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Hunting, Rodeo, and Real Estate: How Kylee Whiting Does It All
55 Plays1 month ago
On this episode of the Kick Your Boots Up Podcast, we chat with Kylee Whiting, an accomplished young woman with a passion for the outdoors. As an avid hunter and digital marketer for Kryptek Outdoor Group, Kylee shares her unique journey from being the 2021 NHSRA Rodeo Queen to competing on the Boise State Rodeo Team. Recently engaged, Kylee talks about her love for hunting, her favorite hunts, and life balancing college, rodeo, and a career in real estate. Tune in for her best piece of advice and to hear about her incredible family, including her dad's military background.
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey everybody and thanks for listening to another episode of Kick Your Boots Up. If this is your first episode feel free to like this, subscribe, subscribe share this with your friends, tell everyone about it. This episode is probably one of my favorites in the history of Kick Your Boots episodes. I love this girl so much and I followed her from afar and what I think is probably what sets her apart but even like makes her cooler in my book is she's a fellow sash sister. yeah So everyone please meet Kylie Whiting. Hi everyone! I'm so excited to be here today. So excited to have you on the podcast because we were just talking after about all the things that we could talk about and you are so relatable and probably a lot of people can't relate to the queening side of it but it like resonates to life so much so okay before we get into that though I've got a
00:00:43
Speaker
tell everyone who you are and why you're so cool and what makes you new. So Kylie grew up in Idaho. she is the She's in marketing at Cryptek, Cryptek Outdoor Group. Her and her father have a cool story and we might just have to get him on too at some point to tell the story. But I hope you here get to know a little bit more about Cryptek and stay tuned for that because that's cool. But for us ladies, we wanna talk about all things rodeo queen, all things life and what's cool about Kylie is she's currently going to, I wanna make sure, at Boise State, university and she's on the rodeo team there. That's huge. I never did the whole college rodeo thing. So I have so many questions to ask Kylie about that. And then also she's a hunter. You guys see, she does it all. She's a cowgirl breakaway rope. I think I didn't rope, no, no barrel racing. And then I show raining cow horse. So that's my niche. Yeah. Very. wants to talk about yeah yeah okay so yeah So she's a cowgirl, she's a hunter, she does it all. She took the time to be on the podcast here at WISA and if you're listening and you're not sure what WISA is, it's the Western and English Sales Association show where vendors get to come and meet, sell, trade, buy still. No, I'm just kidding. But it is it happens for about a week, twice a year um at the Dallas Market Center. So we're here, we're set up in a new location. I'm sure you noticed if you've seen them before.
00:01:54
Speaker
But without further ado, we're going to jump into this episode with Kylie. And to start things off, Kylie, I've got to know, how did you get to where you are today? Tell us about your background, how you were raised, all of it. OK. Well, gosh, that's a lot to unwind. um But I basically was raised as a military brat for the first portion of my early childhood. My father was military. He was an Apache attack helicopter pilot. Wow. And we the first four years of my life, I lived in six different places. So we moved around quite a bit. But that was an age that I didn't really remember. I remember a few parts. but um As soon as my dad got out of the military, we moved up to Alaska for a business opportunity up there. So my early childhood um ages four to around nine years old, so about six years six and a half years was in Alaska actually. So that's where my love for the outdoors really stemmed from.
00:02:41
Speaker
And um that's where I grew up, hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, doing all the things um that really correlate with our brand Cryptek Outdoor Group, which is an outdoor apparel clothing company, also camouflage company that my dad started actually in Alaska and as a hobby, really. He loved the outdoors and and he really just wanted to
Kylie's Rodeo Journey and Early Life
00:03:01
Speaker
make his hobbies his job, right? And so he started as a hobby and it blew up and took off. And so eventually he was he got to a point where he was moving or Traveling I should say yeah down to the lower 48 a lot a couple times a year um Maybe once a month and he was like, you know what? It's time to move my family back home. So Idaho has always been home for us I'm a sixth generation Idaho and on both sides of my family and I tried in that you because a lot of people are moving to Idaho and I'm like Yeah, I'm from this is my my roots. So what's the campaign? I've seen Idaho home. I'd a home. Yeah, I'd a home people like Idaho with all kinds of stuff. I saw a bachelorette weekend a few weeks weeks ago and it was like Brida-ho. Isn't that funny? And they made like their whole bachelorette weekend Brida-ho. Anyways, yeah, so people like to have a twist the name. It's funny, but yeah, so we moved back home to Idaho and.
