Longfire

Steve Seger
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Entrepreneurship

Stories worth gathering around.

  1. 3d ago

    #48: Jake Hounshell - From $750 in Vintage Hats to Shells Vintage

    Jake Hounshell is the founder of Shells Vintage Hat Co., a Charlotte-based business selling vintage sports hats and original, ’90s-inspired designs. A Raleigh native and University of South Carolina graduate, Jake started buying hats to resell with $750 of graduation money in 2019. He later created his own State Snaps and city designs, leaving his sales job in 2021 to run the business full-time. I’ve followed Jake’s work since college, so it was fun to finally hear how it all came together. We talk about developing an eye for vintage, learning to manufacture his own designs, and getting hats into the hands of professional athletes. Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Show linksWatch Longfire on YouTubeListen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyFollow Longfire on InstagramGuest linksUse code SHOUTOUTSHELLS21 for 15% off your first order at Shells Vintage. Shop Shells Vintage Hat Co.Follow Shells Vintage on InstagramFollow Shells Vintage on FacebookChapters00:00 A Hundred Hats and One He’ll Never Sell07:16 Starting Shells Vintage with $75011:07 State Snaps and the Leap to Full-Time16:08 Learning Design and Manufacturing from Scratch18:19 Expensive Mistakes with Ads and Inventory20:05 Warehousing, a First Hire, and a Cash Crunch22:35 What Makes a Vintage Hat Worth Buying25:22 A Day Running Shells Vintage27:37 Getting His Hats onto Professional Athletes30:26 New Designs and What Comes Next34:25 The Mystery of Oxford, Ohio36:26 Where to Find Shells Vintage

    #48: Jake Hounshell - From $750 in Vintage Hats to Shells Vintage

  2. Sep 25

    #47: Sarah Calhoun - Work Pants, a Music Festival, and Small-Town Montana

    Sarah Calhoun is the founder of Red Ants Pants, a women’s workwear company based in White Sulphur Springs, Montana. A former outdoor instructor and trail-crew leader, she launched the business in 2006 after years of working in pants that didn’t fit. She also founded the Red Ants Pants Music Festival and leads the Red Ants Pants Foundation, which supports women’s leadership and rural communities. In this conversation, Sarah traces the path from sewing backpacks to touring the country with an Airstream for pants parties and launching a music festival in a cow pasture. We talk about choosing small-town Montana, learning the business as she went, and why handing over the company’s day-to-day leadership felt like a relief. She also explains the less glamorous side of festival production: buying up toilet paper across three counties. I also learned that a lonely male llama may start pooping in a perfect circle. Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Chapters: 00:00 Rapid Fire: Books, Music, and Liam Neeson02:53 A Farm Childhood and a Few Facts About Llamas06:03 From Trail Crews to Women’s Workwear08:20 Learning to Build a Business From Scratch12:01 An Old Saddle Shop in White Sulphur Springs15:27 Loans, Manufacturing, and Mentors19:48 Tour de Pants: Taking the Business on the Road22:13 A Music Festival in a Cow Pasture27:14 Making It Better, Not Bigger28:20 Hiring a CEO and Bringing In Investors32:57 Work Skills, Girls’ Leadership, and the Foundation35:35 Life Behind the Shop Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Show linksWatch Longfire on YouTubeListen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyFollow Longfire on InstagramGuest linksRed Ants PantsRed Ants Pants Music FestivalRed Ants Pants FoundationRed Ants Pants on InstagramThe Alchemist by Paulo CoelhoThis House of Sky by Ivan Doig

    #47: Sarah Calhoun - Work Pants, a Music Festival, and Small-Town Montana

  3. Sep 18

    #46: Ron Schara: The Man Behind Minnesota Bound

    Ron Schara is an outdoor writer, television producer, and the creator of Minnesota Bound. A former Minneapolis Tribune and Star Tribune outdoors columnist, he launched the show in 1995 with his black Lab, Raven, and later hosted ESPN’s Backroads with Ron and Raven. Before any of that, he was a music student who wanted to be the next Andy Williams. In this conversation, Ron shares how a writing professor changed his direction, why he left a newspaper career for television, and how a red bandana helped turn Raven into the star. Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Chapters: 00:00 Minnesota Favorites and Rapid Fire02:55 Duck Hunting with Bud Grant07:26 Growing Up Outdoors in Iowa09:31 Music School, Journalism, and Andy Williams15:47 Why Minnesota Bound Started With People20:40 Raven’s Red Bandana and the Leap to Television26:08 Leaving the Newspaper and Reaching ESPN29:09 Peacock Bass, Tarpon, and Piranhas34:01 Africa, Hunting, and Habitat36:44 Monarchs and Purple Martins40:47 Finding the Next Story42:54 The Fishing Story He Never Forgot Show links Watch Longfire on YouTubeListen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyFollow Longfire on InstagramGuest links Minnesota BoundRon Schara ProductionsRon’s BooksMinnesota Bound on InstagramMinnesota Bound on YouTube

