Transcript

Travis Bader: [00:00:12] I’m Travis Bader and this is The Silvercore Podcast. Join me as I discuss matters related to hunting, fishing, and outdoor pursuits, the people in businesses that comprise of the community. If you’re new to Silvercore, be sure to check out our website, www.Silvercore.ca. Where you can learn more about courses, services, and products that we offer, as well as how you can join the Silvercore Club, which includes 10 million North America wide liability insurance to ensure you are properly covered during your outdoor ventures.

[00:00:43] In this episode I speak with Jenny Ly, who through the week is an account executive for a Vancouver based IT company and in her time off is Hunter, a regional leader of the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and the owner of the Chasing Food Club. We speak about her journey of getting into hunting as an urban Vancouverite.

[00:01:01] The role ego plays in the process, social medias impact on hunting, thoughts on the term Huntress or adventure jean goat testicles, and much more. Welcome Jenny.

Jenny Ly: [00:01:14] Hey Travis, thank you for having me on the Silvercore Podcast. I’m excited to swap some stories with you and hopefully we provide a chuckle or two for folks at home right now.

Travis Bader: [00:01:25] Oh I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. I have been following you on Instagram, I’ve been watching you as you’ve been growing the Chasing Food Club, and I’ve been watching your journey as you have been growing as a Hunter. Can you tell me a little bit about how you got into hunting? What? What sparked your curiosity?

Jenny Ly: [00:01:48] Oh boy. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, there should be a warning label, I hope there is on your courses.

Travis Bader: [00:01:47] Caution may cause large expenditures.

Jenny Ly: [00:02:00] Yeah, yeah. I had no idea. Hunting started out, I guess as a curiosity into wild game, what wild game would taste like. At that time I was working for a food tech company and we built software to sell food on.

[00:02:15] And so my love for food was encouraged and it became an obsession. You know, we always at the office discuss where food came from, and I think during that time, organic was finally becoming mainstream and becoming big.

Travis Bader: [00:02:28] Sure.

Jenny Ly: [00:02:28] And so wild meats came up a lot and. Actually speaking of obsession, I just saw Tiffany, your wife’s bacon game on Instagram couple weeks ago.

Travis Bader: [00:02:41] Yeah. She’s, you know we’ve been making bacon for years and she’s bringing it up to a completely different level.

Jenny Ly: [00:02:47] Oh, I couldn’t get over it. Okay, sorry to detour on there.

Travis Bader: [00:02:51] Hey, not a problem.

Jenny Ly: [00:02:51] That just popped into my mind.

Travis Bader: [00:02:52] Not a problem. Have you made bacon before?

Jenny Ly: [00:02:54] No, I haven’t. Not yet.

Travis Bader: [00:02:56] Is that on your to do list.

Jenny Ly: [00:02:57] There’s a lot of things on my to do lists, but I, I’ll, I’ll have plenty of time now.

Travis Bader: [00:03:03] No problem.

Jenny Ly: [00:03:04] Kind of fast forward that obsession. I decided I had kind of the pivotal moment in my life where I had that quarter life crisis a couple of years ago and I realized my only goals were financial goals and I wasn’t too happy with where that was taking me. And I literally quit my job, moved into a new place and decided just to start over.

[00:03:30] And I, and I really thought back to the things that got me excited as a child. And I have this weird memory of a, of a child of flinging dirt in this guy and calling it mud fireworks. And, and it was a bonus if you can fling, if you can catch a worm in the sky from the mud that you flung out. And I had so much joy from that and I was like 9 and 10.

[00:03:54] Yeah, this is pre YouTube days kids, pre YouTube days. And so I thought, hey, you know, this obsession with food, let’s, I’ve always talked about wild game, let’s go get some. I was a pretty independent person, I didn’t know anybody that hunted and kind of got into it.

[00:04:13] And I realized that hunting quickly became a creative outlet because it stimulated all senses. Like I had no idea going into this, and mother nature kind of invokes things in you that give you the courage to do pretty crazy things.

Travis Bader: [00:04:29] Yes.

Jenny Ly: [00:04:30] I failed high school, never finished college and my grammar is actually pretty simple, it doesn’t go beyond grade 7.

Travis Bader: [00:04:37] When you say failed high school. What does that mean?

Jenny Ly: [00:04:39] I didn’t graduate and then I had to make it up for a couple of years.

Travis Bader: [00:04:42] Oh ok. So you didn’t Really fail high school.

Jenny Ly: [00:04:39] You can fail high school, kids.

Travis Bader: [00:04:48] Ah, you know, another way to look at it is maybe high school failed you.

Jenny Ly: [00:04:52] Yeah. I, I realized, you know, I’m a creative person. I don’t have a very long attention span, just like you.

Travis Bader: [00:04:58] Just like me.

Jenny Ly: [00:04:57] That’s something you shared with me.

Travis Bader: [00:05:00] Yes. We cocked off there, yes, I’ve got ADHD.

Jenny Ly: [00:05:05] Exactly, exactly. But being in the woods, watching these animals, it kind of moved me to start writing, out of all things because I just had to find an outlet to share these experiences. And more importantly, throughout this journey, I’ve met some pretty cool people like yourself. And I noticed you recently did a podcast with Dylan from Eat Wild.