00:03:53
Speaker
And really my love for the Western industry and outdoor industry collided when we moved back home to Idaho because I grew up, my mom actually grew up showing in 4-H and she actually showed dressage, but also on the Western side of things she she did 4-H and then Western pleasure and horsemanship. So all of those things kind of hit full circle moment when we moved home because when we would come home for vacation to Idaho, when we lived in Alaska, I would get to see my my mom's horses, my grandparents still had them. yeah So that's where the roots started and the seeds were planted was when we'd come visit Idaho and visit my family, we had horses and stuff, they did. So when we moved back home to Idaho, they promised me a horse and so I got into 4-H from there and oh my goodness, I i grew up also going to the Caldwell Night Rodeo, which is a really big outdoor PRCA rodeo in Caldwell. It's amazing, it's actually going on right now. and I'm sad that I'm missing it. you know But anyways, so that's where the seeds were planted for rodeo cleaning. I saw the cold all night rodeo queen there when I was younger and we were in town visiting and and from there on I just always knew like I want to be a rodeo queen.
00:04:59
Speaker
So we finally moved back to Idaho. I got my first horse, started 4-H, and then I entered my first rodeo queen pageant at age 11, and boy did that go. and That was not, it was interesting. It's funny to see the growth of where I yeah started to where it ended in terms of my rodeo queen career. Which I forgot to say, I feel like
Role and Impact as Rodeo Queen
00:05:19
Speaker
that's, I've said it so much to everyone else. like On the podcast, you guys have to know, she was the 2021, 2022 National High School Rodeo Queen. Huge, that's huge. There was 48 queens. 43 43. Okay. Yeah, but it's the world's largest rodeo queen pageant. And I don't know how I won, but the Lord had a hand on that. I believe so. hundred percent And you were the national high school rodeo queen. So we bond over that. Isn't trauma bonding.
00:05:45
Speaker
No, not at all. I have all positive things from that. I loved my experience with the NHSRA. They are amazing and I still am in contact with a lot of the executives and directors from that rodeo organization. That's like the coolest thing. I have so many questions. We can talk about this in a second, but I want to continue this thought.
00:06:06
Speaker
and It's so cool how much the adults that are involved in the NHSRA are so, they're invested in the kids' lives. Absolutely. And they follow them. James Hagan bought them. I see him at events. He still knows who I am. That is so cool. Same for you. No, it's his whole heart. and Ronnie Hazelrick. Oh, yeah. Miss Gay. She actually just passed away. Yeah, I know. Gosh, and she was my... She was our like director for the officers and so I spent a long time with Miss Gay and she is amazing and she dedicated her her life and ended it well on a great note with the fact that she had dedicated so much time to those kids. And really that's what the NHSRA to me is about. It's about the kids, the the youth and the future of Rodeo. 90% of NFR qualifiers are NHSRA alumni, which I take so much pride in. I'm like, go go high school Rodeo because it's really a great stepping stone for those athletes that want to get into the professional rodeo. Yeah. No, it is really, really cool. so Okay. So we got to back up just a second because Alaska. Hello. I never knew that. I guess I missed that. And all the things that I heard about you, seen about you, even on the other podcasts I listened to. So, okay, Alaska, you obviously didn't have a horse, but, and there is rodeo in alaska Did you ever go to rodeos? No, I never did up there. I had a friend that had horses, but it's we were up in Fairbanks, which is up north. and Is that icy? it's It's much colder than down by Anchorage, so we it was just hard to have horses up there, and we didn't really have the the means to be able to have that. And and so it was more of a thing like, hey, when we move back home, we'll get you a horse sort of thing. And my mom, that's her heritage as well, so she wanted that for course for our family. And I'm so glad that they were able to bring that to fruition. Cause now that you're an adult, you understand like, wow, they sacrificed a lot. No, I'm so grateful for my parents support through all my dreams. And I would not be where I am today without that, that leap of faith of like, okay, let's get into horses, you know, and let's get her in for each and everything. Yeah. That is so cool. I'm so proud of them for doing that for you. That's like a big, big, because everyone needs like a little bit of horse therapy in their life, I think. Absolutely, yeah, for sure. Okay, so my other thing that I was held up on was um the time that you, after moving to Idaho, you saw the Caldwell Knight rodeo queen. Do you remember who that was, by the way? Dusty Olson. She was Miss Rodeo, Idaho, 2015.
