“At the time, they were not famous at all,” Robertson says. “Adam was the real connector, and he hung onto them and checked on their careers. We just invited them to come to hunting camp with us, actually, just to hear them sing by the camp fire. We need some entertainment while we were there. We brought them along onto the project, and once the opportunity came along, they jumped on it.” The cast of Buck Commander on Outdoor Channel makes for an interesting dynamic: Duck Commander and Duck Dynasty star Willie Robertson hunting with Major League Baseball players Chipper Jones, Ryan Langerhans, Tom Martin, and LaRoche, and country music stars Bryan and Aldean. “A baseball player gets interviewed every day of the year,” Robertson says. “The country singers are naturally entertaining. It wasn’t difficult to make a hunting show and put it together.” Stephen Copeland is a staff writer at Sports Spectrum magazine.
Click the video above to watch Willie Robertson talk about his friends in Major League Baseball and the country music world who are a part of Buck Commander.
Click the video above to watch Willie Robertson talk about fame and his platform to influence the influential.
sion booths,” says Phil, who laughs, thinking of Willie’s business roots, “going to Wal-Mart, buying them in bulk…I said, ‘He’s the next CEO!’” If there’s one thing that gets Willie talking like Phil, it’s business. He’s the marketer, risk-taker and entrepreneur behind the company. Phil perfected duck calls; he’s the engineer. Willie made it explode. He did more with their sponsors—shot gun companies, shell companies, camouflage manufacturers. He got other movers and shakers on board—guys like Washington Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche, and country stars Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan. Willie started Buck Commander. Under Willie, TV opportunities arose, and he became the executive producer of their two shows on the Outdoor Channel, “Duck Commander” and “Buck Commander.” “I pretty much immersed myself in figuring out how that worked,” says Willie, telling the story of the company. “How you
“I think that was very important because God was setting us up for what was to come, and having that experience really helped us.”
Mitchell Layton / Getty Images
SPORTS SPECTRUM ~ DIGIMAG 2013
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