    #46: Ron Schara: The Man Behind Minnesota Bound

  4. Sep 11

    #45: Mike Perry - A Literary Life Five Minutes From the Deer Stand

    Mike Perry is a New York Times bestselling author, humorist, speaker, musician, volunteer firefighter, and first responder from rural Wisconsin. Raised on a dairy farm, he worked summers as a Wyoming ranch hand, became a registered nurse, and eventually built a writing career rooted in rural people, places, and work. He has written more than 25 books, including Population: 485, and performs with his band, The Long Beds. In our conversation, he explains how a farm kid who once thought authors were mysterious capital-A people learned to make a living with words while staying five minutes from his deer stand. We also learn that if he ever fights Liam Neeson, the plan begins and probably ends at the kneecaps. Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Show linksWatch Longfire on YouTubeListen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyFollow Longfire on InstagramGuest linksVisit SneezingCow.comBrowse Mike’s books, recordings, and merchandiseSubscribe to Michael Perry’s Voice MailFollow Mike on InstagramChapters00:00 Rapid Fire: Books, Deer Stands, and Liam Neeson09:20 The Story Behind Population: 48512:14 Returning Home and Joining the Fire Department16:37 Population: 485 and a Possible Broadway Musical20:22 His Dad, Wyoming, and an Unexpected Opportunity24:46 Becoming “Terminally Unemployable”26:59 How Publishing Changed and Why Mike Keeps Adapting31:02 Writing by Triage and the Blue Volkswagen Effect36:39 Literary Solitaire, Revision, and Fancy Words42:05 Building a Business Around the Writing46:32 Where to Find Mike Thumbnail photo: Lee Butterworth Photography.

    #45: Mike Perry - A Literary Life Five Minutes From the Deer Stand

  5. Sep 4

    #44: Ed Roberson - The Strenuous Life, the Long Game, and Finding Your People

    Ed Roberson is the creator and host of Mountain & Prairie, a podcast and platform about the people shaping the future of the American West through its land, communities, and culture. In this conversation, we trace the path that took him from a small town in eastern North Carolina and a conventional career in real estate to conservation work and a creative side project that eventually became his full-time work. Ed explains how a health scare and the financial crisis forced him to reconsider his direction, why conservation work moves at the speed of trust, and how years of relationship-building helped Mountain & Prairie become such a distinct platform. We also talk about building before anyone is listening, the book project he is developing, Theodore Roosevelt and the strenuous life, and why character matters more than achievement. Most importantly, we determine that Ed might have a chance against Liam Neeson, provided he survives the first punch. Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Show linksWatch Longfire on YouTubeListen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyFollow Longfire on InstagramGuest linksMountain & PrairieListen to the Mountain & Prairie PodcastSubscribe to Good News from the American WestMountain & Prairie on InstagramChapters00:00 Rapid Fire: North Carolina, Jimmy Buffett, and Favorite Books07:37 A 100-Mile Loophole, Five-Day Fasts, and Liam Neeson12:55 Tarboro, North Carolina, and the Community That Raised Ed16:29 Boarding School, Honor, and Learning to Work18:55 Coasting in College and Following the Conventional Path21:00 A Health Scare, the Financial Crisis, and a Career Reset24:28 Starting Mountain & Prairie as a Side Project26:01 Why Conservation Moves at the Speed of Trust28:13 How the Podcast Opened Unexpected Doors29:42 Playing the Long Game31:05 Building Before Anyone Is Listening33:44 The Book Project and What Comes Next35:37 Theodore Roosevelt and the Strenuous Life38:39 Advice to His 23-Year-Old Self43:04 Where to Find Mountain & Prairie

    #44: Ed Roberson - The Strenuous Life, the Long Game, and Finding Your People

  6. Aug 28

    #43: Will Harris - What Happens When a Farm Thinks in Generations

    Will Harris is a fourth-generation cattleman and the owner of White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Georgia, where his family has farmed since 1866. After spending more than 20 years running a conventional monoculture cattle operation, Will began dismantling the industrial model and rebuilding the farm around animal welfare, healthy soil, natural cycles, and a radically traditional approach to agriculture. In this conversation, Will explains the truckload of calves that forced him to reconsider how he farmed, the hidden cost of chemical fertilizer, and what happened when he stopped looking for things to kill and started protecting everything that belonged in the ecosystem. We also discuss restoring Bluffton, growing from a handful of employees to 170, bringing his daughters into the business, refusing to expand merely for the sake of growth, and measuring decisions in generations instead of quarters. We also learn how a Baptist preacher’s wife saved Will from spelling “Tenac” for the rest of his life. Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Show linksWatch Longfire on YouTubeListen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyConnect with Steve Seger on LinkedInFollow Longfire on InstagramGuest linksWhite Oak PasturesShop White Oak PasturesVisit and stay at the farmA Bold Return to Giving a DamnWhite Oak Pastures on InstagramChapters:00:00 Highway 27 and White Oak’s Place in Rural Georgia02:01 Six Generations on the Same Land Since 186604:21 When a Local Food System Became an Industrial Cattle Farm07:49 The Truckload of Calves That Changed Everything10:49 Cheap Fertilizer and the Cost It Hid16:35 How Water From the Farm Reaches Apalachicola Bay19:41 From Looking for Something to Kill to Keeping Things Alive25:32 How White Oak Pastures Helped Rebuild Bluffton29:00 Bringing His Daughters Into the Family Business34:08 The Spur-of-the-Moment Decision to Rename the Farm37:25 Why Bigger Is Not the Goal42:18 Final Wisdom: Decide What Matters and Serve It