00:08:17
Speaker
That right there is like why rodeo queens do what they do because here here we are so many years later, Dusty was, oh my goodness, 2013? Yeah, around, yeah, called one night. She was 2015, Miss Rodeo, Idaho. Okay, yeah so 2013, okay. I believe, maybe I'm wrong there. That's okay. Years ago, almost a decade ago. Which is crazy. And we're still talking about her right here on this podcast and I think that is worth mentioning as well because she made such an impact in your life yeah and that made you change that your trajectory of your life. Absolutely. no For sure. So going back and doing your first pageant after
Career and Personal Development
00:08:51
Speaker
that you said you were 11. 11 when I did my first pageant. What advice would you give yourself at 11 that you would do better or change better for the pageant? Anything? I will say one thing and i I actually did learn this throughout the process but when I first went into my first pageant I was trying to mold and change myself to fit the rodeo queen persona or
00:09:11
Speaker
I guess the stereotype, you know, of like being bubbly and you know, and I am already kind of an extroverted person, but I wish I would have told myself going into that first pageant to just be authentic, you know, and be genuine to who you are. And I think that's, I accredit those ah characteristics to why I won the national title. up against 43 girls was because I just was myself, and I was like, I'm not gonna try to change, and you know what, if I win, I'm like, yay, that's as a cherry on top, but if I don't, at least I know I was myself, and so I would tell my 11-year-old self going into that pageant, like, just be yourself, be genuine to who you are, explain why you love rodeo, and really, at the end of the day, that's what rodeo queening's about, is being an ambassador for the sport of rodeo, and we all, like, rodeo queens love rodeo, so. They do? Yeah. Number one advance, and I'm, that's, you nailed it on the head. and That is such good advice, because,
00:09:57
Speaker
so many times i I think people get held up with rodeo queens being just like a lot of makeup and a lot of sparkles and you know they don't really sit down to understand what rodeo queens do in the job and and really we're a fan of rodeo first so that's cool and then yeah forget all the makeup hair yeah at 11 years old yes you got to be yourself but that That was a very good point. yeah That was the best advice I was given, I think, whenever I went to go compete at nationals as well. Because even the small amount of time that you get with the judges, a lot of the girls would take the time to talk about I and me and how much I did. And I knew going into that like it wasn't about me. And you know this too. It's a much bigger organization. It's a much bigger purpose. The Lord is driving. You are not. you know And um so it's really cool to go through that experience. so
00:10:37
Speaker
Since we probably haven't talked about our experiences on a podcast before, let's talk about our Rodeo Queen competing on a national level absolute experience because it's a little bit different than just competing at a state or a local. High school rodeo specifically, we don't have to talk about that necessarily, but just the moving parts. There's so much going on. There's a higher amount of contestants. yeah everything is just suddenly more serious. yeah So what was your strategy going into the pageant and then how, talk about like a pitfall of a moment that you're like, this is not going so well or oh, this is going really well. Just talk about your experience. For sure. So when I went, um first of all, the National High School Rodeo Queen pageant is the best of the best Right, so you have local district pageants, and then from there you transition into your state pageants or province pat pageants. And then, because it's a worldwide pageant, you're competing against Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, and the United States states individually. That's why it's such a large pageant. But you have to go through several pageants before you get to nationals. You have to win a few times beforehand. So it is um girls that are refined and really, you know, it's the best of the best in the age category that you're in, so.
