LINCOLN, Neb. – Former Outdoor Life editor-in-chief and longtime outdoor communicator Andrew McKean has joined Powderhook as its brand director. McKean and Powderhook CEO Eric Dinger announced the appointment at the National R3 Symposium in Lincoln, Neb., recently.
 
McKean will primarily be responsible for content across Powderhook’s multiple digital platforms, its website, and its hunter-recruitment app, available at Google Play and the App Store. The app is designed to serve as a digital mentoring tool, connecting experienced hunters and their knowledge with beginning hunters looking for guidance.

Powderhook is at the forefront of the movement to recruit, retain, and reactivate hunters in America. The Lincoln-based company’s ambition, momentum, and potential to scale appeals to McKean, who has been a vocal advocate for lowering barriers to hunting participation.
 
“Connectivity is the key to creating and conserving hunters, which I’d argue is the most endangered population in America right now,” says McKean. “Powderhook’s ability to use technology to connect hunters with each other is a huge advantage in the effort to perpetuate the American tradition of citizen-hunters as the engine of wildlife management and conservation.
 
“I’m excited to take my background in creating and packaging content that speaks to a wide range of people, and use it to help ensure that hunters remain the best example of American values of self-reliance, respect for the land and its contents, sustainability, and community organizing. Look to Powderhook for a mix of stories of people who lead by example, but also informational and aspirational content to help beginning hunters, anglers, and people interested in the outdoors get on the right track.”

Powderhook exists to create and measure 3 million new hunters in the next 5 years by helping people, regardless of experience level, have a great day in the field. The company works with the nation’s leading hunting brands, organizations, and agencies to ensure that each can benefit from their role in increasing hunting participation.
 
“If a person alive today better personifies what Powderhook is about, I don’t know of them,” says Dinger. “Andrew’s clear-eyed storytelling talent has earned him a wide and trusting audience, but it’s his heart for our mission that truly sets him apart. Through our work together, we hope to welcome more people into the fight to ensure hunting thrives for generations to come.”
 
A Missouri native, McKean got his start in journalism as a newspaper reporter and editor across the West before freelancing for a number of national publications. He’s the former Rocky Mountain editor for Fishing & Hunting News and worked for Montana’s Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks before joining Outdoor Life as its hunting editor. He served as Outdoor Life’s editor-in-chief for 6 years before leaving earlier this year; he continues to serve as the magazine’s editor-at-large. McKean is a longtime hunter and bowhunter education instructor, past president of the Montana chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, is a member of the Arachnid Sportsmen’s Society, and serves on the national board of the Mule Deer Foundation. He lives in eastern Montana with his spouse and three teenaged children.

About Powderhook:
Powderhook promises to help people get outdoors more often. The Powderhook app and website are a one-stop place to find local, current information and expertise simply not available anywhere else. Our mission is Access for All, which means we’re bringing all the local updates, groups, trips, events, hunting and fishing spots we can into one simple-to-use resource.

 

Contact:
Eric Dinger (402-560-1678) or eric@powderhook.com
Andrew McKean (406-263-5443) or andrew@powderhook.com