Reel Guppy Adventures: Nurturing Nature, Inspiring Youth

Welcome to this episode of “Farm Talk,” where we explore the world of outdoor education with Kevin Brannon of The Reel Anglers Network. In this episode, Kevin shares the inspiring journey of how he turned a passion for fishing into the acclaimed Reel Guppy Outdoor Program. From teaching kids the art of fishing to fostering environmental stewardship, leadership, and mentorship, Kevin’s program goes beyond the basics, teaching people how to transform disposable income into meaningful outdoor experiences for those who may not have familial fishing traditions.

Discover the growth of the Reel Guppy Program, the innovative Dockside Learning Center, and the bilingual curriculum. Kevin’s dedication to environmental stewardship, recycling, and programs like Rebuild, inspired by his challenging upbringing, adds a unique and impactful dimension. Join us in celebrating Kevin, his amazing team, and the digital future of The Reel Anglers Network, with partnerships extending to Bass Pro Shop and Barnes & Noble. This episode is a testament to Kevin’s mission and vision, showcasing replicable elements that contribute to the future of outdoor education.

Watch the full episode on Paul’s YouTube Channel

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What you’ll learn during this episode:

0:00 Welcome to Farm Talk and introduction of Guest Kevin Brannon of Reel Anglers
0:23 All the “hats” Kevin wears
1:04 How it all started and how the kids got involved
2:06 Why the kids are called “Guppies”
2:56 The mission of the Reel Anglers Network and the Real Guppy Outdoor Program
4:49 Not everyone has the opportunity to be taught to fish by someone in their family
5:51 Transforming disposable income into fishing
8:01 The growth of the Reel Guppy Program and how Kevin went from wanting to be a teacher to where he is now
9:33 Once teachers  and schools sign up for the program, what does Kevin teach them?
9:59 The Reel Guppy Dockside Learning Center Multimedia Studio and how it came to be
11:49 The teaching goes beyond fishing into environmental stewardship, leadership, a mentor program, a ranger program.
13:39 More about the Guppy Ranger Program and family engagement
17:00 Classroom learning and how it differs from The Guppy Program, and how Kevin keeps 30+ kids engaged.
20:43 The curriculum includes workbooks and is even bilingual
21:34 A shoutout to Kevin’s amazing team that helps him with his vision
23:38 Environmental stewardship and recycling. The Rebuild Program and how this idea came from Kevin’s rough upbringing.
24:49 What is Mud Hole? And partnerships that help Kevin’s dream come to life
26:15 The “digital future” of The Reel Anglers Network and how Bass Pro Shop and Barnes and Noble fit in
28.38 What part of The Reel Anglers Network can be replicated?
29:44 What to know about Kevin and what the mission and vision is
32:02 A special thank you to our sponsor: Opus Escrow

Related Episodes:
From Christmas Trees to Pumpkin Dreams: The Prancer’s Farm Journey
Fresh Thai Coconuts & Artisan Products You Can Purchase at Farmer’s Markets with Mingle’s Coconuts
Grains of Wisdom: A conversation with Andrea Crawford of Roan Mills Bakery

Ways to learn more about Kevin Brannon and programs:
Community Kev – Reel Anglers, Reel Guppy Outdoors, Reel Radio (communitykevin.com)
REEL ANGLERS on YouTube

Contact Paul Ward:
805-479-5004
paul@homeandranchteam.com

Have ideas for future episodes? We’d love to answer your questions – leave a comment! For any home buying or home selling needs in the Ventura County area of California, please reach out to Paul@HomeAndRanchTeam.com or visit www.HomeAndRanchTeam.com

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A special THANK YOU to our sponsor, OPUS ESCROW! Farm Talk with Paul Ward would not be possible without the support of our sponsor Opus Escrow. Supporting our sponsor ensures Farm Talk can provide listeners with the best possible episodes.

Gerald Emerick (00:00):

Today’s episode is about an inspiring fisherman and his journey.

Paul Ward (00:05):

Hi friends, it’s Paul Ward here and welcome to Farm Talk. Today we’re down at the harbor in Oxnard, and our guest is Kevin Brannon with The Reel Angler Network. Kevin, welcome to the show.

Kevin Brannon (00:17):

Hey, man, thanks for coming on down to the harbor to meet with this man and gimme this opportunity. I really, really appreciate it.

Paul Ward (00:23):

Thank you. Absolutely. So, you wear many, many hats Reel Angler Network, the Real Guppy Fishing Program, Reel Radio and Reel Angler Fish Show.

Kevin Brannon (00:36):

It’s a lot, but it’s all into the same. They’re all symbiotic. So, Reel Anglers Fishing Show. I went back to Oxnard College to do a TV fishing show. I didn’t think California had enough representation in fishing shows that you see on cable tv. And I worked on both since I was 11, so I wanted like more of an educational field to my programming. And not to showcase that you needed to be in an exotic location or you needed the most expensive gear, things like that.