00:11:42
Speaker
I think the biggest thing that I did in terms of preparing for nationals was studying myself and my personality and knowing like who I was genuinely deep down. Once I did that, that helped my confidence so much going into my pageant um at finals, the national finals. And through that, I think my, throughout my week, having that confidence because I knew myself wholeheartedly and I knew I was being genuine and I knew I did the best I could and had gotten, you know, I'd studied as much as I could. Once you get to the pageant, it's like, okay, relax. Like now it's time to just perform and do your best. Right. And so yeah once I got there, I, I really was at peace. And I do think it was like the Lord having a hand on me with that. Um, because I think it happened for a reason that I did win that pageant. yeah um I'm a firm believer in that and that's how faith is a huge part of my life. And yes and so with that, I would say the biggest thing was just studying myself. And then when I got to got to the pageant, I just did my best and I felt the most confident I could be. And really the girls, like I made so many amazing friends. yes And so that helped a ton because it was really just fun. Like yeah genuinely so much fun competing and the pageant at the the high school finals is the first weekend. So then once it you get it over with, you can just relax and like have fun the rest of the week, which was really helpful. Cause after the pageant, I could just relax and take a deep breath and then go make friends and make memories and those memories. And I still have great friends that I talk to on a weekly basis from, from high school rodeo. So yeah, I can't. You and I both, we can't say enough good things about the organization, everything that they've given us, but I thought what the most interesting part about it all was, um for you specifically, this is gonna be tooting your horn a little bit, and that's so good. You were a cowgirl first, and I so appreciate that. like um Me, I didn't ever compete professionally in rodeo. I did play days growing up, and then around high school, rodeo started competing because that is and not necessarily a requirement, but you need to be in tune with an event. You need to do something. and so
00:13:44
Speaker
um That was never like I had fun and I added to the pot and
Changing Stereotypes and Advocacy
00:13:47
Speaker
I loved cheering on the girls that were going really fast But you took it's your competitor a fierce competitor inside the arena and as a rodeo queen And um do you think that that helped you for sure? yeah And I think there's a stereotype amongst rodeo queens at least in high school that I saw with like other rodeo competitors that aren't rodeo queens that kind of looked down on the Queens and And I went on mission to say, no, like I'm a girl that can ride a horse and I'm passionate about my sport. And I'm here to like break that stereotype. And actually when I was the national high school rodeo queen, I got to compete on a world level for reigning cow horse at the celebration of champions. whoa And so got to post about that and just really gaining respect for the rodeo queen stereotype in itself was one of my missions because
00:14:27
Speaker
I'm sure you've related to people looking ah like people rodeo queens can be looked down upon sometimes and so I really wanted to gain respect for for just like hey no I am a horse woman and I know how to ride a horse and and like those are very important things to me so with that and then high school already like you said you do have to beat in an event to compete in the rodeo queen contest so i really appreciate that because most of the competitors and queen contestants are really great writers because they also are doing rodeo they're also count rolls outside of the two yeah at what point in the pageant did you think oh this is going south or oh i've got this this is
00:15:04
Speaker
I don't think I had, I think that's why I won. The pageant was because I was very consistent throughout. yes um i I didn't have one moment where I was like, oh my gosh, I just messed up. i I prepared super well for that pageant and did my best and obviously it paid off because at the end I did end up walking away with that title and several, quite a few categories as well that I won. um And so there wasn't a moment that,
00:15:27
Speaker
