but the fact that you have those, and I love the
fact you're doing the Retreats one how did that just the idea come about the bring other people into
that adventure with you it just I don't know I went to Mexico
for the first time and it's beautiful and there's so many things to do and the Villa that I was it's one of my buddies
that that owns a villa down there and we were both talking and he's like you know why don't you bring a group of girls
down and you guys can stay here for seven days or whatever go horseback riding marlin fishing sit on the beach
get a massage like just put a whole package together and introduce Mexico
and Los Cabos to other people and do it as a group and do it you know
motivational inspirational and have fun with it so yeah, we're gonna do that and then
the same with Florida you know someone wants to go alligator hunting they don't know where to start yeah, I'll call
Amanda where did your storytelling come
from it because not everybody's a natural Storyteller and a locker
goes into it besides the public speaking part of it but being able to you know share an adventure that you
know a beginning middle and it kind of flows together how did that come natural to you
it did actually it’s funny because when I was in in public school, I used to make my mom
write me a note saying that I didn't want to do public speaking oh my gosh you're really shy yeah and when they
decided that they wanted to do the TV show I mean I've done interviews on TV and stuff before but to host my own TV
show and I had a cameraman at first for the first three seasons and cameraman
made me feel really comfortable and at first it feels like you're talking to yourself yeah and then you realize you
know what you're talking to yourself right now but then two billion people are gonna watch us after so you wanna
I'm listening to other keynote speakers when I do my seminars or trade shows and
stuff I study how they talk when you talk you want to smile whether you're on
radio on camera or on a stage you always want to smile and the storytelling part of it I
feel like I’m gonna pick up the phone and call my mom and say oh my God Mom this is what just happened and that's kind of
how my storytelling is just like I'm so excited to share this experience
and to share the story and I need a beginning a middle and an end but it's
all natural because it's what's actually happening so there's nothing that's forced there's nothing that's scripted
it's all just exactly what's happening and that makes it so much easier to tell a story it is and it's refreshing to
have that without a script of well this is going to happen well this might
happen this might not it's everything that goes along with it and that whole experience of even going
through a concert to watch a band being able to go backstage and just a talk and meet and take picture like what all
those things are like for a concert goer you're given that with your experience
and I think I think I know when it it's actually happening it's facts
anything can happen so there could be you know a myriad of things that can happen, but you can still get to that
same goal you can still tell that story whether the hunk is successful in in
terms of being able to harvest or not and I think that that's what makes
things relatable and it it's like reality TV but it's not it's like ten
steps further because it's actually what what's happening, and somebody can picture as I'm sure your viewers do, they
they picture themselves whether it's you know getting in the car getting in the truck just those types of things like I
can picture that but just starting an episode being on some reservation
somewhere it's like there how loud do they get there do they just like show up or what goes into it and I
think that's helpful and then especially like you mentioned with the trade shows the you do get help in in certain areas
but it's authentic it's you that you go through the designs and maybe that takes a little bit longer but who
cares it's at the end of the day it's what you approved what you want to do and that's what it's all about
when you start a company an organization your brand that you have your hands on
all those aspects so it all comes back to you it comes back to that image that
you wanna you wanna put out there that you're not just talking you know to yourself or to the to the camera that
you are talking you know in in in people's living rooms and in dorms and
uh and that has to be how does how does that part make you feel the telling
another story I know it's natural but to talk to the camera and tell that story is it just natural now that you're
just like here's what we're doing and there's a camera that this happens to be going along like so if there's certain
words get you a certain phrases it doesn't matter it's life it's how people are living yes, it’s I get
um sometimes I'm a little corny and so some of some of the gentlemen that watch
the show at this past week they were at the Toronto Sportsman Show, and I had a couple guys come up and say you know
what I love your show I love what you do you do amazing things for women in the outdoors the kids and everything else it's like what you could be a little
corny and I'm like yeah so, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna turn into this conserve conservative like
reserved serious person because I don't know how to be that person so if I'm walking down