Paul Ward (01:01):

Florida Keys catching big sailfish.

Kevin Brannon (01:04):

Yeah. Or Cabo or something like that. But at the time when I was watching it growing up, I thought even Catalina was kind of far right. Wow. I like that Catalina, where I actually later in the Channel Islands. So, I wanted to show that it was more documentary style. California based, and I think I said educational. So, growing up, like I love PBS type of shows, like Reading Rainbow was my favorite. So, I kind of like even my first TV show, like, we’ll see you next time. We even stole LaVar Burtons, little catch line from Reading Rainbow. But that’s how I started. The Reel Angler Network was taking the TV show and starting at Oxnard College. And I got on Channel 10. Then what I was able to do was take my platform of fishing. When I would leave my house with my kids to go fishing, kids would say, “Hey, I wish somebody would take me fishing.” So, we started Reel Angler Kid fishing days, and we’d just kind of do it periodically. And then I was funding all this outta my own pocket as an exterminator.

Paul Ward (01:55):

This is with your kids and then other family’s kids?

Kevin Brannon (01:59):

Yeah. When we first started, it was like my kids, I would take ’em out. My kids were the first guppy to help. They were my free labor, let’s call it that way.

Paul Ward (02:06):

And you call your kids guppies ’cause they were helping you.

Kevin Brannon (02:11):

How we got the name Guppy was we would give them a camera for the kid fishing days and get the perspective from a seven and ten-year-old. We called it, “The Guppy Cam.” So, when we would cut to that camera, when we go to post-production, there’d be a little dot on the bottom that said Guppy Cam. And that was the one with the kids were filming. So, they’d be great questions. The kids asking other kids questions, watching ’em cut bait. So that’s how the term guppy came along. Then we went, so we started calling it the “Guppies;” the kids. And then when we went 5-0-1 C3 to try to get a little bit of help from it, because again, finding outta my own pocket, we just kept the name Guppy. So, we called it Reel Anglers. Reel Guppy tried to keep the “Reel” vibe kind of as a branding thing. But the word “Guppy” did come from the Guppy Camera that we’d give them to film. So that way we could cut that into a Reel Anglers episode and show it from their perspective.

Paul Ward (02:56):

And so, what is the mission of the Reel Anglers Network and the Reel Guppy Outdoor Program?

Kevin Brannon (03:02):

Our mission, we just actually changed our mission this year to be concise in one. And it’s basically, “To empower the generation to do, to be impactful in THEIR environment, not THE environment through the passion that they love.” I get to be an illustration on what I get to do with my passion teaching. I love fishing. I love where I live at, and that’s how I serve my community. So, whatever it is that somebody wants to do in life; As a career versus a job that I can be an illustration that you can be impactful in your environment following your dream and your passion. So that’s kind of the mission. If you look at like our mission statement, but the mission is to kind of just highlight California and outdoor activity and what we have in our backyard and go out and play and get wet.

Kevin Brannon (03:46):

Whether you are a die-hard fisherman or you like kicking over rocks at the creek and playing with the insects. Or you like to go to the islands and hike. So again, where we live at to highlight California and showcase what we have in our backyard was kind of the mission when I first started Reel Anglers Fishing Show. And the reason that is, fishing isn’t always about, you know a demographic, could be fishing is commonly known as like, a white man sport between 18 and 65. Right? John Smith. Right. It’s really not like that. We’re in California. There are different populations out here, and maybe some of ’em love fishing. Maybe women love fishing. And the whole experience of being outdoors, I wanted that as a mission, not just catching a trophy fish at some exotic location, but the adventure and the fun of the smells and the sun rises. So, I really wanted to capture that in my filmmaking, to make it cinematic. So that way, again, you could see the whole California Gold Coast scenery with the family, with friends, on your own. That’s kind of when I started. Like, that was what started when I turned the camera on to film episode one. That was the idea.

Paul Ward (04:49):

Interesting. Now, you and I were talking before we filmed, and you know, the stereotype and I grew up with that stereotype. Right. My grandfather was the fisherman, and he had the big boat. And when he died, it kind of all went away. Right. But if I didn’t have my grandfather, ’cause my dad was not in my life, but you would think that the dad would be the one that teaches sons or the daughter. Right. But not everybody has that opportunity.

Kevin Brannon (05:14):

So that’s like a tribal thing, right? You learn to hunt and gather. That’s something that’s in our intuition. We’re hunters and gatherers and you pass on that tradition. Since the caveman days, if we wanna go that far back. So, my story of why I started the Guppy program. I didn’t have my dad, he overdosed when I was like six years old. I didn’t have a dad to take me fishing. Some people have dads that had never been fishing. There’s different culture and different traditions. So, it’s not a one size fits all for everybody. And that’s kind of the intention of the program. But America itself, I think has changed the landscape of that. Again, single parents or different traditions, I won’t go too far in that way.