i I feel like I had a lot of peace, too, from the Lord that he was like, hey, you've got this, Kylie. Even when we went into coronation, like I had so much peace. yeah I wasn't even like worried going into it. yeah So I don't know how to describe it, but I would say that there wasn't one moment that I was like, oh my goodness. And I honestly, that's one piece of advice that I give to girls is is if you do have an oops moment, like let it go and move on to the next day. Because if you do have an oops moment that can affect the rest of your your pageant in their other categories Because you're worried about the past and what just happened So letting learning to just move on and let it go and okay. I've worked hard here We are rest refresh restart onto the next one. Yeah, no, that's so much good advice So let's talk about post rodeo Queen it obviously paid off all the skills that you got I mean it got me my job now absolutely where you are Talk about Kylie in college, how that's translated to college applications, college resumes, job resumes, now at Cryptek, all the things that you do in marketing and digital marketing for them. Talk about that, how the benefits of it. So rodeo cleaning in itself has set me up, the skill sets you gain from rodeo cleaning has set me up for success in my future, and I'm sure you can attest to that. as you just said. yeah um You go through an interview process, you learn to speak on stage publicly, you learn to model even, which I think is important to be able to carry yourself in poisely. So all those things helped me um get my job and even where I'm at. I know I'm the founder CEO daughter, but they would not have advanced me into my marketing positions if I was you know if i hadn't probably if I hadn't gone through that rodeo queen-queening career because of the skills I've gained. and i the social skills that you gain are so important and relevant and I accredit all of my skills to rodeo-queening in itself so I would say all of it helped with that. I'm a ah student at Boise State and taking a few communications classes even on public speaking and being able to get up on
00:17:20
Speaker
in class and speak in front of people and present, um even dashboards, business dashboards and stuff like those. It's so easy for me because of the things I went through when I was little to you know win a Rodeo Queen title. So all of that accredits to Rodeo Queening for sure. I could not agree more. It's so big and kind of like pageants and kind of like life that we've experienced so far. Everything is about timing. And um it's just so crazy how our life works and in the way that it
Working at Cryptek and Family Business
00:17:47
Speaker
does. So like, let's just talk, let's just be open. So me not winning this road to America, getting first runner up, I could have seen it as a devastating thing. And I did for a second. Like, let's be honest, it was a hard rightfully. So I get it, yeah. But then you you start thinking about all the different things that you aren't able to do now and you wouldn't have been able to do if you had that title. And everything's just so crazy. So for you specifically too, I'm like so excited for your future, especially because you just got engaged. How many days ago did you just get engaged? Oh, we got engaged and in May. So it's been a few months. So it's been a little bit. I feel like it's new to me because I'm like, I completely forgot. This is so awesome. And let me just tell you a word to the wise. Marriage life is like,
00:18:24
Speaker
I don't know what you've heard about how awesome it is, but it is way awesome. I'm so excited. Yeah. I'm so excited to take that next step of life. And I will say, and I was telling Taylor before we started the podcast that it was hard for me at first to, when my ah fiance and I were talking about, okay, do we want to take this next step? Do we want to get engaged? I had to make that decision of, do I want to go on to run for Ms. Radio Idaho, or do I want to get get engaged and start that next phase in my life? And I really had to lean into ah my faith for that. but Like you said, timing is everything. God's timing was his and not my own, right? And so we ended up, yeah, I decided to be content with what I had already accomplished in my rodeo queen career and move on to the next phase of life. So. And I'm so proud of you for doing that. That is so awesome. And what you're about to experience is like, if you think it's good now, it is so much better. I'm so excited. There's growing pains along the way, just like with everything. You know, but yeah, I'm just so happy for you. This is like the million dollar question. Do you have a wedding date? Yeah.