a bush Trail and all of a sudden, I want to skip I'm gonna Skip and if they capture that on camera then by all means
that's just who I am if I tell a corny joke or if I laugh or giggle in a certain way you know that's who I
am and I think it's genuine and authentic it is
and I think that that's the big takeaway is just be yourself whatever that might be whatever interest that somebody has
uh if not worry about what other people say whether it's your loved ones whether
it's not whether it's a comment on a social media platform or in person that
if it's truly what you want to do makes you happy and it's you then that's all
that matters that's right I mean growing up I was a tomboy I had red hair I was a
small community there's only two redheads in the whole town I always teased and bullied my whole life because
I liked hanging out with the guys and I liked welding and being on dirt bikes and driving big trucks and fishing and
hunting but I had this crazy red hair and I got teased for that and you know what
who cares who cares yeah, I like I love all The Branding that you have just
in the shop that we have today my I just started to get probably a year ago
or so get serious about the organization and being all in from okay this is
something I do to this is something I do, and I have to I have to live it and so
if I am on a show or I'm driving my car there's something with the brand whether
it's around the license plate or it's an it's a pen whatever that is that
that's you have to again this comes back to you have to just embody that and live
who that brand is that you want it to be and not to not to worry my
wife she jokes you're like why are you doing that like why you don't have to wear that we're calling our daughter's
tumbling class you don't have to wear a branded hat or something like why not
like what self-promotion and it's Pride it's what you're proud of it is and it's free
especially like if you're already gonna do something like why not if I mean even if you're
obviously making a special effort to do something but like okay if I'm already gonna go do this thing and I'm gonna
need to probably wear a shirt or a jacket or a hat or why not and if I'm
going to drive my car why not have a license plate if somebody stop behind me okay maybe they look maybe they don't
but they don't have a the answer again is always going to be no if you don't
have that option there especially and I'm sure you can touch on it from
being most days a one-person operation that you have to you have to take all the
all the experiences and all the things and you have to just be bought in that if you're on our show or another show
you're driving to or flying their trade show and you're an airport or you're at the gas station somebody see it just
makes that connection and maybe it happens that day or maybe it happens when they're flipping the channel a
month or two later and then they see your brand they're like I saw her oh her
yeah, and it's yeah and it and that's exactly what it is I mean I had
people come to the Toronto Sportsman Show just to see me they said I came here just to meet you because I was
watching you on TV and you're in Toronto driving down the highway and I
stopped at a gas station and someone's like you know either they've watched the show before or they've never heard of it before and they're like what is just on
what is that hunting girl so now you got a new viewer or a new follower or a new believer or whatever the case may be and
yeah, stickers you huge my truck is completely deckled up with DOT hunting
girl just hunt the trailer I pull is to save all the ambassadors of the show and red trade shows they all have just
hunt on the front and their names are on the back of their shirts so people can they know who they are it's important
branding is important it is how important did social media become to
your brand in your organization or maybe a better question when did when did you kind of feel that
change coming or did it just happen over a period of time where you're like okay well I'm gonna I'm gonna be on
LinkedIn and I'm gonna be on Facebook and I'm gonna do and then when did it become maybe like a full time where
you're consistently putting messages and content out I've always been consistent
but seven
band at the time was my name so a mandolin Mayhew was my brand, and it was
done it was in the fitness world and the outdoors industry and then so most of my
social media platforms are my name, so LinkedIn is a mandolin Mayhew YouTube Tick Tock all of those things Amanda
Lynn Mayhew is the is like the no the brand just hunt over here yep what's that
incorporated is the company which it the take me Outreach programs
runs under like on paperwork just hunt has
um the Outreach programs that hunting girl and then the clothing line so the three entities that run underneath just
kind of Incorporated but it they it's all attached to a mandolin me here and
so for social media I when Twitter started, I jumped on when LinkedIn started, I jumped on when Instagram I
jumped on when they all started, I was just kept on going because at the time when all of the social media
platforms were getting going I was not quite as busy as I am now, and I had time for all that stuff then I needed content
to add to all of these things and I've just kind of been getting a little bit busier on LinkedIn and over the last couple of years didn't really know how
