EP 690 – Gabe Robinson
What’s up everyone! This week I’m sitting down with Gabe Robinson, a 24-year-old hunter, creator, and marketer who hit me up on Instagram years ago, before I even remembered who he was. Turns out Gabe is the guy who invented Boot Scooters. Yeah, cowboy boots with Heely wheels epoxied into the heels. One goofy TikTok video got 75 million views in a week, he picked up 120,000 followers in a single day, and he eventually grew to over half a million followers. Then he got banned, and it changed his whole life.
This conversation is a wild ride. We start with Gabe’s latest challenge: he bought a $100 recurve with only 40 days before antelope opener, shot somewhere around 7,000 to 8,000 arrows to get ready, and then spent 17 straight days chasing pronghorn spot-and-stalk while posting a day-by-day series. He got close a bunch of times but never connected. We break down what he learned about antelope behavior, why shots past 60 yards sometimes work better than tight ones because they don’t jump the string, and why wearing solid antelope-colored clothes might confuse them more than camo does.
Gabe didn’t grow up hunting. He’s in his sixth season and averages 80 to 100 days a year in the field. He went to Montana State during COVID with every class online, so he’d hotspot his phone from the truck, knock out homework, and hunt every single day. He even dropped and backloaded credits to free up the fall. We get into why antelope are the best teacher for new bowhunters, why reps on reps are what make you better, and what separates the weekend warrior from the guy who consistently kills.
Then we go deep on the business side. Gabe walks through the Boot Scooters story, the $10,000 sweatshirt weekend that got his website shut down, letting fame go to his head, and walking away from social media for a couple of years. He also tells the story of shooting himself through the foot with a 7mm mag on Thanksgiving morning, and how laying in bed for months became the turning point that reconnected him with his faith and built the business model he runs today. We talk about why the hunting industry is about five years behind other industries in marketing, why brand loyalty makes it so hard to break in, why relationships beat a quick paycheck every time, and why your 20s are for saying yes to everything.
Gabe is proof that you don’t need a big budget, a hunting family, or a perfect plan. You just need to be obsessed, willing to look dumb, and willing to put in the days. If you’re young, hungry, and trying to build a life around the outdoors, this episode is for you.
Sponsors
onX Hunt – I use onX for way more than mapping. It’s my planning tool, my e-scouting tool, and everything in between. Now they’ve added onX SOS, an emergency rescue add-on that connects you directly to Overwatch Rescue for 24/7 crisis response. My phone works almost everywhere these days, so having that insurance right inside my onX account means I carry an inReach a lot less. Check it out at onxmaps.com and use code TRO to save 20% on an Elite membership.
Maven Optics – Love the Maven guys and love their products. They’re a direct-to-consumer optics company out of Wyoming, and I always say they’re the best bang for your buck. From rifle scopes to spotting scopes to binos, I run Maven across the board. The B6 is my go-to bino. I run the 12×50, but the 10×42 is amazing too. Head to mavenbuilt.com and use code TRO for a special gift at checkout.
Bridger Watch – Bridger is the smartwatch I wish existed, so we built it. We’ve been developing it for three years. It does all the health, sleep, and fitness tracking you’d expect, plus features built for hunters: offline mapping, onX waypoint integration so you can send waypoints straight to your watch, ballistics integration with Hornady or Sierra, a red-light-only Redshift mode that protects your night vision, and a built-in flashlight. Built by hunters for hunters. Check out the Reckon at bridgerwatch.com and use code TRO.
Timestamps
00:00 – Intro and sponsors
02:00 – 25 days of hunting by mid-September
03:00 – Learning trad bow in 40 days on a $300 budget build
06:00 – Going all-in to learn a skill fast
07:00 – Hunting 80 to 100 days a year through online college
08:30 – AI as a tool vs. AI in creative work
10:30 – Why live streaming and in-person events are making a comeback
13:00 – Day-by-day content and the grind of filming every hunt
15:30 – To film or not to film your hunts
17:30 – Can you outrun an antelope?
18:30 – From ski bum to hunter: his first solo mule deer
20:30 – Why antelope are the best animal to learn on
24:00 – Why long shots on antelope may beat close ones
26:00 – Decoys, solid colors, and confusing pronghorn
28:00 – Hunting in the rut and being married three months
31:00 – What makes a good hunter? Reps and making mistakes fast
34:00 – Asking dumb questions and learning the why behind the shot
36:30 – Slowing down: when to push and when to wait
38:00 – Reading animal body language and thinking happy thoughts
40:00 – Close calls with bulls and dumb spikes
43:00 – Gabe’s marketing work and the hunting incubator idea
45:00 – Why the hunting industry is five years behind
47:30 – Brand loyalty and relationships over paychecks
50:00 – The Boot Scooters story: 75 million views in a week
53:00 – Getting banned, ego, and finding faith again
55:00 – Shooting himself in the foot with a 7mm mag
57:00 – Say yes to everything in your 20s
59:00 – Never miss a ballgame and wrap up
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