00:19:20
Speaker
yeah absolutely and it yeah I'll be announcing it soon, but I do and I had that wedding date before we even So my fiance is in medical school and he only has three weeks of break So we have a very tight timeline of when we need to move in moving in that's literally the three weeks of break so our wedding date wasn't really a choice but so I reserved it right away as soon as we got engaged and I had already picked the date out beforehand because we didn't really have any wiggle room or any options so that is so cool just planning the life ahead and getting to see you grow into the woman that you are the young adulthood and landing your first big girl old job out of college you know helping your dad with the marketing yeah I say helping your dad it's much bigger than that but
00:20:00
Speaker
Talk to us about your day-to-day life with Cryptek and what you get to do because I've seen a lot of your videos and you guys should right now go check them out too. You get to be a part of the hunting trips that are also photo photo video shoot trips. So tell us about what you get to do. yeah So running marketing for Cryptek is so much fun especially with it being my family's brand because I've watched my dad grow it from the ground up yeah and me really pouring my heart and soul into a company that is my family's and we've worked so hard to get where we are today. yes It's easier to you know work hard and it helps my work ethic every day and drives me to keep going. But I would just say like an everyday every day in Kylie's life would be, I run our our Legion, so it's about 120 influencers or professional hunters, people that may have influence to a consumer in the industry. um So we have pro professional hunters, professional athletes, TikTok influencers, and everyone in between, just someone that may have influenced guides and outfitters. So I help manage those relationships and um apply those relationships to our marketing campaigns. With that, I also brainstorm with marketing campaigns. So if we have a new product launch or if we have a sale coming up, I help brainstorm that, keep everyone organized in the office, making sure things are due out, they're being maintained and everything like that. I'm also like my dad's little assistant. He gets mad at me sometimes. It's like, Kylie scheduled another meeting. I'm like, yeah, this is important. So um I have access to his calendar, and i I schedule stuff for him, because he has a lot on his plate, obviously. So being the president and founder, it's a busy schedule. yeah He's a busy guy. But I help keep him organized. um With that, I also am currently running our social media. and I hope that that kind of we're looking for someone right now to hire on to help lift that off of my plate, because it is it's becoming a lot. um And social media is yeah it's not my favorite thing. yeah
00:21:45
Speaker
Really? You're so good at it. It's a lot. It's a 24-7 job and i I have had to find work balance with my life and, you know, everyday life and school and all that and rodeo. So having to, yeah, it's a lot. And even for you, literally and figuratively, you're wearing so many different hats, but then mom and dad at the end of the day are so mom and dad and you don't want to sit at the dinner table and have business discussions. Oh, goodness. yeah We definitely have to balance work.
00:22:11
Speaker
especially my dad and I, but it's great. I wouldn't trade it for the world working with my family and my mom's actually in office a lot as well helping out. It's a very family, we're very family oriented, especially with our relationships, like the Legion that I was discussing, like I have everyone's personal cell and I mean, they text me 24 seven, you know, like it's very personable. yeah And with that, I wouldn't trade it for the world. oh I bet not literally living it up and I can't help but ask like what is your best piece of advice? There's a lot of listeners out there that are in our stage of life in between us probably I would say and um So what's your best piece of advice for balancing it all since you do wear
Cryptek's Mission and Conservation Passion
00:22:48
Speaker
so many different hats and do different things Yeah, I'm keeping your horses legged up and my fiance and planning a wedding and all the things what's your best piece of advice for that?
00:22:55
Speaker
I am a huge planner. I plan ahead. I have my Google calendar. So scheduling it out and even scheduling like time in my day to like have some alone time and you know, like recoup myself. I love to journal. I love to read. So getting in the like, I love to read my Bible, getting in the word, setting myself up for success for the day was just some mal alone time and like, okay, what am I going to do today? What am I going to accomplish? What's my heart posture like today? Am I going to have a good day, you know, and setting out out taking time that way I know If I start my day that way, I know I'm going to have like a productive, good day, especially um just with how you're saying I'm so busy. It's important to like take time for yourself to organize yourself so you don't get stressed. And then from there, I have a schedule. I schedule my day out every day. So using a calendar, I would say, is my piece. The best piece, yeah. That's smart, especially for college deadlines. we Absolutely. It all makes sense. yeah And prioritizing things that are more important and not wasting time. I am a big believer in like time is obviously, you're short. you're like you're short Yeah, it's so valuable. So not wasting it on and like random stuff. Scrolling through TikTok for three hours.
