Hometown Hero Outdoors
Welcome to the Hometown Hero Outdoors Podcast, where we’re more than just a show—we’re a mission. As a non-profit dedicated to enhancing mental health through life-changing outdoor adventures for military service members, veterans, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and EMS personnel, we bring you stories of resilience, healing, and community.
🌲 Why Listen?
- Over 5,000 heroes have experienced the healing power of the outdoors with us—through activities like hunting, fishing, camping, snowmobiling, and more.
- 85% of participants report reduced stress, increased camaraderie, and a renewed sense of purpose after our adventures.
- We share inspiring stories of mental health advocacy and people overcoming the toughest challenges, highlighting the profound impact of reconnecting with nature.
Whether you’re here for thrilling outdoor adventures, meaningful conversations about mental health, or to hear from real people who’ve used the outdoors to heal and grow, this podcast has something for everyone.
🎧 Subscribe now and join us on this journey of healing, resilience, and the transformative power of the great outdoors!
Hometown Hero Outdoors
From Policing to Podcasting: Brent Reaves on Passion for Nature
Brent Reaves, a passionate outdoorsman from Arkansas, takes center stage on the Hometown Hero Outdoors Podcast, bringing with him a wealth of experience in both law enforcement and outdoor guiding. Brent's journey from a childhood on a farm in Southeast Arkansas to becoming a key member of the Meat Eater team is nothing short of inspiring. He shares his deep-seated love for coon hunting, turkey hunting, archery, and fishing, revealing how these pursuits have been shaped by his upbringing. Listeners will walk away with a newfound appreciation for the healing power of nature and the unbreakable bonds formed within outdoor communities.
Listeners will be transported to Brent's nostalgic childhood days, filled with countryside adventures, fishing, swimming, and building forts. Brent shares how these formative experiences taught him valuable lessons in conservation and respect for nature. His stories emphasize the role of parents as custodians of these lessons, likening them to game wardens nurturing a respectful relationship with the outdoors. Through his narrative, Brent highlights the moral obligation to be stewards of the land and the importance of sustainable hunting practices.
Brent's candid reflections on his career in law enforcement reveal the challenging yet rewarding nature of the job. He shares poignant stories from his days in the field, especially during the methamphetamine epidemic of the 1990s, including impactful rescues and the emotional toll of the profession. Brent underscores the significance of effective communication, empathy, and balancing authority with respect. His journey into podcasting with the Country Life podcast showcases his commitment to sharing his love for the outdoors while finding a balance between faith, family, and mission focus. Join us as Brent imparts wisdom on leading a balanced life and the rewarding intersections of outdoor passion, conservation, and community service.
Produced by Phil Ewert Productions
Theme Music: Hero's Journey
Joel Loopez Tunepocket.com
Licensed by: Phil Ewert Productions
hometownherooutdoors.org
In the land of 10,000 lakes, a remarkable movement was born. Welcome to Hometown Hero Outdoors. We are dedicated to honoring our military service members, veterans and first responders by providing them with unforgettable outdoor recreational opportunities. We believe those who have served and sacrificed so much for our country and communities deserve a chance to reclaim their spirit and find healing in the great outdoors. This is Hometown Hero Outdoors. Welcome to the Hometown Hero Outdoors Podcast. Here is your host, chris.
Speaker 2:Tatro. Hello to our listeners. Welcome back to the Hometown Hero Outdoors podcast. I have an awesome guest today I'm really excited about. It's kind of an interesting story how we got here, but we'll go through that throughout the adventure here. But we have Mr Brent Reeves here today with Meat Eater. Brent Reeves is a lifelong outdoorsman from remote Arkansas with over 25 years of waterfall guiding experience and a rich background in law enforcement. Arkansas. With over 25 years of waterfall guiding experience and a rich background in law enforcement, he's the host of this Country Life podcast and contributor to Bear Grease as part of the Meat Eater team. Brent is passionate about coon hunting and hounds, turkey hunting, archery and fishing. He's also a proud father and grandparent, committed to sharing his love for the outdoors through storytelling and his personal experience. Well, welcome to the show, sir. Thank you for being here.
Speaker 3:Oh, thank you for inviting me, Chris. It's a thrill to be here, buddy.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, did you get?
Speaker 3:out and do some hunting this morning. Then Hunting a cool spot, that's all I'm hunting right now. Yeah, it's still in the 90s here in the south in Arkansas, where I live. It's a few mornings, you know, you get up and walk outside and it's take my little girl to school, like I do every morning, and it's, you know, in the 60s. You think, dang, you know, I could probably go kill a mess of squirrels here before it got too hot. And I get back to the house about 15 to eight and it's already in the 70s. So I'm like I'll just, I'll just wait for the first frost.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't blame you. Yeah, today we woke up in the 30s here in Minnesota, so that's kind of nice and refreshing oh gosh, I bet. It's going to be 80 degrees later today, though, so we got that temperature swing happening, but it's okay. You know, it's nice to actually be in that time of the year where you have that cool season starting.
Speaker 2:Yeah it'll be here. It's getting there. So thanks for coming on the show, so for our listeners. This year at the podcast, you know we've tried to switch some things up here. We are talking to a lot of HHO members, but you know our members are military service members, veterans and first responders, which brings us to Brent, which is pretty cool Because Brent is a former law enforcement officer and he's retired.
