Pat and Nicole Reeve, the dynamic duo behind the acclaimed outdoor television series "Driven with Pat & Nicole." With an insatiable passion for hunting and a deep love for the great outdoors, Pat and Nicole have captured the hearts of viewers worldwide with their thrilling adventures and genuine camaraderie. From the dense forests of North America to the vast plains of Africa, they embark on epic journeys in pursuit of the ultimate hunting experiences.
As hosts of "Driven," Pat and Nicole bring a unique blend of expertise, authenticity, and infectious enthusiasm to every episode. Their unwavering commitment to ethical hunting practices and wildlife conservation is evident in their storytelling, as they not only showcase the thrill of the chase but also emphasize the importance of preserving natural habitats for future generations. Through their television show and their dedication to education and outreach, Pat and Nicole inspire audiences to connect with nature and embrace the adventure of the hunt.
With a wealth of experience and a genuine love for their craft, Pat and Nicole Reeve continue to push the boundaries of outdoor entertainment, sharing their passion for hunting and the outdoors with audiences around the globe. Join them on their exhilarating journey as they prove that with determination, respect for nature, and a little bit of luck, anything is possible in the wild world of "Driven."
Chris: Pat, you have been around the outdoor industry for a long time. You started as a cameraman, a hunting guide, doing camera work with Hunter Specialties and North American Whitetail.
Is it common for somebody in production or camera work to eventually start their own television show? We saw this with Michael Waddell, Lee and Tiffany, and Melissa Bachman. Here you are following the same mold or are they following your mold?
Pat: Right? Actually, I kind of helped Lee and Tiffany to get started back in the day. They are just acquaintances of mine and Lee, and I filmed when he was, so I've been doing it a long time. I don't know if you can see the gray in that camera or not, but it's been a great ride. God has blessed us and we get to do what we do every day. That is the biggest thing that we still enjoy what we do every day. Of course, it always offers its own set of challenges. But I got started just because it was a passion. This is 30 plus years ago. Outdoor television was not even present at that point. There were a few shows but they were kind of like Kurt Gowdy and the American Sportsman, I think it was called and a few other shows like the Eastman's. There was not a common outdoor-themed network.
The outdoor channel did not exist at that point. I entered into my producing career, producing VHS videos that were sold on a retail basis.
Back then we were carrying $85,000 beta cams around the woods with a maximum of 30-minute tapes and big giant brick batteries. It took a man just to carry that kind of equipment around in the mountains and up and down in the hills. It was just a different time.
There were not a lot of people who enjoyed hunting that were on the producing side of it. They kind of came out of broadcast or, news stations and they did the camera work while the host was a hunter. So, I came in backward on that end. I was a hunter who learned the production side of it and learned how to shoot video and such.
Luckily, was born with a natural eye for creativity, and built my name that way by being a good hunter. The cameraman, has to have it together from start to finish. When he first sees the animal all the way through the end scene. The hunter has to have it together during the shot.
That has always made me a better hunter by being a good cameraman. When we started our own show back in 2004 or 2005, I believe that we are on our 21st season this year. We are filming for our 21st season already. I can't believe it. Time has flown, but I wanted to name it something that best represented us.
That is why I called it Driven. I am just driven. My personality is driven to work harder to get a better angle, a better shot than others. That is what our show has always been about - the quality. Quality hunts, quality production.
Chris: Nicole, you were pretty seasoned as a hunter as well, before Driven. How did you get your start in hunting? Who inspired you?
Pat: That's why I was attracted to her, by the way.
Chris: I don't blame you. That is always a bonus.
Pat: She was a real hunter; I didn't have to train her.
Nicole: Growing up, I had two older brothers. My mom wasn't a hunter but she was super supportive in the fact that I wanted to go hunting. My dad just never left me at home. When he was going hunting, he would grab my brothers and he would grab me too. I remember being the only girl, the only female in hunting camps growing up. I was treated just the same. I was just another person in hunting camp sharing memories and I remember my dad, shooting a deer and he'd come back and get us kids and I was barely old enough to walk and he'd throw me on his shoulders and he'd help me to learn. He would let us blood trail the deer and stuff like that.
