Ask Jonny Carter what the outdoors gives him that modern life doesn’t, and he answers with a single word: “Reality.”
He pauses for a moment before explaining, “Everything else we do on a daily basis is kind of vapid by comparison.”
“There’s an appreciation for giving your money to other humans for things that are actually made traditionally and properly by people who you can see and appreciate.”
It’s a perspective that makes a lot of sense once you hear how he grew up. His father worked in agriculture, his family spent most of their time outside, and there wasn’t a television in the house. “We didn’t have a TV growing up,” he says. “The ultimate impetus to go outside is having nothing better to do inside.”
These days, Jonny is best known as the face of TGS Outdoors, one of the UK’s biggest hunting and shooting YouTube channels. Before that, he was a gunsmith. The transition from workshop to camera happened slowly over more than a decade. “It was just a nice side hobby,” he says. “I never imagined it getting this far.”
Not interested in chasing viral moments, Jonny believes good outdoor storytelling comes down to something much simpler. “Honesty. You want a story. You want a challenge. But you also want to take people on that journey with you as a normal human being.”
It’s an approach that has taken him around the world, although one destination still stands above the rest. “Zimbabwe is probably very high on my list of places I’ve visited.”
What stayed with him was the scale of the wilderness itself. “Being in a million acres by yourself basically is just insane.” For someone who has spent countless hours outdoors in Britain, it offered a completely different perspective. At home, finding a hundred acres without another person nearby feels like a luxury. In Zimbabwe, the landscape seems endless.
An appreciation for wild places naturally leads to a subject Jonny knows can divide opinion: hunting. He understands why people outside the community might struggle with it, but believes much of that comes from how disconnected modern life has become from where food actually comes from. “People are so removed from their food,” he says. “Every animal you eat gets killed. Just because you aren’t involved, or you don’t see it being killed, doesn’t mean it’s not happening.”
Jonny believes that responsible hunting is about stewardship as opposed to just harvesting an animal. “Leaving a place better than you found it is kind of the principle.” Whether that’s managing deer populations, planting habitat, or supporting conservation projects, he believes those who spend time outdoors have a responsibility to look after the places they use.
Jonny first became aware of Jim Green through South Africans he worked with while living in Morocco. Years later, after seeing more friends wearing them on safari, he finally bought his first pair: the Barefoot African Rangers.
“They’re by far the best, most comfortable, best-looking barefoot boots on the market.”
He adds, “The older I get, the more you appreciate those little things,” he says. “You don’t need the highest-tech thing. Sometimes, just a nicely made thing made out of natural stuff is a more fulfilling product to have and wear and own.”
It’s an appreciation he believes more people are rediscovering. “There’s an appreciation for giving your money to other humans for things that are actually made traditionally and properly by people who you can see and appreciate.”
It’s a fitting sentiment coming from someone who spends his spare time gardening, carving gunstocks by hand, and searching out overlooked corners of the countryside.
Spending time outdoors has shaped the way Jonny sees the world. It has also shaped what he values: good stories, well-made gear, and places worth looking after.
It all comes back to that first answer. Reality.
Cheers,
The Jim Green Team