Speaker 2:So I actually reached out to Meat Eater a few weeks ago and you guys were really responsive, got back to me quick and, uh, the gentleman that I spoke with I cannot remember his name, but, yeah, yes, sir, yep, yep, and he uh referred me to you right away, considering what your history is, so pretty awesome to have you guys here. I love what you guys do at meat eater. Uh, you know, I've got a lot of a lot of friends and myself who, uh, really engage and watch the different things that meat is doing throughout the years, especially with the education aspect, with conservation and the outdoors. So really excited to have you here. So let's start here. Let's start with who is Brent? Who are you, where did you grow up, what was your passion for the outdoors and what did your career look like you don't have to necessarily go in that order, but what are the things that make Brent tick as well?
Speaker 3:necessarily go in that order, but what are the things that make Brent tick as well? Well, I grew up on a small farm in Southeast Arkansas, right on the Bradley and Cleveland County line. I graduated high school from Warren. We lived several miles out of town and my whole world was I'm 58, so I was born in 1966. So my whole world.
Speaker 3:There was no internet. Obviously there was no. We didn't watch TV, you know. We went outside, was like entertainment and anything that we wanted to do was fair game outside after the chores were done. That's the important part. So we usually we ran anywhere from, you know, close to 80 head of cattle, 120 head of cattle. We had hogs, had two chicken houses there.
Speaker 3:So I mean, I grew up in a rural life and it was. It was good, it was. I was free to be, like I said, once the chores were done I was feral, I was absolutely in the woods. My closest friend of my age lived about he's probably about a half a mile away from where I did. Another one that lived about two miles from us and that was in the summer. If we were home. Once we got together, we met somewhere at a central location, whether we walked or rode bicycles or a horse or or whatever. But we, we met up and that's where the adventures began. And we was. It was fishing and swimming in creeks and building forts and just doing what kids used to do and a lot of them still do. But I mean it was pretty normal for that way of life back then. It was just a life that grew up close to land and I just took advantage of it. I'm so glad that I grew up the way that I did, because I couldn't have pictured any other childhood other than the one I had.
Speaker 2:Well, it sounds like a great time, especially in the South. You know I was actually born in Texas myself only lived there until I was five but I never got to have that experience kind of like what you had there. But mine began in the Northland and I feel you know a lot of that. Good memories go back to our youth and having the kids in the outdoors and being able to wander in the woods and do those things and sometimes get in a little trouble Not too much trouble, but it happens.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was a mischievous trouble that that I did. You know we would. We would help folks fish their ponds when they weren't there. So we felt it was our duty as fishermen want to be professional fishermen at 10 and 11 years old that we need to help these folks fish their ponds. So we may have slipped in a few places. We really wasn't supposed to have been those are the long-lasting memories that will never go away, though.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah, yeah, absolutely. You know from there my childhood. As far as hunting and fishing went, it was just what we did. I wasn't expected to do it, I wasn't forced into any of it. My dad was a big hunter but I was never made to go. It was always had the option. If I wanted to go, I could. And he taught us and my two old brothers, and he taught us to know the way to do it. He had a forward mind of thinking. Uh, back then that it was.
Speaker 3:You know, conservation was really important. You know, if we shot something, we was going to eat it. So if you didn't want to eat a blackbird, or if you didn't want to eat a robin or a redbird or something, you better not shoot it, because that was what you was going to be having for supper. And it taught us to recognize. You know what was game and what wasn't. Us to recognize. You know what was what was game and what wasn't, and it made me appreciate in an early age that that are really the cornerstones of conservation. You know conservation today, and it was, it was taught through good. You know pretty easy lessons If you don't want to put salt and pepper on something. You better not poke a BB in it. You're fixing to be eating it.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, oh yeah. No, I remember my kids. Same thing, same lessons. You know we'll be out in the woods and looking for, looking for the grouse and seeing other animals, and let's get that one. No, nobody, we cannot be shooting that animal, because if you do I'm gonna make you eat it. Plus, my job is gonna kind of get in the way a little bit. But uh, that's how life is, though. You know it can't be very fun being the game warden's kid, but it is what it is right, yeah.
Speaker 3:But you know it's, you know, really, to raise children right in the outdoors, every parent should be the game warden, amen. Raise children right in the outdoors, every parent should be the game warden, amen. Should instill that sense, the moral obligation that we have I talk about that a lot on the stuff that I talk about. We have a moral obligation to take care of the heavy stewards of what we hunt and take care of, because no one loves it as much as we do, because no one loves it as much as we do. There's no, you'll never convince me. An anti-hunter loves animals as much as I do, because I'm contributing monetarily to their upkeep and I'm also contributing the lessons and the skill set and the conservation lessons that I've learned over the years, that I have seen applied to the reason that we have the game that we have today. And it's not because someone stopped hunting, it's because hunt thrived, you know, and we learned the correct way to do it. And it's just a, it's just a no brainer for me. You know that.
Speaker 3:And growing up the way I did, chris, it was, I mean, you would look out, I walk outside and you, you know it wasn't uncommon to see deer in the yard and stuff like that, and you just live in a closer relationship with each other and you just develop that. It's hard for me to put in words, I guess I don't know. It's just a sense of responsibility that in the age I wanted people, my kids if I was to ever get married and have kids, you know, I want them to be able to see the same things that I did and my friends do, you know, and their kids. So it was just. It was a culture and a community, more or less that of that time and the people that that I was around and raised around, that that looked at at nature is very similar to the way that the way that I was around and raised around, that looked at nature is very similar to the way that I was taught and exposed to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, totally, and it's good lessons to pass along. You know, if we don't pass those along, they're going to die with us, and everything else down that chain beyond there is going to start to struggle and hurt in the long run. And you're absolutely correct, oh, very good. So I want to kind of transition here a little bit too. So, um, I mean, we'll dive back into the outdoor stuff, as we always do. But, um, you know, as you as you grew up, um, and you had your outdoor passion and engaged in a lot of different outdoor activities, it sounds like you began to take a liking to the law enforcement career.
