Happy, Happy, Happy: My Life and Legacy as the Duck Commander

one would watch my videos!

    But I knew it was only a matter of time until people startednoticing our videos. They were fun to watch! Duckmen hunting tapes were unlike what anyone else was doing at the time. We were blowing ducks’ heads off in slow motion and flipping deer in the swamp. The videos lasted about an hour each and were among the first to include rock music over hunting scenes. I have always been a big fan of classic rock. I loved Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Pink Floyd, and Bob Seger. Lynyrd Skynyrd is definitely my favorite. If there’s one rule at my house, it’s that you never wake me while I’m napping. If you wake me before I’m ready, there’s going to be heck to pay. One day, one of the members of Lynyrd Skynyrd called the Duck Commander office, wanting to talk to me. I was taking a nap at home, and the receptionist at the office was under strict orders not to wake me, so she took a message. I was so mad when I found out. I told everyone, “From this day forward, wake me up if the president of the United States or Lynyrd Skynyrd calls!”

    I told everyone, “From this day forward, wake me up if the president of the United States or Lynyrd Skynyrd calls!”

    More than anything else, the Duckmen videos put a face to our company. I had a long beard and so did most of the other original Duckmen—Mac Owen, Dane Jennings, and W. E. “Red Dawg” Phillips. Red Dawg was the first one to paint his face inthe blind so the ducks wouldn’t see him. He couldn’t grow a long beard like the rest of us, so he figured he’d paint his face to look different. After a while, I figured out paint was the best way to camouflage our white faces from the ducks. Nothing stands out like a white surrender flag in a duck blind more than a white man’s face! Now everyone in my blind is required to wear face paint. People grew to love our DVDs; I think there was a shock factor involved, and people wanted to see what the crazy Cajuns in Louisiana would do next! In 2012, we released Resurrection: Duckmen 16 .
    The hunting DVDs ended up being a lot like our duck calls—we didn’t hit a home run in our first at bat, but we kept going back up to the plate. Eventually, the hunting DVDs caught on and became popular enough to help Willie land us a show on Outdoor Channel, which led to even bigger things with Duck Dynasty on A&E. Even though Duck Commander faced difficult times and what seemed liked insurmountable obstacles, we stayed the course and never gave up. I’ve always believed that if we did what was morally and ethically right, while continuing to steadfastly believe in what we were doing, we’d end up okay in the end. As long as we gave our best, continued to build products we believed in, and never strayed from God’s purpose for us, I knew Duck Commander would find a way to persevere. It’s what the Robertson family has always seemed to do.

REDNECK CAVIAR
    Rule No. 11 for Living Happy, Happy, Happy
    Suck the Head of a Crawfish (You’ll Want to Do It Again and Again)
    A fter living more than six decades on Earth, I have reached the conclusion that ducks are the most protected species on the planet. In the United States of America, ducks are the most protected and overly regulated entity in history. It’s amazing how many rules and regulations our government puts on duck hunters. (If you don’t believe me, check with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s website for all the up-to-date information.)
    To even hunt ducks, I have to begin on a precise day at an exact minute, which is pretty difficult for a man who has never even owned a watch! I can’t fire a shot until thirty minutes before the sun comes up, so I have to constantly look to see when the sun is going to rise and then deduct thirty minutes to determine when I can fire my first shot. Of course, the sunrise and sunsetare constantly changing, depending on the rotation of Earth. But I always have to be aware of when the sun is going to come up because there might be a game warden sitting out there with a watch, waiting to write me an expensive ticket.
    The U.S. government also dictates that I can have only three shells in my shotgun at once, not four or five, which would be a lot more efficient. I also have to have a precise kind of metal shot in my shells. It can’t be lead; it has to be steel so it’s not harmful to the ducks or the environment.
    Where I live in eastern Louisiana, we are allowed to hunt