by Jordan Houser
Senior Max Griffin will fulfill his dream and begin filming a nationally televised hunting program this spring. The show, Next Level, will premier on Pursuit Channel February 2015.
From a young age, Griffin’s life revolved around hunting.
“I grew up on a bow shop floor,” Griffiin said. “My dad’s best friend owns the second biggest bowtech dealer in the nation.”
His father, who for a number of years shot professionally in the International Bowhunting Organization (IBO) taught Griffin to shoot as a small child.
“I remember the first deer I shot [with a bow] when I was seven, and I was too little,” Griffin said. “I drew back, hit [the deer], and the arrow bounced off it.”
It wasn’t long before Griffin realized his love for the sport and his desire to make it a permanent part of his life.
“When I was in fourth grade I went to [hunt in] Texas and was like, ‘I’m going to do this. I’m going to figure out some way to get into this.’ “
From that point on, Griffin focused on hunting and fishing. During his four years at Capital, he has spent many weekends travelling north to Michigan.
“I drove three and a half hours home every Friday night, got home at dark on Friday, and then got up [Saturday] and drove two hours to my property in Michigan every weekend,” Griffin said. “Then I [would drive] six hours back home to Columbus when I was done hunting on Sunday.”
Griffin owns MOR Outdoors, a registered LLC that works closely with his main title sponsor, MOR Archery. Through Griffin’s work with MOR Outdoors, he met a representative from Pursuit Channel and discussed a contract.
“He talked to me [several months ago] and I thought it was dead in the water,” Griffin said. “Then I got a phone call and it took a 180. Since January, it has taken off like a rocket.”
Griffin has paired up with Travis Baker, an Ohio hunter, for Next Level.
“I met [Travis] through the outfitter I hunt for, Forward Outfitters of Ohio,” Griffin said. “He’s good friends with the owner, he has some good property, and he knows people. He wanted to jump on board with me and now we’re a team.”
Although Griffin’s journey with Pursuit Channel is only beginning, he plans for the future. The ultimate goal is to acquire a program with the Outdoor Channel, the number one television source in the hunting industry.
“The way it ranks right now is that the Outdoor Channel is number one, Sportsman Channel is number two, and Pursuit Channel is number three,” Griffin said. “A lot of people work really hard just to do their webisodes through YouTube and Facebook and we’re already jumping to the number three station in the country . . . It’s humbling, but it’s fun at the same time to wake up every morning and know you’re going to live your dream.”
For Next Level, Griffin will film hunts in eight states. This will include whitetail deer in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kansas; black bear in New York; wild boar in Florida; ducks and geese in Pennyslvania; and turkey in Michigan and Ohio.
Griffin’s love of the sport touches more than his own personal interest. He and his partners with MOR Outdoors work closely with the Physically Challenged Bowhunters of America (PCBA), an organization that assists physically disabled persons to take part in bowhunting.
“Getting to help the PCBA – that’s what it’s about,” Griffin said. “Getting young kids involved and taking people out and showing them how to do the right thing and [to teach them] safety — that’s what I love doing.”
Griffin urges Capital students to follow MOR Outdoors through their Facebook page, through which they will offer special opportunities to their fans.
“I want to get people on our page [where] we release certain things that only our followers get,” Griffin said. “If I can help anybody get into where I’m at today . . . that’s the end goal.”
This passion is what drives Griffin in the sport.
“It’s as much [that] I love hunting and being in the woods as it is about making money and being on TV,” Griffin said. “If this ends this year and I never go on past this show, and it just all goes in the history books that I had fun, that’s all that matters. I can do it the rest of my life no matter what — TV contract or not.”
Griffin studies economics, political science, and marketing at Capital and will graduate in the fall. Next Level can be seen on Pursuit Channel, offered through Dish, DirecTV, and other television providers. More information on MOR Outdoors can be found at www.facebook.com/moroutdoors.
jhouser@capital.edu
