Inspired by Montana’s culture of outdoor recreation, a popular hunting show is moving its headquarters to Bozeman.
“MeatEater,” currently in its seventh season, follows its host Steven Rinella as he hunts, fishes and cooks game around the world. It’s also part of an outdoor media company that regularly posts recipes and articles about conservation to its website.
The show has filmed several times in Montana and hosts plan on shooting more episodes in the state, after receiving a $40,000 film grant from the Montana Department of Commerce to feature Montana locations in the video series. It will be the first Netflix series shot in Montana with support from the Big Sky Film Grant. Montana-based investment firm Next Frontier Capital has also invested in the show.
“We’ve filmed from South America to Alaska,” Rinella said. “It’s always been a goal of mine to get back here, especially after having kids.”
Rinella has been hunting since he was a kid and would trap muskrats with his friends to sell them for their hides. He previously lived in Montana for about 10 years, after getting his master of fine arts in creative nonfiction from the University in Montana.
He has written for Outside magazine and a few other publications.
The show originally started in 2012 with four staff members, but it has grown to 18 employees, and Rinella said it plans to hire more from within and outside Bozeman. There was a consensus among employees that Bozeman was the right place to base operations, he said, with a university to draw from and plenty of amenities to make people want to make the town their home.
The show and its media company offer content contributor, editorial, leadership and production positions. It has already hired Kevin Sloan as its CEO, the former president of Sitka hunting gear.
There wasn’t really a second choice for relocation after Bozeman, which offers a well-connected airport, quality workforce and a culture of outdoor recreation. Not to mention, Montana’s known for its public land.
“There’s literally no other place I’d rather live, nor a more authentic home for ‘MeatEater,’” Rinella said in a press release.