That is how I started getting my feet wet in the hunting and really getting that, love built for hunting and the outdoors. We had a deer camp for shotgun season. I grew up in Southern Illinois and it was something I look forward to all year long. It is a three-day hunt, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. So, my parents would let me take off school on Friday as a kid that's like everything, right? And you're going out.
Chris: That's a bonus
Nicole: Right. You're going out in the middle of nowhere, no electricity, no running water. We stayed in this little hunting shack. We were just sharing stories the other day about how we were born and raised.
I shot my first deer at six years old. The memories are what builds a foundation for what instills the love of the outdoors for us. We have five kids of our own now that we're able to pass that tradition on to. A couple of days ago, we were just in the turkey woods with our eight-and-a-half-year-old, and he shot a gobbler.
It was funny. We were going to church and Pat walked out to clean out the truck. And he's like, uh, change of plans, guys. I just had three turkeys gobbling from the driveway. Get into your camo. we're going hunting.
Just being able to pass on the tradition that both Pat and I were able to share with our parents in the outdoors, and now passing that on to our kids means everything to us.
Chris: So, growing up in deer camp, you could shit talk with the best of them,
Nicole: Right. I had two older brothers too So there's something to be said about that. The only girl growing up around a bunch of men,
Chris: What has been the biggest obstacle or challenge with either starting a show or keeping it exciting for over 20 years?
Pat: There is certainly a lot of challenges. The biggest challenge that we're presented with is the balance of work and being gone (hunting) away from your family.
That is of course, the biggest challenge we always face. I think anybody in a professional career faces the same thing, whether you're an athlete or a military person that's gone away from family.
Nicole: Balance yeah.
Pat: That is always the one thing that we have trouble dealing with the most. Now the kids are older, that's changed a whole lot and they can come with us. Nowadays there is homeschooling and a lot of other things that also have changed that dynamic. But there are other challenges that we face every day. The most recent challenge, I guess, Nicole can expound on this, but we are faced with just pivoting off of the old traditional way people consume media into a new form of digital. Most people today consume media on their cell phones. They do not watch TV like they did in the old days. Of course, nobody watches the VHS like we just discussed. That is the new challenge that we face.
Nicole: In network television, we film it in the fall, and then the following year it will air. It is still very exciting for us. It has brought on a whole new level of work. We are not only doing network television because our TV numbers are still really good, but we also know there's another demographic out there that Pat mentioned that consumes everything digitally.
It is exciting for us per se because now we don't have to sit on that footage and sit on our hunts for a full year. We are pretty much doing semi-live. As soon as we come back from a hunt, we are getting something put together and uploading it to our YouTube channel. This allows people to be in the now along with us.
I think that is exciting because it creates more of a buzz and it allows us to live in the now with our followers and other people who love the outdoors. Just as we do.
Pat: People can engage with you. You are more accessible and our audience can ask questions and we can communicate with them which gives more of a personal connection. Television was just kind of a one-way street.
Nicole: Right.
Chris: Now with all of the streaming services, there are so many choices out there. There is Carbon TV, MOTV, Waypoint TV. You have your pick of any service to watch streaming video 24 seven.
Nicole: Right. Pat and I were just discussing that it is important for us to be prevalent on all platforms. We are very prevalent on MOTV. MOTV has all of our past seasons. What I like about MOTV is that it is an on-demand service. It has all of our past seasons on there. If our audience would like to see our past seasons, all they have to do is go to MOTV and they can look us up. YouTube is more in the now and what's happening right now with our hunts and everyday life. It is nice to be able to offer both more options to our audience.
Pat: Outdoor America is another platform that we are on. That platform offers all of our long-form content. MOTV does as well. Now you can watch us anywhere, anytime, and that is our goal - to be everywhere. No matter what that demographic is, they can consume Driven at any point.
Nicole: Yep.
Chris: Aside from streaming services, how has technology changed the way you hunt?