to use that platform at first same with Tick Tock that's incredibly
hard for me to use because most of my Adventures I end upending someone's
or ending an animal's life so Tick Tock doesn't like that, so you have to be very
creative on that platform but yeah, I've been on every platform and it people search they tend to search Amanda
and make you more than they search just hunt so and they kind of run together so they get to the same play depending on
which way yeah there's a couple like there's a just Instagram page and it just kind of tick tock and
it just on Facebook page but I mean for the most part people want to talk to Amanda and me he didn't want to talk to
Justice right how important is consistency and just
like as an organization across like colors of the logo and in those things
from like a branding perspective that if they see just hunt and it has that logo in the middle between Justin hunt that
if they see a sticker or they see a flag or they see a poster or they see her shirt or a hat how important is there
to be some level of consistency obviously there'll be changes from that but from you know that initial person
very important very important very important you I mean just like Nike just like any you know any other company so
that logo there is the first this is all backwards yeah first logo and in the middle of it is a
bear paw with bear strong because the bear strong um
meaning of inner strength came from back in the fitness days so I carried it on, and I merged it with just Hearts so in
order to do the things that I did back in the day I needed to be as strong as I possibly can, so I merged those together
and created that logo so my background is marketing and graphics, and which helps yes absolutely so I'm the one
that does the website all the write-ups I write for different magazines as well
um I'm very creative in writing in graphics photography videography all of those things it's all me that does that
and I have variations of my logo I've done a couple just to kind of freshen
things up now and then there's at right there that has kind of like a retro logo
on it and so we have a lot of we me yeah, I have a lot of fun redesigning and
playing with it but yes like the this is all backwards yeah hunting girl logo
stays the same because it's still fresh it's only four years old and so you
want people to just like see it and go oh yeah that's that hunting girl and
then maybe in a year or two we can change the color or do something a little bit different to it but
um it you need to be consistent especially in the beginning so that it sticks so every company does it
but then every company has a variation so what it has surprised you was it how
how known you were being in the U.S versus what you had thought and I
guess that's got to be I'm just thinking of a band, and they travel overseas
and they might I mean I'm sure they have people that tell them how well like they are and how yeah well like they are
but when they actually get there and see like the actual response to them was it
that in general surprising or maybe how enthusiastic they were because somebody
could be like okay I yeah, I know her I know I know the brand but then be like oh my gosh that's her yeah, it's
crazy so I mean I did trade shows across
Canada for many years and people were all always excited to come and see me but they knew me from social media so
now with the TV thing like I went to BC the bco door show last year I was
actually quite surprised that people were like oh my God I love your show and I'm like to watch my show NBC
it's happening here and then driving to Nashville and getting to the Safari Club International and
just walking through the booth usually I don't wear my or walking through the show I usually don't wear my glasses
okay normally, I have a hat on like normally I have like a trade show costume yeah you know where people can
recognize me I was walking through like this, and people were like hey Amanda how's it going oh my God hear it I'm like wow it's happening and
uh yeah, it's it was very surprising I have shot in the states a couple of
times and I am really good at social media and I'm really good at
um sharing my travels and where I've been who I've been with, and my experiences and I do connect with a lot
of different people and shot show in Vegas is a really big deal for that the more that you tour the more that you
make personal appearances at events the more that you know go places and
meet people the more you're gonna get out there in the first place so
um like I go to Chuck Norris's Kickstart kids Gala event in Houston I've been
invited since I told my story about the Total Gym back in 2010 or 11. and you know meeting
meeting Chuck Norris are you kidding me right and it just
having him as like an acquaintance now and going to places where like he was
at SHOT show a couple years ago when I was there and for whatever reason I told myself I had to stand in line for an
autograph and this guy in front of me was being quite rude he's telling me that no that that the line ends with him
and I'm like wait a second here standing in line right
and I seen the security guard his body bodyguard and he recognized me from
the Kickstart kids Gala so he's like hey you know come on in and I was a little bit of a smarty pants
and we exchanged autographs and pictures, and Chuck's wife Gina was there and then
I went back around the booth and tapped the guy on the shoulder and showed him my picture
