It Started on a Pool Table in Tucson in November 2021

People ask me how I got sponsored. The honest answer is that I had no plan. I didn’t even know who Dennis was when I met him.

Back in November 2021, I was in Tucson, Arizona playing pool with some friends. Dennis was downstairs at the same restaurant after speaking at a conference. We got paired up on the same team, ran the table all night, and didn’t stop until about 3 a.m. People kept coming up to me saying, “Do you know who that is? You need to Google him.” I told them, we’re playing pool right now, that’s irrelevant. At one point I just asked him, “Who are you?” He said, “I’m Dennis. Who are you?” I said, “I’m Kirt.” And we kept playing.

That’s it. That’s the origin story. No pitch deck, no DM, no ask. Four years later he’s flown me to Vegas, we’ve done cocoon oxygen baths, he’s come to San Antonio to eat breakfast and lunch with me at our local Mexican spot, and now we’ve filmed a full podcast episode in the living room.

“In the world of AI where there’s AI this and AI that, there’s nothing better than doing things for real — in person.”

Dennis Yu, on the episode

How I Actually Got the Victory Archery Deal

Here’s the part people don’t want to hear: my Instagram didn’t get me signed. My TikTok didn’t get me signed. I’m not even sure Victory cared that I have 8,500 subscribers on American Country Outdoors. It was human interaction. Straight up.

I met a guy named Chris who works for Victory. I’d see him every year at the same archery competition. He found out I knew another guy — EJ — and I wasn’t using EJ’s name for clout. Chris asked me directly, and I told him the truth: yeah, we shoot together sometimes, we’ve been on hunts at the same location. Chris knew EJ was already on Victory arrows. He looked at me shooting a competitor’s brand and said, “Why are you shooting that? I want you to come shoot this brand.”

Three guys — Chris, EJ, and another friend Jeff — and the pieces fell into the right hands. That’s how one of the biggest brands in archery ended up on my arrows. No application. No media kit. Just relationships that were already there because I actually hunt with these people.

The 5 Million View Short I Never Expected

Dennis brought up the Short. I’ve got one that hit 5 million views, which is wild because I probably made a few hundred videos before one of mine cracked 10 or 20,000.

The funny part is I wasn’t even trying to blow up. I was helping another YouTuber who was pushing for 1,000 subscribers. He was using a product of his, I said, “Hey, let me grab a 30-second clip of that. I’ll post it on my channel and tag you.” That was the one that hit 5 million. I truly believe it’s because I was trying to help someone else. The stars aligned on the video I cared about the least — because it wasn’t about me.

That’s a theme in my content. If you look through my channel, you’ll see I’m rarely a solo hunter. I’m at Total Archery Challenge, I’m filming with my buddy John, I’m on the ground with friends. Because I’ve built inside that community, the community shares it back. Brands see that. Sponsors see that.

The Brands That Already Trust Me

As of today, the sponsors on my back are:

• Victory Archery — arrows (just signed)
• Moultrie Mobile — trail cameras (see my 4-month trail cam field review from Junction and the solar panel + mount unboxing)
• Black Flag Nootropics — focus and energy
• Bow Crew Apparel — (the apparel I actually wear in the stand)

I’ve also put rounds through equipment from Thorn Broadheads, Rage Hypodermic, Tooth of the Arrow, Mystery Ranch, Marsupial Gear, and Trophy Ridge. Every one of those reviews is on my site. None of them are paid placements written by an agency. I shot the product, I used the product, I killed with the product — and then I wrote about it.

What I Told Dennis on the Show

If you’re a young adult who hunts, shoots, fishes, wrenches, cooks, builds — whatever your thing is — and you want sponsors, Dennis asked me on camera what advice I’d give. Here’s what came out of my mouth, unfiltered:

“Just do it. Pull the trigger. Don’t dip your toes. I was worried about not having the nicest equipment. You don’t need it. We’re recording this on an iPhone mounted on a stick sitting on a waffle maker. Just get out there and start.”