00:24:03
Speaker
Yeah. And you have to have it for your job right now. Yes, that's right. If you want a job, sign in three days. Yes, we're hiring. If I hire you to save her. yeah um so Okay, so on top of that then, what do you do for fun and how do you have time to do the fun stuff? I think, goodness, what do I do for fun? Gosh, well, riding my horses are always a fun thing and keeping my horses legged up. I'm a very big people person, so spending time with family and friends is huge for me. So anytime I do have free time, it is um putting pouring that ah time and energy into my relationships and my family and stuff like that. So I would say my free time, it's like with people as much as I can be. A lot of my day is spent on meetings talking with people, but that that can be draining. But when I'm with my family and friends, it's like a a refill. Okay, so you are a true extrovert. I am an extrovert, yeah. Wow. Yeah, for sure. My husband and I were just talking about this. I think I might be an introvert with extrovert tendencies, because I do love being with people. But I think at the end of the day, I do need to
00:25:01
Speaker
ah yeah Breathe for a second. Yeah. Yeah. That's so cool. Okay. So we've spent a lot of time talking about you and this has been so good. You guys, if you have any questions for Kylie, feel free to slide into her dance gear. Your Instagram is, let me get this right. Kylie Whiting. Okay. Underscore. Underscore Kylie Whiting. Yeah. That's so perfect. Okay. So to change gears, just a little bit, some business talk for us boss babes around here. Tell us about Cryptek and what you guys do and even tell me about like, I think And this could have been a hunting trip that you went on. I don't know if it was like a true hunting trip or if it was for content for Cryptek, but tell us about all of that. Okay. Everything that you guys do. So Cryptek is a outdoor apparel clothing company. Our main piece behind the brand is our camouflage.
00:25:43
Speaker
so yeah So that's actually some interesting things. like We were able to put our camo on all kinds of things, whether it be cowboy boots or sports cars or pieces of you know other clothing and gear, you know whatever. You can put camo on anything. So that's a big part of our brand is our licensing products. But the biggest thing behind Cryptek in terms of who we are is our motto, it's battlefield to back country. My dad was an Apache attack helicopter pilot and um served several several tours overseas for our nation's battles. And you know just we have a big love for freedom and America and all those things play into our brand and who we are today. So taking that motto of battlefield to back country and being our love for the outdoors, just kind of blending them together as a big part of our brand.
00:26:32
Speaker
And from there, there are a lot of pros to having a brand like this, like getting to go on fun hunts and stuff. um i There was a video recently released on my Instagram, and some of the clips were actually in ah and New Zealand. We were red stag hunting. And and I'm a big ah proponent of conservation, so I can get into that as well, of why we hunt. But yeah the biggest thing behind that was, yes, we were there to have fun. i mean People in the hunting industry would say oh, that's like a dream hunt You know and I was so blessed to get to be able to get to go on that hunt and we have some amazing friends that blessed us with that opportunity but um as a young girl like being able to grow up going on hunts and stuff like my dad instilled those values into me and um with that it's one thing it's our lifestyle, but then throwing a camera in there to market ourselves and get content as kind of just an extra thing that we do. Like we'd be still doing, we'd be doing stuff like that anyways, but for the brand's sake, of course, yeah, we're going to film stuff just so we can post it, you know, for marketing. Cause why not? Right? And that's business for you. Absolutely. yeah But I mean, I could get into why we hunt and I think the biggest thing, and especially being in the Western industry as well with love for agriculture is just knowing, um, conservation in itself, but knowing where my meat comes from is huge. And so.
00:27:48
Speaker
harvesting Having the ability to work hard on a mountain to hiking 60 miles and being able to harvest an elk and then, you know farm totain not farm to table, Field to table, make that elk backstrap steak for dinner, knowing like, wow, this this piece of meat was worked hard for and you know and then that, but also the conservation aspect of we need conservation in and wildlife to keep things maintained, so.
00:28:14
Speaker
You're a great advocate for that. yeah I'm very passionate about it just because that's what we do. It's your life. and I have two questions for you. One is kind of a silly question so I'll start with that one. okay Okay so there's a show and I forget what network it's on but it's basically like they drop these people off in an undisclosed location. What's it called? um um Either way, whatever it's called. Alone or is it alone? yes And I love that show. I eat that show up because these people are given I think 10 items and they can survive and they do it and then it's like whoever lasts the longest wins. Do you think you could do that? No.