    #43: Will Harris - What Happens When a Farm Thinks in Generations

  7. Aug 21

    #42: April Vokey: The Wild Life Behind Anchored Outdoors

    April Vokey has spent 25 years building a life around fishing. She decided to pursue professional fishing at 18, started her first business at 21, guided for steelhead in British Columbia, created the television series Shorelines, launched Anchored with April Vokey, and built Anchored Outdoors into an education platform and community for anglers. In this conversation, April takes us from landing a 300-pound arapaima in Guyana and having 32 spines pulled from her foot to the winter steelhead obsession that became her career. She also explains how a 2008 head-on collision forced her to rethink life and business, why motherhood changed her relationship with risk, and how discarded television interviews led to Anchored. We also resolve two important questions: whether wet jeans are secretly flattering and how many introductions stand between me and Liam Neeson. Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Show linksWatch Longfire on YouTubeListen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyConnect with Steve Seger on LinkedInFollow Longfire on InstagramGuest linksAnchored OutdoorsTry Anchored Premium InsidersThe World Through Your EyesAnchored with April VokeyApril Vokey on InstagramChapters00:00 Rapid Fire: Wet Jeans, Campfire Dinner, and Liam Neeson02:37 A 300-Pound Arapaima and 32 Spines in Guyana06:07 Turning a Life in Fishing Into a Business10:40 The Salmon That Started Everything13:36 Why Winter Steelhead Became an Obsession18:31 Learning to Guide Before Google Earth20:46 Surviving a Head-On Collision22:38 The Injury That Forced a Business Pivot25:01 Saving the Stories Television Had to Cut27:31 Canada, Australia, Motherhood, and Risk32:19 The Dean River Run She Should Never Have Attempted36:10 Starting Over and Facing an Uncertain Next Chapter37:45 Anchored Outdoors and The World Through Your Eyes

    #42: April Vokey: The Wild Life Behind Anchored Outdoors

  8. Aug 14

    #41: Tyler Sharp: Africa, Hemingway, and the Story Behind Modern Huntsman

    Tyler Sharp is a documentary photographer, writer, filmmaker, and the founder, CEO, and editor in chief of Modern Huntsman, an independent publication focused on hunting, conservation, food, culture, and wild places. In this conversation, we trace the path that took him from USC film school to the Tanzanian bush, years of traveling and working around the world, and eventually building Modern Huntsman. Tyler shares the story of a lion with a mohawk mane returning to his tent across multiple full moons and another encounter when a leopard charged him from twenty yards away. He explains what Africa taught him about living inside the natural order, why many of the wild places he knew are disappearing, and how misunderstandings about hunting inspired him to build a publication that could reach non-hunters without preaching to the choir. We also talk about balancing creative work with running a business, his connection with the Hemingway family, and what is coming next for Modern Huntsman. Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Show LinksModern HuntsmanSubscribe to Modern HuntsmanFollow Tyler Sharp on InstagramRead “Hemingwrite to the Rescue”WATCH ON YOUTUBEListen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyConnect with Steve Seger on LinkedInFollow Longfire on Instagram Chapters: 00:00 Star Wars, Aragorn, and Fighting Liam Neeson 04:48 The Lion With a Mohawk Mane Outside Tyler’s Tent 12:44 Charged by a Leopard in Zambia 15:41 From USC Film School to Six Months in Tanzania 20:35 Larry Knowlton and the World’s Biggest Joke 22:12 The Wild Places That No Longer Exist 27:39 Why Tyler Built Modern Huntsman 32:17 Translating Hunting and Conservation for Outsiders 34:08 Creativity, Leadership, and Administrative Shit Shoveling 38:14 Hemingway, Writing, and a Life of Adventure 41:51 Why Independent Publishing Needs Subscribers 45:02 Mark Maggiori and the Next Modern Huntsman Volume

    #41: Tyler Sharp: Africa, Hemingway, and the Story Behind Modern Huntsman
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Stories worth gathering around.

Information

  • Creator
    Steve Seger
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    49
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Steve Seger
  • Show Website
    Longfire

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