The other piece of advice — and this one came from Dennis and I’m stealing it because it’s true: start a podcast and interview the people you admire. You honor them, they share it, and you borrow their audience. Dennis had me list eight names in the archery world I’d love to interview — Dan from Elkshape, John Dudley, Chris Bee, Nate Grace and a few others. Before this episode I’d have told you zero of them would say yes. After talking to Dennis I think all six will. I’ll be testing that theory at Total Archery Challenge in San Antonio in April, and in Idaho this fall when I head up for my elk tag.

Why I Do This

Dennis asked me at the end what question I wish people asked me. It’s this: Why do you love what you do?

I love meat. I love meetings with friends where we actually sit down together. Rifles felt too easy, so I picked up a bow to make it harder on myself — and then I fell in love with archery. The long seasons, the people I’ve met, the gear, the math on feet-per-second and arrow weight and everything that goes into a clean pass-through. When you’ve hiked 13 miles yesterday, 12 today, you’re sleeping on the ground, your back hurts, and you pack 150 pounds of meat back to camp and cut a piece up on a campfire under the stars in Idaho — nothing tastes better than that.

That’s the thing brands can’t fake. That’s the thing AI can’t generate. That’s why I’m out here.

Connect With Me

If you got value out of this, do Dennis and me a favor:

• Subscribe to American Country Outdoors on YouTube
• Follow @kirtbox on Instagram
• Watch the Coach Yu Show for more episodes like this one
• Read the BlitzMetrics companion piece: How Kirt Box Landed a Victory Archery Sponsorship

And if you shoot, hunt, film, or work in the outdoor industry — reach out. It’s really me answering. Not an AI, not a VA. I might take a few days but I always respond, because I actually want to see you win.

— Kirt

I just got my hands on Moultrie’s new lineup, and I want to walk you through what’s coming. These aren’t tiny upgrades—they’re solid improvements in image quality and features that actually matter when you’re hunting.

The Lineup

The original Edge is still solid at 33 megapixels and 720p video for about $80. But if you want to step up, the Edge 2 brings 36 megapixels and 1080p for $100. That’s the sweet spot for a lot of folks.

Then there’s the Edge 2 Pro—and this is where Moultrie got serious. Forty megapixels, 1440p video, upgraded night vision, and no-glow flash so the animals don’t spook at the infrared. The AI smart capture is real useful too: you can tell it to ignore cows or other non-game animals, so you’re not wasting storage on pictures you don’t need.

What Sold Me

The instant control feature lets you point your phone app at the camera while you’re setting it up and see exactly where it’s aiming. GPS location tracking and tamper detection mean you’ll know if someone moves your camera. At $139, the Pro is a must-have if you’re serious about scouting big bucks.

Head over to Moultrie to check out the full specs. This is the kind of gear that wins hunts.

See my other trail camera posts and scouting footage for more on what the cameras catch.

A Moultrie Mobile delivery arrived at exactly the right moment — just as I was heading to the lease to put out corn and fresh gear.

The Package

I got a shipment from Alabama, and I knew exactly what it was going to be: Moultrie Mobile trail camera gear. My archery room was under construction at the time (tools and bows everywhere), so I opened it on the ground and started pulling out the goods.

First item: a solar panel. I’ve already done research on these and I’m familiar with the product. We were about to head to the lease in an hour to set up new feeders and fresh camera stations, so the timing was perfect.

Camera and Mount System

Second item: the Outdoor Edge attachment system. That’s the interface that lets you mount your camera quickly and move it if you need to. The whole setup is designed so you can install cameras on the fly without wrestling with brackets or modifications.

“This package could not have come in a better time. I’m about to go to the lease and put out a bunch of corn and feed.”

Trail camera systems are only as good as their deployment. A camera sitting in a box does nothing. But a camera mounted solidly, powered by a solar panel, positioned where animal traffic happens — that’s intel. That’s the foundation of understanding your land.

Moultrie Mobile is a sponsor of American Country Outdoors because we believe in the product and we use it consistently. When you combine good trail camera gear with disciplined scouting (like my 4-month Junction review), you’re building a real hunting advantage.

Real gear, real results, real hunting — that’s what we’re about.