Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
🔥 BIG TRICER ANNOUNCEMENT🔥The Future of Glassing, Optics, & Tripods FT. Cody Nelson
334 Plays17 days ago
🔥 BIG TRICER ANNOUNCEMENT INSIDE THIS EPISODE 🔥
Big news just dropped on the Tricer Podcast. In this episode, Drew sits down with legendary optics expert and longtime hunting industry veteran Cody Nelson to announce his move to Tricer as the new Director of Innovation. The guys dive deep into: Cody’s 110 lb weight loss transformation Hunting Australia for sambar deer The evolution of tripod glassing and optics in the West KUIU deer hunting stories and Arizona hunting culture Behind-the-scenes stories from Outdoorsmans & GOHUNT New Tricer tripod and optics innovations Elk hunting strategy, calling tips, and glassing systems The future of hunting gear innovation If you’re passionate about western hunting, optics, tripod systems, glassing mule deer and coues deer, or hunting product innovation — this episode is packed with insight.
Recommended
Transcript
When to Keep Silent
00:00:00
Speaker
so number two would be is like, know when to shut up. How'd you go from like being a hunter to going in the industry? Like what did that picture look Let's not paint a picture on my wife here that she told the old, the old badass to get out of the car and walk home. from you know that but Now you know so right there. Just drinking down right now and weight. at 110 pounds.
00:00:23
Speaker
Dude. Yeah, buddy. Dude. That's insane. That's like, I'm so stoked for you. I'm just yeah so proud of you. and like I don't want to get the cat of the bag too much, but might be telling that story this September. I'll tell you what.
Drew's Australian Adventures
00:00:38
Speaker
What's up guys welcome back to the tricer podcast this is drew with you again i haven't been on the pod in a while Mike's been kind of taking the reins because I've been ah traveling the world I just got back from Australia for six i was there for six weeks six weeks down under six weeks down under with uh Brady Miller and um Luke Duesenberry and then I stayed for another three weeks my family on the beach and it was a good time uh killed a bunch of stuff you can see some content coming out on that and we killed a pile of animals at some pretty steep ranges it was pretty fun and uh was there anything that you and i don't know this so i mean you can too i don't know if you want to keep you the secret out but what were you what was your main things that you were hunting again the main thing we were hunting was sandbar deer which we ended up killing three hinds okay um actually two hinds and a button buck
00:01:28
Speaker
uh but we didn't kill a bull yeah we didn't get it they're so hard to hunt like we could do we can get into we could break those things down had a whole pot on them but it's just like okay it's like dude i can't believe an animal the size of an elk can be so hard to hunt and see that they're like a it's almost like hunting a coosier because they disappear so fast but it's because they're moving constantly they never stop oh really like almost like moving like a caribou down like a javelina like a javelina dude like you know how to never stop well these these these things live in like dude like i don't even know how to describe it like imagine like you had pinion junipers and then you have like a bunch of pine trees and that's where you hunt these things at like that's but that's different they call it like dogwood over there so he's like you get like a second like if you don't shoot within 30 seconds like they're gone because they're caught they never like like our first couple we didn't even get a chance to shoot them because we'd get on them
00:02:15
Speaker
So are they just, are they extremely nomadic in what they're doing? They're just always moving. They're always moving, dude. It was like, we were like, oh, there's one. What's what's good set up? bla bla And the guy's like, you gotta shoot him. I'm no, we're fine. And they'd be gone. And the guy's like, no, dude, you don't understand. Like once you see him, get in the gun and shoot it. like they so Like that was a hard, like typically you find a mule deer, you find a elk. You're like, oh, we got all the time in the going kill this thing. And these things, did they just never stop. But yeah, it was fun. It was fun down under. It was a good time. But I have a whole pod on that that's kind of great. I'm excited to hear it. They'll talk about the whole thing and everything. Today's an exciting podcast because we've got some huge announcements to make here at Tricer.
00:02:52
Speaker
And I got my buddy Cody Nelson on who's been like a mentor to me and somebody I've looked up to forever coming on the podcast to talk about tripods and optics and kind of announce this stuff with me.
00:03:04
Speaker
But I don't want to let the cat out of the bag yet. Just if you listen to this podcast, we've got some big stuff coming.
Introducing Cody Nelson
00:03:08
Speaker
There's some stuff we can't even talk about that we're doing at Tricer that we'll kind of hint on a little bit today. Yeah. There's big stuff coming end this episode. going to understand why Cody's here, what we're doing. But Cody, how are you doing, man? I'm doing excellent, bud.
00:03:22
Speaker
I'm excited to be on the podcast. I haven't talked to you like that in a while. and know yeah i'm just it's It's a great day. I've been out walking this morning and got the ah the day started and cranked up. Dude, you are wrecking shop on these hats. Why are your hats all ruined? How much are you walking every day?
00:03:39
Speaker
um You know, on average, I i somewhere between 15 to 20,000 steps. and And you're down. How are you down right now on weight? I think this morning I was down almost right at 110 pounds.
00:03:54
Speaker
dude yeah buddy dude yeah that's insane that's like i'm so stoked for you and just yeah i'm just proud of you and like to see like even like you were told me other day i'm like i went to dinner if my family surprised me family and friends it's just like tell me how much how stoked they are for you like everyone's just rooting for you and just pumped on it and then like talk about life changing dude like now you're like drawing tags you know you hear the you know the jocko thing the discipline equals freedom but There's some truth. I mean, there's, there's actually some really heartfelt, you know, like true feeling to that. And it's, um, you know, you get, you know, you can get emotional.
00:04:33
Speaker
Yeah. And, um,
00:04:37
Speaker
But I just had to figure out what my whys were, right? And people ask me about this all the time, and I don't mean to get preachy and whatever, but I just had to figure out what my whys were.
00:04:47
Speaker
And my whys were me first. And if I'm not taking care of me, that really doesn't help my wife, me be a good husband or be a good, you know, you know person. and And if we're not good together, then we're not being good for our kids. And so I just really had to figure out my whys.