Speaker 3:You know I come from my family. I have a lot of folks in my family that are in service, either in the military excuse me, either military or law enforcement, and it just seemed like a natural path for me to go, and was one that you know I had. There was two things on my mind as a kid. As seventh or eighth grade I decided that one I was either going to be a policeman or I was going to be a stuntman. One of the two, a stuntman, yeah. So I decided to be a policeman, and then I wound up in undercover narcotics, and that pretty well covered both.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's bull.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, that was from an early age. That's what I wanted to be was a policeman.
Speaker 2:And then you were in police officer in the state of Arkansas.
Speaker 3:Yes, my entire career has been in Arkansas. I never worked for a municipality, it's always been sheriff's offices or task forces or the state. The state of Arkansas is where I wound up my career, but during the initial hiring I was patrol deputy and I did that for several years and then I transferred into narcotics and then took over. I was a commander of the drug task force for the southeast corner of the state for several years and did that for quite a while and I and a number of other agents that I supervised there and this was during the explosion of methamphetamine labs all over the South, especially in rural communities where the ingredients were easy to get a hold of, especially anhydrous ammonia, which is a chemical that is used. So it's a fertilizer that's used on rural farms and it would be stored in massive tanks and places that no one frequented and folks had the opportunity to tap into those lines or those tanks and get it to help manufacture the methamphetamine.
Speaker 3:So that was during the 90s, the mid-90s, and it was at one time I and two other guys were about the only DEA certified clan lab investigators in South Arkansas. So for a period of months there, before the other folks got through school in this, we were being sent all over creation to dismantle those and make them make them safe. You know, during that, during that big explosion, during that time, so it was a lot of a lot of late nights, a lot of being gone from home, a lot of a lot of you know, pretty sticky situations occasionally, because I'm not, I'm sure you're familiar with it. The and the folks that are listening probably don't have any idea that bathtub pharmacy is not the most secure environment in which to operate. So yeah, it was some pretty wild times during that time.
Speaker 2:It was definitely an epidemic, especially when everything started taking off and everything started taking off. I remember a lot of the issues that our state was having then and a lot of it was actually during the fish and game enforcement, where we had a lot of people with fish houses and being on lakes making meth labs and stuff like that, and I know it was very difficult being able to enforce. I mean, at the time too, it was a new type of drug that was introduced into the market. I mean, at the time too, it was a new type of drug that was introduced into the market. I mean it had remnants in the history but it was really exploding based on how much cost and how easy it was and obviously very lethal, you know, and but I can't imagine some of the things that you had gone through and had seen.
Speaker 2:I know one of my friends. I told him that you're going to be on a podcast here and he listens to you religiously podcast here and he listens to you religiously also game warden and uh, he was talking about an episode that you did about um, a small girl that you had rescued from a house that was heavily involved with methamphetamine yeah, um, I can tell you that, I'll try to tell it's uh, that happened uh, gosh man 20 some ago and it's still kind of still pretty hard to talk about, but it all ended very well.
Speaker 3:But we had been involved in a case there in South Arkansas for quite a while and I had actually been promoted to lieutenant and I was on a patrol supervisor at that time. I'd been in narcotics for about 16 years at that point and had recently been promoted and we went into a, had a welfare concern on a child and went in the house and there it was a valid complaint and this little girl, we she was five, I believe, at the time and six and we I got her out of there. The living conditions were, I mean, deplorable, is not a even come close to it. She had a lot of medical issues, a lot of lesions and sores from flea, bites from animals that were dogs, that were inside the house, and we had a uh, uh, a hotline number that we could call for instances like that with the state, with department of human services. So I got her back to the uh, the sheriff's office and I had, you know, I had my oldest daughter at the time was about her age and, um, so it was man.
Speaker 3:It was hard, you know. I mean, it was hard to deal with that and try to try to take this little girl in to a environment that she was absolutely no knowledge of. I mean, that was her life, was where we got her from and she was. She was sad to be gone from there. She was crying and wanting her mother, and you know. But her mother was put her in that position to begin with and it was just, you know, a very sad state of affairs. So a few hours later, the state of Arkansas, they sent an investigator down, they picked her up and she went into foster care. From there Now the way it works here, and I'm sure it's everywhere, from there. Now the way it works here, I'm sure it's everywhere.
Speaker 2:Once that child enters foster care.
Speaker 3:We have no knowledge of what happens after that, you know, unless we just happen to see them on the street or something. But I would contact the investigator for months afterwards and say, you know, checking on this little girl, and you know she'd give me the thumbs up. You know I can't tell you anything, but she's fine, everything's doing fine. Long story short, we got her out of there. Her mother went to prison for quite a while. She gave up the rights to the child. That was the end of it.
Speaker 3:I always wondered in the back of my mind what happened to this kid. Where did she go? I mean you always. You know she wasn't the only one. There was a lot of children like that. This one, for some reason, just stuck out in my mind. I just couldn't shake it, the memory of that day really, and I wondered what had happened to her. So you advance.
Speaker 3:You know, 10, 10 years later, 15 years later, um and my wife was where it works, at the state capitol, and at that particular time she was a tour guide. She's no longer in that position. She is the public relations director now, but anyway, at the time she was a tour director and she called me. She said look, there's some folks from a mother and a daughter that have scheduled a, wanted a tour of the capital, and they're. They're here for a concert or something. They're from, they're from south arkansas. And I told they asked me would I stay late and give her one, give them a tour? And then I agreed.