Kevin Brannon (05:51):

And not everybody has somebody to teach them. So again, if we could show; one of the things that I like to showcase when I started my show was for what you pay for a ball game or amusement park, you could buy a guide or a service; some sport fishing boats. That’s where I grew up at. Pay 60 bucks at the time and go on a boat. They provide the bait. You could rent a rod, they’ll show how to use everything. Hey, up put boat’s too much. Maybe you just go over to the lake, get somebody to teach you how to bass fish or something like that. Right. There is a way to spin your disposable income on recreational sport fishing at the level that you could handle. the stuff that we do with the guppies primarily is on the pier.

Kevin Brannon (06:28):

You don’t need to have fish licenses, it’s just the 101. So, that was kind of the basis in case somebody didn’t have somebody that taught them how to fish. There are people that will show you how, because fishing could be very intimidating to walk into a retail store and look at all that gear on the wall and not know what to do with it. And you want to, or maybe you’re a dad and your pride is in the way you say, “I don’t know how to tie a hook. I can’t take my kid fishing.” Or you might find some other type of recreation. So, by thinking of all that, working on sport boats since I was a kid is kinda how I formulated like how we do it a clinic style through television. The Reel Angler slogan was to, “Get more average Joes and James out fishing.”

Kevin Brannon (07:01):

And we did a series called, “Average James.” I had my friend, one of my best friends, and we start the Guppy program, James would come along, and it showed how he learned how to catch a basic white fish to finally getting to a yellow tail. And it kind of, these chronicle versions of him expanding. And that was kind of the mission, like getting more average Joes and James, and his name was James. So, it worked out. And we had that to show you don’t have to know how to throw a jig or you’re not to catch these big tuna. You could start here and work your way that direction. And then so, but the Guppy program, and this is probably all based because I worked on sport boats, helping people catch their fish for their first time. So, seeing how, you know, they would get scared trying to hook a bait or hold their rod and do all that to kind of break that barrier down and be like, don’t worry, lemme just kind of like guide you through this. So, all that research and all that, watching people transform on the boat, watching ’em so excited to catch their first fish, is kind of how I incorporated the brand of rolling a fishing show and how we teach that cinematically and then Reel Guppy Outdoors on how we serve families and kids from all different walks of life to experience what we have in our backyard. And

Paul Ward (08:01):

The Reel Guppy Program has grown. You started with your own children. You brought in some neighborhood kids, now you’re going in classrooms.

Kevin Brannon (08:10):

Yeah. But that was kind of the idea. To be a teacher. So again, going back to the PBS style. I already wanted to do things and make content and deliver that PBS style. So that vision has been there. It’s just a matter of able to get to the capacity that I can make that next step into education. You know, when I was a kid and they’d say, “What do you wanna do when you grow up?” I’d say, “I wanna be a teacher when I grow up.” But I had my own learning curves and the way I grew up and the continuation high school I went to and working on boats. Like I didn’t have academics. So, I thought, well that’s not gonna be, you know, I’m not gonna be a teacher.

Kevin Brannon (08:46):

And then I got into personal training. So, I started to develop a teaching style. How do I break all this information? Then I look at it like, well, you were teaching people on the boat, you are a teacher. This is your classroom. This is your material. The ocean is your classroom. Yeah. The ocean’s my classroom. And that’s where I get to teach from. So, getting into the schools now and watching it grow, and the reason I’m saying this to the viewer is that if you have a vision in your brain and what you wanna do, it’s gonna take those steps kinda like fishing. Right. How do you bait your hook? How to cast? And I do a lot of that when I go into schools and teach or teach people how to fish or do entrepreneurial leadership teaching here is, there is a process. So, for me, being in the schools right now, it’s been part of the vision. It just took a process to finally get to walk on a campus.

Paul Ward (09:33):

Teachers and schools that sign up for the program. What does that look like? What do you do? What do you teach the kids?

Kevin Brannon (09:39):

Communitykevin.com kind of gives you an idea. And what I mean by that is that it’s like we talked about it at our Millionaires. There’s a buffet. “What would you like? Do you want me to come to your class and do an assembly? Do you wanna just meet us at the pier? Do you wanna come to our learning center?” Because now education and teaching aren’t all in a public-school setting. We have had home schools that have come here. We’ve had groups like the scouts that show up here. So, and,

Paul Ward (09:59):

And exactly where are we?