00:05:07
Speaker
Yeah. And get that priority straight and get that, you know, that fix. And um and you know what? no Nobody can do it until you want to do it. And, and you know, some of these are cliches and whatever, but I just really had to figure out my wise and make them a priority. And um and and I mean, my life has changed significantly in the last year and I've.
00:05:28
Speaker
You know, losing, you know, somewhere around eight pounds a month and and trying to do it sustainable and not doing it fast. And, i you know, I always felt like I was in this race, like I had to lose it quick and I had to maximize what I was losing a month and all this stuff. And and I really, truly feel like I'm making better.
00:05:49
Speaker
altering, life-changing, life-sustaining forever kind of decisions. And um it's been pretty, it's been a a very emotional and and, but yet incredibly rewarding a journey. And um' yeah and in the journey, this will never quit. Yeah. That's my point that's the, I mean, I guess that that is literally the point. It's not going to quit.
00:06:16
Speaker
Yeah. And it's life changing, right? Like my, one of my favorite stories I tell people all the time about you is like, Cody calls me It's like, Hey, what's going on, man? I'm like, know. What are you doing? It's like seven o'clock at night, bro. And he's like, well, my wife just dropped me off to dinner. I'm walking home. like like Like he's that hardcore. you know like I need someone to talk to. Let's not paint a picture on my wife here that she told the old, uh, the old badass to get out of the car and walk home. She she literally just – she doesn't even think about anymore. She just pulls over and it's it's it's about a mile and a half away from the house and and and it's it's become habitual. And um i don't – I just don't feel right when I haven't walked you know at night you know and it primes you up for digestion and, and, and, and extra calories burned and, and, you know, the no acid reflux, no heartburn, no, none, none of that stuff. It's all gone. And then guess what? I go sleep like a baby. Yeah.
00:07:13
Speaker
So, you know, I, there's, I, I did a post last night as a matter of fact that, There's two walks that I don't miss. I don't i don't walk i don't miss my morning walk. That's my wake up, get, you know breathe, move, get sun on my face.
00:07:27
Speaker
And I do not miss my after dinner walks, period. that i they're They're non-negotiable for me. Yeah. One of my favorite things is we talk a lot on your walks is how popular you are. Oh my God. du i'm memories He's walking in everyone in that freaking town. hey Cody, what's going on? Oh man, you got a tag. Oh, Hey, this is like, did you just walk out and everybody did like, There was a dude, there was like, I was walking, have a long straightaway on the backside of my house over here that, that backs up to a road and, and I, and it's, it's about a three mile loop. And when I'm done with it, but I, you know, normally I see people going one way and see people going the other way. And so you almost kind of get to the no people and wave and whatever. And, and the, the, the guy looks at me, he's like, Hey man, keep chugging, dude. I see you, man. You look great. And I just told him, I'm like, I kind of feel like I i' you know almost like, hey, man, I'm down ah like almost 110 pounds. And the guy literally slaps his you know wife on the arm and says, that's the guy i told you about.
00:08:30
Speaker
And he's like, you're looking great, dude. And so... I don't know. I mean, I had a guy yesterday even that just came walking out of his house and said, hey, man, I see you every day. Like, you know, hey, I'm, you know, so and so. And and I don't know. It's it's Drew. It's been the strangest reaction.
00:08:47
Speaker
Like even my posts. um People ask me all the time, like what my posts mean. Because I put the numbers in there. like Right now, I'm on a 30-day crunch. and and and and it's just um it's I'm just doing something different for 30 days in terms of my intensity and my speed.
00:09:06
Speaker
I wanted to see what that did to me as opposed to doing length and and and long times. and i i feel like I've been shot out of a rocket by changing that. I'm doing some intervals and some things. Yeah.
00:09:19
Speaker
you know, the, the numbers that I put on there, that that's just my countdown until I change in my mind or reassess and evaluate what I've been doing and tweak it and then make another goal.
00:09:33
Speaker
And so I just keep doing that. And, and, and what I'm, I guess the most rewarding part is, i guess, humbling part to be truthful is like I've had cancer patients reach out to me. I've had people,
00:09:48
Speaker
old high school friends or what, I mean, whatever that they're like, oh well, man, it's raining out, but Nelson's out walking. I guess I gotta, to you know, i I gotta go walk now. I mean, I can't sit on the couch now. and And, and when people like that are reaching out to you and they're moving because you're moving, i didn't understand.
00:10:11
Speaker
and that's the, I didn't understand
00:10:19
Speaker
I didn't understand that I could help people. yeah i'm I'm just trying to help myself. really Truthfully, I'm literally just trying to help myself. And those messages are truly for me.
00:10:34
Speaker
But people are getting something out of them. it's i'm not i Yeah, it's really kind of humbling. Yeah, dude. And not only that, but I mean, now you're going shoot a stomper bowl in September. You're going to be getting in shape for it. Yeah, we're going to. Talk about motivating some people, man. yeah where we might We're going to give it a whirl. That's sure. I don't want to get the cat out of the bag too much, but we might be telling that story this September. I'll tell you what. All right, dude, Cody. So we're going to break. Before we get into like this big announcement, we're going to break stuff down.
00:11:04
Speaker
Cody, give the audience like a quick rundown. Where are you from? How'd you grow up? When did honey become serious part of your life? Oh, man. um ah Well, i'm I'm originally born in Iowa. We moved out here to Arizona when I was really young, like three years old.
00:11:20
Speaker
um Lived in Apache Junction way back in the day. And then and dad got divorced. I moved up to Scottsdale with my mom and brother. i i i literally lived in Scottsdale my whole life. I literally live three quarters of a mile from where I grew up.