Speaker 3:She called me, said I'm gonna be late getting home. I said no problem, you know, I mean, that's not unlike my wife to stay late to do something, to help somebody. She's just that kind of person. So she gets home and she walks in the door. She said those people, the mother knows you. I said really, she told me your name. I didn't know the name. They said well, she said the little girl wasn't around, the young girl wasn't around. She told me that you and I told her what my name was and she said well, I knew of an officer from South Arkansas that said the name. So that's my husband. She said, well, this is the little girl that he saved out of a methamphetamine.
Speaker 3:Wow and this lady was very successful. Her husband was very successful. I've seen photographs and pictures of this kid. They've taken on trips all over the world and it has been an absolute blessing for me, and the best card that I ever got was one on Mother's Day, and it was after it was the Mother's Day following the introduction of my wife to them, and that lady sent me a Mother's Day card on Mother's Day.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow.
Speaker 3:And you know there's been very few of those children that I've taken out of those places like that me and along with a lot of other folks that I worked with, that I ever knew. You know what happened, how it ended up, where they went, and that one was absolutely worth every minute of the 32 years and seven months that I worked as a peace officer in the state of Arkansas. Just to know you, to know it went from as bad as it can be to as good as it gets. It's just very satisfying.
Speaker 2:I'm sure that helps wash away all the different things that you experience. It kind of reminds you exactly why you got into this stuff and that scenario For sure I worked the most why you got into this stuff and that scenario for sure.
Speaker 3:You know, yeah, you know I worked um. The most rewarding, the hardest part of my job, of my career was was the narcotics part, but it was also the most rewarding. You know I can. I can sit on the side of the high phone in patrol car and work radar speed control. And no, I know in my in my brain, that my presence there is making people slow down and I'm preventing accidents. I know that, but I have no way to quantify how many. How I'm, you know, interactive with someone.
Speaker 3:But when I took a quantity of you know narcotics off the street and saw it seized and destroyed, I know for a fact that that drug, those drugs, that portion did not affect anybody. It didn't get out there, it didn't get in the school, it didn't go in someone's child or someone's mom and dad. That's a tangible thing that I could look at and know that I made a difference in. To me it was a lot easier to justify the terrible stuff that we had to look at and deal with by knowing that that was the end goal of what we were trying to do.
Speaker 3:You're right. Yeah, we did. I don't know that it erased anything, but it just made it taste a little better.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a little bit more palpable, I guess is the right term. But, you know, being able to see an outcome of a situation that was not good turn into something good really kind of reminds you of the, the, the reason why you got into these things. And, uh, you know, I mean in our line of work we do see a lot of things that don't go well and they stay in that zone of not being corrected or fixed and can turn dark, you know, and it's just nice to have that little light shine through.
Speaker 3:Yeah you know, and I encourage anybody um, I've dealt with it myself I. I have recently talked to some folks, gotten some help, talking about some things from the past that just didn't seem like they wanted to go away and I couldn't keep them compartmentalized, I couldn't keep them in a box not to think about, because in the most unusual time something would trigger a memory that I had and it would just wreck the day, it would wreck my attitude, it would affect the way I talk to my family, to my friends, and the way I thought about myself, and it has absolutely been a blessing to me to be able to talk to somebody and get some of that stuff out. You know, there's a million opportunities and outlets that will help folks that have stuff on their mind that they need to get taken care of. The stuff that you're doing here is just one of them.
Speaker 3:And it's a great one, but laying right here there's patches and coins and everything in the world that people send me and I'm so appreciative of them and I know why they give them and why they send them to me. They're sharing stuff and it helps me to know that I'm helping these folks by the stories that I tell and the places that I go and talk to. But in turn, you know, it's helping me connect with some of these folks and think about a lot of the things and a lot of the folks that I talk to. They hand me this stuff. They say, man, I did this, I had an experience, and I'm talking to somebody, or I went to this organization or I'm, you know whatever.
Speaker 3:There's an outlet out there and once you recognize that you know, maybe that this load that I'm toting is a little heavier than what I want to do. You share it with somebody. You know I've always said that if you share a burden with somebody you'll cut the load in half and you share joy with it. It'll multiply it by 10. And that this kind of stuff right here and what you guys are doing is so important that it wasn't available for a long time in the in the magnitude that it is now. But it's if I can do it, anybody can, and it absolutely helped me and it didn't take long to start.
Speaker 2:I'm glad you brought that up. You know the big thing is we just left September, which is, you know, suicide Prevention and Awareness Month, and you know that's the biggest thing that the organization does engage in. But trying to break that stigma of not being able to talk, but trying to break that stigma of not being able to talk, I think one of the biggest things people find when they do engage in our outdoor activities is how small the world really is and how things do align. I went on a fishing trip with three medically retired law enforcement officers on the Lacks Lake early June and we brought our kids with and all of us went through the civil unrest here in Minnesota in 2020 during the George Floyd situation, and each of us had a different piece that we would recall and be able to put this puzzle together to kind of form a picture amongst the relations and where we operated, and that was during a very difficult time for everyone in the area.
Speaker 2:But being able to relate with each other and know who similar individuals that we worked with and where we were at and what kind of support role we played in with, that was very awesome, but the best part was being able to spend that time with the kids, to spend that time with the kids. You know, as in our careers we do have a lot of time that is lost from our family and our significant others and going out and being able to relate with others. But spending that time with your kids and your kids can being able to say, okay, I understand that you know mom or dad is gone because of A, b, c or D and you know they're also human and do struggle with things. But being able to have that time and repair those time loss that is there is huge. But you know things like you, and what you're doing is it's an outlet for people to kind of go and unplug and listen.