Kevin Brannon (10:00):

This is the Reel Guppy Dockside Learning Center Multimedia Studio. Right here in the Oxnard. In the Channel Islands at the Fisherman’s Wharf. We got ourselves a little 900-foot space. And didn’t know what we were really gonna do. I mean, I ran this out of my house for the first 11 years. All the stuff was stuffed in a storage in my backyard. And I’d wake up Kevin Junior and I’d have his buddies stay the night so that I have my little workers on the weekend and get a couple of friends to come out and help. And that’s how it was. And then it was really like a, an “A-ha!” Moment. I was working at Channel Island Sport fishing. I quit exterminating and I was working, I was pinning the squeezing windows. And it was like a moment hit me like, don’t you want a dockside learning center?

Kevin Brannon (10:39):

And I stepped back from the window, it was like a movie for real? I’m looking in, peering in this window. And I said, “Hey, Bubba.” He’s guy I work with. “Hey, come check it out, man. What’s up with this part of the building right here, does it get utilized? Cause Channel Islands Sportfishing is this, you know, right here. But this one part of the building is just dark and nothing happening.” So, we drew up a proposal and I asked the landing, “Hey, could can I lease this little area?” And they said, “Well, some of this harbor’s falling apart. So that part was condemned. They gave it back to the county.” So, we drew this little blueprint of what it would look like if we had that building. We ended up getting a grant and I asked somebody to show me this property or, you know, any properties around here.

Kevin Brannon (11:18):

We looked at a really big one. We found this one. And here we are. So, we’re still learning some of the business aspect of it. But the vision and the idea has been there. And that’s one thing that I; my style of getting into it is sometimes I jump in and kind of figure it out as I go. We’ve had a lot of success again in 13 years that I feel like the risks that we take, that I’m willing to take to gamble on myself. And that’s a lot of stuff I teach when I’m into the schools. Like telling kids to follow their dreams and passions. To go in there and give it a try. There are some things you’re not gonna learn unless you get in there and give it a try.

Paul Ward (11:49):

And you’re not just teaching fishing, you’re teaching environmental stewardship. Leadership. You’ve got a mentoring program. You’ve got a ranger program.

Kevin Brannon (11:59):

The Guppy Ranger Program. So that’s been in my brain since…It’s funny because Marshall that works here has been with me. Me and Marshall. We would be in parking lots. Just us. We didn’t even have a banner yet. We had like, I don’t even think we had handouts yet. We were at the, I think it was Mothers Against Drunk Driving, invited us to the Hueneme Library. And we’re just out there and we had like a couple fishing poles and made some homemade targets and we’re just, you know, just in the parking lot. ’cause the chief of police asked us to join them, you know? To where we’re going now. But the idea is when we used to meet at the local pizza parlor and just a couple friends, “Hey, they got this nonprofit…” Because that was when it was more of a little league or PTA nonprofit versus a whole business right now.

Kevin Brannon (12:36):

And that was in my brain, it’s Guppy Ranger Program. I have a video of taking my kids hiking in Newbury Park 10 years ago. And it says, “The Guppy Rangers are hiking.” So, this idea, and, and in that video, Kevin Junior is talking about environmental stewardship and Jasmine’s talking about pack out what you pack in. But I kind of got these ideas again for Reading Rainbow, man. When I’d watch little segments that he would do and he would be hiking like in Arizona and then he would go out there and talk about, “Hey, everything we bring in, we bring out and microorganisms and these different things that live in Florida.” And just kind of taking his stuff and piecing it together to my own. But that idea of what a Guppy Ranger program would look like. And then going back to the pizza parlor thing and saying, one day we’re gonna do this.” To actually, again, the capacity to be able to pull it off here. ‘Cause We have a facility; we have partnerships that we can utilize for the Guppy Ranger program for this eight week course. We have Harbor Patrol pull up here on a boat, give a full demonstration. Tell them about occupational pathways on the water. So, kind of orchestrate all that to this eight week course. It’s really taken 10 years, even though it was in my brain to develop. And then the partnerships to make sure that this eight week course.

Paul Ward (13:39):

So, this would be for kids who wanna kind of take it to the next level. Right. They do the Guppies, and they learn how to fish and then it’s like they wanna know more.

Kevin Brannon (13:46):

So, this is our first series. And we wanted to do about seven years old to fifteen. Okay. But it’s a family engagement program. Everything that we do is family engagement. Those kids won’t come back to fish again at that derby until the parent brings them again the next year. So, by having a family engagement aspect of it, they’re more likely to start that tradition on their own. They might go to Walmart or somewhere and get a little $40 setup and then start doing it on their own. So, I kind of took that idea of the family engagement part with the Guppy Ranger program. So, they don’t drop ’em off. Anything that we do is not a drop off program. So, seven to fifteen, parents gotta be here. Be part of it, you’re, you have to make a commitment to the eight weeks.

