Hunters of Color Ambassadors

Brandon grew up hunting and fishing with his family in South Louisiana. After moving to New England for college, he is now an avid deer hunter, waterfowler and fly fisherman. Now living in NYC for medical school, he finds solace in the woods and waters of the Hudson Valley, Southern CT, the Catskills, and Long Island. He enjoys all outdoor pursuits, but chasing deer and brook trout captivate most of his mind space. When he’s not studying or in the lab, you can find him in the mountain ridges, bowhunting urban bucks, or waist-deep wading for trout. Brandon is committed to conserving and passing along the traditions of the land, especially for underrepresented hunters and anglers. As an NYC resident, he’s passionate about increasing access and opportunity for more Hunters of Color living in urban areas and building community among NYC and Tri-State area hunters and anglers.

Contact: brandon@huntersofcolor.org

Felix is native Mixtec from the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. By profession, Felix is a high school teacher, hunter education instructor, and conservationist. He holds board positions for his local BHA and Quail Forever chapters and founded NM Avid Hunters. Growing up hunting with his family, Felix has noticed a lack of representation from the Latino/Hispanic hunting community and has launched “De Cacería,” an apparel brand focused on representing hunting for our Spanish speaking communities. Felix spends much of his free time attending and hosting events for the hunting community in NM. When he is not in the classroom or at local events, you can find him exploring some random part of New Mexico seeking new adventures.

Contact: felix@huntersofcolor.org

Justin is originally from Western Pennsylvania. He grew up fishing, hunting, and adventuring around the outdoors. He moved to South Carolina three years ago to pursue a sense of adventure and to make a lifestyle change. In recent years, he has fallen in love with upland bird dogs and chasing the flush. He currently works as a firefighter in coastal South Carolina. He became an HOC Ambassador so that young hunters could have the resources he didn't have, and to help people understand that the outdoors is for everybody!

Contact: justin@huntersofcolor.org

Kenton Bottoms II hales from central Kentucky. Despite growing up in a non-hunting household, the woods and water always called to him as a youngster. He harvested his first deer at the age of 13 and hasn’t taken his foot off the gas since. Kenton hunts for just about everything they have a season for in Kentucky. He tries to give back as much as he can by volunteering and guiding youth hunts. He’s even co-hosted a few online hunting seminars. Kenton’s hope is we can make it easier for the younger generations of hunters of color get started in hunting and also feel comfortable and confident outdoors.

Contact: kenton@huntersofcolor.org

Malcolm was born in Tacoma, Washington but moved to West Seattle at a young age. As a child he always enjoyed being out in nature hiking and camping but never thought as an adult that these outdoor activities would be his future career. While in high school and shortly after, Malcolm’s passion for seafood led him to pursue a career in the Culinary Arts Industry specializing in Oyster Shucking. Currently, Malcolm is the Hunting Lead/Manager for Seattle’s Outdoor Emporium. He helps teach classes such as Intro to Firearms and helps assist on Waterfowl, Turkey and Big Game Hunting Classes for Earthwalk: Path of The Hunter School. He also volunteers for Ducks Unlimited. Malcolm specializes in waterfowl and turkey hunting, but considers himself a general outdoorsman and pursues everything from camping and hiking the beautiful areas of the Pacific Northwest, fishing salmon in the Puget Sound, to hunting elk in the Cascade mountain range. Malcolm would love to change the national perception of the average hunter and prides himself in making a difference in the hunting, fishing, and outdoor world. He hopes to show the outdoors are available for everyone to enjoy no matter your background or experience through education and his example.

Contact: malcolm@huntersofcolor.org

Obaid is a 4th year medical student and soon to be resident physician in the mountain state of West Virginia. He’s been a lover of the outdoors since his youth in his home state of Virginia. He loves to hunt, fish, and appreciate the challenge of learning more with each season that passes. Bowhunting and fly fishing are his favorite, and recently he's taken a deep plunge into the world of spearfishing. He grew up passionate about service and spreading the love of the outdoors, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout and has spent many summers as a counselor teaching fishing at BSA camps and fly fishing at TU camps. He has also mentored several people in their journey to learn how to hunt, fish, shoot, and backpack. He is passionate about social justice, conservation, education, and helping people discover the outdoors. He believes that the outdoors have an amazing transformative power that helps people grow and learn about themselves while making them better caretakers of our precious planet.

Contact: obaid@huntersofcolor.org

Basheer Benhalim is a hunter and angler living in his native central Texas with his wife, family, and a gun-shy Vizsla. After spending parts of his youth in California and New Mexico, he started hunting after relocating back to Texas as a teen. Basheer’s experience includes hunting deer, turkey, upland birds, and most recently, waterfowl. A proficient marksman, Basheer has experience with rifles, muzzleloaders, shotguns, and archery tackle. In addition to his professional work in construction management, Basheer works as camp cook for a snow goose camp each March. As a Muslim with one parent who immigrated from Libya and the other whose Texas lineage traces back six generations, Basheer lives the intersection between hunting culture and advocating inclusion for diverse populations. He is excited to help showcase what Texas has to offer as a vibrant, dynamic, and welcoming hunting scene.

Contact: basheer@huntersofcolor.org

Salif is biracial with roots going back for generations in Texas and Niger. He is a college professor with a background in environmental psychology and serves as chair of the diversity, equity, and inclusion committee at his university. Being from a non-hunting family, Salif is a self-taught hunter, fly fisher, and explorer and loves to try his best hunting with traditional bows. As a hunter, he's a generalist, hunting various game, big and small, as well as waterfowl. Although he's had some unpleasant encounters with other people while hunting and recreating, he generally finds the hunting world to be a welcoming community and wants to help grow its inclusivity. Using his experience as a professional educator, Salif wants to help introduce the joys of hunting and fishing to curious people who haven't had the chance to try it, and don't know where to start, at a pace that's not intimidating to them.

Contact: salif@huntersofcolor.org