John Petersen – Epic Outdoors Staff Member

John Petersen grew up in a small northern Utah town, deep in the Wasatch mountains. John’s earliest hunting memories include holding onto his dad, for dear life, so he wouldn’t fall off the back of the horse, on their annual deer hunting trips. He also became a hardcore fisherman and developed a passion for fly-fishing and tying his own flies.

After high school and living for 2 years in France, John decided to study art, marketing, and graphic design at Utah State University. Located in beautiful Logan, Utah, the school allowed John to spend copious amounts of time in the woods and streams. After graduating with a BFA John worked as a graphic designer for FranklinCovey where he advanced to a position as an art director, content developer, and writer. While there, John refined his skills in the art of communication and simple, clean design, through the many projects he designed for Fortune 500 companies like Pepsi, Burger King, Microsoft, and Chick-fil-A.

In 1998, John was hired as a freelance designer for a small startup hunting company called The Huntin’ Fool. At the time, they produced a small, monthly photocopied newsletter. John provided marketing and design services and as the company grew, John was hired full-time to help turn their newsletter into a full-blown, full-color magazine.

Over the course of 14 years, John was able to start the art department and take the publication from a few dozen pages to an average of 132 pages monthly. John was also an avid contributor and author, writing feature articles on gear, photography, and story writing for the magazine. While at Huntin’ Fool, John worked as a graphic designer, contributing author, editor, project manager, art director, advertising manager, and director of content. Working at a hunting company also allowed him to pursue his outdoor passions and gave him opportunities to hunt and fish in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. As time permitted, John was also able to consult hunters in those areas of his expertise.

In 2012, with ownership wanting to retire and sell the company, John left and helped start Epic Outdoors License Application Service and in 2016 launched the magazine and the full services of Epic Outdoors. John has worked in the hunting industry for over 20 years and enjoys consulting clients and leading the creative, publishing and marketing areas of Epic Outdoors. John has a deep passion and love for hunting and the outdoors. John and his wife Gennyfère have 4 kids, all in their teens, who love hunting and the outdoors. John spends a large amount of his time in the field hunting with his wife and kids.