Speaker 3:I've gotten so many messages and emails from people that especially folks in my line of work, in your line of work that they say's a, it's a break. You know, it's a respite from, from everything that's going on, and it to me, for a long time being a, being a narc or whatever, being a guy toting a gun and a badge it wasn't something that I did, it was something that I was and when you, that was something I was taught. You know from the beginning this this you're no longer Brent, you are a police officer, and I think that put paint painted myself in a corner where I never could get out of that mindset and that that's what was so hard for me to break away from that and to think. You know, I'm supposed to be the symbol of courage and bravery.
Speaker 3:Why would I ask anybody for any kind of help? Why would I do that? But I was looking at it the wrong way. One of the best pieces of advice I ever got from my cousin who's passed away now, but he was an older cousin. I looked up to him and he was a retired trooper, state trooper here in Arkansas. But he told me when I first got into law enforcement he said he said the best thing I can tell you is to have friends outside of your job is to have friends outside of your job.
Speaker 3:He said don't let that be everything that you do. Your whole world cannot be this or it's going to be tough. And that's the absolute best advice that I give to young officers now and I get a lot of them that have called me man, I want to do the things that you did. I want to do a career in law enforcement. What do I need to do? And I always say look, the first thing you need to do is have friends outside of work, I said, because you will grow a narrow view of the world just hanging out with folks like you.
Speaker 3:You need that guy that don't necessarily care about the police. You need that guy that necessarily want to do the right thing all the time. I'm not talking about break the law, but I'm talking about guys that kind of like well, you know why is he active? Why is this guy writing speeding tickets when you ought to be doing something else? And then you can explain to what the speed enforcement about, what the goal of that is. Maybe in that conversation you can explain to him what the speed enforcement is about, what the goal of that is. Maybe in that conversation you can turn him towards what's really going on and maybe you can look at something from his point of view.
Speaker 1:Totally Hi. This is Phil podcast producer for the Hometown Hero Outdoors podcast. I know your time is valuable and we thank you for listening to our podcast. Can I ask you a favor? On whatever podcast platform you are listening to us on right now, could you please give us a five-star review? It is very helpful in growing our podcast and expanding the message of HHO. Thank you.
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Speaker 3:That was on answering calls, disturbance calls and stuff. Anytime I go, when somebody's fighting Law enforcement to me, I've always said you see the best people on their worst day. Nobody calls the police to tell them that they're having a baby, unless you're having one in the front yard. Nobody wants to share good news or anything. So you got to let folks get talk, let it get out, you know. Let them vent a little bit, you know, up to a point and then there's always a point where they can't cross that line. But try to look at what's going on from from their point of view, because you know we're all, when it comes down to it, black, white, whatever. We're all humans and we're all in this world together and talking is the best way. Any of it is the only way. Talking and respect is the only way any of us are going to be comfortable and make it out of you.
Speaker 2:Absolutely yeah, and and respectful conversations. You know and it's okay to disagree, but at the same time you know, know what that boundary is. You know and it's OK to disagree, but at the same time you know, know what that boundary is. You know what is that fine line that you have to balance between it becoming a good, comfortable, educational conversation versus you know, jump over that line and all of a sudden you guys are at each other's throats.
Speaker 3:You know and don't need that and being a supervisor, well, I found it nearly a hundred percent that officers that I was supervising either undercover agents or uniform patrol officers they want parameters, they want a left and a right and how to operate. They know if they operate inside of those parameters, everything's good. Once they step out, if those parameters have been clearly defined and they get in trouble, they know it's on them. And that's the way I would approach talking to people. I would say look, you know, I'm Brent, I'm toting the badge.
Speaker 3:I got the handcuffs. You called me here. Let's, let's end this where we both go home tonight. This is where I need you to tell me what. I don't need you to make a uh, ask any questions to me. I want you to tell me what happened and then let's deal with it. You know, give them a warning like I ain't gonna be too many more of those sobs that you called me before this conversation takes a different turn. Let's have some respect and communicate.
Speaker 3:And, man, nine times out of 10, the folks would take a breath, regardless of what the issue was. You know it's. You know, okay, my neighbor's dog's crapping in my yard, or he stole my hammer. He won't bring my hammer back. You know you'd get down to the nuts and bolts of what was going on If you just give them a little bit of an outlet and say, okay, I'm going to take it up to this point, but if you cross that line there, you know we're going to have a different conversation and a lot of those times talking like that would be the remedy for the whole situation.
Speaker 3:Nobody went to jail, nobody got a ticket, and I learned that from working in small departments and being the only guy. You know what we called it on riot one ranger. But I mean it wasn't out of bravado, it was the only. I was the only guy working, you know, for the whole county or something you know. So I mean you didn't have any backup. You were on your own and you had to keep your wits about you and be able to talk to folks on their level where they could understand what was going on. You also had to have a plan to beat everybody up in the room should things go south.
Speaker 2:You had to be tough. You start eyeing everyone up, figuring out what to do. Noah, you're absolutely right. The uh gift to gab and law enforcement gets you really far. You know, and and and, like you said to your point was being direct. You know, um, paint that picture early. You know if this, then that or the other option, sure it's huge very bad.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I never had an issue with anybody, you know, on the way to jail like. You know why. You know why we're taking this trip right like yep, I know I mean nearly you know 90 of. You're gonna get those that are innocent, regardless of what happened, and blame everybody for something else, but they've got another issue that's going on. So yeah, but just large majority of them, like I know, I know, I know.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:I'm back, you know so.
Speaker 2:Well, you know with your you talked about, you know what has worked for you with your mental health side of things and talking and whatnot. You know what are the other balances that you found throughout your career or transitioning towards the end of your law enforcement profession that worked for you. What are the outlets that were there and supported you.
Speaker 3:Well, it's always been family. It's always been family with me. It comes first. My faith to me is very important. I'm a Christian and it has helped me and it's the reason I'm sitting here talking to you today and not running wild through the woods. I mean, my faith has kept me, has delivered me to where I am, and the faith in my family my wife, my children it's something that I always fall back on. You know, my faith comes first and then and then a wife and my children.