Kevin Brannon (14:21):

You can miss about two of the eight weeks. You know, you’ll get a little badge when you’re done a little shield. ’cause You can’t go in a battle of life without, you shall have a shield. So, there’s metaphors that are tied into this. So, you have to be a certain age. So that way you have to, if you’re a ranger, I was listening to this David Goggins book, I listen to about six times when you’re a ranger versus, you know, a regular somebody in the service. You have different assignments that you have to do. So, for this program, I mean, give it to them on the day we introduce it to ’em, you know, you have to follow. There are these things that are built into it. And can you handle that for eight weeks? Because we have other days that we do our fourth Sunday we do for free.

Kevin Brannon (14:56):

So, we do a kid fishing day every fourth Sunday for free on the Port Hueneme pier. We supply all the gear. Maybe that’s where you wanna hang out at. But if you are interested in learning more about what’s in our backyard and rangers and jobs. Like I can’t be in an office job. I need to be outside. So, in school, I was a fidgeter and moving around. So, I know that there’s other kids that maybe an outdoor job or career might be where they’re gonna thrive at. So, I bring all this in to when I think about how we do this program. Myself as that kid, when you hear my story how was I successful? What kind of mentorships did I need? What kind of development did I need? So that’s wrapped up into this.

Kevin Brannon (15:30):

So, a little bit older kids, so that way they’re catching onto it and knowing that there are some assignments that they have to do. And the parents had to be willing to participate for the eight weeks. So, there is kind of like a criteria and outline and a goal. But with the Guppy Ranger Program, stewardship, because again, that meets that mission that we talked about. We’re empowering or we’re developing impactful leaders. So, wherever they go, let’s say a kid says, “Hey, I wanna go out and be a marine biologist at a national park.” Well, he has recreational fishing knowledge so that they’re gonna take with them where they go. They’re advocating for recreational sport fishing because all else fails. I represent the recreational sport fishing. That’s what I’m in. I’ve worked on boats since I was a kid.

Kevin Brannon (16:09):

I go to the summits. My business is fishing. California is one of those states where they move around a lot of legislation and move things around in restrictions like fishing seasons. So, I’m always gonna advocate for recreational sport fishing as well. And that’s where we teach ’em. Do you get to take the fish home? Absolutely. Remember that hunter gatherer thing we talked about? Yeah. Well, there is a size limit. There is a fishing season. There are these things that we can do to make sure that we have a sustainable fishery in the Channel Islands. So, that’s based in there too. But then there are these other components to it. But it’s all about like development and showcasing what they, you know, what they can get. And then a kid, we already had two kids already that work on sport boats that came through the program. And we call ’em Guppy Rangers, but they didn’t have the program yet. But again, these are like piloting what the vision was at a pace where we were at to show, hey, look, this does work.

Paul Ward (17:00):

And then when you go in the classrooms, you’re teaching on a larger scale. Right? The rangers is for the hardcore kid who wants to really get engaged and is passionate about fishing and about the islands and about stewardship. But when you go in the classroom and now you’re in front of 30 kids. How do you keep them engaged? And of course, they’re not learning about this other than you. Right. That’s not part of the normal teacher education curriculum. This is a special opportunity that you’re providing them.

Kevin Brannon (17:27):

So, I have this gift, honestly. That’s why I know what I’m supposed to be doing. I could communicate with kids, man. Like I could go in there and get their attention. This guy that walks in there looking like the rock and kind of buff and has a YouTube channel. And that’s what the kids are looking at. Like, you grab their attention quickly. When I was coaching my son’s baseball team and I was doing scouts, I was also doing R and D that I didn’t realize at the time; What are they engaged with? Like, what’s spectating, what’s engaging, what’s boring? Why are these kids like, what do they like and what don’t they like? So, when we do our kid fishing day, let’s say on the pier. We take the kids from the school to the pier; we bring crab traps.

Kevin Brannon (18:01):

So, they get a chance to pull the crabs up and think about the fun stuff that you did. I think that’s one of the things I like. I don’t never really think I grew up, so I remember what fun for me was playing in the creek. But you, that kid thinks it’s fun too, right? So, to say, “Hey, just sit here and hold the fish and pull and wait for the fish to bite while my grandpa drinks a beer and eat a sandwich.” You’re gonna bore ’em. Right? So how do you keep them playing with stuff? How do you find rocks and shells and play and discover and adventure and problem solve at the same time? With the capacity that they can handle responsibility. And I think one of the things that helps me with that is I give kids that responsibility. You know, like, I count on you to get this done.

Kevin Brannon (18:33):

Can you handle it? Yes. Kevin, I can. I’m a sponge. I’m gonna soak up whatever you teach me and gimme me to do. Thank you. How about you? I’m not like telling them, I’m not directing them. I let them explore and get hands on. Plus, I’m loud, I’m colorful. I mean, I have, you know, I do have a personality, but coming in and setting the tone and saying, this is what we’re gonna do when I do my teaching in a classroom, I don’t lecture. I’m here to engage in conversation. What’s your story? How many of you have been fishing? You get your crowd. And the reason that I think I, again, because I continue to dive into my craft. I talk really fast. So, they’d probably get mad at me for saying that Toastmaster, right?