Nicole: Well, it's funny, because can I remember going on these mountain hunts. Pat would have to carry these ginormous cameras up the mountain along with these heavy tripods.
Our guides would ask if he was going to carry that tripod up to the top of the mountain. And Pat would say – “If that is what it takes to get the shot. Yep. I sure am”. Luckily, the gear has evolved and has become more compact and lighter-weight which has made our jobs a lot easier.
Pat: I remember taking a little device, that had a little thread coming out of it. It was attached to an electronic clock. We would rig the string across a deer trail and it was called a trail timer. When something would come down that trail, it would pull on the thread and it would trip the digital timer and at the time, we thought it was revolutionary. This was the biggest advantage ever that we could imagine. We would not know it was a buck or doe. We just knew that something was coming. Flash forward and now we are using cell cams that give you up-to-the-minute pictures and video of what is traveling to your stand right to your cellphone. Stealthcam is one of our partners and they are building a camera that shoots 360 degrees. Incredible!
Nicole: Now we can check our trail camera while we are walking to our stand. It is amazing.
Pat: Some states are mandating, and regulating various types of technology for hunting and fishing. The truth is, it is here, like it or not. Some hunters shoot an old traditional bow and may have thought compounds not a fair advantage. Now with crossbows, compound bow hunters might not like that but everything changes, and technology is amazing now more than ever.
But you still have to go hunting. You still have to beat the animal. You still have to take the shot. The cameras and all the equipment do not do that for you. I just feel that technology is here to stay. Embrace it because as long as you are in the field doing it and being out there enjoying mother nature, involved in hunting I am all for it.
I don't care if you are a traditionalist you're a compound shooter or crossbow hunter, or you're a high fence hunter. Just so you're out there having fun in the great outdoors, that's all that matters.
Chris: Can you share your most memorable hunt?
Nicole: That is a tough one. We get asked that question a lot. We have traveled all around the world. We have seen some of the most beautiful things, but there's nothing like being at home or just being in the outdoors with the kids. That is our absolute favorite thing to be able to share those memories as a family.
Pat: This critter behind me, Nicole shot this big guy.
Nicole: My brown bear
Pat: A big brown bear with a bow. That footage you can watch on YouTube.
Nicole: I shot that at about 10 steps. That was a pretty big adrenaline rush.
Pat: Spot and stalk. The thing about that hunt is that there is no canned hunting in the Alaskan wilderness. You are hunting an animal that could kill you and you are trying to harvest this animal on its own turf with a bow and arrow.
That is one of the ultimate hunts in North America, in my opinion, if not the most difficult. It was a lot of fun to go on that hunt.
Chris: Hunting is unpredictable. How do you handle the potential dangers that may pop up at the last second?
Nicole: I think that you just do as much research as possible before going into the field. Whatever animal it is that you're going to hunt. You look at the terrain, and your set-up and try to formulate the safest choices based on the information that you might have going into the hunt but everything can change pretty quickly when you are in the field. The weather, the wind, you have to adapt on the fly.
Pat: There is always an element of risk. There is a lot more risk with travel than there is with an encounter of an animal.
There has only been one instance in my hunting career that I have ever felt threatened for my life by an animal. We had to shoot the animal in self-defense, it was a bear. It was a black bear, believe it or not. It was not a brown bear. When we go on a brown bear hunt, we will take an electric fence system and put it around our tent at night to give us just a little added sense of security.
Nicole: I'll never forget the very first sheep hunt that we went on in Alaska. You sleep with your rifle. We were in a tent. You sleep with your rifle between the two of you. I remember waking up and I could hear something outside of the tent. It sounded like a nose by my head on the other side of the tent. I was trying not to whisper and trying to elbow Pat to wake up. Luckily, whatever it was moved away and nothing ever happened. We are pretty sure that it was a bear.
