Author: Justin Edwards

The outdoors for me has always been an escape. People say to me, you shouldn't want to escape your reality. It isn't so much a "want" because I love the life I live, it is more of a "need". It puts me in the mindset of what I want my life to be and where I want to go. To me it is what balances my very being. It has always been hard to explain the feeling I get when I am hunting or fishing. Those that share my addiction know exactly what I mean. I started obsessing over the outdoors like many others have. I would fish and camp with my father and brother during the off season. As soon as Fall hit I was in the woods with my grandparents and uncles. I even would go after school once I started driving. I couldn't get enough and never even knew the definition of being "burnt out." All I knew was the outdoors is where I always felt completely whole. I moved out when I was fifteen years old and the lore of the mountains is what kept me on track as a wild teenager. While most kids my age were out drinking on the river or at a party, I could always be found deep in the mountains down some old logging road camping, hunting, and fishing. Most of the time I would be alone. I was just naturally drawn to the timber. I would spend days literally just exploring the woods and could sit on a ridge all day completely content, never once did I ever get bored. I joined the Army Infantry when I was eighteen years old and left the mountains of Virginia. After one contract served, I did not re-sign. I had a personal internal commitment to serve as most of the men in my family had done. Once that was achieved, I went straight back to the mountains. I picked up almost where I had left off. The great thing about a small town is it doesn't matter how long you are gone, everything is still the same when you get back. Something inside me changed though. I wasn't a teenager anymore and needed to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I ended up getting some work in Florida and a few days before Christmas, packed up everything and left. I wasn't expecting to fall in love with this state, but did and fast! I knew it had great career opportunities, but wasn't expecting what the backwood swamps had to offer. I was completely infatuated after my first canoe fishing trip at a local WMA. I ended up putting alot of time on the river and back creeks. I wasn't in Virginia anymore that's for sure! These back areas were full of huge bass, gators, snakes, deer, wild pigs, bears, turkey and about a million other critters. Don't get me wrong, the mountains were always teeming with life, but it didn't compare to what the swamp offered in my opinion. I would go after work and every single day I was off. Let's just say I lost many girlfriends stating they couldn't be with someone that spent that much time alone in the swamp. After a few years in Florida I started getting back into hunting. I researched the WMA's within a few hours of me and started putting the footwork in. I learned real quick Florida game and Virginia game are not cut from the same cloth! I had to almost re-learn fifteen years of what I always knew as hunting. I loved every minute of it and welcomed the challenge. I ended up joining Angler Pros which was a sister company to Cervicide but focused around fishing as opposed to hunting. My dad had always wanted me to learn how to fly fish so when he was dying, I made him a promise that I would learn and try. That was my reasoning for signing up. I ended up becoming friends with a fellow member named Jeremy. He told me he wanted to help me fulfill my promise to Dad and invited me up for a long weekend of fly fishing in New York. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that was one memory I will cherish till the day I die. He showed me the ropes and as frustrating as it may have been having a rookie tag along, he never once let it show. An hour before I had to catch my flight, I ended up hooking into a beautiful Brooke Trout in a non stocked stream. Jeremy filmed the whole experience and as I held the fish in the water, I was completely consumed with joy. The fish swam away as Jeremy and I cried and hugged. This moment meant so much to me for Dad, myself, and being apart of a community such as this. Jeremy ended up getting me to join Cervicide that day because I knew if it was anything like Angler Pros, that is what I wanted to be apart of. It has been almost ten years since I moved to the Sunshine State and took hold of a whole new way of life in my outdoor experiences. I have since taken employment with Cervicide as everyone knows and I am proud to say I wake up every day loving what I do. As corny as it may sound, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I have lived and breathed everything Cervicide for three years now. I make it a point to meet up with members and engulf myself in the culture and community that Cervicide offers. They always say if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life. Creating relationships with fellow members, hunters, outdoors people, anglers and helping to create moments like I myself have experienced is what I knew I wanted to do with my life. I am so thankful I get to help others achieve what they want to get out of their outdoor experiences. I am here for every single one of yall so reach out to me if you ever need anything!