Who is Steven Rinella? A closer look at the American outdoorsman
Who is the star of Sky HISTORY series 'Hunting History With Steven Rinella', and where else have you seen him? Here’s a quick intro to the ‘celebrity hunter’.
Image: Hunting History With Steven Rinella
The treacherous American wilderness has claimed many victims over the years, decades, even centuries. Exactly how, though, is less obvious. Who better to investigate these mysteries of Mother Nature than globally renowned American outdoorsman Steven Rinella?
On Sky HISTORY series Hunting History With Steven Rinella, the ‘celebrity hunter’ attempts to unravel conundrums of the past that have long perplexed historians.
Why have so many people disappeared in the ‘Alaska Triangle’? Why did 17th-century sailing vessel Le Griffon not finish its maiden voyage across the Great Lakes? What actually happened to the ‘Lost Colony’ of Roanoke?
These are just some of the puzzles Steven ponders in the series. Here’s why he’s more than qualified for the job…
Steven Rinella, the famous MeatEater
Rinella is the face of the 'MeatEater' brand. He has hosted the weekly half-hour TV programme MeatEater since it began airing in 2012. The show follows Rinella as he hunts and fishes in various locales across the United States and further afield.
However, the MeatEater brand has extended far beyond the eponymous show. In 2018, Rinella established MeatEater as a company and published The MeatEater Fish and Game Cookbook. It was just the first of many MeatEater-branded books centered around such subjects as cookery, survival skills and American history.
The MeatEater name has also been bestowed upon The MeatEater Podcast. Today, it is among the top-rated outdoor-themed podcasts, with Rinella inviting guests to chat with him about various timely conservation subjects.
Though Rinella continues to host many episodes of the podcast, other outdoor enthusiasts — like Clay Newcomb and Spencer Neuharth — have also fulfilled hosting duties. It’s a reflection of how the MeatEater team has grown over time, showing that the brand is now about much more than just one man.
What is Steven Rinsella’s core philosophy?
Key to Rinella’s philosophy is that, contrary to popular belief, hunting and conservation do not have to be seen as competing pursuits. In fact, hunters have an interest in ensuring that their chosen prey species are protected through conservation schemes. These, in turn, have been largely funded by purchases of hunting licenses as well as taxes on hunting equipment like guns and ammunition.
At the same time, Rinella has insisted he is not interested in trying to convert non-hunters. Instead, he has simply strived to produce content interesting and informative to people who share his passion for the natural world. This approach has earned the MeatEater brand legions of fans — including (ironically, given the brand name) vegetarians!
From content to commerce
Steven Rinella was born on 13th February 1974 in Twin Lake, Michigan. He was raised as part of a brood taught to hunt and fish by their father. Steven Rinella’s childhood inspired his 2022 book Outdoor Kids in an Inside World, which shows today’s parents how to help their kids connect with nature.
Indeed, writing is yet another of Rinella’s specialist skills. Only a few years after studying for a master’s degree in creative nonfiction writing at the University of Montana, Rinella published his first book. This was The Scavenger’s Guide to Haute Cuisine — essentially combining a memoir, cookbook and travelogue — in 2006.
Today, the MeatEater website is a comprehensive library of content — including articles, videos and recipes — relevant to hunters and anglers. Nonetheless, Rinella is far from just a ‘content creator’ or ‘influencer’.
Over the years, MeatEater has also increasingly sold hunting apparel from various companies to have caught Rinella’s notice. These commerce brands include First Lite, FHF Gear and Phelps Game Calls.
Steven Rinella teams up with historians for a new mission
Steven Rinella’s keen interest in history has been evident for some time. Another of his books, American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon, looks at how the buffalo has shaped US national identity.
In an interview the year after the book’s publication, Rinella enthused about what he’d do with a time machine: 'I’d go back once to the Pleistocene Era. See some woolly mammoths and stuff.' Then, he’d 'go with Daniel Boone to see the first time he visited the Cumberland Gap and went down into what is now Kentucky.'
So, Steven Rinella certainly has the right credentials to help historians and archeologists have another go at solving long-unsolved mysteries. Many of the outdoorsman’s long-established fans will doubtless be excited about seeing his dynamic presenting style in action again in Hunting History With Steven Rinella.
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