Hunting stories, Daniel Gilbert is not lacking. Heir to a passion transmitted by his father, he recounts his beginnings in the world of hunting and what a name like Sportchief means to him.
"My passion for hunting started at a very young age, because my father was a hunting and fishing enthusiast," explains Daniel Gilbert. I remember very well my father who told us his hunting and fishing stories with enthusiasm, but above all with passion. I found it mysterious. We had a small hunting and fishing lodge, and that's when I got hooked. It started very early in my teens. »
Daniel Gilbert still remembers the moment he witnessed the first moose harvest: “I was with my brother. It wasn't me who shot, but I was so proud. We came home and my father was waiting for us outside. When he saw the male… it is an unforgettable memory. » It was on this occasion that he took an interest in this game, which still excites him even more than 40 years later: “Every fall, I still have that same passion that comes to gnaw at me to go hunting. »
He adds : “All these little anecdotes there, as much when I went fishing as hunting, with my father, my brother, my cousin, make it a family story. »
The passion for hunting shoots
The passion for hunting led to a new hobby for Daniel Gilbert: shooting hunting movies. When he started filming 30 years ago, the VHS camera was still in the spotlight. That didn't stop him from getting started, he who wanted above all to share his passion with other amateurs: “It was bad, but I felt like talking to passionate people. It was from that moment that my passion grew. I have made it my job for almost 20 years and I am really proud of it. »
Obviously, over time, technologies have evolved a lot, which makes filming easier: “When I started in the business, there were cameras that weighed 25 pounds. Now the cameras are ultra capable, very professional, and weigh just 3 or 4 lbs. We use the quietest equipment possible, it's essential, it's what is most important on our side. Usually, people hunt alone or in pairs, but during a shoot, there are always 3 to 4 people, so it's a lot of people. »
Sportchief's expertise, a significant asset
To help keep silence during filming, there's nothing like the silent suit resulting from the collaboration between Sportchief and Jason Tremblay Morneau, who is a hunting guide in the shoots organized by Daniel Gilbert. The latter says that the silent sets of Sportchief are popular among the guides, who do not hesitate to bring several to change the participants in the filming, if necessary: “In recent years, I have worked a lot with the guides, because I am as much behind the camera as in front. When I'm behind the camera, I see the guides working extremely hard, and they want people to have the Sportchief products for the quiet side, because that's super important to us. It happens all the time that you approach a moose and say to yourself “I am lucky to have my silent suit.” Lucky we have that, because it helps a lot. »
For Daniel Gilbert, the success of Sportchief products is based on the listening skills of the company, which does not hesitate to ask the opinion of enthusiasts: “Sportchief really listens to fans and their needs. When they bring a product to market, they give us samples to evaluate, and I think that results in really on-point products. »
Sportchief, a long-time partner
This is not Daniel Gilbert's first association with Sportchief. He noticed the company early on as a hunter. “I remember my first Sportchief set. I started, in 1993, and Sportchief had made a model especially for the archers. When you are an archer, it is important that the string does not hit your arm, so the suit had fasteners, [thoughts] so as not to deflect your arrow. Sportchief were the only ones who had thought of that. I fell in love. »
Eventually, Sportchief became a sponsor for the shootings orchestrated by Daniel Gilbert, a bond that eventually deepened to give way to a friendship that has lasted for several years.
“I have always been with Sportchief, and they are now friends. It is important, because someone who would manufacture this without having people on the ground, it would not work. Sportchief really take the advice of the amateurs who are on the ground of the cows, or rather the ground of the deer and the moose”, he adds, laughing.
Daniel Gilbert recalls that Sportchief represents several decades of expertise: “I am 58 years old, and when we talk about the 80s, Sportchief was there. When you wear a Sportchief product, you have so much experience, competent people who are behind this product, people who are listening. These are quality products, but they are affordable. Quebec and Sportchief, we talk about it so much, it's a love story that has lasted for decades. »