Speaker 3:And you know the hunting and fishing and all that kind of stuff is so far down the list that it's probably not in the top eight, but it is an outlet for me that I share with them and that they fully support. That has helped me maintain my sanity. But I don't attribute it to the outdoors, I attribute it to their support of me doing it. And once I'm out there, you know I'm not I wouldn't be sitting on a deer stand or running my dog somewhere trying to treat a coon and thinking, you know I probably should stay at home tonight and help youngins with their homework, or I've got to get up in the morning and go. I'm going to be tired when I get up in the morning to go do an errand with my wife or something you know.
Speaker 3:But I put all that stuff first. I would rather grant, as a policeman or a hunter or outdoorsman comes way behind being, you know, a Christian, a husband and a father and a brother and a friend and all that stuff and once. But it wasn't always like that, you know, it was like I told you it was the police before everything. But once I got my priorities right, get things in the right order, and started seeing what helped me and what was good for me and my family by putting them first, it turned out, hey, that's pretty good deal for me as well. Once I got my priorities squared away, man, the rest of it was pretty well, pretty easy. I mean really kind of amazingly simple how that, how that worked out for me. So I would.
Speaker 2:It is the best thing ever and you talked about identity, you know, and putting family first. And up here we like to joke that. You know, our muskie fishermen are hardcore and we always tell muskie anglers are muskie, god family, yeah.
Speaker 3:Well, I've seen some folks like that too. Well, you can just about insert anything.
Speaker 2:Football hunting whatever, yeah whatever yeah, no, you're right, though. You know, especially with identity and, excuse me, uh, you know being able to uh figure out what priorities need to come first is huge, you know, and, um, family is absolutely number one always and we preach that in the organization all the time, especially the volunteers. You know this is a volunteer opportunity. Your family comes first, we'll be OK, we'll make through it and that comes with. You know, even the professions any first responder, military too you know, sometimes work does come first, but you need to prioritize family and your identity in your profession can consume you, and I used to tell my rookies during field training like this is a great job, one of the best jobs you're ever going to have, but you're first and foremost, you're the best job that you're going to engage in, as being a husband, a wife, a father, a mother, a brother, like sister, whatever it is. But that's first like don't let this job consume you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I, you know and I need to clarify something when I was on the job, if, when I was running the SWAT team, you know, or if I was on a traffic stop or if I was doing a dope deal, that's all I was thinking about at that particular time. I wasn't thinking about the kids being homesick, I wasn't thinking about my wife looking for the dog that got out of the pen. I was solely focused on that one task at hand so I could get through that and then get back home and take care of all that stuff. Amen, that was one thing, and that's something that talking to someone has helped me see where I brought focus back into my life and the priorities. You prioritize the mission at hand above all else. Whatever your job, whatever your goal is, whatever the mission you're handed At that opportune time to me, I could only operate in a good, functioning environment by totally focusing in on that and everything that that operation detail.
Speaker 3:In the same way, I applied the same thing at home. If the kids are sick, nothing else matters, I'm taking care of that until we can get that solution or whatever the issue is, you know, and I just want to say that I didn't, I wasn't taking for granted the position I was in or what I was doing when I finally figured out.
Speaker 3:you know, being a policeman is something that I do, not something that I am 24 seven.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:But when I was doing it, I absolutely was focused on that.
Speaker 2:Well, and if your affairs aren't in order at home, you know if things aren't good, focused on that well, and if your affairs aren't in order at home, you know if things aren't good, that can affect you at work and can drastically change an outcome of something you're engaged in and that might be detrimental to yourself or others. So having those affairs in order at home helps out, but that sole focus, like you said, though, when you're in that moment has to be there 100, otherwise it can change outcome too.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah, yeah, absolutely yeah. Singularly focused, especially in our line of work, is what gets you to the 32-year and 7-month mark that I did.
Speaker 2:Right, that's a long career and I appreciate all your service and your time and being open about it and I know, like I said, I have a couple for it.
Speaker 3:They are.
Speaker 2:Yeah, right Now I got some friends that listen to your podcast quite a bit and they talk about how great it is, and I started listening to a few of them too Saw that you had a new one come out today. It's like a bonus episode that you guys just put out.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know, I hadn't even uh watched it. Is it the one with the squirrel? Yeah yeah, that was so much fun, man. This, this job has afforded me so many opportunities to to really do the things that I grew up doing that I would uh that I would do. Don't tell them I'd probably do it for free, but they pay me to do it, which is even better, don't let them listen to this, is that? What you're saying. Yeah, yeah, so you might edit that part out where I said I'd do it for free.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'll just send him that clip and that's it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he didn't, he was out of his mind. But it's the opportunities that I have to go around and talk to people, and so many people that that even grew up totally opposite the way. The way that I have has been so refreshing. You know, I've told this story a thousand times and I will tell it until I leave this planet. But I got one of the first messages I got.
Speaker 3:After like three or four episodes I got a direct message from a guy in New York City who said and up until that point I really didn't know the direction of where my show was going. I was just kind of I didn't want it to be a how-to thing all the time, or because there's plenty of folks out there that know how to hunt and fish way better than I do, way better than I am at it. So I didn't really want my show just to be some kind of how-to thing. But this guy, after listening to, like I said, three or four episodes, he sends me a message and he says I identify with your message so much. He said I've never hunted or fished in a day in my life. He said I was raised and continue to live in New York City. He said I have never done anything remotely in the country. He said, but when your dad was taking you hunting and fishing, my dad was taking me to Yankee Stadium. He said, and the relationships that you talk about is so good, that's what I identify with. And it was that message that my eyes just I was like an eight-week-old puppy. My eyes come open. I'm like, oh, my show's about relationships. That's what it is is.