We have slept in Northwest Territories up in the McKinsey mountains a lot in grizzly bear country. It is like Pat said, you just try to try to do as much as you can to keep yourself safe, but there's always a risk,
Pat: You take the proper precautions. You don't put your food around your tents, be smart. You put it off in a cash somewhere else that doesn't attract the bears. But, some of those travel situations can be kind of sketchy because you are in helicopters or you're in small bush planes. I guess that is all a part of the experience too, is just having that adventure, that makes some memories
Chris: Over 20 years, you have created a lot of memories, a lot of accomplishments. What are you most proud of?
Nicole: That's a hard one.
Pat: I think I'm most proud of just making the memories and building a fan base that can appreciate all the work and effort over the years and live vicariously by watching our show. I get a sense of reward from that accomplishment. I ran into a gentleman today that I met him 1 time at an event years before. I was in the grocery store parking lot today and he came over to me and said,
“Hey, you don't remember me, but I remember you. I met you many moons ago, 20-plus years ago at a promotion at a player’s dealership. I've watched your show over the years. I just wanted to say hello and keep up the good work.”
Those are the types of things that just make me feel good about what we do. There are people out there who still enjoy watching the kind of effort we put into the show. Hopefully motivates them to get out into the field more often.
Nicole: We are also very proud of the land management that we do. We are very passionate about that. We enjoy showing and teaching people the steps and effort that we do to improve our properties. Most people are not afforded the opportunities that we have. The fact that through our camera lens, people are able to live vicariously through our experiences is very gratifying to me. I also enjoy the fact that we can raise our five kids to be outdoorsmen and women, and to teach them to be stewards of the land. To be conservationists. To instill a strong foundation is first and foremost to us.
It is very important to be able to pass on our hunting traditions to the next generation. Our hunting traditions are constantly under attack. It is important to be able to pass that on and educate. I've always said there's a difference between non-hunters and antis. It is our responsibility as hunters and conservationists to educate those non-hunters as to why we do what we do, even if they decide to never hunt, at least they're educated on why we are hunting.
To harvest animals to feed our family, I think it comes full circle and it is up to us to be able to educate those that weren't raised in hunting families.
Pat: You know, one of the biggest accomplishments, now that I have a minute to think about that question is the fact that we have attended a lot of consumer shows over the years and you start feeling old, real fast when you meet a young man or woman that you might have taken a picture with years before. They might have been a baby and their parents are carrying them around and they're at the show for the first time and then you see them many years later and They're carrying their own babies around.
People will also tell me that they have watched our show and tell me how it influenced their wives to go hunting. I remember an old gentleman approached me and said, My wife never hunted until she started watching your episode and it inspired her to start hunting very late in life because she saw Nicole doing it, so she went out to try it and now she loves it just as much as he does and they hunt together and without with-out that as inspiration, that probably would never have happened and they would not have all of these memories that they experienced in the field.
Being able to make such an impression on all of those young people and even older people who have picked up hunting and are now traditional hunters because they watched our television show. That is probably one of the most, inspiring things that I can say that's the most rewarding for us.
Chris: The fact that you can inspire people without even realizing it has given you great satisfaction. Now, on the flip side of that question, over a 20-year career, what was your biggest heartbreak?
Pat: Well, I would have to say that all the big animals that have evaded me over the course of my career. I can still relive those moments like it was yesterday. Mainly because they got away. Sheep are my nemesis. They have gotten away from me and those hunts are not easily replaceable.
I still relive those moments a lot. There have been a lot of others but that is just a part of the business, right? I'm very devoted to the camera. So, if the camera does not have it in the frame, I do not take the shot. Some people would say, “The heck with the camera, I'm going to shoot it anyway.” Then they try to make up the story to go along with the animal. I am more devoted to bringing back the great footage and worrying about bringing back the animal.
Chris: Here is the question that everybody wants to know. Who shoots the biggest deer?
Pat: Happy wife. Happy life. I know you've heard that.
Chris: On the advice of counsel, I refuse to answer…….
Pat: Oh, we have that debate quite a bit.
Nicole: We were just having this debate. We're getting ready to go spring bear hunting and there is a bear that we both want to shoot and Pat said “Absolutely not I'm putting my foot down you're not shooting this bear.”