00:28:45
Speaker
My dad, granted, my dad, it's so funny, because what's hilarious is my question at the National High School Rodeo contest, um on my impromptu question was, if you were stranded on an island, what three things would you take with you? And the three things I said was flint and steel to make a fire. And from that, like,
00:29:03
Speaker
I've grown up with survival tactics, but I don't think I could last alone. I'm such a people person. I'm extroverted. I cannot just for this, like mentally, I don't think I could do it. Yes, I could physically. I could yeah i could go out and harvest an animal, but I don't know if I had a a bow or a rifle, I could maybe I'd make a bow. I don't know. yeah or make a fishing pole or something. I feel like I do have those skill sets um to be able and then to be able to build a fire and make you know survival skill sets. i've I've been raised with that just in case like um an emergency happens. But in terms of mentally and emotionally, you know I think that's the biggest thing that gets those people off those islands and they lose is because they lose their mind being alone. that's crazy the name of the show is alone is because people tap out because they they go crazy. if not We're designed as humans to be with people and community and relationships. And I think that's something i I know I need. So I don't think I'd be able to last on the show because of that.
Future Plans and Personal Insights
00:29:57
Speaker
It is the hardest part for sure. Okay. My final question of the whole podcast. okay I think anyway.
00:30:02
Speaker
You're a female as a hunter. What's it feel like for you to then go on these hunts with all these guys and carry your own way? You're killing like just as many ducks. You're getting the deer. What is what is that like? That's gotta to be so cool. Yeah, i mean at first, i mean sometimes it can be intimidating as a woman in the hunting industry, but there are so many inspirational women out there that have already led the pack. For example, Jana Waller, who is skullbound TV. She's one of our Legion influencers. influence she's not an I hate using the word influencer. She's ah a role model. She has influence. influence yeah she's a role model in the industry um and she's really set the standard for women hunting and I have a lot of people everyone has respect for her because of that so as a woman going out in the hunting world and being able to hunt especially with the skills my dad's instilled into me yeah I I think it's great especially because there aren't as many women and so advocating for that and spreading it I think is huge and any woman can go out and hunt and so I just hope they aren't intimidated too so because it's amazing it's an amazing experience
00:31:01
Speaker
It is, and who knows, maybe that experience that you had as a rodeo queen with Dusty is that same experience for a little girl with you as a hunter, too. That's so cool. I never really got into the hunting thing, but I am so obsessed with it now. My husband's a deer hunter, duck hunter. He does a lot, but anyways, we love it. And I have to compliment you before we go, because your outfit is so cute. Thank you. Where did you get your passion influence from? Goodness. I'm a big Pinterest girl. I'll go on Pinterest and find inspo. But one of the things that I was packing for this trip and my roommates were in my room helping me. And they're like, how do you put your outfits together? And I told them, actually, I said, I take an outfit that you could wear. It would be considered street fashion, LA fashion. And I make it Western. I'll throw on a cowgirl hat, belt, boot. You know, make it Western. So take modern day trends that you're seeing in Vogue and then turning it Western is kind of my techniques with how I style myself. Well, you're killing it, girlfriend, in all areas of life. Thank you. The past, present, future. I'm so excited to see where you end up, what all is going on for you. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us on the podcast. Yeah, it's been great. It has. I'll have to come back, bring my dad back. Yes, for sure. And if you guys want to follow Kylie or if you want to learn more about the brand, Cryptek, Go to the Instagram website, whatever you want to do, but Instagram is at Cryptek. That's K-R-Y-P-T-E-K, just to clarify. And then Kylie, of course, is at underscore Kylie Whiting. I'm just so serious when I say this. Like, she's a gem, and everything that you follow or that you see when you follow her is going to be real and authentic, and she's never going to lead you astray. So... Thank you. Yeah, of course, of course. And we're so excited that you took the time to sit down with us and listen. So we'll see you the next time you kick your boots up.
00:32:42
Speaker
Thanks for joining us on Kick Your Boots Up. I'm your host, Taylor McAdams, and we can't wait to share the next story of the West. Until then, feel free to like, subscribe, and leave us a review. Follow us on social media at Justin Boots to keep up with our next episode, and we'll see you the next time you kick your boots up.