Speaker 3:And and I get so many, uh, messages like that from people who have absolutely no connection whatsoever to rural life or anything like that, that they really like it. You know, and I think it's because of that common theme that it's normally I'm talking about my relationship with my father, who's passed away, or my brother or friends or something growing up. You know, and you can, a lot of them are can apply, just like friends or something growing up. You know, and you can, a lot of them are can apply. Just like that guy was talking about. You know, instead of squirrel hunting in south arkansas on the saline river with his dad, he was going to watch, you know, yankees play and it was, um, it was a pretty eye-opening experience for me. Very, very well, kind of put me on the path to where, to where this thing's going that's cool.
Speaker 2:Yeah, relatable situations, you know, may not be the same exact topic or thing that they're engaged in yeah, relatable experiences yes, exactly so let's tell the listeners a little bit more about how you got involved with meat eater and your show. Um like, did you have experienced podcasts beforehand? How would you start working with meat eater and how does that relationship flourish on that side?
Speaker 3:well I've done. Uh, I used to film a lot of outdoor stuff and just trying to make my way in the outdoor media, um started filming my friend Clay Newcomb on bear hunts. Clay has a podcast called Bear Grease and it's a like a historical documentary style podcast and you know, let's take a subject like Davy Crockett or Tecumseh or anything you know anything historical wise in America and he'll do a conversation about it. But before he did that Bear Grease podcast, he did a bear hunting magazine and he did some film, some hunts that would promote the sale of the magazine and I was the guy filming the magazine. We went to filming those hunts that he talked about in the magazine and we went to Saskatchewan I can't even remember what year it was now, but we had a close encounter with a big black bear. It was a brown color-phased black bear but this bear walks we were hunting off the ground. This bear walks over to the blind that we're sitting behind, just some limbs and bushes, and pokes his head in the blind with us and I literally could have reached out with my hand and touched him and he actually touched the tip of his nose on the tip of Clay's arrow and then he's a huge bear, a beautiful bear, and Clay got this shot on him. He just killed this amazing bear and the footage just went nutso on YouTube and that was really what got him caught up and recognized by me, Dieter.
Speaker 3:And plus, he's a very talented writer. He's published a lot of articles in magazines other than the one that he owned himself. He's published a lot of articles in magazines other than the one that he owned himself, so he was pretty well on a course for working at Media. Media was just an absolutely natural extension of where he was going. So when he went to work with them, you know, and they've got cinematographers that are way better than I am- so I was out of a job.
Speaker 3:Oh no, yeah, you know, I helped him fire me and that's the way I'll say it, which I was so proud of, man, to have him do that. So he started the Bear Grease podcast for them. And then it's so involved and so meticulously researched and done that it's a weekly podcast that he couldn't do one every week. He had to have a break because so much went into it. So every other week, after like the fourth or fifth one, we do what's called a Bear Grease Render and that's where several of us get together and we talk about the episode that happened before and on that one we give our opinions on what we liked, what we didn't like and he's able to talk about things that maybe didn't fit in the in the regular show.
Speaker 3:So it's kind of like a recap and we call it the render, because if, if you're got bear grease and you apply heat to it, you're rendering down that fat to get bear. I love it and I was on there regularly I still am every other week and so they had a opportunity, in-house opportunity, for people to come up with ideas for a podcast that worked there and they would fill out a sheet and you had all the details, what it was about, who would, who would be on it, uh, how long it would be, the name and all that kind of stuff and clay. And I were in passing. He talked, he said, man, you ought to, you ought to apply for this and you know, come up with an idea for a show and put it in there. I like well, like well. The only thing I only know about two things, and that's being in police and country living.
Speaker 3:And I said I ain't talking about being in police and he said, well, let's talk about country living then. And so he and I my wife happened to be up there. He lives up in Northwest Arkansas and I live in Central Arkansas, but my wife and I were up there for a weekend and we all went out to eat for supper and we sat down to eat. It was in Herman's Steakhouse. It's a famous steakhouse there in Fayetteville and I said, hey, would you serious about the podcast thing? He said yeah. I said, well, let's talk about it. So 45 minutes while we were sitting there eating supper and talking minutes. While we were sitting there eating supper and talking clay, his wife misty and my wife alexis and I hammered out 90. My podcast is right now. I filled out the paper, sent in and everyone approved it. Everyone liked the idea and it has been. My first one was april the 21st, uh, last year, and it's been going strong ever since wow, how, how many episodes do you have now?
Speaker 3:Oh well, one a week since April the 21st.
Speaker 2:Quite a few.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah, I'm a podcaster, not a mathematician.
Speaker 2:Chris, yeah, I told you, I got game warden math. I can count on two hands and I'm done after that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I've only missed one and that was for a bout with a kidney stone and they ran a real popular episode during that week. Other than that, it's been on every week. That's cool. Yeah, and it runs on my podcast and Clay's is on the Bear Grease podcast on that feed. That's awesome.
Speaker 2:Where can people find your podcast? A podcast pretty much on every major platform, isn't it?
Speaker 3:Yeah, Spotify iTunes all of them. Yeah, I think we've got the we kind of. We are, uh, all consecutively in on a weekly basis in the top five, if not the top three, wilderness podcasts in the US.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Well, you guys are busy.