00:11:36
Speaker
um I went to high school right on the street. Um, ended up going to Whittier college in LA and played baseball. So that's, you know, kind of the, you know,
Cody's Early Hunting Passion
00:11:45
Speaker
bookends right there. i mean, you know, to my childhood, but, um, hunting, man I can remember as a young kid traveling up to the i seventeen going to Fane Ranch and Orm Ranch and, and the places that my mom was when she grew up, cause she went to Orm Ranch in school here. And, and, but I can remember
00:12:10
Speaker
those trips. And I always felt so good when I got up in the mountain air and, and, you know, we were seeing mule deer and antelope and, and it was, those were just family things. And, and I loved watching my dad use, and, and, and this is funny because they're old, my grandmother gave him a really at the time was a very nice pair of,
00:12:33
Speaker
old seven by 50 Tasco binoculars. And I remember what it was like to look through those and see through them. And, and I was fascinated by that. Now I didn't know what I was doing at that time, but I knew what he was doing. And I knew that when he looked through them, we, but he would find things. So if you segue until, know, maybe when I, because my mom and dad were divorced, we didn't get to hunt that much together, but we tried to do it, you know, when we could,
00:13:02
Speaker
I you know started getting deer tags as 14, 15. So really, I kind of got bit by the bug pretty much in high school and and in in the early college years because that's when I just turned it on. And my passion for that truly became when I was probably 18 or 19, I drew, eight I think I was 18, I drew my first coos deer tag.
00:13:31
Speaker
That's what i want to know. When do you kill see your first deer? And that, and that was, yeah, that was really interesting because, um we went into the mountains, you know, behind superior and I i was hunting with my dad's best friend.
00:13:47
Speaker
uh, you know, one of his best friends, Marvin Smith and, and, you know, there's a whole lineage of guys that grew up around the, you know, AJ area that, that hunted those mountains. And, and I was just, I felt so fortunate to be taken in the mountain with these guys.
00:14:03
Speaker
And we hiked, we hiked in the rain, you know, up a couple of bridges and we're looking across. And I think at the time I was using my 10 50, ten by fifty Baalchen Loms. And then my dad had, um he had a pair of 10 by 50 Bushnell customs, which was for the day with, I mean, that's kind of one of the pieces of glass that if you couldn't afford a 1560 Zeiss for, you know, the, I mean, that Zeiss was just coming on the market, you know, and, and, and, and Dwayne Adams and the guys were just starting to write articles about, you know, glassing, you know, for these big canyons. And so
00:14:42
Speaker
I just remember like them using tripods to glass and, and I didn't really understand it all, but then I realized, man, when you, when you do that, you could see these deer and, and oh, I think the, one of the first bucks I ever saw was,
00:15:00
Speaker
It's probably now if I go back in my mind, I've i've hunted that canyon again, but um probably eight or 900 yards away. And I'm just looking at this beautiful coos deer and, you know, just a beautiful buck. And and we didn't end up killing that buck, but sure made it, you know, heck of a stock. But I think I was
First Deer Hunting Experience
00:15:19
Speaker
i was out of a Christmas break. I think I had like 15 days and I hunted every day except for Christmas.
00:15:27
Speaker
and i ended up killing on the second to the last day and i literally killed like this little spike and just like a little nub but on one side and it was and i'm just telling you from that point on my entire all i wanted to do was hunt coos deer yeah that's all i wanted to do and i mean immediately after killing that deer My dad had walked up around the the ridge and on on the, on the backside of this little peak that we were on
00:15:59
Speaker
And we came around the corner and caught up with him. And, you know, I was fully loaded with my pack and, and, and I still, to this day, there was three bucks that ran like kind of over a saddle out in front of us. And, and they, they just vanished.
00:16:18
Speaker
Like it was just that quintessential, like, where, you know, where did they go? And we spent, we spent the rest of the day looking for them. They were right there. Oh, they were right there. They never left. from the know that Now, you know, they're right there. yeah they're They're right there. And, and so that's the thing that,
00:16:36
Speaker
I truly, from that moment on, I was literally sucked into coos deer hunting. And i've I've hunted mule deer a couple times since, and and and I've enjoyed that. I enjoy seeing them.
00:16:49
Speaker
But I just, that's what really got my crank going. And i at that point, like I would shake. any tripod I could get my hands on and I would try to fix my binoculars to them. And I mean, we've, we've used boards with surgical tape. And I mean, that was before anybody even knew like, you know, what bino adapt, i mean, there was no biner at bino adapter when that started. I mean, they might've been an L like, I think my dad's Bushnell customs came with this, um,
00:17:22
Speaker
It was a, so you you screwed it into the front. It did have a quarter 20 in the front, but it was literally the most archaic looking L bracket that was just like, like almost like sheet metal. Yep.
00:17:38
Speaker
And it just it went down and it like, you screwed it into the tripod and that's just what it was. And i I'll just never forget those times. And, and that's, I mean, that's when it sunk into me.
00:17:51
Speaker
Yeah, that's where if you if you listen to the last or if you watch the last film was released, it's called Looking for Nothing. It's ah it's a Arizona desert. I loved it. but Did you? and So I gave a shout out to you guys i in the beginning. And I'm like, just talking about how Arizona, if you're listening to this podcast, it birthed.
00:18:09
Speaker
It birthed glassing. And I gave a shout out to Dwayne Adams, Cody Nelson, Jay Scott, Dar Colburn, and Outdoors. And these guys who kind of like paved the way. There's a few guys I'm missing on that. And the Mount Rushmore that really just like paved the way to where I am today. but There's so many intro. There's so many more guys. Like, look, I appreciate that.
00:18:27
Speaker
But there is, you know, you go back to the days of Jensen's in Tucson and and that was like the gun shop and and those those Southern Arizona guys really, really.
00:18:43
Speaker
kind of crafted the art and brought it to a new level. And, and I remember, I remember hearing about these things and, and I would read these articles and I mean, even the most,
00:18:59
Speaker
memorable picture that I have, it was kind of a picture above and, and, um, uh, of Dwayne Adams sitting on a rock and he had this, mean, by today's standards, it, it was the worst looking tripod I've ever seen in my life. I can't imagine it was stable. I can't imagine it was fluid. There was nothing about it that, that was like, Oh my God, I want that. Right.