[00:05:26] He was one of my early mentors. And your wife Tiffany just sent me an amazing book of recommendations on forging for spring so I’m not just going up for spring Bear, I’m going out with the salad to look for the salad that’s going to go with my Bear loins.

Travis Bader: [00:05:39] That’s fantastic.

Jenny Ly: [00:05:41] And all these cool stories I’ve learned from everybody, I just, I just wanted to share them, and so that’s where I am in my hunting journey and that’s how I started also blogging on Chasing Food Club because I had to just share, this was just so awesome of an experience.

Travis Bader: [00:05:57] What made you just quit your job and move?

Jenny Ly: [00:06:00] I was, I was pretty, I think I was pretty depressed. It was a high stress job, it was a tech startup we were extremely motivated by money and you know, it started off with my love of food and that’s why I worked for them, it just got lost. And, and I was just like, you know, I’m just going to start fresh. I’m not going to lie. I also broke up with somebody around that time too.

Travis Bader: [00:06:21] Sure, sure.

Jenny Ly: [00:06:21] I was like, okay, well, since I’m moving out, I’m gonna start a new job, I’m going to pivot my whole career. And I just wanted everything fresh, and it was the best thing that happened for me. It was the scariest, and I just wanted to challenge myself with something I’ve never done before.

Travis Bader: [00:06:37] Like the Phoenix from the ashes just rising up and you set your sights on, on hunting.

Jenny Ly: [00:06:44] Pretty much. I needed, I just had so much energy and I needed something to distract me and this was it. This was it.

Travis Bader: [00:06:52] So I heard a story that you had a very interesting journey trying to find your way into hunting, and it started with Tinder? Is that correct?

Jenny Ly: [00:07:03] Where did you hear that from?

Travis Bader: [00:07:05] I actually watched your video.

Jenny Ly: [00:07:06] Ahh. I slipped that joke in there.

Travis Bader: [00:07:09] You did. I figured it’s safe to use.

Jenny Ly: [00:07:12] Yeah. I, well I was single at the time, I didn’t know any hunting, anybody that hunted. I actually didn’t know hunting existed in BC till probably the year prior, I didn’t know that was even possible to do. And I lived in the city, I didn’t own a car and so I came up with the strategy that since, I’m about efficiency.

Travis Bader: [00:07:35] Sure.

Jenny Ly: [00:07:36] I was like, well, why are you going on these dates? I might as well hit two birds with one stone and try to get some hunting knowledge from these dudes as well too. So I swiped right on everybody that wore a camo, and it worked! I made some pretty awesome friends real quick.

Travis Bader: [00:07:50] Yeah.

Jenny Ly: [00:07:50] And dudes were, weren’t offended when I friend zoned them and said, ‘Hey, but I’d love to talk to you about hunting’. And I think everybody that hunts can agree that we just love to talk about hunting, with anybody, at any time.

Travis Bader: [00:08:07] You’ve only been hunting for a very short period of time of your life. It’s been, what, 3, 4 years now?

Jenny Ly: [00:08:12] This is going to be my third spring Bear season.

Travis Bader: [00:08:16] In that very short period, you’ve had some pretty cool hunts as well. I’ve seen some pictures of a Caribou hunt that you’re on.

Jenny Ly: [00:08:26] That was actually my first hunt.

Travis Bader: [00:08:28] Your very first time.

Jenny Ly: [00:08:29] My very first hunt, I met some two dudes while taking my CORE course, or maybe it was the gun license and we kind of teamed up and said, I was like, ‘Hey, I want to go into this full speed’. And they were like, ‘Me too’. And one of us got a draw for limited entry Caribou in the Itcha Illgachuz and that Hunt’s now closed. So we were probably one of the last folks to pull a Caribou from there on this LEH before they closed it down.

Travis Bader: [00:09:00] Wow.

Jenny Ly: [00:09:00] It was pretty exciting. It was scary because I still remember the day before, I listened to a podcast about the gutless method. How to butcher an animal, I’m like oh yeah I’m going to give this a go. Blind confidence played a big, big factor in the success of that trip because when you don’t know, you don’t know and you just charge in a blind confidence and go with things.

Travis Bader: [00:09:23] Yeah. That’s not a bad point. Now I take it that out of the three of you, you guys had about the same level of hunting experience, didn’t you?

Jenny Ly: [00:09:31] Yeah. All, it was all our first time trip. It was everybody’s first time.

Travis Bader: [00:09:36] And you just said, let’s do a fly in. Let’s go for Caribou.

Jenny Ly: [00:09:39] Yeah, it was 10 day backpack and it was pretty scary. I thought we were going to freeze to death at one point. We were very unprepared as first-time hunters. I think all of us trekked in with the backpack about 60 pounds for 10 days.

Travis Bader: [00:09:54] Looking at that trip that you did, it was a successful hunt. 10 days out there in the field. What would you do differently if you’re to look back at past Jenny and give some future Jenny advice. What would you say?

Jenny Ly: [00:10:06] Oh man. I know recently I was on the Rookie Hunter Podcast and I shared a theory about the Dunning-Kruger effect. It’s a comical graph that you can search up where it basically lets you know, the more you know, you know, the less confident you are in what you’re doing and it gets scarier.

Travis Bader: [00:10:24] Right, yeah, thats it exactly.

