Special Interview With Keith Mark and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels From MRA

Special Interview With  Shawn Michaels’ MacMillan River Adventures: Keith Mark and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels

By Vanessa Torres

USA -(Ammoland.com)- Today I had to chance to speak with the stars of Shawn Michaels’ MacMillan River Adventures (MRA), Keith Mark and WWE Legend and Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels.

MRA recently completed Season 4 on Outdoor Channel and on March 1, 2015 debuted on Carbon TV.

They discussed with us details about MRA, causes they support, and Michaels’ new book Wrestling For My Life; The Legend, the Reality, and the Faith of a WWE Superstar.

What is your reaction to the announcement about MRA now airing on Carbon TV?

“Well obviously it’s very exciting. The Outdoor Channel (as awesome as it is), it’s not available to everyone. If Outdoor Channel is not available to you through your television provider, then you wouldn’t be able to watch MRA. Carbon TV gives people all over the world the chance to see Shawn Michaels’ MacMillan River Adventures.

Another great thing since it is going to be on an online platform, we will get to put things on Carbon TV that we couldn’t air on The Outdoor Channel”.

“Some examples of that would be: Bloopers, outtakes, and exclusive content. We are going to use this platform to show some of our “out of the box” ideas, and we feel that if people sign up and subscribe to the MRA channel they are going to be very pleased. expressed Mark.

Shawn: We have been very fortunate thanks to my career in WWE, (World Wrestling Entertainment) to have a worldwide fan base. What we have seen a lot through our social media outlets is that fans can’t really see MRA.”

Michaels stated that “This is really going to give the show availability to anyone. Even for those who do have the Outdoor Channel.

We really have a lot of fun, yet at times some film doesn’t make it to air. With Carbon TV we can really give our viewers exclusive content only seen online. It is a lot of fun, and it’s going to be very enjoyable for people to watch.”

What has it been like working together on MRA?

According to Michaels “It is a real treat to work with Keith, it’s one of the reasons I tell everyone that the minute I met Keith, and we went hunting together I knew right away that he is the guy I wanted to do the show with for a number of reasons. For one he really does bring a lot to the table through his experience with outdoor television. Truth be told, I have had many instances in my life where I just knew that I wanted to take that big step. From wanting to be a wrestler, to when I knew I wanted to be with Rebecca (my wife) for the rest of my life, I just knew that Keith was the guy I wanted to do the show with. He is a lot of fun, and I wanted to be friends with, hang out with, and hunt with for the rest of my life whether we doing a show together or not”.

“Really it is all very true.” Keith agreed. “When I first met Shawn in Las Vegas during Shot Show, I introduced myself, we spoke very briefly, and I gave him my phone number. A while later we talked about hunting and we ended up going on a buffalo hunt on the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation. We both knew there was something there, and it just clicked with both of us. It seemed like we had known each other longer than just a few days. It went from us just hunting together to having the TV show and in a way, it kind of foreshadowed how we would end up becoming great friends. We have had our issues, but in the end we have a brotherhood, a bond between us, and it really makes doing this together that much more fun. It’s been a great 5 years.”

What can we see coming up in the next season?

“Well we are going to have more of the big game hunting that MRA fans have become accustomed to, like moose, elk, and white-tail deer hunts. On the other side is the humor and fun of the Squirrel Master Classic. I feel that we are striving to do what we have set out from the beginning which is to make MRA one of the best hunting shows on the Outdoor Channel and Carbon TV”

“Another thing viewers will see is that we will be going to Bermuda for the World’s Richest Marlin Tournament. We have some great stuff coming up for our viewers”. States Michaels.

“We are really striving to have our viewers who like to hunt to continue to do so and for people who have never hunted to try it out. We also like to give tips to our viewers and give them any help they might need.” Mark mentioned.

Shawn Michaels, in your book “Wrestling for my Life“ ( http://tiny.cc/q4p8ux ) you talk a lot about your faith in God, What does your faith have to do with successful hunting?

“Well my big point with faith coming into my life happened coincidentally, and it can be difficult to believe in coincidence but it came through more divine intervention. What I came to realize is that with faith and the outdoors you don’t really have one without the other.

I think that it makes it to where an individual really appreciates the outdoors. I certainly found that being in the hunting industry gave me a great appreciation for being outdoors and for the “Creator”.

With me, the two almost go hand in hand. It certainly is a great thing now to have all of this and be out there enjoying God’s creation on a regular basis.”

What advice do you have for hunters that may be “wrestling” with their faith?

