History of the Duck Commander I found on Wikipedia. I thought it was interesting.
Phil Robertson was born and raised in Vivian, Louisiana, a small town near Shreveport. With seven children in his family, money was scarce and very early on, hunting became an important part of his life.
As a high-school athlete, Phil was All-State in football, baseball, and track hich afforded him the opportunity to attend Louisiana Tech University on a football scholarship. There he played first string quarterback ahead of Terry Bradshaw. Phil’s been quoted as saying "Terry went for the bucks, and I chased after the ducks." After receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education and a Master’s in Education, he spent several years teaching. While his students claim he was an excellent teacher, spending time in a classroom brought Phil to the conclusion that his time and talents would be better spent in the woods.
Phil and his family, which by this time included wife Kay, and four boys, Alan, Jase, Willie, and Jeptha began a quest to turn his passion for hunting and fishing into a livelihood.
Never satisfied with the duck calls that were on the market, Phil began to experiment with making a call that would produce the exact sound of a duck. A duck call for duck killers, not "world champion-style duck callers." Claiming, "No duck would even place in a duck calling contest." And so, in 1972, the first Duck Commander call was born. Phil received a patent for this call and the Duck Commander Company was incorporated in 1973.
His home became his "factory" from where the calls were assembled, packaged, and shipped. Phil traveled store to store in the early days, with most ending in rejections. A certain large store in Stuttgart, AR laughed him out of the building (Oh, yeah, that store is now one of Duck Commander’s largest accounts.) Phil’s wife and four sons assisted in the packaging and shipments of the calls along with helping to run the nets, and take the fish to the market. This family side business of commercial fishing kept food on the table while Duck Commander Company was getting off the ground.
In the mid-70’s, Phil turned his life over to the Lord and made some dramatic changes in the way he was living. Phil Robertson is not only known as the Duck Commander but is now building a reputation all over the country for his faith and belief in the Almighty. He is invited to speak to hundreds of different churches and organizations every year, telling them what the Lord has done for him and can do for them.
Duck Commander is still a family business with all four sons and their wives working for the company at one time or another. Duck calls are still being built, blown, packaged and shipped in the Robertson’s home on the Ouachita River, although now their home is surrounded by several offices and warehouses to help the company smoothly, and the nets are still being run, only now the fish that they catch feed all the Duck Commander employees. Yes it’s a rough life, but as Phil says "somebody’s gotta do it."
Since 1973, Duck Commander Products, which now include much more than just duck calls, have been sold in all fifty states and in several countries. Not long after the success of the calls, Phil began a series of videos that developed a worldwide fan-base of fellow duck hunters. The Duckmen videos revolutionized duck hunting with there rock-n-roll, "in yo face" style, and are the leading authority in the industry. His calls and techniques are helping others bring the ducks right into their blinds, and the Duck Commander faithful swear by the deadly effects of the Duck Commander.
It isn’t often a person can live a dream, but Phil Robertson, aka The Duck Commander, has proven it is possible with vision, hard work, helping hands, and an unshakable faith in the Almighty. If you ever wind up at the end of Mouth of Cypress Road, sitting face to face with Phil Robertson, you will see that his enthusiasm and passion for duck hunting and the Lord is no act- it is truly who he is!
Here is also a link to him on Conan Tuesday night...