Jenny Ly: [00:10:25] You kind of lose confidence. When you first start off with something, you’re that idiot that nobody likes cause they think they know everything and you’re very. And so looking back on now, I’ve been like, I would have never gone on that hunt. I would have been like, don’t do it. But you know, the one advice I would’ve given myself was pack some gloves.

[00:10:45] I did not pack gloves.

Travis Bader: [00:10:46] Oh geez. And you were worried about freezing out there, no gloves.

Jenny Ly: [00:10:51] Out of all honesty, we all turned out fine, nothing dangerous happened and so I think a lot of the fear put into us now is also, I don’t know, these expectations, like people, what, what is the difference of a mountain hunt versus a fly in hunt versus when you drive up to? You know, I think a lot of people just build up this fear and it’s like, ‘Oh, I would never do that’.

[00:11:14] But, but truly what is the difference? And also a lot of people said we couldn’t do it because we didn’t have the correct gear and things of that sorts. And now two years in, I’m actually, I would have told myself not to become so worried about all that gear. You don’t actually need an excessive amount of things.

[00:11:30] You need very, very bare bones minimum, and I don’t want to, I don’t want this to become a gear episode on your podcast, Travis, but that, that’s definitely the advice I would give. You don’t actually need a lot of the things that these industry hunters tell you you need.

Travis Bader: [00:11:44] I couldn’t agree more. You know, I like kit, I think a lot of people buy into seeing the new Gucci camo patterns and new equipment. And there is something to be said for having equipment that’ll work well, that’s functional, but people have been hunting for a very long time with very minimal equipment, very successfully.

Jenny Ly: [00:12:06] Yes.

Travis Bader: [00:12:07] There’s something very satisfying about being able to come home with some food, with some meat, without breaking the bank in order to do that and being able to use basic equipment and your own ingenuity to get there. Personally, I find that very satisfying.

Jenny Ly: [00:12:24] Yes.

Travis Bader: [00:12:25] So you’re talking about the Dunning-Kruger effect, now that’s a cognitive bias of illusory superiority. I know this because I find that effect very interesting, it’s something that I’ve talked with my coworkers about, and you’re right, the more you know, the more you’d know you don’t know, if that makes sense essentially.

Jenny Ly: [00:12:41] Exactly, that’s what that is.

Travis Bader: [00:12:43] Right, and it’s, you can always spot out the people who are pretty rookie at something by how confident they come across and tell you how much they know. And it’s always a people that are quiet and observant that I tend to gravitate towards because more often than not, they’re either A. somebody who’s paying attention and wanting to learn, or B. they’ve got something to say, but they’re not bragging it up.

[00:13:11] And in the hunting world, you had mentioned something about the demographic in Vancouver on a previous podcast you did, or the demographic, not necessarily Vancouver., the demographic in an urban area of ego coming forth in hunting.  Did I catch that correctly?

Jenny Ly: [00:13:35] Yeah. That was, that was also mentioned. Lessons from that just keep on coming.

Travis Bader: [00:13:41] Oh yeah?

Jenny Ly: [00:13:42] I, I would say that that was probably the most challenging part of the hunt actually is in, sorry, circling back to your question earlier on, what I would’ve told myself, my older self is to put that ego away. And the interesting thing and the reason why I just chuckled there in saying, it’s the lesson that keeps on giving because.

[00:14:03] It’s one thing, being aware of your ego, but you have to know that. Or I realized being aware of my ego doesn’t make me better than the person who isn’t aware of their ego. In fact, now that I am aware of my ego, ironically, it’s just made me realize how silly I am, but I’m still stuck with this ego. And so now the hardest part is overcoming it.

[00:14:30] And in hunting, it’s, it’s, it’s kind of put on a pedal stool because it’s also extremely male dominant, and you know, we’re hiking into the woods with guns, and it does stimulate, you know, that, what’s that word?

Travis Bader: [00:14:47] Testosterone, male, ego, driven.

Jenny Ly: [00:14:51] Yeah.

Travis Bader: [00:14:52] Hurrah.

Jenny Ly: [00:14:53] And then, and then more importantly, the women who come into it, we have something to prove or we feel like there’s something to prove. So it’s just disaster all around. And lots of strong personalities and feelings are being hurt and so that was, that’s, I think that’s one of the hardest things for me when it comes to hunting.

Travis Bader: [00:15:12] Yeah. I was talking to a friend of mine and she’s been hunting for awhile, and the term Huntress came up and we, we were discussing that one, and she has some very strong opinions on the use of the word Huntress and she says, look like you’re, you’re a Hunter or you’re not. Gender shouldn’t equate into it.

Jenny Ly: [00:15:31] Yeah.

Travis Bader: [00:15:32] And I think particularly for new people getting into hunting, where they’re looking to learn about hunting is going to be online or social media. And when you brought up the idea of ago previously, and we talked about it, I had a different thought on it because a lot of people that I know that hunt don’t have any ego involved with it, but the generation of hunters that are coming in that are learning from YouTube or Instagram or some sort of social media.

[00:16:08] If they’re seeing it pop up on their feed, it’s because it’s something that’s popular with other people to look at. If it’s popular for them to look at, it’s probably because it portrays a certain image of hunting, whether that’s women showing more skin or dressing provocatively or men doing things that are more risky or taking only large game.

