I’m the oldest of ten kids—five boys in a row—which meant competition was part of daily life. We grew up on a 400-acre farm in Leelanau County, and the outdoors wasn’t something we visited—it was home. From running coon hounds to shooting, fishing, and constantly chasing the next challenge, we were always outside.

As we got older, deer hunting became the thing that grounded us. It stripped things back to basics and taught us patience, discipline, and respect. We lived seasonally without calling it that—grilling bluegills from the pond my grandfather built, hunting doves with slingshots, pulling vegetables from the garden, picking fruit from the farm, and knowing where berries and nuts could be found when food was needed. It was a self-sufficient way of life, and we didn’t realize how rare it was until later.

Hunting eventually became less about competition and more about understanding—land, animals, and responsibility. When Coenraad entered our lives through rugby and friendship, it was deer hunting that truly brought us together. Different backgrounds, same values. Highland Field Company grew out of that connection and a shared desire to tell these stories the right way.