bye yeah, the more that you get out there and the more you attend different events and
trade shows and even if you're a patron or a spectator or whatever the more you
get an opportunity to meet people you never know what's gonna happen that's true and I think touching on you
know having you having that shyness at a certain point and myself being I thought
I was an extrovert my psychiatrist said I was an introvert he's like no you're an introvert but there's times where you
can I guess turn it on and it comes in natural teaching and speaking and
having a podcast and that was even for me being 41 years old like it was just
eye-opening to hear that and I had always been well he had asked you
know what do you do like kind of like in your spare time like when you're not doing, you're not busy you're not out
about I was like oh I like to read I like they go see he's like you don't like to like to go to the coffee shop and
like just meet people and like no and I think that's
important and I think interesting for people to the viewers and listeners
to see and hear your story of you can be shy and you can still do
things that are helpful to yourself and your brand and the more that you
get out even if it's not what you know somebody comparing somebody that's been in the industry for like 50 years or
says okay I'm in here too and I'm trying to compare myself like well I'm probably not going to be able to go to the amount
of shows and amount of locations and Adventures because I'm just starting out
and having that that thought is helpful just a level set of okay it's okay I
don't have to compare myself to the Nikes or you know the apples of the world that I can to your point just be
yourself be who you are and that that will lead to where it's
meant to be and I'm guessing that's how when the TV show started a
connection it was through some type of networking that happened that brought that opportunity to you versus if you
hadn't had an opportunity or had a network at that particular time you may
not have had that opportunity is that fair to say yeah, it's true and I never
never set out to do this so it was just the it's just what happened it's just
how the path created itself so to speak I just kept
rolling with it I mean if I hadn't shot that 10-point buck as my first year in
2009 I wouldn't have been in the monster big or Monster Whitetail magazine
um I wouldn't have been recognized by people in the industry oh here's this this girl she's harvesting these big
animals and she's been doing this for a long time why are we just recognizing this now and you know what I mean like
and then yeah you just yeah and the biggest slogan I
have is be real be strong be you I took it from my fitness world, and I Incorporated it into my hunting world
and it's basically says everything just be yourself fantastic we’re getting
getting low on time so I definitely wanted to give you an opportunity to hit all your platforms and how
people can learn more about you get your merchandise check out trade shows and
just be the TV show and all those things so if you want to do your plugs
sure so if you go to www.justin.ca it will actually give you
all of everything that you need to know about the Retreats the Outreach programs the clothing line all the social media
platforms are right there nice and easy underneath the picture you can watch all the old episodes on
YouTube the new season drops on March 27th on Sportsman Channel there is a
free preview in Canada and it there's a personal appearance list of all the trade shows and events that I will be
attending and everything is right there nice and clean on justine.ca one
place everything together concise and using some of that marketing and of uh
one place not multiple places well Amanda Lynn May who thank you so much
for joining us today it’s an it's a pleasure to meet you even though
it's virtually at some point I'll sure we'll connect that one of your one
of your shows and or one of your experiences and just want to say congratulations like where you're at now
and what you've accomplished and very inspirational to not only the viewers
but just to myself of just talking to another like-minded person that is doing
it and it's doing what they're doing what they love to do and they're donut themselves and the
authentic part is huge there was so many scripted even Tick Tock videos and
so many things are so scripted and used in and soundtracks from songs to
bring energy the fact that you're just being keeping it real trying to keep it real is very
refreshing and I want to again just say thank you so much for your time and uh
yeah, it's just very much appreciated thank you thank you for having me on the
show it's been so much fun, and I got to learn about you too thank you well I'll just I'll read a
little bit at the end and then maybe grab a couple pictures for today then I'll shoot them your way and then I'll
let you know when it when it airs exactly great well thank you our audience our viewers
our listeners for joining us on this episode of the Voices for Voices podcast and a huge thank you to our special
guest today Amanda Lynn Mayhew for spending time with us today a lot of
time she's very busy and in demand so until next time I am Justin Alan Hayes
and I hope you have a great day and be a voice for you or somebody in need
[Music] [Applause] [Music]
thank you
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