AMBASSADORS
RIDGE AND VALLEY PURSUITS
Ridge and Valley Pursuits is a group of long time friends from Southwest Wisconsin with a passion for the outdoors especially, predator, turkey, and deer hunting. Hunting is fun but filming and sharing our experiences with viewers has added a whole new level of excitement to the game for us. High quality videos with a short turnaround time has always been a top priority since we started filming hunts and we strive to make each video better than the last.
Check them out: Ridge & Valley Pursuits Youtube
RICH GONZALES
Born and raised in what we know as the Green Mountain State of Vermont, Rich Gonzales was exposed to hunting at 5 years old, when his father would tote him around in the truck in pursuit of trophy whitetail bucks. His passions were set aside for a few years as he took the Oath, joined the United States Air Force at 18 and began his career supporting our great nation. First serving in the Vermont Air National Guard, he later transferred to Hill AFB Utah on active duty for the USAF, where he and his wife currently reside in Taylor Utah.
In 2007 Rich harvested his first bull elk in the High Uintah Mountains. With the bull on ice in the coolers, Rich decided to try and bag a buck with his good buddy Bernie on the way back home. While glassing for deer that day, Rich noticed a deer running across the canyon and was being chased by a coyote and that’s all it took. Being warned by his friend that if he ever were to pursue predators, especially coyotes, there was a good possibility that he could be ruining hunting anything else.
For 17 years now the coyote fever has burned and Rich has harvested coyotes all over the United States along with being a competitive contest hunter. With the advancement in technology, the fun hasn’t stopped when the sun drops below the horizon. Thermal hunting has become another one of Rich’s past times and he looks forward to representing Fatboy Tripods to the fullest in this competitive industry!
TEAM SOUTHERN CERAKOTE
Team Southern Cerakote is made up of Professional PRS competitors. Shooting long range competitions all across the United States makes for very diverse conditions. From rain,snow,mud,sand,rocks, and more! You name it we have shot in it or on it. Our tripods have to be rugged, fast to deploy, and handle whatever stress we throw at it. FatBoy tripods fit that bill. Truly takes the stress off us as shooters to focus on competing.
Team Members:
Kent Rush, Hunter Sykes, Nathan Cushman , Levi Wilson, Braden Mann , Cole Higginbotham, Wyatt Higgenbottom
RUSTY GAMBLE
At the young age of 16, Rusty Gamble got his first predator hunting experience around Malad, Idaho calling in his first coyotes. While being a big game hunter pursuing deer in the fall with his Father, it didn’t take long for Rusty to shift his main passion into predator hunting after a few successful calling encounters.
Over the course of his predator hunting career, Rusty has become one of the most successful competitive predator hunters in the Wild West. He has earned many buckles and trophies over the years competing in several tournaments, including being the Nevada State Champion, Idaho State Champion 2x, and has also placed 2nd three consecutive times in the World Coyote Calling Championship with a lifelong goal of seizing that title in the near future.
When it is not tournament season you can catch Rusty out during the spring and summer months running his coyote decoy dogs through the sage-covered hills, including the famous decoy dog “Odie”. Many action-packed hunts can be viewed on his YouTube channel Coyote Assassins, with several other special guest appearances on the Black Diamond Optics YouTube channel. The art of being a predator caller has become more of a lifestyle for Rusty day and night, as he hunts year-round in pursuit of the adrenaline dump of the next stand. The journey has been fun and has opened many doors while representing awesome companies including Fatboy Tripods in 2022!
Check Out Coyote Assasins: https://www.youtube.com/c/CoyoteAssassins
TEAM GAMEMASTERS
Team Gamemasters is made up of PRS/NRL Hunter/Team Sniper competitors and hunters from West Central Illinois. Shooting long range competitions all across the United States, these guys get into some crazy conditions and various types of terrain pushing there gear to the limits. There tripods have to be rugged, fast to deploy, and handle whatever stress they throw at it. FatBoy tripods takes the doubt out of whether their equipment will fail them and let’s them as shooters focus on competing.
Team Members:
Bill Hobbs, Dakota Clary, Josh Forbis and Brian Clark.