00:19:23
Speaker
But he had this big pair of 1560 Zeiss mounted on it. And he was, the the picture showed the kind of country he was looking at. And it was this big giant canyon.
00:19:35
Speaker
And i'm I don't, I just looked at that and was like, that that's just it. That's what I want to do. And I've always said this, Drew, like i don't, you know, I've killed some nice animals in my time, but I i just never consider myself a killer. But man, I can find them.
00:19:53
Speaker
I've never had a problem finding deer and finding elk, but yeah. But that's that, you know, by the way, thank you for the shout out. I'm I'm blessed to be in the position I'm in. My passion has led me through that. But I have been around and been fortunate to be around some of the best people in the business.
00:20:11
Speaker
And, you know, that goes from my time at the Outdoorsman's that goes from, you know, I used to get my gear before the Outdoorsman's. I used to get it from the Guild, it was which was a photography shop. They didn't even I mean.
00:20:23
Speaker
people didn't even know what Laika and Zeiss and, and Swarovski were. And so that's, you know, there's just kind of a lineage that, that all just really, but I mean, just went nuts like in the, in the nineties.
Career Shift into Hunting Industry
00:20:36
Speaker
Yeah. So talk about that. How'd you go from like being a hunter to going in the industry? Like what did that pet trajectory look like? Well, like how'd you know where you are today? I, you know, I got out of college.
00:20:48
Speaker
Um, I, I, uh, I worked for a buddy of mine, um, I had really bad, ah i mean, i I shouldn't say I had really bad. I just, I had some injuries that I was dealing with from from college and playing baseball.
00:21:05
Speaker
And i I worked at a couple different places and I literally was getting surgeries done as I was kind of getting repaired. And, you know, there there were things that helped me, but I i really got into the home building business and I worked hard.
00:21:16
Speaker
And I worked for um ah Ryland Homes way back in the day, and I think I was there until like 2007 or 2008. And, you know, so I was in the home building business. You know, id I'd been a service rep and a superintendent and never really, you know, enjoyed that part of it. But then i came ah became like a special projects manager, which...
00:21:38
Speaker
meant that I put people's houses back together when there was floods or fires or, you know, you know, some sort of, you know, significant event. And so I did that literally until about 2007, 2008 ish, you know, kind of when the market took a, ah you know, really bad turn. I mean, it affected so many people, but yeah I, so, and then I worked for a custom home guy for, you know, actually a guy that I used to hunt coos deer with and, and, and learned a lot from him too. And,
00:22:07
Speaker
um But I did that for like a year. And and then and and then really, because they're the jobs were not growing on trees at the time,
00:22:19
Speaker
I got asked to work at a gun shop that I had been going to since I was a kid and it was called Don sports shop. And, and, you know, I grew up around that place and, and it had changed owners and, you know, they just needed some help. And, and I knew the guns, I knew the you know, the optics part of it. um You know, it was kind of a natural fit. I just kind of walked in and was able to talk the talk and walk the walk. And, and I,
00:22:47
Speaker
To be truthful, I kind of really enjoyed it. I didn't know. I didn't. I never thought of my, you know, my my my the guys that I grew up talking to in those positions, Dusty Erickson, John Weir, you know, Don Brooks, like those guys were like, you know, those guys knew like things that I didn't know about guns. And those were the guys that I learned from.
00:23:10
Speaker
And um and I found myself really enjoying it. So I was working at Dawn's and Dusty Erickson was the fine gun manager over at Bass Pro Shops.
00:23:26
Speaker
And he called me and said, Hey, I'm, I'm now taking over the hunting department. I need somebody, you know, underneath me a lead. I need somebody to, you know, that really knows the business and and understands and,
00:23:41
Speaker
So I went over to work for VASPRO for a couple of years and I just really enjoyed it. I had a great time. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I love big box retail.
00:23:52
Speaker
I don't, you know, I mean, that's, I could get into a whole lengthy conversation about what they really are about and what they want, but I'm not trying to bag on them, but um you know, hunting schedules don't really fly. Right. So, yeah I mean, yeah you know what I mean?
00:24:09
Speaker
And um so ah I was there for but just about a year and a half, maybe a little more. And in late 2009 ish or opening at the Outdoorsman's.
00:24:24
Speaker
i heard about an opening at the outdoorsmans And so I knew the previous manager and had, I had been a customer, you know, at, at, at the Outdoorsman's and I went over and interviewed with Floyd and, and I, I literally, um, I spent, you know, got another eight and a half or nine years there. And then at Outdoorsman's, were you involved in the development of products? Some of the, Oh yeah, we, we, so you, yeah. you think about the time frame the micro pan head was definitely you know um that you know those the guys at the rcm you know up in the in the basin were were instrumental in that but you know we we kind of went back and forth on some things and and they knocked it out of the park when they originally did it um the uh the pan head was already there the pistol grip was already there the um the uh uh
00:25:19
Speaker
The bino adapter and studs were already you know kind of in full play. and But yeah, I mean, I you know i got to to talk you know do the compact mediums and you know change things. And you know there was little subtleties that needed to happen along the way that was really fun to do. and And that was part of the creative process and the backpacks. And and yeah know i got to do all of that. And I got to learn a lot about manufacturing and and and how that functions and um you know lead times and ordering and you know all of that you know is an important part of doing that. and
00:25:57
Speaker
um But my time there, I learned an immense amount about product and and you know customer service. and that i was always a natural at customer service and sales. i you know like I mean, I guess the thing is, if you know your product and you know people and and you're able to talk to them, I think that's kind of a natural thing for me.
00:26:16
Speaker
And they were selling optics at the time too, right? Oh yeah. So you were use ice like because you are like the, and we're going to get into that right now. Cause you, you left, you left there and went to go hunt.
00:26:29
Speaker
So yeah, Floyd and I split up in, i want to say late, mid 18 and a half or 19. And then i pretty much was hired at GoHunt within a couple of days after leaving.