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, and the thing about it is, you know anybody. You can listen to the podcast that we do anywhere with your children or whatever. You won't hear any off-color remarks or anything like that on the Bakers channel, and I think a lot of people appreciate that and it's something that we're very proud of. And I've even had man, I've got a. There's a family of normal that listens to. They send a message that they listen to it on Friday night. My podcast comes out every Friday and they will listen to it while they're eating supper and then talk about what they heard before they get up from the table. Oh, that's cool. Yeah, really cool. I mean, who in the world would ever thought that? But no kidding, yeah, it's, uh, it's very rewarding, and the messages and stuff that I get from people that enjoy it, they, uh it's. I can't couldn't think of a better deal this is your financial cop money minute.
Speaker 4:Nothing starts with a plan. Unless you have a budget, you can't pay off debt, just like you can't really technically save for retirement and a vacation and other things without understanding what your budget is. And so I had to get a grasp of what my outflow versus my inflow was, and I kind of came to a realization that you know, we have this gift in law enforcement called overtime right, and far too many of us use overtime as a mechanism to elevate our standard of living. Well, I changed and said you know what we're going to use overtime to build our financial strength, and I'm going to use it to accelerate things.
Speaker 1:This is your financial cop money minute. This is your financial cop Money.
Speaker 2:Minute. No, it's cool, it's great to have you on too. And now our listeners have a couple more podcasts they got to look up and listen to. I know this time of the year, especially, everyone's sitting in a deer stand or in a blind somewhere and they got an earbud and they can tune into the show and listen catch up?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I hope so. It's usually around 20 minutes or so long and, uh, you know it's, you can listen to. A lot of folks listen to it on the way to work, on the way home from work on fridays and um, but it's um, hopefully it won't put you to sleep and, uh, you're not going to do a whole lot of heavy thinking either. Just kind of sit back and relax and listen.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. And then do you do all your recording from home or do you have a studio you go to?
Speaker 3:man, you're looking at it right here in the room that's the extra room upstairs. That is love it, large strewn everywhere. I love it. I do it right here and I send it, uh, to bozeman, montana. And then my, my, my girl, friday. I call herva Hansen, who's an audio engineer, which is a very limiting term for what that girl does. She does a lot of stuff for me. Matter of fact, she's the one that filmed the extra drop that you saw today. Ok, that came off, but she does all the edits. Makes me sound like I halfway know what I'm talking about. Applies to music and all of that stuff. And just, she's great, she's my partner, she's a good girl.
Speaker 2:That's great. No, that's all right. You can see my podcast studios, both the same as yours, so it's okay.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Just trying to figure it out as we go. Yeah, absolutely so other things that you do for Meat Eater. So if people want to reach out to you or if you're going somewhere to speak, speaking with other people, what do those look like for you?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean the time for it is pretty limited because of our schedules. I mean we usually plan our schedules out. You know a year in advance of where we're going to be here and there. Plus the, I have other projects and stuff that I have to do, along with a weekly podcast. So probably a direct message to me on Instagram or an email to my boss, the folks at Info you can info at themeateatercom with the subject line of Brent speaking or whatever is the best way. They read every email that comes in, even the hate mail. They read it all.
Speaker 3:If you want to get a hold of somebody and get a message to somebody. That's probably the most efficient way. A lot of times. I'm in places where I don't have any kind of service and you know it'll be a week before I would ever even see it.
Speaker 2:So it's usually back to me quick, so I appreciate that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, that was. You caught us at a good time.
Speaker 2:I love it. So what's your social media handle for Instagram or other social media platforms you're on? Yeah, it's.
Speaker 3:Brent underscore Reeves R E A, va-v-e-s. And I always say my dad told me. I said, dad, there's two spellings of Reeves. People are always misspelling my name. They spell it R-E-E-V-E-S but it's R-E-A-V-E-S. He said yeah.
Speaker 3:He said well, Adam and Eve's last name was Reeves, spelled like ours. And I said, really, I'm just a little kid, my dad's telling me this. And he said yeah. And I said, well, where did all these other names come from? And he said, well, if they messed up or we didn't like them, we'd kick them out and call them something else. And he said that's where all the Smiths and everything else come from. So I was probably in third or fourth grade before I figured out that that might not have been true. But but yeah, it's brent. Underscore reeves r-e-a-v-e-s on uh, instagram, and I don't do the tiktok thing, I don't. Um, I wouldn't have instagram, I wouldn't have this job.
Speaker 2:But totally, but I look at it.
Speaker 3:you know I look at it and that kind of stuff. I enjoy seeing folks pictures. A lot, of, a lot of folks send me pictures and the kids pictures of you know what the kids are doing out in in the wild and it's. I love seeing that Especially.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, that's great. Well, yeah, so for our listeners again, we have Mr Brent Reeves on with meat eater. You can listen to his podcast is this Country Life, and he contributes towards the Bear Grease podcast as well. So we've just spent the last hour talking to Mr Reeves regarding his history, his law enforcement career, and then also about the storytelling that he can do on his podcast, and we're really excited to have him on here and hopefully we can touch base and talk about a little bit more shop in the outdoors and recap maybe your hunting season this next spring or so.
Speaker 3:Yeah, man, you just holler at me, we'll get you set up.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you for coming on the show, and is there anything else you'd like to tell the listeners before we go?
Speaker 3:Y'all be careful.
Speaker 2:Absolutely All right, sir. Well, thank you very much and for our listeners at the Hometown Hero Outdoors podcast.
Speaker 1:I appreciate you tuning in today and we will see you on the next podcast. Thank you. The Hometown Hero Outdoors podcast is made possible by the following sponsors O'Neill Electric Contractors. The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association. Relentless Defender, apparel and Financial Cop Financial Advisors and financial cop financial advisors. Thank you for listening to the Hometown Hero Outdoors podcast. For more information, visit our website at hometownherooutdoorsorg.