Pat: You would not even know about this bear if it wasn't for me because she wasn't even there last year and she pretends like she has a fair chance. I hunted the bear all last year and I didn't get him and he made it through the season and if he shows back up, I'm going to try to put the final chapter in the book for this bear and Nicole thinks that she should hunt that bear. I say that she has no absolute right to hunt that bear. You didn't put in the time and effort and swatted a thousand mosquitoes like I did last year. You're not hunting that bear.
Nicole: Husband and wife dispute happens a lot in hunting camps.
Pat: You have to let her shoot quite often because I realize that for ratings her beautiful face brings more to the screen than mine does. This face is made for radio
Chris: Yeah, you and me both
Pat: We kind of do rock, paper, scissors here and there. There was one time that I remember putting my foot down in the field during the heat of the moment when she went to grab her bow instead of the camera, and I told her, you put your bow down and grab the camera.
This is my turn. I'm shooting this one. And she tried to convince me that wasn't the animal I was after. At that point, I did not care if it wasn't the animal, I'm still shooting it anyway. This was a big stag in New Zealand and I shot it. So, she did not win out on that one.
Chris: Nicole, do you have a victory dance when you shoot the bigger animal?
Nicole: At the end of the day, it is all going for the same thing, right? It is what it is. I still travel a lot, but I don't go on as much. I don't go on everything anymore. You know, kids and all that, right?
The kids get older activities and things. And like I said, I just love being at home and sharing the outdoors here, right? Or taking them on as many adventures as we can. This summer, we have some cool trips coming up that we're going to take a couple of our kids on- so it'll be fun. Make those memories, right?
Chris: Absolutely. That's what it's all about. Every taxidermy behind you is a memory.
Nicole: Amen to that.
Pat: People come to our production office, they walk in and look around. And they are amazed. They will ask, where'd you shoot that? I tell them that every animal that they see has been harvested on camera. I can go back when I'm 80 or 90 years old, God willing - but I can just go back and relive all those memories again by just being able to watch it.
I believe that is valuable in itself. Of course, my kids, my grandkids, and my great-grandkids will also be able to experience what I've been able to experience at one point or another. We have watched our kids grow up on camera too. We recently watched some videos from five year ago. We were saying, look at how little they were and precious. And all of a sudden now, they're teenagers. It's crazy
Chris: funny how that happens
Nicole: Right. Too fast.
Pat: It is the circle of life.
Chris: Nicole, it's been widely rumored throughout the industry that you are an outstanding game cook.
Nicole: I like to cook.
Pat: look at me.
Nicole: I love to cook. There is no doubt about it. I love the fact that we can show more of a lifestyle platform. I'm going to be doing a lot more cooking stuff because I cook a ton. I have huge gardens in the summertime. I can a bunch of my own vegetables, make my own spaghetti sauces, all the good things, right?
That is what we live off of all year. Of course, all the wild game that we harvest, you open our freezers and that's what we eat. That's what we consume. That is what I have grown up with. We have great cooks in my family. I was blessed on both my mom's and my dad's sides with grandmas that loved to cook and they were great cooks. That taught me to cook as well as my mom. She's a phenomenal cook. So, it's kind of in the blood and the genes.
Pat: I told a story earlier about a guy that I met at the grocery store parking lot... I met two guys today at the grocery store. And this one guy walked up to me and said, are you a hunter?
I don't know how you could tell, but I had a fully camouflaged truck, I was standing loading my groceries and he said, “You know, I've never hunted. But I appreciate what you do. I might try hunting at some point because I know that the animals that you hunt and consume are much way healthier than what you can buy and process foods.”
I said, absolutely. That is what we live off of. He admitted that’s what intrigues him the most. The healthy benefit that you get from harvesting your meat and being able to process it and consume it. I told him that not everybody is a trophy hunter people just hunt for substance.
That is what everybody's ancestors did. Even the anti-hunters out there, their ancestry had a hunting background or they wouldn't survive.