Kevin Brannon (19:11):

Hey, I’m gonna be a speaker. What do, what do I do? How do I invest myself? How do I develop my craft? So, I go back into become a student. So that way when I get in front of my crowd; I can’t stand being in a crowd where it’s an hour and you’re like, “Oh my God, how long is this gonna take?” So, the things that I’ve experienced, again, could be my learning style of being the fidgeter. Like, you’re gonna put me to sleep. So, that’s how I encapsulate how I teach. Let the kid ask a question, let you talk, ask the parent. I think a part of it is just letting them engage versus you just sitting there and talking to ’em. Sometimes I think in school, teachers lecture on and on, like, “When’s she gonna stop?”

Kevin Brannon (19:43):

Well, Kevin comes in again, my style. Right? Well, so what are we doing now? And maybe not all schools can do that. They got a curriculum they gotta follow. So, I get to come in and break it up. But I think that’s how I am successful in a class of 30 and a class of 10 and a class of 50. ‘Cause I’ve done it all. I’ve been out Simi Valley working with full summer camps. And of course, you’re not gonna get ’em all. I was that kid that you had to yell at. So again, knowing that part, <laugh>, I’m empathetic to the kid that needs, those are my favorite. You know, you always have these great gifted kids that always get upped what? The kid is harder to get to. Like me. Right. You put, I’ve been in those shoes, you know?

Kevin Brannon (20:14):

I think that’s why I gravitate. ’cause the schools say, “Hey, your story is special. You do this.” I think education and the paradigm shift of how we get through to people have also shifted. It’s not a diagnosis. It’s not medication, it ain’t Ritalin. He’s six. He climbs a tree. He’s supposed to, then you get mad at him because he is in there playing video games. Do you want him climbing a tree? Or you want ’em in there with a video game? Which one are you gonna do? Kevin’s like, “Hey, which one do you like? Do you like climbing trees or you like, are you an IT nerd? Hey, do what you love.”

Paul Ward (20:43):

And you’ve created a pretty big, I would say, curriculum for the program. So, you’ve got workbooks and you, it’s bilingual and it’s, I mean, there’s a lot going on in terms of what you’ve distributed to the classrooms.

Kevin Brannon (20:54):

Yes, sir. And I think that’s, again, because I pour myself into it. I know many non-profits. So, we have the for-profit side, right. The vision of Reel Angler Fishing Show and Get Average Joe and James to fish. And then you have the Reel Guppy Outdoor side. I like storytelling, you know, and teaching. So, things that I liked, but without getting off course on that thought, is that I remember I loved Highlights for children that my grandma got me. I remember Mad Libs that we did in school that I loved. So, I incorporate those things into the way that I created our workbooks. So, it’s educational. There’s a little bit of game. And again, networking and collaborative efforts is putting my guard down to tell the creator, “Hey, here’s my vision and my idea. Can you help me construct this thing?”

Kevin Brannon (21:34):

And then that letting them come in to help me so that I don’t say I’m doing it all. I know that if I need this resource, I know where to find that. And that’s kinda what we show through the Guppy Ranger Program. So, these things that have helped me be successful to get to the books and open this facility, I just kind of tie back into my teaching and through the Guppy Ranger or through a school. And I think that’s another reason why the school, even though we have the fishing, if you read the testimonials on the wall and the reports that we get, it’s way more than fishing, man. They say Kevin, whatever, where Kevin’s and his team. And that’s another thing. Shout out real quick, looking at the camera. I have an amazing team, Marshall, the guys, I couldn’t ask for five better guys.

Kevin Brannon (22:11):

I say, “Hey, guess what we’re gonna do schools every Wednesday?” And they’re like, “Oh, luckily we’re retired.” And that’s where God gave me the team I needed when it was time for this. If I would’ve tried to do this five years ago when I was an exterminator. I did not have the team. Sure. I might’ve had enough fishing poles to do it, but not the tremendous resource and support that I have. And each of our volunteers, you know, this is different from the book, they get a kick out of it. Some about watching them teach and watching them. Like you gotta see it maybe. But the way our team works on the pier, and we feed off of each other and making sure, and that’s again, testimonial that you could see all over our Facebook, is that we have a culture of servant.

Kevin Brannon (22:47):

I think it’s ’cause we serve first. And we have that culture of all of our guys, no matter where you’re at; who’s rod snapped. But now that we do play a game on the pier when we’re fishing, I’m Team Kev. You have Team Vick? No Fish Vic. You have Team Marshall.

Paul Ward (23:01):

No Fish Vic.