[00:16:33] And it creates, in my opinion anyways, it creates a false image of what hunting really is, or at least what hunting is to me.

Jenny Ly: [00:15:39] Yeah.

Travis Bader: [00:15:39] But it also will create that ego driven type of person to get into hunting. So you’re saying that was something that you kind of veered down that path to begin with, but quickly learned that wasn’t for you?

Jenny Ly: [00:16:54] Yeah, for sure. I’m just going to Travis before I kind of talk to that and remind me, because I want to go back to that Huntress comment and throw down at tech challenge.

Travis Bader: [00:17:05] Okay.

Jenny Ly: [00:17:06] I don’t think to challenge this person directly, but I’m going to challenge her defence against the word Huntress is also ego because she doesn’t want to be separated, but really the word Huntress and Hunter, just like actor an actress, it’s just the way the English language is split up.

Travis Bader: [00:17:25] Ahhh.

Jenny Ly: [00:17:25] Just like how in French, you have female, male.

Travis Bader: [00:17:26] Sure.

Jenny Ly: [00:17:27] So really there’s no argument around it. It’s just a politeness way to address people it’s really perspective.

Travis Bader: [00:17:34] You know and that.

Jenny Ly: [00:17:34] The only reason why it causes infuriation is because we don’t want to be separated. But then again, that’s just your ego. When, when it evokes that feeling of ‘how dare you?’, that is usually just the ego talking. But if you take all that away, it’s really just a polite way to call it, to address a woman who hunts.

Travis Bader: [00:17:53] Ahh. I’m going to pass that one over to her and let her know. I think, I think from her perspective, and I can’t put myself in her shoes, but I think it was the idea or image of, rather than the word itself, but you raise a very, very valid point.

Jenny Ly: [00:18:10] For sure and.

Travis Bader: [00:18:11] For anyone to get worked up on one side or the other would

Jenny Ly: [00:18:14] There’s no need.

Travis Bader: [00:18:15] Yeah.

Jenny Ly: [00:18:16] There’s no need.

Travis Bader: [00:18:17] I like that.

Jenny Ly: [00:18:18] And speaking to that point, I guess it’s kind of, it’s a, it’s a negotiation tactic where you really diffuse it and kind of show people that, hey, there is no arguments over it. There’s no need, and, and, and try to find that original truth, which was a polite way to just address the woman who hunts. That’s it.

Travis Bader: [00:18:36] I like that.

Jenny Ly: [00:18:37] We’re being polite. Going back to your question that you just asked earlier. My, I did veer down that path, it started off very innocently with my love for food and wanting to try wild game and not knowing where to get it. I didn’t know it was illegal to sell it. I didn’t know how to, I didn’t know anything about hunting, so it was very innocent.

[00:18:56] And then I kinda got sucked down the trap of trying to monetize it and once again, that also started innocently because I wanted to work in a career that was liberating. And I said ‘Oh, well, I hunt and why don’t I try to monetize this?’ And I got kind of sucked down the path of, well, if I, if I have to monetize it, then I have to have the best of the best.

[00:19:22] And then it kinda went into, well, if I have the best of the best. I actually have to kill something or else I’m going to look like an idiot. And there was so much pressure. I remember at one point in my second spring Bear season, so that was just last spring Bear season. I started off really big, I flew to Vancouver Island and I was about 30, 50 yards away from the biggest Black Bear I’ve ever seen.

[00:19:51] I remember creeping over a, a grassy road, overgrown road. I saw this darkness and I was like, what is that? And I dropped, crept over, I realized I was looking at this giant Bears ass. It was huge! And then I was, it was my turn to shoot, we’d already determined that, and just when I was about to look into the scope, buddy chambered a shot because we were so close to the Bear. We thought there was a chance we could get charged and the Bear heard that change of sound and it freaked, spooked and ran into the woods.

[00:20:29] But the rest of my season, I let so many Bear pass because I was obsessed. I had painted this story of me shooting this huge seven foot Bear, and that’s all I wanted. And guess what? I ended that spring with no meat in my freezer and I was actually depressed. It was insane, but I, I didn’t, I was depressed.

[00:20:52] I was so hard on myself for not shooting something. And not having this awesome story to share on social media and to tell a brag about to my friends. And I actually, and I had to work through a lot of my emotions and my ego, and I was too prideful. And even I volunteer at the BHA, as you mentioned earlier, and it was embarrassing for me to even stand up and talk to the crowd and that’s how hung up I was.

[00:21:20] And you’re looking at me going, it’s your second year in hunting, like chill out. But that’s how you get caught up into things. And then, I drew, the tag for the Goat that I went on last year. And I, for some reason searched up the meaning of a Goat because I was trying to write a story from my failures of Bear hunting and the meaning of the spiritual meaning one of the spiritual meanings of a goat is to let go of one loss.

[00:21:48] For, for a greater purpose. And that actually gave me some sense of peace to actually get over and dig myself out of that funk. But it was just insane how one could go into that spiralling path of getting sucked into hunting. And I lost, my true reason was to explore, was to be wild, was to eat wild, and I forgot all that.

Travis Bader: [00:22:10] No kidding. And so when you say you wanted to, you’re looking at monetizing that, would that have been through social media with it?

