Who is Michael Waddell?

“Sorry, Michael couldn’t make it, he’s busy building a dirt bike track,” Ryan Wakenigg says as he climbs down from his large, white pickup truck. Bone Collector’s marketing manager and I were slated to meet Michael Waddell for lunch at the Whistling Pig Café in Pine Mountain, Georgia. But Waddell’s morning had other ideas.

It’s a clear, cold afternoon a few days after Christmas, and Waddell had just given his six-year-old son Waylon a dirt bike. So, he did what any dad with 500 acres and access to a skid steer does: He woke up and built him a dirt bike track.

This was my first indication that Michael Waddell—champion turkey caller-turned hunting show host—was every bit the guy you see cleaning his own kills on TV. He’s a diligent, honest, legitimate southern boy who despite his success still values hard work and doing the job right. Even if that means doing all the work himself…..

–  Matt Meltzer for Hook & Barrel