00:26:44
Speaker
so To do optics, tripods. And you you knew it's and at GoHunt, you have been the, i mean, like you are known now as like, like Jay calls you the optics guru. I know you hate that title, but like you are- In the industry, there is no one who knows optics, parallax, you name it, you know, objectives, you know, ah you know the better than Cody Nelson. When it comes to hunting, no one knows optics better than Cody Nelson, right?
00:27:12
Speaker
i mean. You know what? Here's the thing. I have a passion for it. I have spent an immense amount of time, even my own time, whether it was company time or whatever, I have always, always, always spent a a large amount of time when when I met somebody that had a piece of glass that I could get my eyes behind and I could look through and I could compare.
00:27:44
Speaker
it was always that search of what's the best and what what what's going to help me. And i really do. I mean, Drew, that was um that's actually been something i that that I've been a part of and been doing, you know, ever since that day that, you know, I went up in the mountains with Marvin and, and you know, and spent that 14. Like I was hooked.
00:28:11
Speaker
Like it was all about how do I figure out what glass to get? and And, you know, like there was pieces of glass that my dad ended up getting that I just, I guess that's so what a father does for his son, right?
00:28:24
Speaker
But I would just take the glass because I was using it more than he was. Oh, dude, like my first pair of 15s, I bought them like 2018. I had no money. I put them on a credit card, didn't tell my wife.
00:28:38
Speaker
Oh, it changed my life. Those things, those 15s changed my life. I remember hearing stories of people that, that, that the 1560s ice. And back in the day, they were, ah they were, when they first came out, i don't remember ever being lower than 1500 bucks.
00:28:54
Speaker
But $1,500 in the late 80s, that was a lot of money. brought him money That was a ton of money. That's a cool business with $3,000 right now. But I literally, mean I know and remember hearing guys that between three dudes, they would split it and they would all use those binoculars.
00:29:13
Speaker
and then And they would share them. So there was people that were starting to figure that stuff out. And, and in in in you know be you know, with tripods and, and i mean, that that stuff was coming around, you know, and it probably could have been a lot faster. But, you know, then you you you think about things, the old 1560s ice, you didn't even have a quarter 20. I mean, many companies still don't have a quarter 20 thread in them. But it's also the 80s and 90s. The internet's not really around. It's all getting done in like, you know, Podunk, San Manuel, you know, Arizona. You know what I mean? Like, no one really what's going on. You know, it's it's kind of like, it's it's kind of like in this whole area, you know?
00:29:57
Speaker
So I'll tell you a funny story about Manuel. The original... Bino adapter that was ah like, okay, so just imagine a plate and then it had two pads on the plate where your objective lenses would sit.
00:30:16
Speaker
And then there was, um it right in the middle, there was two screws and it had straps that went over the tubes yep yep and down through and then Velcro back up on top.
00:30:28
Speaker
And that was a company that was literally out of San Manuel, Arizona. No way. You're talking a population of 500. Like, I'm going to tell, like, like names, like the McClure's,
00:30:40
Speaker
um ah ah Dwayne Adams, um Kurt Listiak and his family. Like, like i start thinking about old school, uh, like coos deer hunters i literally immediately think about san manuel arizona no questions asked which is crazy because san manuel literally is like a gas station a burger joint which has decent burgers yeah give it well i'm giving away hunting spots right now but like i i spent a lot of time san manuel but but it's i mean it just didn't have the time to grow like it did today yeah so well it was a mining town
00:31:13
Speaker
The mines, yes. And the mines go in and out. And they were these guys were hooked on Cusier for anybody else, right? And it kind of, like, now starting to spread, right? Obviously, mean, we're talking 40 years later now, trying to put the spread across the country. So, dude, so you go to GoHunt, you kind of blew their optics up. You've been there for...
00:31:30
Speaker
a long time. And that leads us up to, you know, our big announcement. Yeah. and what is, I'll let you tell the big announcement. Cause like I said before, Cody Nelson, in my opinion, I'm gonna give this to you is someone who mentors me, somebody who every product I've ever made has gone to Cody and he's told me this is garbage. This needs to be fixed. This is better. Um, he's somebody who I have the utmost respect for when comes to optics and tripods. If I want to know what is the best optic for finding a deer, Cody's who I'm going to talk to.
00:31:59
Speaker
And that leads us up to this big announcement.
Director of Innovation at Tricer
00:32:01
Speaker
Cody, what's the big announcement? Well, ah as of April 1st, I am, I still believe that we're calling me the director of innovation. Director of innovation. That's that's Drew's name for me and I'm going with it and i like it. But I i have, ah sadly, in some sort of ways, that you know, I mean, I love GoHunt.
00:32:25
Speaker
And I'm not leaving GoHunt because mad or there's a problem. I'm i'm leaving GoHunt because um there's an opportunity in front of me to be with a company that's young and growing and we're creating things. And it is an opportunity I couldn't pass up. It's right in my wheelhouse. This is what I do. This is what I love.
00:32:48
Speaker
And, um, yeah yeah, and, and quite innocently, you know, you and I were talking, i was on a walk and, um, I, you called me and said, hey what do you think about? And I, you know, and, and I jokingly said,
00:33:05
Speaker
ah Well, you know Drew, if you you know if if you keep calling me like this and asking me about products, you're going to have to hire me one of these days. And if you remember right, I kept talking.
00:33:18
Speaker
I kept going on about the product and you're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa stop. And I'm like, what? And you said, are you telling me that you would leave? And I'm like, what? It's not that I'm just looking for a way to leave, but but what are you telling me?
00:33:34
Speaker
And so so two days later, i was i was go say two days later he was in Phoenix and walks in the door at a breakfast meeting with a partner. And I don't even think I had ordered breakfast. And he was like, hey, let's let's just cut to the chase. I'm here to offer you a job. And I was like, no.