“As far as giving someone advice, I am not always one to give advice. Who I am is a guy that the good Lord intervened in my life while I was messing it up. I am very thankful for that. What I’m hoping the book can give to people is the opportunity to inspire them to really do what I did. To take a good long look in the mirror and be honest with themselves. Have individuals open up about the areas they feel they are falling short and demand to change. I felt I had to do that when looking a myself as a husband, a father, a man in general. I looked to the God in heaven to help me do that. It’s a non-stop progression. It’s something that in my opinion you never totally win, but I didn’t feel compelled to tell my story until now. If it helps anyone else to better their life, take a look at themselves and strive towards working better for themselves, and their loved ones, then I will consider my efforts a success. That, to me, is a huge plus that I hope to see from this book being released. To have any affect on anyone for the better is a wonderful thing.”

Keith Mark, as we know you are a very avid supporter of wolf management. What effects on game animals have you seen with additional wolves in the wild? How has this affected your business? 

“Well, with the original breeding pairs in Yellowstone National Park, they had set goals as to what they had hoped to see as how far the wolves population would progress. The recovery was wildly successful. There are way more wolves than they had ever expected. The problem was that once the wolves had met the quota of what they wanted to see in western states, anti-hunters were such a vocal minority that they were able to prevent the Feds from actually managing the wolves at that point. At that point, the hunting and conservation community got involved thanks to our good friends from Big Game Forever and Sportsman For Fish and Wildlife. They were able to help spearhead some national legislation that led to the partial delisting of the wolf from the Endangered Species Act.”

“The wolves were so overpopulated that we were seeing a huge decline in the herds of elk, mule deer and moose in Western states, so we really got behind the cause to start managing the wolves. The good thing is that there was a partial delisting of the wolves that helped immensely in the states where they are allowing wolves to be hunted now.”

“Unfortunately, the compromise that was reached was just a partial delisting and so there are now other states where you are starting to see wolves. One incident that took place recently was when a wolf was shot in Utah. It raised tremendous issues. They are also releasing the Mexican wolf on the southern border, so it’s going to be a conflict that needs to be taken on a larger scale. In my personal opinion, I feel that this issue will only get solved with some sort of Federal legislation that will allow for states to manage their own wildlife within their own borders”

Are there any other causes that either of you are passionate about?

“Every year Shawn and I do a show with our friends from the Outdoor Adventure Foundation. Every year we try to take an individual with us on a hunt and share it with the viewers of MRA. It is definitely one of the most touching, and emotional episodes we have every year. It has been a little hard on Shawn and I because some of the people that we have met over the years didn’t make it through their struggle. However, we feel really blessed that we were able to be a part of something really big in their lives and with their families when they were in such an epic struggle. We realize the incredible good that the foundation is doing, and we gladly participate.” Stated Mark.

Michaels expresses “It really goes in the overall message of the show to get outdoors. It is something very nurturing and peaceful, and we really try to capture that. Life goes by so fast, and everyone is so busy. It has really affected our lives and those around us in a positive way. The more people we can expose and help the better. There is something very deep and moving that comes from being outdoors and nothing but good can come from that.”

Is there anything else you both would like to say to your fans about the show?

“We appreciate the support that we’ve had from our fans. We have learned from the past several years of doing this show that we have exposed the outdoors to a whole new audience. We’re very thankful for that: especially since we have always wanted to promote hunting and conservation in a positive way. We also understand the responsibility that goes along with that and we strive to be good role models for the hunting life style. We are grateful for the continued support from our fans, and we are going to continue to improve on the show.

Shawn Michaels’ Macmillan River Adventures Sponsors

• Remington
• Carbon Express
• Rocky
• Mossy Oak
• Gamo Precision Airguns
• Bushnell
• ThermaCell Heated Insoles + Mosquito Repellent

More info on the Outdoor Adventure Foundation
The Outdoor Adventure Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit that helps to make outdoor dreams come true for children and young adults with life-threatening illnesses as well as for combat-disabled veterans that have lost a limb or are in a wheelchair. Please visit to get involved: http://outdooradventurefoundation.org/

• To Order Wrestling for My Life:  The Legend, the Reality, and the Faith of a WWE Superstar by Shawn Michaels please visit:  http://tiny.cc/q4p8ux
• To Subscribe to Shawn Michaels MacMillan River Adventures please follow the link:
  http://tiny.cc/zjq8ux

Please like and follow :

• Shawn Michaels’ MacMillan River Adventures Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShawnMichaelsMRAHunting
• Shawn Michaels’ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShawnMichaels
  Shawn Michaels’ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theShawnMichaels
• Keith Mark Twitter: https://twitter.com/keithmarkmra
• The Outdoor Channel: http://outdoorchannel.com/
• For more info on MRA hunting please visit: http://mrahunting.com/

Big Game Forever – BigGameForever.org

Source: http://www.ammoland.com/2015/03/special-interview-with-keith-mark-and-shawn-michaels/