Jenny Ly: [00:22:17] Yeah. So I sell software and I specialize in digital marketing ads, being a consultant around the digital marketing world and how to make money from that. And one of the ways I thought about was just things like affiliate links on my website, talking about gear, because I went down that nutshell with gear and now I could care less what I’m wearing.

[00:22:39] It’s crazy how you do just the 360. Cause I was passionate about making sure people didn’t spend money in the wrong ways. And I, I did want it to help with that. But, It’s not in me to to just follow through a, the thing with me as I learnt very early on, I can’t just chase the money anymore, and so I dropped that real, real quick and instead turned Chasing Food Club just into a positive community that I can contribute to the world of hunting and the world of wildlife conservation instead and try to put some good up there.

Travis Bader: [00:23:10] Good for you. You know, you talk about the idea of chasing money and I’ve always been of the mindset that if you make money your objective, if you are always looking at money as the end goal, you’re always going to be chasing it, you’re always going to be behind it. But if you make delivering a quality product, making it enjoyable, something that people want to consume or be a part of, you’ll enjoy yourself and money will be a natural byproduct of your hard work and what you’re doing.

[00:23:45] And it’s funny how that works. It’s like the kid in high school who tries so hard to be popular who will never be popular, but the people who just kind of let go and do what they’re going to do, and everybody gravitates towards them because they’re interesting and they become popular.

Jenny Ly: [00:24:01] Yeah. And I think, you know, a lot of people ask like, how do I, how do I, You know, well, good for you, Jenny, you figured out you like to write, and now you’re doing all these things that you love. That’s very intimidating to find your purpose. And I think Travis, you kinda hit it head on, it’s just start chasing the little things you’re genuinely curious about being that genuine person

[00:24:25] And having a greater purpose than just finance and, but an, the passion will come like it will lead, but starting to really be honest with yourself and chase things that you are curious about. And delivering something that is extremely service minded.

Travis Bader: [00:24:42] Yes. Now, speaking about things that you’re extremely curious about, your latest Instagram post, it’s kind of curious. There’s, there’s a delicacy I can’t say I’ve ever had before. These.

Jenny Ly: [00:24:57] Really?

Travis Bader: [00:24:58] We’re talking about Goat balls. So, you’re going to crack the code on Goat balls take it.

Jenny Ly: [00:25:06] Yeah. So my, my Goat hunt was a success.

Travis Bader: [00:25:09] Yes.

Jenny Ly: [00:25:10] And I decided to save the testicles. I mean, in the restaurant industry, it’s a very common dish. It’s usually just bread in deep fried, and most folks don’t even know that’s what they’re eating.

Travis Bader: [00:25:22] Sure.

Jenny Ly: [00:25:23] I forgot what the technical restaurant term is. When you put it on a menu, they don’t say testicles, they say something else.

Travis Bader: [00:25:29] I’ve heard of Prairie Oysters before.

Jenny Ly: [00:25:31] Yeah, that might be it as well too, so they usually disguise it and it tastes like popcorn chicken and no one notices.

Travis Bader: [00:25:36] Oh okay.

Jenny Ly: [00:25:37] So I tried to give it a whirl, but it was tough as nails, and I thought, I listened to everybody’s advice and I peeled off the first membrane, but apparently there’s a second one or third one.

[00:25:48] And, but you know, and it, and the taste was strong, maybe because I had frozen in and thought, and it was sitting in its own juices, but it doesn’t discourage me. I’m Vietnamese, and in our culture we eat the strangest things.

Travis Bader: [00:26:03] Sure.

Jenny Ly: [00:26:04] Like I have this craving for pig stomach soup, pepper soup.

Travis Bader: [00:26:07] Sure, yeah.

Jenny Ly: [00:26:08] And actually taking a page from that stomach pepper soup I had when I was younger. I remember my mom like cooking the crap out of that thing. Cause she would be boiling it, scrubbing it in salt, poaching it for hours in a salt broth and then cooking it before the fourth, fifth time and then it would be tender and tasty and one wouldn’t have that funk. So I’m ready to try round two of this. I know Dylan Eyers says he has some Elk testies.

Travis Bader: [00:26:36] I saw that.

Jenny Ly: [00:26:36] For me to experiment with, so we’ll see, I’m excited, I’m not defeated. And Travis, I might be knocking on your door with a little, a little dish for you to try.

Travis Bader: [00:26:48] Not a problem, I’ll give them a try. And you make them, you vouch for them, I’ll give them a try.

Jenny Ly: [00:26:53] All right. I won’t, I won’t give you my errors, I promise. When I perfect it, I’ll come knocking.

Travis Bader: [00:26:57] Looking forward to that. So Chasing Food Club, beautiful website by the way. You’ve got great pictures on there, you’ve got great write-ups, it’s documenting your journey through hunting and as you progress, where do you see Chasing Food Club moving?

[00:27:17] Is that something that you will just kind of keep on the side and and continue documenting kind of like your own journal that’s out there for the public.

Jenny Ly: [00:27:24] Yeah. It’s, I just want to be transparent. I’m not trying to make any money off it right now or anything of that sort, though I do believe that you should always turn your passion into a job if you can. I think that’s everybody’s end goal.  For me right now, it’s truly a creative outlet.

[00:27:41] I’m exploring things in filming, editing, writing, and being creative and I’ve never met, felt so free in my life, and I ended up going back to working in software, like you mentioned earlier, but it’s a job that actually puts me in the industry to show me how to edit film and be creative. So it all kind of aligns and I couldn’t be more happier right now. And I think the goal, I have some ideas of Chasing Food, of turning it into a community.