KC HOLMES
Kacee Holmes is a retired Air Force Special Operations Pararescueman after 22 years. He now spends most of his spare time competitive shooting in 3 Gun, precision rifle, and USPSA. Kacee loves to hunt hogs and coyotes and is currently working as a rescue specialist/flight medic in East Africa.
Matt Vinson
Matt is a Iowa Native, born and raised in the country, outside a small town in SE Iowa. Matt started hunting with his dad when he could hardly hold a weapon. Guns and hunting have been a staple in his life since he was a boy. At 19 years old, Matt joined the U.S. Army (Active Duty) as an Infantryman in 2003 and spent the better part of a decade with the 101st Airborne Division (AASLT) as an Infantryman and will retire after 20 years active duty in 2023. Matt was deployed to Iraq in 2003-2004, 2005-2006, 2007-2008 and Afghanistan 2010-2011, all as an Infantryman.
Matt hunts and guide hunts in Iowa (with his own company, Precision Harvesting Inc) and volunteer with a non-profit organization (Giving Back Outdoors) to guide disabled veterans and first responders on hunts and fishing trips nationwide. To Matt, hunting and bodybuilding are therapy. Both will be a part of my life forever. My goal is to inspire possibilities in others.
Jeremy Bailey
Jeremy started hunting with his dad when he was 4 years old and acquired an absolute passion for the sport. He started with squirrels and accompanied his dad on deer and turkey hunts. His first encounter with a coyote was around 8 or 9 years old when sitting next to his dad while hunting. He was fascinated by the animal as it quietly slipped through the thick timber. For his 12th birthday he received a fawn distress call. Later that year he tried to call in a deer, when a coyote showed up instead. A few days later he called in his second. When he realized the coyotes came to the distress sound, things haven't been the same. "It's hard to sit in a tree stand for hours waiting for deer when I know I could be calling predators." Jeremy has since become an avid predator hunter spending his winters traveling to different states to hunt.
In 2015, Jeremy decided to try his luck at contest hunting, where he and his partner took 1st place in the Kansas Predator Challenge with the help of his FOXPRO Fury. Since then, Jeremy has accomplished a 1st place finish in the New Mexico State Coyote Calling Championship, a 1st place finish in the Northern Missouri Coyote Calling Competition, two 3rd place finishes in the Navajo Nation Coyote Calling Championship, and a 5th place finish in the Arizona State Coyote Calling Championship.
Jeremy enjoys meeting new people that share the same interests of hunting. Follow him on Facebook and Instagram for future hunting adventures.
Brock Stugelmayer
Born and raised in the northern regions of Utah, Brock has developed a deep passion for predator hunting. His journey began in 2018, when he started pursuing coyotes. This endeavor was entirely self-taught, and each failure only fueled his determination to improve. The countless hours and miles Brock has invested in this pursuit are evident in his progress. With each passing year, he strives to surpass his previous achievements, always mindful that the learning never ceases when it comes to coyotes. A mantra that guides him is "No Run Aways." You can follow Brock's adventures and experiences on Instagram at @801Howlers.
Dakota Wright
Dakota Wright, hailing from Zanesville, Ohio, is an avid competitive rifle shooter who competes all over the country with her father. She has been shooting for two years and received her first rifle on March 14, 2021. Just five days later, she participated in her first match. Dakota and her father started off by competing in local long range 22 bench matches, eventually moving on to tactical and club level PRS matches, which they found to be incredibly enjoyable. It was at their first true PRS match that Dakota found her passion for the sport and was hooked. Her first national championship match took place on December 4, 2021, and since then she has participated in two more national matches.
In August, Dakota will have the opportunity to represent the USA in the IPRF 22lr World Championship in Italy, along with some talented teammates. She is thrilled to be representing Fat Boy Tripods in the future, and is proud to have competed in 138 matches thus far. Dakota and her father have been shooting 2-3 matches every weekend for the past year and a half, taking only a brief break during the winter months. She plans to switch to center fire at the end of this year and is eagerly anticipating what the future holds for her in the world of competitive rifle shooting.