Nicole: When it is coming down to the end of the season, we try to figure out how many weeks we have left and we still have doe tags. So, let's go fill them because we need to get it through the winter and get us through the following hunting season.
that's our inventory and that's what we do. I know that I mentioned this earlier but, YouTube has opened up a whole new venue for us because I cannot tell you how many people ask us why do you hunt. Why are you killing animals? You know, I have quite a few of those comments and it opens up the conversation. I welcome comments like that because it opens up the conversation and being able to educate people about why we live this lifestyle. Pat was just talking about the non-hunter that he met in the parking lot. It's opening up those conversations to other people to at least have them welcome the idea of hunting or the idea of consuming wild game.
Pat: We try to educate so they can appreciate what we do and not look at us like an ego-driven person who is just out there to hang a trophy on his wall. Being able to go from field to fork is very gratifying.
Nicole: I feel like that's showing respect to the animal. We are not only consuming the meat and then we're not only consuming the meat that we processed from the animal, but we're also displaying it. I feel like that's a sign of respect to the animal.
Chris: Do you have any plans on writing a cookbook?
Nicole: Maybe, I think over the years, my focus was just feeding my family, right? I've been very private in that regard. Just feeding my family. I have not had much of a focus on sharing my recipes.
But as the kids are getting older it has freed up a little bit more time in that regard. I spend a lot more time in the kitchen. So yeah, definitely on the docket.
Chris: I will be coming out with my own cookbook this year.
Pat: What is your favorite dish to cook?
Chris: Oh, wow. That is a tough question, but I would have to say that it is Thai Massaman Venison Curry.
Nicole: Ooh, that sounds good. I have never had it. I am more of a Paula Dean type of cook. I cook just a homestyle. Nothing fancy, but it will stick to your ribs.
Pat: That's a pioneer style.
Nicole: I'm like a Pioneer woman. Not the super fancy but like I said, I love to cook and the kids are always telling me that I should open a restaurant. My youngest always tells me “You’re the best.”
Chris: No. You don't want to open a restaurant.
Nicole: You would never see me. I'm never doing that.
Pat: you know what sounds good right now? I'm so hungry because we've already gone past lunch and I haven't had lunch. Morrell mushrooms sound great right now. I know everybody's finding them. But we haven't. We haven't found them yet in Minnesota because it's a little too cold here. But hopefully, in a couple of weeks, they'll start to pop. But I mean, a good batch of Morrell mushrooms right now, my wife makes amazing Morrell mushrooms.
Chris: Wow. All right. I'll need the recipe.
Nicole: We love what we do. We're very blessed that we are celebrating 20 seasons this year on the network. I think that's a pretty cool accomplishment. It's amazing to see.
Chris: That's a huge accomplishment.
Nicole: You know, it is amazing to see how things have changed. But everything's ebb and flow, right? That's life. We have learned to pivot and adapt to the changes. And I think that's important with any business.
Pat: The fact that we still enjoy it. I still get a rush. Even sitting behind the camera. The other day when Cashton, our 8-year-old shot that Turkey, it was coming in, I was just as nervous as he was. I was breathing hard and I just kept telling myself to stay calm.
Nicole: We decided to go no blind hunting this year. This is the first time that we are running and gunning.
Pat: Run and gun with an 8-year-old shooting a 410 shotgun. It does not get any more difficult than that. It is still fun and I enjoy the challenge, of course, that the camera presents getting it all captured on film.
I've been known to have the old nickname of, just one more time because I don't want to give up until I get that one great shot.
Nicole: But sometimes we have to say, we're done. Let's go.
Pat: Well, I can't live, I can't live my name down. Right.
Chris: I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us today.
Nicole: Absolutely.
Chris: I look forward to seeing you guys again soon. Where can we find you?
Nicole: Like I said, if anybody listening wants to check out our stuff, Driven Hunter YouTube channel, and we're still on the Outdoor Channel.
We are on Outdoor America, MOTV. So, check us out. We very much appreciate you having us on.
Pat: Thank you so much. It was a good time. We'll do it again.