[00:28:09] A charity to kind of give back to wildlife conservation. I’m not too sure how yet, but right now it’s just for fun. It’s an opportunity for me to write any stories to anybody that wants to hear them and share my quirky little recipes. I donate most of these stories and recipes to nonprofit organizations that need something to publish on their blog and their magazines and things that sorts.

[00:28:31] So, it’s just kind of putting a positive word out there and more diversity out there and different perspectives that might be, not rub everybody the same way, but hopefully open up people’s minds to be more open minded. For example, somebody gave me a chunk of Seal recently. It was killed by an elder from their tribe and so they asked if I could talk more about it and spread a more positive image about seal hunting and why it happens and how it tastes and things that sorts. So that’s my next thing I’m working on it. I’m very excited.

Travis Bader: [00:29:03] Oh very cool. So you live in Vancouver and your passion is the wilderness, being outside. Do you envision yourself continuing to live in the urban area for, into the future, or do you have aspirations to kind of go out a little bit more remote?

Jenny Ly: [00:29:24] That’s a great question. That keeps changing.

Travis Bader: [00:29:26] Yeah. Okay.

Jenny Ly: [00:29:27] And I think we have the same goals, cause I was talking to Tiffany and I think, I think you’ve been me are kindred spirits because I would, I’m torn between somewhere in the Lake.

Travis Bader: [00:29:35] Yes.

Jenny Ly: [00:29:27] You know, more West. But then I also really want ocean fronts.

Travis Bader: [00:29:41] Yes.

Jenny Ly: [00:29:42] But I also need some city life. Hunting is probably a huge part of my life cause there’s so much to learn. It’s constantly challenging and I’m easily bored and this just keeps, you know, beating me back down each time I think I’ve gotten somewhere. So I don’t think that, that, that passion is going anywhere, anytime soon. But you know what?

[00:30:03] I think as of right now, I decided I would love a city apartment and I’d love a cabin somewhere that maybe I can turn into a retreat for those that just need to escape somewhere and I have my eye on Haida Gwaii cause it’s beautiful.

Travis Bader: [00:30:19] I’d love, I’d love to have property on Haida Gwaii.

Jenny Ly: [00:30:23] And things that sorts of, it keeps going back and forth, back and forth. But that’s kind of where I stand. I actually live in the city and I still don’t own a car cause it costs ridiculously to live comfortably in the city. But I think, I hope my testimony to, it shows to people that, Hey, no matter what you’re curious about, it’s not, it’s never too daunting. Just make sure your motivations are pure and you can do it.

[00:30:49] Like I will put my life on the line by saying that statement. And the key is making sure your motivations pure, and it’s not financially driven, it’s not ego driven, and that this is truly for you.

Travis Bader: [00:31:00] I like that. I’m looking forward to trying some of your food. What is, ball’s aside, what’s your favourite wild game dish currently?

Jenny Ly: [00:31:12] My favourite wild game dish currently, so I’ve been trying to kind of verge more of my Canadian Vietnamese heritage. I’ve also come to realize that when you are using the herbs and spices in Vietnamese cooking, and some of that is, it’s a lot of garlic, chilli and lemon grass and fish sauce.

Travis Bader: [00:31:35] Love it.

Jenny Ly: [00:31:36] Those pungent flavours and lemon juice, acidic, pungent flavours really break down wild game very well and makes it a great introduction for those that don’t maybe like, are not adjusted or to all the different types of game out there and there are different unique tastes.

[00:31:55] And so my favourite way, and I send this marinade to everybody. It’s a basic lemon grass marinade, and you can, put any cut of meat, even your ready astir or your toughest Bear chops. You put on low and slow, then you sear it and you get all these fragrance that that lemony from the lemon grass, the garlic, the chilli, the fish sauce, the sug-, the caramelization of the sugars, and you can do that on the barbecue as well.

[00:32:21] Now that it’s getting warmer outside, and that’s my new favourite thing, and I know everybody goes, yeah, yeah I’ve had lemon grass chicken from the restaurant. But, the restaurant’s going to skimp out on a lot of things because, you know, they have to make money, margins have to be high. So I’m going to, I’m going to publish that recipe soon on my blog, but it’s just a great way to, eat wild game.

Travis Bader: [00:32:47] I’m going to look for that recipe and I’ll cook that up. I’m really looking forward to that one. Within your role with BHA, there’s a lot of urban hunters, what are the biggest challenges that you see facing hunters? I guess COVID aside.

Jenny Ly: [00:33:04] Well, I don’t see any new challenges for this generation of hunters going forward. In fact, I see hope. I think a lot of young minds are stepping into hunting. It’s becoming, at least in this city, more openly talked about. I hear it everywhere in every corner of everybody getting curious, getting excited.

[00:33:25] And a lot of the old school hunters are like, Jenny, stop promoting honey to city, to city folks. We don’t need any more folks in the woods. And you know what? It’s funny and we joke around with that, and I’m laughing as well too. But the reality of it is, you know, a lot of the older hunters are retiring.