00:33:51
Speaker
So I, um yeah, man, I, I, I, yeah, I, I'm, I was humbled and ah elated. And um i did did just the the the opportunities that are in front of me or I, it's, I think sometimes you got to stretch yourself and grow and, and look, am I in the most comfortable of territories in terms of,
00:34:17
Speaker
you know, like I can get on the phone and talk optics with anybody I want to right now and, and, and do it without any practice or anything, but like, you know, we're creating stuff. And so now you're on, now you're on phone calls with lawyers negotiating half a million dollar contracts. Yeah. So it's, um, that's the thing is, is that I, I, I, I think it's good to stretch yourself and, and be a part of something that, you know, you're, um,
00:34:45
Speaker
I don't know. i mean, it's just an opportunity that I couldn't. I mean, any friend of mine. Had they known about the deal and and it had, quote unquote, I turned it down, they would have told me I was an idiot.
00:34:59
Speaker
Yeah. So and i am. Again, going back to my wise.
00:35:08
Speaker
You know, my family is my most important thing in my life. And in order for me to do what I want to do, this was an opportunity to be better and and and be better for them. and um yeah I can't, you know, i yeah. So I'm here. I am. I will say this, that I taking someone from go hunt who is, i mean, i have a lot of vendors, my favorite vendor, my first and favorite, right. The vendor took it for it is is a very tough decision to make. And I had to call Chris Porter. I'm like, Hey Porter, chew my ass. Go for it. You know what I mean? Like, i you go cause he knew had to call and apologize to him. Cause it wasn't like, and they understand why we did it
00:35:49
Speaker
So when I had called Cody, I was, we're working on something you guys are now that I can't talk about. It is so big. All I can say is Cody is the best person in world when it comes to optics and tripods. And I'm working on something right now that I can't do without Cody.
00:36:04
Speaker
And if I want to have the best product in the world for finding deer, I need to have Cody be involved. But I can't tell you what it is. You'll see the announcement. It'll probably be at SHOT Show in January, but we'll be working on it all year this year.
00:36:16
Speaker
but um And Cody's a guy for that. And I did not take it lightly, taking someone from GoHunt. It's not like I'm trying to go out. I don't like i's about poaching people. at all. I tend to, even though it as my competitor, I don't like to do that. This was the situations where it was a mutual thing and it's been a long time coming, I think just talking. And when he kind of brought it up, I said, I'll be there. Cause to me, I know the investment is worth it for me to invest in Cody for what I'm working on right now to get it right.
00:36:44
Speaker
Cause I have to get this right. It's the biggest investment my life, lawyers, contracts, and I need to have him involved to get this thing right. I just think that
00:36:55
Speaker
I mean, there's no bad blood. No, there's not. but but I mean, I just went, I just went to Australia with Brady and yeah and Lane's going bear hunting with, well, with my and I think it should be said yeah in in all fairness that we both believe in each other's
00:37:13
Speaker
teams enough. I'm also helping and staying on board To help go hunt. And to help go hunt for the next 90 days. So there's there's no, like, no, I want to see go hunt do well. It wasn't done to like hurt them. It's like like, how can i help you?
00:37:31
Speaker
Well, Chris, and and how can I help you? You know, and Lorenzo and like, how can help you grow? Cause I want the more they grow, the more I grow. So it was like a thing that I didn't want to hurt them. You know, I ended up having, you know, and a conversation with Porter and Porter was incredibly,
00:37:49
Speaker
um complimentary. And I think Porter actually said it best or better than anybody has said it yet. He said, Cody, when you have somebody of your caliber and you have somebody that's as dedicated to the job as you are and loves what you do as much as you do, and you and and and the longer you're with that person,
00:38:15
Speaker
the more you realize that at some point that person's going to be sought after. And quite frankly, that was probably the most complimentary thing that Chris is at. Chris has always been incredibly supportive of me. Mm-hmm.
00:38:32
Speaker
And that was probably the most, it's probably the most complimentary thing I've ever had said to me about that. Right. So, and, and it should be known Porter and Lorenzo and, and Lorenzo's dad, those guys were clients of mine when I was at the outdoorsman's.
00:38:50
Speaker
Yeah. So naturally when I, you know, when I left the outdoorsman's, that opportunity, i know that they had started retail. I know that they were just starting and, and they gave me an opportunity to really kind of get out on my own and, and I, and I don't mean this like, you know, like the outdoorsman's was an entity unto, and unto itself. Like what Floyd created over there, that was an incredible deal, but that already had legs. When I got there, I just helped prop it back up, you know, because of the gun craze that was happening and, you know all the online sales, it was, it's, things were different. Right. So, um, I got to really kind of start with an optics deal,
00:39:39
Speaker
kind of from the beginning. I mean, they had started it. Seth had done a great job with it up to that point. And I think he had to move back to Oregon and I just kind of walked in at the right time. And, and I'm, I'm incredibly um grateful that I got to land in such a cool, I mean, cause go hunt has been phenomenal to work for and been really a place that I got a whole new level and different skillset.
00:40:08
Speaker
You've used every optic there in the world now. I mean, you you know, optics in and out. ah Yes. And that's yeah absolutely. and And that's the thing is, I mean, I got exposed to companies that I wasn't used to, but I mean, you know, again, i get to sell them all. but You know, it's Swarovski, Zeiss, Leica, Leupold, Vortex, Sig Sauer's. We sold some Burris. I mean, we've done some really cool stuff.
00:40:37
Speaker
yeah and so And I get to compare all this and I get to figure out what's best for the client. and And I think that's what I get off on most is just being able to, the most rewarding texts I get, Drew, are when I give a guy a a system, you know, tripod, head, you know, bino adapter and a pair of glasses, right?
00:41:04
Speaker
And that guy texts me and says things to me like, Cody, I've never seen as many deer as I've seen or elk or whatever it is he's doing. And he takes a, you know, it's not even about like giving me, you know, pictures of, you know, harvests. it it It's the fact that they're enjoying themselves more than they ever did.
00:41:26
Speaker
yeah And so, I don't know. i've been I've had people get pissed at me that, oh, you guys give away all the secrets. And I'm like, you know what? Then be better.
