'New face of hunting' Eva Shockey to headline Journal Sentinel Sports Show

Eva Shockey, an outdoorswoman, author and social media personality who rose to prominence as co-host of a hunting show on cable television, will appear at the 2023 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show.

Shockey, 35, was born and raised on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.

From 2009 to 2020 she co-hosted the Outdoor Channel’s "Jim Shockey's Hunting Adventures" with her father, big game hunter Jim Shockey. 

In 2014, she graced the cover of Field & Stream magazine, only the second woman to appear solo (the first was Queen Elizabeth II in 1976), and she’s appeared on ABC’s Nightline and the Fox Business Network as the “new face of hunting.”

Shockey is married to former NHL player Tim Brent. They have two children, ages 6 and 3, and lives in North Carolina.

While no longer traveling to film the hunting show, she now works to promote her lifestyle brand, Eva & Co Marketplace, and with her husband is focused on connecting their children to the outdoors.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Shockey said she would do about 25 sports shows a year. But the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show will be the first one she's appeared at in several years.

Shockey is scheduled to make two appearances at the Sports Show, which runs March 9-12 at the Wisconsin State Fair Exposition Center in West Allis.

Here are highlights from a telephone interview Monday.

Many people now recognize you from cable television or social media but may not know about your background. What was your upbringing like?

My dad is Jim Shockey, who most people know as a hunter. When my parents met my mom, Louise, was a vegetarian, ballerina and actress. Probably the most polar opposite on paper is the one he married. I grew up in this world where I had this rugged father and a very classy, feminine mom and I sort of walked the middle line.

I was a competitive dancer and also loved the outdoor world. We lived on Vancouver Island with lots of wild space around.

It was fun to grow up with such different parents but who had the same goals of raising kids to love the outdoors and teaching us where our food came from. We had a big garden and we very much lived a field to table lifestyle before that was a trendy thing to do. All the meat we ate when I was growing up was wild game or fresh caught fish from my dad and the vegetables were gardened by my parents.

It was a really wonderful, healthy lifestyle which is how my husband and I try to raise our kids, too.

Your career has branched into several areas but arguably most people know you as co-host of the hunting show. Have you always hunted?

I didn't start hunting until I was 20 or 21. My dad had tried to get me to hunt my whole life but because my mom didn't hunt and I didn't know any female hunters I always thought it was for boys. It took me a while to just get the confidence and to realize that just because I didn't know any females who hunted didn't mean I couldn't do it. From the first time I hunted I loved it.

What was the switch that got you started?

I went to Australia for university to get a marketing degree. It was a life-changing experience in many ways, including when I went to the grocery store and for the first time in my life I had to buy meat.

I remember talking to my dad by phone and I told him it didn't feel right to me because I had grown up eating only wild game. Now he wasn't there to fill my freezer for me.

I told him I wanted to learn how to hunt because if I'm not going to live near home I want to be able to fill my own freezer. My dad's jaw about hit the floor. He had spent years trying to get me to hunt and he jokes that after he stopped asking that's when I decided to try it. It all happened really quickly from there.

He was going to Africa for his show and we made plans for me to join him. I had to go get my hunter safety course and get practiced up with firearms and everything to do with hunting so I had to learn everything really fast. It was a unique start to a hunting career because it was in Africa and it was filmed for "Jim Shockey's Hunting Adventures." So my first experience was watched by about a million households.

What did you hunt?

The first animal I ever hunted was a warthog. I told my dad I wasn't 100% sure I'd be able to shoot so I didn't want to try to hunt a large animal. I was using a muzzleloader and when I shot there was a big cloud of smoke and I started crying. My dad thought I was crying because I was upset and sad. But I was actually crying because as anyone who goes on a first hunt knows it's emotional.

The stalking and the tracking and the failed stalks and finally at the moment when everything comes together, if it all works, it's an emotional experience. It was very moving and positive. So that was the first day of the rest of my life.

Are you working to pass along your love of the outdoors to your kids?

I married someone with very similar beliefs as I have. We want our kids to have experiences and adventures and we want them to understand where their food comes from. We make it into a lifestyle for all of us. It's not something that just mommy or daddy gets to go do.

Last night we had moose for dinner and a couple nights ago we had elk. It's just part of our lives. We have tried to incorporate that as early as possible into their lives so it's not a strange thing to go to hunting camp.

Of all the wild fish and game you've eaten over the years, which do you like best?

My favorite is elk. I grew up eating mostly moose, which is wonderful and has a really unique taste which always reminds me of my upbringing. But now my husband and I live in the U.S. with our kids and we don't go on as many moose hunts. We go on more elk hunts. Elk is my absolute favorite wild game, followed closely by moose.

What is your favorite wild game recipe?

The one that I get the most requests for is elk jalapeno poppers. Every couple days someone on social media asks me for the recipe. They're just really, really good and honestly you can make them with any wild game. I just make them with elk.