[00:33:48] And a lot of older hunters, they’re stepping down from their roles and wildlife conservation and board of directors and their voices and new voices are stepping up to have more open minded that have the creativity and the time to kind of really spread awareness of hunting. And spread awareness of how big of a role it is that we have to play in wildlife management.

[00:34:15] And so I’m actually, I don’t see much challenges than what we already go through, but I’m very excited to see what’s going to happen in 10 years in BC. And how our wildlife conservation budgets are going to change and how the rules are going to change because they are going to change. And I know for those that are in the game for a long time, they feel hopeless and defeated, and they kind of gave up on trying to make changes in our industry, but it’s about patience and we’re always learning, we’re always evolving. And so I’m very, very excited.

Travis Bader: [00:34:47] So tell me about BHA. You are the regional director for the BC chapter?

Jenny Ly: [00:34:53] No. So, we have a chair.

Travis Bader: [00:34:56] Okay.

Jenny Ly: [00:34:57] To kind of explain this, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, we started in the States. BC was the first chapter, and we have a chair and a co-chair, that’s Alan.

[00:35:06] And of course Bill Hanlon, you might’ve heard on, I know a couple folks who listen to other, a few other hunting podcasts, and I’ve heard those names being thrown on Alan and they’re our fearless leaders who started the first Canadian chapter in BC. Now we each have, we have leaders in each of the regions as well too.

[00:35:23] And in region two we are led by Mark. And Mark, forgive me for butchering your last name, bro. Robin Chizen, and I know I said that wrong, and we have a coach here named Chris Prime, and thery’re our fierce leaders in region two and I don’t actually have a title of sorts, I’m kind of in charge of diversity and growth and some of the marketing and things that sorts.

[00:35:46] We’re a pretty flat organization. We help each other out. I’m kinda like, you know what? If I had to give myself a title, maybe events coordinator. But we have our hands everywhere. I think a lot of people see the BHA name and they think we’re huge in BC because of what they’ve done in the States. I think we have 40,000 members in North America total and about a thousand of them are in BC and it’s, in BC it’s all volunteer based.

Travis Bader: [00:36:12] Okay.

Jenny Ly: [00:36:13] So it’s every hardworking person between hunting, season, their full jobs or family, their kids. We contribute one or two hours a week, one or two hours a month. So it’s all volunteer based, so I just wanna apologize for anybody who signed up and still didn’t get their subscription in the mail.

[00:36:30] It’s been two months, it’s coming. We’re volunteer base and we’re working on it to be faster. So, yeah, that’s, that’s my role in that community and I guess bringing different perspectives too, because I do live in the city and I’m, and I’m new to it and I’m, and I’m not afraid to throw down some challenging ideas here and there. And try to get our message forward.

Travis Bader: [00:36:52] Well, I’m going to throw some links for BHA in the podcast and on the YouTube version of this. And so people can learn more about it, see what they can do if they wanted to become involved. So I’ll definitely get that out. Is there anything else that we should be touching on?

Jenny Ly: [00:37:06] I’m curious what you kind of learnt, cause I don’t know how you’ve kept it on, your head on so straight being in this industry and kind of working with everybody, having the best gear and equipment at your fingertips. And I, I’m curious what, so how you’ve not, you’ve noticed the ego’s in hunting or what some of the lessons you’ve learned yourself or what you’ve seen and you’ve taken away from. So I’m very curious about that.

Travis Bader: [00:37:34] On the ego side of things, I do my best to try and steer clear of that. Now, everyone’s naturally going to have some form of ego and I find in the industry it is male dominated. There are, obviously running a training company, instructors and teachers tend to carry with them a fair bit of ego.

[00:37:58] And if firearms are involved, particularly in Canada and the States, it’s a different story. Everyone, everybody and their grandma has a firearm, but in Canada, people seem to look at it like they’re a pretty special person if they own a firearm. I don’t know if it’s because of the rigmarole that people have to go through in order to own one, but it seems to add just another layer of ego.

[00:38:22] So having a bit of ego, I think it’s healthy if directed in the right way. What we try and do is surround ourselves with people who have the right ego, if, if that makes sense. Essentially, a desire to be able to relay the information to somebody else with the end goal of the student learning something, a student taking away more than what they had before as opposed to surrounding ourselves with instructors who just want to be heard.

[00:38:56] Just want to have their voice out there and it can be a difficult task, but I think we’ve been doing a good job of surrounding ourselves with those people and over the years there’s always ups and downs. But I, and I guess the other side you’re talking about when it comes to kit, like I like kit.

[00:39:13] There’s, there’s no if, ands, or buts about it. I do like things and being in the industry, I’m fortunate that I can get my hands on a lot of neat kit and it’s either going to be inexpensive or, or no cost at all. But that said, I think, I don’t know if, we did a thing with Meat Eater a year or so ago, and we did a.

[00:39:37] They did a crabbing episode, and I, went out with April Vokey and my wife and we showed how to catch Dungeness crabs. And April, of course, is an avid angler, world renowned in her craft and it always caught crabs by putting traps out and then you have to watch them and try and make sure that nobody feels your crabs or thieves, your crab traps.

[00:40:02] And there I am out there with an Ikea bag and a tennis racket and some hose clamps and you know, nothing that looks Gucci. We’ve, we can go out and get all the cool kit, but I really enjoy being able to harvest food as economically and easily as possible. I like, I like the idea of not blowing the bank in order to come back with not spending $2 in order to get $1 worth of meat.