Kevin Brannon (23:01):

Yeah. No Fish. Vic. Yeah. <Laugh>. That’s his nickname. ’cause He can’t fish. He does all right. But that’s just his name. Even the kids ask, “Where’s No Fish Vic?” So, we even like, have characters in our organization that are volunteers, I mean that the kids and participants look forward to seeing at our kid fishing days, you know, “Where’s No Fish Vic? He knows how to pull the crab net. He loves to pull it.” And it’s just, I think we all just feed off of each other’s energy. But knowing that we’re here to serve and the way that we fish, we all know what we love outta fishing. And it’s not the expensive gear. It’s not all that. It’s just something we call it “Vitamin Sea.” About being on the water, that therapy and we just wanna extend that, you know?

Paul Ward (23:38):

That’s awesome. And in terms of the environmental stewardship and recycling, I mean, you’re teaching that too. You might take an old rod and teach the kids how to make it new again?

Kevin Brannon (23:47):

So, the Rebuild program, again, that’s some of mine. You know, it won’t go into my whole story. Now if you wanna share it somehow, you know, I come up for a broken home and single mom and, you know, all those stories that, you know, you hear a lot of those types of stories. So, I used to put a lot of, again, that’s why I’m where I’m at as far as development, because I fed myself enough poison growing up that I had to unwire that had to rewire my brain into thinking how useful, like, can I get back from a broken home, poor, homeless? We live at shelters. Poor Kev, right? Versus well, if I get developed again, this is that development thing, I could still be useful. So the Rod Building Program, the Rebuild program has that where you take a rod that has a couple of broken tips, you fix it, you put your own uniqueness in it.

Kevin Brannon (24:29):

What colors do you want to put? You’re a Dodger fan, one kid put Laker colors in it. So, it’s your own unique identity. And then you can go be purposeful again on the pier and still be of use. So, I’m gonna even tie in some of my story into this development project and boom. And then, so networking. Let’s jump into that. So the stuff that we got from Mud Hole, when I go to the big fishing summits.

Paul Ward (24:49):

And Mud Hole is what?

Kevin Brannon (24:50):

Mud hole. They give us the gear, sorry I am pointing like you could, like the viewer can see it, sorry. Mud Hole. They all the rod building equipment that we need. No the little yarn and the spinners and stuff you put on the tables, they give us about a 50% discount on the gear that we have. And that’s from taking the things we talk about, networking across to these summits and these expos like iCast.

Kevin Brannon (25:10):

Explaining them to the brand that we have, and then them falling in love with what we’re doing and servicing and getting more new anglers out. And the concepts that we’re taking, again, just fishing. And expanding. ’cause I’m telling you man, if you talk to people about fish; people that fish and go outdoors or something inside of us that just really; Again, it is this the hunter gatherer instinct that we have, but something that you remember those memories. That’s why our first book is called “Catch a Memory” and “Not Catch a Monster,” because there’s memories and somebody; that the smell of the creek or playing in it. When we start telling ’em what we do as a brand and as a nonprofit, my story and the filming captures all this, “Oh man, let’s partner.” You know, we’ve had really successful partnerships on that.

Kevin Brannon (25:47):

Because again, it’s not always about that money, it’s how do we, how do we also, again, when I said I’m part of the recreational fishing community, first, how do we continue to keep our industry afloat? You know, how do we keep on expanding to the next generation? So, that’s why I call it Community Kev. ’cause I’m either in the fishing community, I’m in our community, I’m in the networking community, I’m on the ocean. I work with NOOA and the fisheries management community. . Because all of these things circulate around this one little thing of recreational fishing.

Paul Ward (26:15):

So, speaking of the future, what, what, what is the future for Reel Anglers Network and the Guppy Program?

Kevin Brannon (26:21):

The future is, it’s funny, I’m like the modern day Teddy Ruxpin. I say that, you know, because our books that we have now that things are digital, we put our videos into the book so the kids can watch my read our book or go through it and then watch the YouTube video. So, I think right now, the future of it is to continue to like, to start touring more. I’m a, I just got with Bass Pro Shop last year, Barnes and Noble. Taking these books and the educational piece of it but taking me along. People really want to hear my story. They like the different aspects that we bring to it. So, I think the future of what we’re doing. They’re gonna possibly take this area and develop it. If we get a studio in here, we wanna have like an in-house studio.

Kevin Brannon (27:03):

Like you have your cameras set up so that we could film. We already have our podcast stuff in there. So how do we take this new digital era that we’re in and then combine it together. And we’re doing it together, like I said, through the books and some of the stuff we do now, the pandemic and going through Zoom and digital really was a game changer for us. And if we didn’t have this concept or proof of concept or development where we’re at, we’d be scrambling. But since we kind of kept pace and kept moving into it, we can use these tools now to expand. And again, it’s not always the fishing. It is, you know, right now, I think America, and I know this is a long answer, but the way that we are shifting culturally and stuff, for us to be in this space for education.