While the number of male hunters has generally been declining in the U.S., the number of women hunters has been growing in recent years. Females now comprise about 11% of hunters nationally, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data. You are part of the movement toward increased female participation in hunting. What do you think caused it?

I think a lot of things added together to make that happen. I'm very proud to be part of that movement but I would give credit to women who were there when it got started but often didn't get noticed.

Once social media came around I think it started growing more. People could be in their homes across the country and be exposed to so many different women who hunted and had an online platform and a voice. They could say, "Here's Eva Shockey, she doesn't really know how to hunt but she's learning. She dances and wears girly clothes and goes and does her hair and make-up but also loves to be in the outdoors. Well I can do that too."

It sounds silly now because it's so common but I didn't know it was normal for girls to hunt. Now with outdoor television and social media females have examples and role models. And businesses also got involved.

Instead of just the old "shrink it and pink it" concept of slightly modifying men's products and selling them to women they actually make things for females. There is clothing now that is made in female sizes and for female bodies as well as other gear, like the bow from Bowtech with my name on it. It's now so much more common and so much more relatable to be a female hunter.

What do you do to stay in shape?

Well, I chase my kids (laughter). We eat very healthy. I think a huge part of staying in shape is your diet. We eat a ton of wild game which is lean and healthy, and eat lots of vegetables. If I can I go hike in the mountains. If I am at home, I will ride my indoor bike or run on my treadmill and lift weights. I try to do a combination of all the different exercises and muscle groups. So that when I do hit the mountain or shoot my bow I'm prepared for it.

Archery has also experienced an increase in popularity in recent years. Does your family do that a lot?

Shooting a bow is one of my favorite things in the whole world.

Whether you are shooting at a target in the back yard or on a bow hunt, it's so rewarding because it forces you to really step back, calm down and focus on exactly what you are doing.

You can't be thinking of a million other things. I'm guilty of running a million miles a minute and being a busy-body and never being able to slow down. So when I'm shooting my bow it's one of the few things that I do that I enjoy that forces me to not be like that and forces me to be present in the moment.

I also love it so much because it's the perfect activity for families.

We started our kids on little bows with suction cup arrows. It's just something that brings us all together. And of course if you turn that into actually hunting with a bow the reward of going on an archery hunt and successfully getting an animal is just incredible and impossible to forget. It's huge in our lives.

How do you deal with critics?

I've definitely been through a lot of hatred from anti-hunters. There was a time in my life when I went on a hunt and it got picked up by anti-hunting media and I was getting thousands of death threats a day. I've been through that on and off over the years.

I think the biggest key is I'm proud of being a hunter. I truly believe it's the best lifestyle and the healthiest lifestyle. I think it's the best way to source your food. Hunters also raise money for conservation. So I believe what I'm doing is right and I can go to sleep every night and wake up and be proud of what I'm doing. I can stand up for what I believe in. That's how I got through it. I also work to educate people about hunting. I'm not doing it to shock people or get a rise out of people.

I just want people to understand this is how we get our meat, this is how we feed our family. I prefer to source my meat from the mountains where I know it is free range and I know so much more about it. That's how we prefer to eat. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt so if they have questions I'm always happy to talk about it. Hopefully they can walk away with a different perspective after.

Do you think your kids will grow up to be hunters, too?

I believe the only reason I ended up hunting is because my parents didn't push me to hunt.

As my parents would tell you, I'm a strong-willed individual. My dad asked me and asked me but my mom always made sure it wasn't forced. When I was ready and I decided I wanted to hunt it was my decision. I'm grateful for that. I respect my parents for allowing me to make that decision for myself.

My husband and I agree that we'll do the same for our children. We would obviously love it if they become hunters. But what we will make sure is that our kids understand hunting is part of a healthy balanced lifestyle, and it fuels our bodies, and they will know where their food comes from. We teach them about that already. That's what is important to us. We also spend as much time as possible outside.

My daughter has already said she wants to hunt and that she wants my dad to go hunting with her, which would be really sweet. We've got a lot to look forward to.

The 2023 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show runs from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 9 through Saturday, March 11 and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 12.

Tickets are available online for $10 at jssportsshow.com or for $12 at the door. Youth tickets (ages 6-17) are $5 online or at the door. Children 5 years old and younger are admitted free. Active-duty military, veterans and first responders are admitted free every day with valid ID or credentials. Reduced admission for seniors (55+), $8 at the door on Thursday, March 9, with valid ID. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts in uniform get in free on Sunday, March 12.

For more information about the show including details about vendor updates, stage schedule, and more, please visit https://jssportsshow.com or follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/JSSportsShow), Twitter (https://twitter.com/mjssportsshow)  or Instagram ( https://www.instagram.com/mjssportsshow).

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Outdoorswoman, social media name Eva Shockey to headline Sports Show