Episode 38: History of FA: How the Waterfowl West was Won – Bill Saunders



Oregon, USA – In an attempt to appeal to all waterfowlers FA makes a move to put Flyway icons in the spotlight. Bill Saunders of Bill Saunders calls and Big Guns Waterfowl is our guest as we talk the early years of FA as Bill was there through the thick and thin of fit. He saw the sale of the company 4 times and saw the ups and downs of the brand and stuck with it. He grew his name and his business and helped FA grow in Western waterfowl market.

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Episode 37: History of FA: FA Brand’s Rock Star Jeff Foiles – Pt.2



Oregon, USA – In this episode we talk about Jeff’s first split with FA, his very brief stint at Avery and why he came back to Final Approach. We dive into the retail war that was going on at this time between waterfowl companies, call makers, big names and more. This is one podcast not to miss.

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Episode 36: History of FA: FA Brand’s Rock Star Jeff Foiles – Pt.1



Oregon, USA – We talk to Jeff Foiles who’s rise in the waterfowl world was a grind and turned into Rock Stardom once he hit. He was the face of the brand for years and had his own signature series blinds and gear. He was an integral part of the evolution of FA. We talk about his early years working as an iron worker and doing waterfowl on the side and how getting involved in the waterfowl business changed his life.

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Episode 35: History of FA: The Migration of the FA Brand – Lee Kjos



Oregon, USA – We talk to Lee Kjos, one of the hunting industry’s master photographers. Lee is a marketing genius and was instrumental in the next step of the Final Approach branding with logos, videos, print advertisements and more. This is also the time that Kolpin and Final Approach are sold to Bushnell outdoors and it begins a new era for FA as they get into the decoy market and start building other items. There are a ton of changes at the brand and Lee is involved in a lot of them including having Jeff Foiles become the face of the FA Brand.

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Episode 34: History of FA: FA’s Brand Man – Duke Levan



Oregon, USA – In this episode we talk to Duke Levan who helped Ron with the original frame design and he built the first Eliminator frames for Ron on the samples and the first run of production blinds. Duke was a very close friend of Tim Grounds and they hunted and filmed with each other for years and created a special bond. You will hear some great stories about Tim and the crew and a lot of insight into the beginning of the FA brand and how the waterfowl industry grew after the creation on the layout blind.

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Episode 33: History of FA: Oregon Strong with Dave Smith of Dave Smith Decoys



Oregon, USA – We talk to Dave about the timing of Final Approach’s launch and how that helped push Dave and the DSD decoy line into a national brand. This all happens at a time when innovation in the waterfowl category is at an all-time high and other brands emerge and that makes the waterfowl category’s growth tremendous. We talk about our original FA Eliminator blinds and how incredible they were and how ours are still in working condition after 25 plus years. Lots of great stories and info in this podcast.

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Episode 32: History of FA: The First Pro Staffers & Tons of Tim Grounds Stories with Fred Zink



Oregon, USA – We talk to Fred Zink of Zink Calls and Avian-X on the early years with Ron Latschaw and Final Approach, and when he left FA to go to a new company called Avery Outdoors. They would end up being FA’s main competitor and this would turn into a retail war. This was the start of the boom of the waterfowl industry with all the icons and big names in the industry that would be in charge of a lot of major companies in the future. Fred also has more Tim Grounds stories than anyone in the industry and once you hear one Grounds story you think that is the funniest you have ever heard, until you hear the next one. LOL. This is a podcast you do not want to miss.

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Episode 31: History of FA: An Inside Look at Final Approach with Darren Lundy



Oregon, USA – We talk to Darren Lundy who is one of Ron’s closest friends as we look back at the start of the company. They traveled together and hunted together so get an inside look at the start of the company that really was created out of one hunters idea to hide better and be more effective at hunting waterfowl. We will talk about the next evolution with Kolpin, growing a national brand, dealing with shareholders and the corporate side of the business and what he saw Ron and the crew go through.

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Episode 30: History of FA: The Growth of the FA Brand with Ron Latschaw



Oregon, USA – We talk about the progression of the FA brand and how things changed after Ron sold the company to Kolpin Outdoors. He was designing more products and had help from a bigger company with marketing, research and all the assets of a big company. There were some tough times as well dealing with corporate America but those were all challenges Ron fought through. We talk about all the marketing of the Videos like Full Moon Fever that were cornerstones of the industry. Tim Grounds of Tim Grounds Calls, Bill Saunders of Bill Saunders Calls, Cory Hamrick and Marcus Flesher of the Original Hardcore decoys in Idaho and more. It was a great time in the industry and the start of things to come.

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Episode 29: History of FA: Ron Latschaw – The Inventor of the Layout Blind



Oregon, USA – We talk to Ron Latschaw the Father of the FIRST Layout Blind. He first created the Slider Blind that turned into the mass produced Eliminator Layout blind and this changed waterfowl hunting for years to come. We will talk about the original slider blind and why he created it and what he was thinking when he did. We also talk about all the other companies that were pushed forward in the waterfowl category with the emergence of FA. Learn about the start of a great company and how it changed the waterfowl world and the whole hunting category.

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