Kevin Brannon (27:41):

Learning for people to go back to, you know, this is America, the land of opportunity and dreams. I think people quit dreaming for a while and they went to work. Where we’re back at a place now. Me and you are in a networking group where entrepreneurship is on the rise again, living the American dream, taking care of your family, spending time with their family after the pandemic. So, we’re in an era where we could take this with all we built from all those angles. Take it on the road, man. And plus out of our new studio, maybe some touch tanks in here. So, it’s more of an educational center. So, this is what I tell people. This right here is like grandma’s demos. You ever see rappers and they’re in their grandma’s basement making demos and passing ’em out on a little cassette.

Kevin Brannon (28:17):

So that way one day maybe some big producer will hear them. And then they come in and say, “Hey we love what you’re doing. This is raw talent. Why don’t we make you a deal?” But we’re teaching ownership. So even these are our demos when we come to the table to negotiate, we already got a brand where we can redevelop the game. Or you don’t have to own, I don’t have to sign to anybody. We already created enough that we can collaborate.

Paul Ward (28:38):

So, somebody could replicate what you’re doing in a way? And they have to have personality.

Kevin Brannon (28:43):

Yeah. I don’t know. Maybe this is what I tell people to replicate. What do you love doing with your passion? Replicate that. Don’t replicate Kevin. You know, this is what I do.

Kevin Brannon (28:51):

What would you do if you were a baker? replicate that. I wanna be a great baker and I wanna serve and do that. That’s what I teach. Not so much what we do in today’s society where you don’t wanna expose yourself to too much of a liability. You don’t have to be super gigantic and huge. You could do it at a scale that you feel like you’re making impact without duplicating, duplicating and duplicating. And that’s everybody’s individual. For myself, I like, you know, if I could just be, I call myself “The California bear,” and I got these little bears all over. If I could just be regional in California and that’s just kind of my territory, I’m fine with that. You don’t have to replicate. I could come to you, I can come do video to you, you know, unless Bass Pro Shop wants to send me to all their little Bass Pro Shops or Barnes and Nobles to do little book signings and stuff. I’m up for that. But about replicating what I do, I think you stay true to yourself. And that’s my advice. You know, I wouldn’t try to get replicated.

Paul Ward (29:44):

Good advice. What do you want folks to know about Kevin and what the mission is and the vision?

Kevin Brannon (29:49):

I would say something I used to, you know, I hear on some of the guys that I listened to and speakers is, if I can do it, you can do it. Give it a try. That’s I think, the best thing, you know, that you could do. Me and this guy were talking at the gym the other day. We were talking about getting it out of the mud. So that’s like a little term, more urban meaning that you got it or outta the gutter, meaning that you did it yourself. Nothing was handed to you. You had to go get it yourself. And again, America, man, that’s where people come from. All I love being an American. You know, take that from Kev because you do have opportunity here. No matter what generation you came from, no matter what you did. Generational curses, first time generation. No matter what your ethnicity is that you can do it.

Kevin Brannon (30:28):

And if you have a chance to encourage other people, if you’re getting something from it, from Kevin, do it. You know, if your child or yourself or somebody you know has a vision and idea, I tell kids like this, man. Go start a lemonade stand this weekend. See what it feels like to start. Have your own money in your pocket. You get to dress the way you wanna dress, you get to work your own hours and see what that feels like to own a little something, you know? I don’t care. Go collect cans for a day. Jump in the trash. I did it. Get in there and get grimy, get dirty. And see what that feels like when you put some money in your own pocket. And then utilize that to start your wheels in your brain thinking of what you can do on your own.

Kevin Brannon (31:03):

And I think a bunch of people start to, that’s what helped me, again, coming from my story of looking at myself less than having an inferiority complex that was off the hook, having a chip on my shoulder, using all those crutches and excuses versus taking responsibility and ownership and start asking for help. “Hey, man, I got a problem with this.” Just like somebody on the boat. “Hey, I can’t tie this hook. I can’t bait this hook. I can’t… This actually won’t stop moving.” I’m trying to, now again, that’s just a small metaphor. But if you just look at things from that small of a detail and go from there, that’s what helped me get to where we’re at. I had a mentor call me right now. And I remember I was so raw. He told me, “Shh, be quiet” In a meeting. And I was like, man, have you ever told me to be quiet again. Because I was so hard and mad and so raw. So, if that’s something that you could take from me, no matter where you come from, how hard you might be or stubborn, let go a little bit, man. Get a little bit of help. And if you have a vision or a dream or something that you want to do, start planting seeds. Man.

Paul Ward (31:57):

Awesome advice, man.

Kevin Brannon (31:59):

How’s that, Kevin? Thank you. Yeah, now my pleasure. Thank you.

Paul Ward (32:02):

Hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Farm Talk and we of course, wanna thank our sponsor, Opus Escrow. And be sure to tune in next time.