Steven Rinella is a busy man. As the founder and on-air face of MeatEater, a weekly reality-TV show, he oversees an ever-expanding empire of content and commerce focused on an outdoor lifestyle. But Rinella, the businessman, is not too busy to be Rinella, the outdoorsman.My wife reminds me now and then, you should be very careful who you complain to,' Rinella tells Fast Company. I have no real problems to report when it comes to outdoor time.Even during years when hes spent as many nights on the road as home in Bozeman, Montana, with his family, Rinella still makes time each spring to go fishing in Alaska and, every October, for a youth-only deer hunting event in Montana, which no opportunity in the world would pull him away from.But for the better part of two decades, Rinella has been seemingly everywhere doing everything. Hes written 15 books, created 12 seasons of the MeatEater TV show, and recorded scores of podcast episodes and videos, all of which has helped MeatEater, the media company, amass millions of loyal fans and more than $100 million in annual revenue.While legacy media companies are struggling, MeatEater is thriving. Led by podcasting, its most profitable asset, the company posted nearly 40% top-line revenue growth in its media division in 2024. MeatEater is also turning a profit with products that cater to the tens of millions of American hunters and anglers who spend about $150 billion annually. The company employs nearly 130 people spread across offices in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington State. And this past year, MeatEater opened a flagship store near its Bozeman headquarters.Finding the content sweet spotSome upcoming MeatEater projects are just as exciting for Rinella and will keep him just as busy. The year kicks off with a new TV show, Hunting History with Steven Rinella, that premieres January 28 on the History Channel. In the eight-episode series, Rinella hunts down some of the most beguiling mysteries that occurred in the wild, bringing his unique perspective to challenge past assumptions and reexamine what might have happened.[Photo: Will Warasila/A+E Networks]The show perfectly blends Rinellas interests, and he suspects it will resonate with longtime fans as well as viewers whove never picked up a fishing pole or a hunting rifle. We always try to find that sweet spot where that world of the outdoors merges with great stories.The key is to hook people on the beauty of wild places. The 50-year-old has found that, with everything he does, hes having two very different conversations simultaneously.In one, Rinella is sharing his love of the outdoors with like-minded people, wanting to help them fill out their knowledge base and deepen their relationship with the natural world. In the other conversation, Rinella is speaking with people who are uneasy in the outdoors, and he strives to show them that a beautiful, rewarding lifestyle awaits.A content-to-commerce successNewcomers to the Rinellaverse will find plenty to sink their teeth into, with MeatEaters massive catalogue spanning videos, TV shows, podcasts, and books. Viewers, listeners, and readers often become fans and then customers, and MeatEater has beefed up its line of products to keep them sated.The company has found success in a content-to-commerce model by highlighting products the MeatEater team uses and loves. In 2019, MeatEater acquired First Lite, a popular line of technical hunting apparel. It has since expanded its products umbrella acquiring FHF Gear, Phelps Game Calls, and Dave Smith Decoys.These brands are a natural extension of the MeatEater universe, Rinella says. He credits CEO Jason Bergsman with having the foresight to identify that content-to-commerce opportunity early on.Before taking the helm at MeatEater, Bergsman was a founding member of the Chernin Group, an investment firm that poured $50 million into MeatEater in its early days. Hes sat on the board since Rinella founded the company in 2018.[Bergsman] was very forcefulpleasantly forcefulin pushing us to think of the commerce business as a business in and of itself, Rinella says. Weve been able to do that really successfully lately without, in any way, compromising the integrity of the products we put out, so thats been really exciting.MeatEater leaders are optimistic about launching a couple more owned-and-operated stores in the coming year based on the early success of its flagship. There, shoppers can find company-owned brands heavily showcased, in addition to books and products from other brands it owns plus offerings from select partners.Its a pretty well-rounded shopping experience and really kind of gathers the whole portfolio of what MeatEater is all about in the store, Rinella says. Bergsman adds that in the future, fans can expect to find more MeatEater products elsewhere, including at Scheels, a chain of sporting-goods stores with locations in 16 states.History: A real franchise playThis year marks a more coordinated focus on American history across MeatEaters various tentacles. Its a real franchise play, says Bergsman.History has long been an interest of Rinellas. In his 2006 debut book, The Scavengers Guide to Haute Cuisine, he chronicled a yearlong quest to live off the land re-creating recipes from Auguste Escoffiers 1903 magnus opus, Le Guide Culinaire.Now, other history-focused projects on the docket include two audiobooks, live events at three universities in Montana and Wyoming, an American history-focused version of the MeatEater trivia board game, and at least a couple new podcasts. One, focused on the history of the American West, set to launch this spring, reunites Rinella with someone influential to his career: Dan Flores, a professor emeritus of American History and a New York Times best-selling author.How I approach my interest was really shaped by the time I spent studying under [Flores] at the University of Montana, says Rinella, who completed an MFA in creative writing there after a stint as a professional trapper and fur trader. Its really cool for me.More kid-focused projects in the worksThese types of full-circle moments seem to happen frequently. For instance, Rinella landed on the name MeatEater because, while working on the original TV show in its early days, he was spending his evenings reading books about animals to his then-toddler and noticed how often any variety of critters were described as meat-eaters.The word spoke to me, he says. The word brings to mind a certain survival sensibility, a certain tenacity, self-sufficiency.[Images: Random House]All these years and two more kids later, Rinella is now introducing MeatEater to younger generations. Two of his most-recent booksCatch a Crayfish, Count the Stars and Outdoor Kids in an Inside Worldlanded on the New York Times Best Seller list, and MeatEater has created a handful of podcasts for kids that were well-received. More programming and product lines that encourage kids to get outside are in the works, Rinella says.A 2024 survey of 9,000 MeatEater fans confirms that such business moves make sense: The majority of respondents were parents of children under age 10, and a whopping 94% of these parents said they consume MeatEater content as a family.Even if MeatEater remains his passion, keeping his family in focus is as important for Rinella, who says he now prefers to be in the wilds with kidsbe it his or his buddiesrather than alone. Im just at that point in life; so long as Im getting outside with them, Im pretty happy.