00:41:37
Speaker
yeah if you don't If you don't like progress, be better. figure out how to get things done figure out how look it's made me be a better glasser it's made me be more patient it's made me look in places i never looked before i get it i i understand there's more people out there hunting today but you know what there's only so many tags though that's just people just want to complain no matter what there's only so many tags you're only going to give out 200 tags or your tags you know what i mean 50 tags it's not nothing's really changed on that front it's just you see more it people were getting better at hunting it's a problem you're darn right and you know you got all the title is director of innovation right
00:42:19
Speaker
So your title at Tricer is innovative director or director
Focus on Product Development
00:42:23
Speaker
of innovation. I'm sorry. um That was a cool name because I like innovation. That means we could innovate in other, like my my my the parent company of Tricer is Trinity Innovations. So I love innovation.
00:42:32
Speaker
um Your job really, and you're always like, are you sure it's my job? I'm you serious? I'm like, yeah, is literally going out and glassing. And you're going to be doing, running products for me, using products for me.
00:42:43
Speaker
You are spearheading. i can talk about this. You are spearheading some designs on some new, some Bino stuff that's working right now. You're spearheading designs on, um, some fluid pan heads working on right now. Some like some different, some fluid, more like an actual true fluid head. And then also going to be working on like some new tripods. We're upgrading the JC. We're doing some stuff. Well, i think what you told was to look at everything that we're doing figure out how to make it make it better.
00:43:09
Speaker
Yeah. Quite simply what it is. Yeah. and we're gonna be doing that. We're going to get on that. You're working on something that's way bigger than all of that as well. but let's Let's talk about this real quick, because I think this is a perfect example of you and I talking about things and, and having that come to fruition and literally having it explode right in front of you.
00:43:31
Speaker
Tricer 80 and BCs. they they were They came out, they were phenomenal. And i don't know when the first conversation I was, i don't maybe we could go back to our text and figure that out. But I was like, hey, man, we need we need to control the the the center post. And and we need to to to shrink down the the overall circumference when they're compact, you know, in compact state. Yeah. And so we had those conversations and those conversations pushed you to go to your, your, your, uh, uh, designers and your engineers.
00:44:08
Speaker
And I'm not going to take credit for the flip block and the things, but by shrinking things down, we had to lengthen the, the, the surface space and where the, you know, where the flip block, you know, holds the, so all of that stuff happened because,
00:44:22
Speaker
it And to me, we were i was just trying to get more stability and more packability out of something. and And we can list all the things that the AD and the BC do now, but I think it's interesting and and I'm not picking on what was before, but you make slight little changes and I've had more people that I would call
00:44:50
Speaker
elite or just like best of the best guys that I know that are now asking me, Hey Cody, those changes like, Holy cow. Like, man, that yeah it's, on it's untouchable. Now that tribe, the new AD and BC are untouchable tripods and the industry. There, there is good. It's just, it's as good as it gets.
00:45:09
Speaker
And we're going to do the same thing with the JC going forward. We're actually blowing the JC's out. Now, if you're listening to this, we're doing the mm JC's down, I think at like 500 bucks now. um And sell through those. And that's what Cody's here for, right? like I'm willing to make an investment in someone to have like...
00:45:26
Speaker
Guys, don't like i don't take this lightly. like I am the most anal retentive OCP person in the world. So me hiring someone to do my job with me is – Cody's the only guy I would do with. They want me hire another engineer. I'm like, no way. like It can't be – I believe in redneck engineering. I don't believe in engineers. right like I want somebody who knows, can talk, talk, walk the walk. and understands it because like what like me and Cody talking about these panheads he's like I want this tension and like he he's saying things that are totally redneckish but I get it I'm like oh that makes sense that way when you lock it and re-unlock it the tension is still there it's not like you know what i mean that's like that's a thing only a glasser would say not a photography engineer or someone else right so Cody's gonna come on and he's gonna really just take us to the next level and we work on stuff and do stuff um and by the way I just wanted to say this because of it's my gratitude
00:46:17
Speaker
Drew, the onboarding process and the team that you've assembled, like truly like just like elite group of people. I mean, they're, they're just, they're, they're really, really good. And they're, they're man. I just, I've been absolutely. I mean, they're just fantastic people and it's been nothing but a pleasure. And, and I, I, I cannot wait to, to see what this team does.
00:46:51
Speaker
One cool thing too, you're going be doing is kind of like, I mean, we have a community marketing guy in Mike Heron, but you're kind going to be doing that a little bit for us as You've been doing a lot of podcasts. You're also doing a lot of educational stuff for us. So you make an education educational film. going to be doing like a whole glass better series. Yeah. That was, probably ah yeah, we're going to film some stuff kind here coming up in the next couple of weeks.
00:47:12
Speaker
That is going to be his own film crew. Now he's going to be dialed. And then we should talk about um, You're going to have an L cut this fall. You're already down 110 pounds by the fall. You might be down.
00:47:24
Speaker
but well You know, I don't know what my goal is in this. I, my, my goal is to be, um, healthy. And my goal is to be, uh, agile and moving. And, um, uh longevity so um i don't know that i have a goal of what where i'm gonna wind up but my goal is to be um paralleling a bunch of elk and knife and knife in on on them and if i don't see what i like we'll go to the next one so um yeah are you are you a caller or a stalker
00:47:55
Speaker
Well, I think I'm a little of both. i i I think you got to let the animal dictate what what you are, right? So because I can – I've been fortunate enough to have been around in my opinion, two of the best callers in the world, and that's Jay Scott and Steve Chappell, and I don't take that lightly, and and those guys are as good as it comes.
00:48:16
Speaker
And um I don't put myself in their league, but I i understand the game. And I think I do an okay job at getting close to animals. And there are times to shut up. i I think if I had to do, there's two things that I would tell people in in calling or hunting elk.