[00:40:29] I guess on the ego side as well. Now you got me going. So on the ego side as well, I’m new to the social media scene. For a long time I hid. I had no Facebook account. I just recently set up an Instagram account, I think within the last year here. I’m brand.

Jenny Ly: [00:40:48] Yeah and now you’re hooked and I’m here to tell you it’s okay, calm down.

Travis Bader: [00:40:53] Well, I’m learning.

Jenny Ly: [00:40:54] It’ll sooth itself out.

Travis Bader: [00:40:53] That’s right. I am learning. I’m learning the, the process of, of going through that, but the people that I tend to be drawn to the most as I watch these things are the people who aren’t out there flashing all the, all the fancy kit or bragging it up. It’s the people who are just genuinely enjoying their life regardless of what kit they’re using, regardless of the type of animal that they’ve harvested.

[00:41:26] That, I guess it’s the passion that they bring, it’s contagious more than anything else. And I find that positivity that is conveyed, whether it’s genuine or not, that positivity that surrounds it to be the most attractive thing that somebody can associate with. So that was a bit of a tangent.

Jenny Ly: [00:41:45] No, for sure. That, I think that makes it a lot more relatable. Cause sometimes, you know, we’re talking about ego and people go yeah, what does that have to have, you know, for the listeners at home, they’re like, how does that relate to me? I just want to go out and shoot big shit, leave me alone. And I think what making it even more relatable on, on their experience is kind of going off of that, is not to look at social media and get up.

[00:42:08] Get caught up with these expectations, but just remember why you’re out there originally is to have a genuinely good time for yourself and nobody else.

Travis Bader: [00:42:16] Right.

Jenny Ly: [00:42:17] But also when it comes to ego is say if you’re going out with somebody and having an honest conversation with them, of going, Hey, I don’t want to climb up that mountain that looks, that looks scary. I feel I don’t feel safe.

[00:42:31] And removing your ego from that and not being afraid to admit that you’re scared because you’re going to find yourself in some situations that are extremely unsafe and scary, and putting that ego aside and speaking up or speaking up to your friend who’s not being exactly gun safe and is waving around his rifle like it’s a,

Travis Bader: [00:42:48] Right.

Jenny Ly: [00:42:48] It’s a Baton.

Travis Bader: [00:42:49] Right.

Jenny Ly: [00:42:50] Of not being, just speaking up and going, Hey, I don’t feel safe when you do that. Instead of trying to be cool and go, no, I don’t ride with my gun and in the front seat with it loaded, no problem. And not being afraid to speak up. So I think, I hope that makes it more relatable to the to folks listening.

Travis Bader: [00:43:06] Yeah. Good points. Yeah, that takes a very different perspective than when I first heard you talking about that and you never did get the air time that I was hoping for. So that’s a, I’m glad that you’ve had the opportunity to say that.

Jenny Ly: [00:43:18] Well, yeah, thank you. I think it’s just, like I said, hunting and being outdoors is a gift that hasn’t stopped gifting to me and helping me learn and build character for myself as a person and getting the confidence to kind of speak up and say exactly what’s on my mind and in the most respectable manner and learning how to respect myself, I think is important.

[00:43:18] And really speaking up there and having difficult conversations are going to help guide me through other life difficult conversations and telling someone, Hey, I don’t want to go hunting with you because.

[00:43:44] You know, I didn’t feel safe with you, or I don’t want to go, or I don’t want to go hunting with you because this is something I want to do on my own, and not worrying about that person’s feelings or how to say it in a way that makes it okay, instead of tolerating them in the woods when you didn’t want to be there anyways.

[00:44:12] And that, and that all really comes down to ego because we’re too prideful to scared and, and, and things of that sort. So, yeah.

Travis Bader: [00:44:20] Have you had to have those conversations before?

Jenny Ly: [00:44:22] Oh, it’s never ending. And, and not taking offence when somebody doesn’t want to go hunting with you, you know, it’s not always about you. It’s about them too. And trying to see it both ways and seeing the positive, you know, when someone says no to you, it’s kind of like, wow, that was probably so much harder for them than it was for me.

[00:44:44] And seeing it, trying to see things from their perspective as well too. So it’s been a very humbling experience.

Travis Bader: [00:44:49] I like that. Well, Jenny, thank you very much for being on the podcast here. It was an absolute pleasure speaking with you.

Jenny Ly: [00:44:56] I just really want to thank you for this opportunity cause I, you know, I really value the lessons that nature has taught me and I hope it, it kind of reminds folks before they head off into spring season, you know, to really go out there and do it for them and only themselves and really enjoy the moment and just have fun out there.

[00:45:14] And just a little side note, actually, I couldn’t believe how much, how fast Silvercore reacted when everybody was quarantined at home and I noticed all this online courses that you’re trying to develop for everybody, and I just want to thank you for that. And not only that, but all the giveaways you’re doing to kind of lift everybody’s spirits during these times.

[00:45:32] It’s not fun being inside alone and so Travis wanted to say thank you for everything you do for us.

Travis Bader: [00:45:38] Well thank you very, I’m not used to being thanked back with, thank you very much Jenny, I appreciate that.

[00:45:45] And that concludes this episode of the Silvercore Podcast. Thank you for listening.