Bill Jordan (outdoorsman)
Encyclopedia
Bill Jordan is the creator of the Realtree and Advantage brands of camouflage
and the host of the Monster Bucks video series and the Realtree Outdoors television show.
where he was the youngest of three siblings. Jordan's father, Leon, owned a boat dealership close to Lake Oliver
.
Jordan went to Columbus High School
where he was a star athlete in track, basketball, and football. He received a scholarship from the University of Mississippi
for football. Ole Miss appealed to him the most because good hunting and fishing was a short drive away. Jordan graduated college in 1973, but injuries kept him from considering a professional football career. So he returned to Columbus to work at the family boat business. Jordan first got his feet wet in the hunting industry in 1983 when he started Spartan Archery Products in a room at his family's boat dealership in Columbus, Georgia
.
where his new camouflage patterns were recognized by well-known figures in the hunting industry. They all wanted to know if he could send them a shipment of his products but Jordan had no money or real licensing agreement. The men from these well-known hunting companies and Jordan sat in his booth for hours trying to figure out how to begin producing his camouflage patterns. Finally they worked out an agreement with Walls and Jordan's textile industry that he used. Jordan changed the name of his company, signed an agreement, and Realtree was born.
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
and the host of the Monster Bucks video series and the Realtree Outdoors television show.
Biography
Jordan grew up in a rural home outside of Columbus, GeorgiaColumbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
where he was the youngest of three siblings. Jordan's father, Leon, owned a boat dealership close to Lake Oliver
Lake Oliver
Lake Oliver is a reservoir on the Chattahoochee River, which lies south of Goat Rock Dam . The lake is created by the Oliver Dam and Generating Plant, which was completed in 1959 by Georgia Power. The lake was named for James McCoy Oliver, an executive of Georgia Power at the time. Oliver Dam...
.
Jordan went to Columbus High School
Columbus High School (Columbus, Georgia)
Columbus High School is located in Columbus, Georgia, USA. It serves as one of the Muscogee County School District's Liberal Arts Magnet school. It opened in 1890 and has been located throughout the city. In the 2006–2007 school year it was ranked #9. In 2005, the school shared the ranking as the...
where he was a star athlete in track, basketball, and football. He received a scholarship from the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
for football. Ole Miss appealed to him the most because good hunting and fishing was a short drive away. Jordan graduated college in 1973, but injuries kept him from considering a professional football career. So he returned to Columbus to work at the family boat business. Jordan first got his feet wet in the hunting industry in 1983 when he started Spartan Archery Products in a room at his family's boat dealership in Columbus, Georgia
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
.
Camouflage business
In 1986 Jordan decided to design his own camouflage patterns, and did so by trying to mock the bark from a giant oak tree in his parent's front lawn. His breakthrough came at a SHOT ShowSHOT Show
The ' is an annual tradeshow for the shooting, hunting, and firearms industry. It is the biggest event of this type in the world together with IWA & OutdoorClassics , also taking place annually. "SHOT", besides being a general reference to shooting, is an acronym for "Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor...
where his new camouflage patterns were recognized by well-known figures in the hunting industry. They all wanted to know if he could send them a shipment of his products but Jordan had no money or real licensing agreement. The men from these well-known hunting companies and Jordan sat in his booth for hours trying to figure out how to begin producing his camouflage patterns. Finally they worked out an agreement with Walls and Jordan's textile industry that he used. Jordan changed the name of his company, signed an agreement, and Realtree was born.