00:48:36
Speaker
Number one is I think people call way too loud. Like they're there. They have no idea about the the perception of distance and and and what they're putting out. I think that's number one. Number two, i think people call in completely the most inappropriate times.
00:48:54
Speaker
And I think that the so number two would be is like no one to shut up. So either you're stocking or you're yeah. So I, I, I would consider myself a little of both.
00:49:06
Speaker
um you know, there's times when you just let them do their thing and, and there's times when, you know, you coax them and and get them riled up. You've got a good tag. I do. I, I, uh, I, I've got a good tag here in Arizona and I'm excited about it. I'll be up on the rim and, and, uh, I, I, you know, the moisture has, we, they've been getting some moisture.
00:49:26
Speaker
um we're kind of in a key thing right now that if, man, if we don't kind of get some moisture and kind of keep the monsoons into the summer, that could be a little bit, could be a ah hard summer, but I, you know, we'll see.
00:49:42
Speaker
So I, I would never want to point guard or, you know, do anything like that, but I do have that option, but, um, I would rather be hunting than not. So, um, the goal is, yeah the goal the the goal is to go full bore and go hunting and go hunt. And, um,
00:49:56
Speaker
You know, I mean, my son had the muzzleloader tag last year and in the same unit and you know, the bulls were off a little bit. um and And I have the fortunate ability to talk to some people that live there and are there all the time. And,
00:50:11
Speaker
And bottom line is, is that I think the bulls were off. You know, I don't know why you can say 15% or whatever, but the biggest bull that we found, um we were, God, we were seconds away from killing that bull.
00:50:24
Speaker
um But another friend of ours or acquaintance, I should say, um wound up going to a place that we kept checking and And he went there the last day with about 30 minutes left of light and ended up killing that same bull.
00:50:43
Speaker
And that bull ended up going three, like three 45. So it's a stuff it's a beautiful bull and you give that a normal wet year. or a wet spring and and good snowfall and you can get her 20 inches. Yeah. There's another 15 or 20 on that bowl with no, no problem. So, um, Hey, we had a great hunt and enjoyed, I mean, we were on, we were in elk and on bulls every day. And, uh, and there's definitely some bulls that I would have killed with a bow for sure.
00:51:11
Speaker
So I'm, I'm very excited to have the tag. ah I'm just going to go after it. Like we always do. I am excited to film it. All right, Cody, that's it. That's the big announcement, for you guys. Cody Nelson is now the director of innovation at Tricer. He's still the optics guru.
00:51:31
Speaker
Tricer is working on some stuff that I can't really talk about, but it's big. And going to, guys, going at the end of this year, we are making the biggest investment of my lifetime in innovation. not only in employees, but also in products that we're working on that are going to blow people's mind in the industry. Some stuff that you didn't even know you need, you're going to have to have by hopefully January of next year and hopefully for sale by summer. I'm excited to work with Cody on it. Cody, where can people find you on Instagram, stuff like that? um yeah ah ah Cody on to yeah no co Cody underscore Nelson 14 yeah i mean pretty easy to find shimma follow you guys will be seeing them on our YouTube page a lot more go go like and subscribe your YouTube page to you guys and put a bunch of money that I'll flat out tell people you know everybody always kind of
00:52:22
Speaker
laughs that I do this. If you ever need me or need advice or whatever, just call me 602-399-3699. I'm, if you need help with a pair of optics or whatever, I, I'm, I'm, I'm happy to take care of you and I'm happy to send you to go hunt. And, and, you know, that's what we're doing right now. I'm, I'm helping them for the next 90 days and, and, uh,
00:52:46
Speaker
So yeah if I can help you with a piece of you know piece of glass, just let me know. Or I don't care if it's just a a question. Or shoot a DM or shoot an email. And by the way, trir dot com yeah um it i'm I'm selling tripods.
00:53:01
Speaker
I mean, I'm not on the phones every day, but if someone's got a question about Tricer, call me. I mean, I talk about them every day for the last couple, three, four, five. Well, I, how many, oh, Drew, when did we first? Three or four.
00:53:14
Speaker
You were. We started talking probably probably through the 2020, 2021. Yeah, but you were already in the system because the original, um, The original product, the um the um the GTPs were were the ones that yeah that you and I first talked about. and you What Cody told me, I'll give credit card for this. What Cody told me was, Drew, you're making stuff that's too niche. Make something more mainstream. And then I came out with the LP, the Bino adapter, and the ADs, and did this thing turned into a rocket ship. So I can give credit card for that for sure. if He's like, you got to get out of this niche market of trekking poles. It's too small.
00:53:55
Speaker
Not everybody does that. And and I, and, and Drew, I've, yeah I still believe this. I, there are products out there that, that, you know, look, I don't, I don't mind guys being innovative and making stuff and whatever, but certain things just aren't meant for the masses.
00:54:15
Speaker
yeah And I don't yeah particularly care for, generally speaking, If I'm going to have a trucking pole, I want that trucking pole to be the best trucking pole it is. yeah If i want a tripod to be a tripod, I want it to be the best tripod it is.
00:54:34
Speaker
And I think what happens is is that things get... get left behind and they're not as good as they could be. That's why we are not turning our trekking, our tripod legs into trekking poles. People will also do that all the time. I'm like, no man, yeah get a good pair trekking, but get a pair of slicks or get a pair of, you uh, well, I mean, I'm sorry, the peaks, not slick peaks, peaks, of sticks or I love the eye diamond these peaks or black diamond carbon corks are very, absolutely.
00:55:05
Speaker
hard to beat those things. I don't know they're like 300 bucks, but dude, I can't break those things. Or, you know, can i like rose or I mean, the the point is yeah I just want gear that's meant for the gear and the job I want it to do.
00:55:18
Speaker
And i I don't like, um there's certain things I just don't like compromising on. and And I'm really serious about my tripods and optics. I just don't like compromising.
00:55:32
Speaker
And that is why you're directed at Tricer. And that is why we're working on something freaking huge. Cody, awesome podcast, man. Absolutely. Thanks for having me.