
Big News - We’re growing and our name has changed! Blood Origins is officially The Origins Foundation. Tune in to hear why.
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Robbie
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Mike Axelrod
All comes down to a moment. And in the moment, you want equipment on your bow that will get the job done. Trophy Ridge products are the tools bow.
Ashley
Hunters trust react technology, sights, rests, stabilizers.
Mike Axelrod
And quivers to help a bow hunter.
Ashley
Be successful in the field.
Mike Axelrod
And those tools are from Trophy Ridge. So there's a reason why I started Blood Origins. And that reason is simple, that I wanted to convey the truth about hunting. It brings awareness to non hunters that.
Ashley
It'S more than just killing animals.
Brittany
How do I start it? Brittany?
Ashley
My name.
Brittany
Does my hair look okay?
Mike Axelrod
My name is Mike Axelrod. Start again. Yeah, I hated it too. Braxton, you said something in the car to me. You said that you were living on borrowed time. There's a perception around who hunters are, what we're supposed to be. And a feminist that works for a non profit, that is a hunter that has only eaten wild game from the last 20 years is likely not the thing that people think about when it comes to a hunter. So you decided to be an airplane pilot today?
Brittany
Well, okay. You know, I had to order new headphones because the rabbits chewed through these headphones.
Mike Axelrod
I already ordered you.
Brittany
Well, I did not know that.
Mike Axelrod
Oh, my God, you got another set of. You have how many? You've got two of these headsets already.
Brittany
So I ordered the original headphones. You ordered them? I guess. And then the rabbits chewed through them, which is why I had to delay the podcast with Travis. So I ordered a new set that, you know, that did not have this cute little attached microphone.
Mike Axelrod
Okay.
Brittany
So I just got ready to jump on here with you with my new set of earphones. And the cord had been chewed through again. I was.
Mike Axelrod
That's what. It serves you right. It really does serve you right. I don't know anybody in this world.
Brittany
That lets the rabbits run around inside who does that. It's so hot outside.
Mike Axelrod
Are you finding like random rabbit poop everywhere in your house?
Brittany
Well, so that's what I have children for. Immediately after the rabbits go Back outside. They come through with a little. We have a special dustbuster that picks up the rabbit poop.
Mike Axelrod
Oh, it is. That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. So actually, you didn't order this headset. This is the headset I ordered. I gave. I ordered it.
Brittany
This is the original headset that you gave me to do in person podcasts that I did not realize was in the box.
Mike Axelrod
You haven't opened the box yet?
Brittany
Well, not the box of these headphones.
Mike Axelrod
So the. The headsets that I'd ordered. You.
Brittany
You didn't tell me they were. You did not tell me they were in here, but they're going to Louisiana.
Mike Axelrod
Open the box. You didn't even open the box.
Brittany
I ordered the other box I opened. It was multiple boxes. Lots of boxes came.
Mike Axelrod
So one of the boxes you randomly said, I'm not going to open that one.
Brittany
I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to until I was going to use it.
Robbie
Man.
Mike Axelrod
What a way to start a podcast. A special podcast.
Brittany
This is what happens. This is what happens when you hire an out of the box employee.
Mike Axelrod
Oh, my gosh. He was definitely. That is a very appropriate term for you. Out of the box employee. Are you drinking Prosecco?
Brittany
I am, yes. To cheers you in our big cheers.
Mike Axelrod
I'm drinking water.
Brittany
Well, it's a. It's a bigger day than water, Robbie. You need.
Mike Axelrod
It is a. It is a big day. Yeah. I'll have a whiskey later for sure.
Brittany
I am, I am. I have poured a drink to cheers. Are very special roundup.
Mike Axelrod
What are you drinking?
Brittany
It's Rose. It's all a head cold.
Mike Axelrod
Why are we cheering, Ashley?
Brittany
Just. Just for you, just for us, because this is a momentous day, even though it'll be announced Wednesday, I guess Tuesday. When. When is. When is the big announcement?
Mike Axelrod
Yesterday. When this podcast drops.
Brittany
Yesterday.
Mike Axelrod
It's a difficult timeline. We're talking the day before it drops. But this podcast will drop the day after it drops, sir.
Brittany
Well, we are growing. We have grown. We have exploded. Absolutely exploded over the last few years. And our name has changed to reflect that.
Mike Axelrod
Yes, our name has changed to reflect that. And we are. I'm gonna. It's gonna be tough for me to continue to say, you know, because everything in my conversation for the last seven years has been, you know, Blood Origins. Blood Origins. Blood Origins. Blood Origins. And now it's going to be the Origins Foundation.
Brittany
The Origins Foundation.
Mike Axelrod
Yep. The Origins foundation emails really changed. Yeah. It's exciting.
Brittany
It is exciting. It's very exciting.
Mike Axelrod
And Everybody that I've talked to, everybody in Dallas that I told about the name change, we've done a couple of podcasts already with others about the name change. Everybody has said that is such a smart move.
Brittany
I think so. I think it's a great move. You know, Blood Origins has carried us and you so well through the first few years and has done an excellent, excellent job of mobilizing the base, mobilizing the hunting community and, and you have had rocket ship like growth.
Mike Axelrod
But look guys, I'm a hunter, right? And when I go hunting, I like to figure out how to get my trophies back home as expeditiously as possible. Well, you don't have to look much further than Safari Specialty Importers. We know that trophy importation can be quite a headache. That's why Safari Specialty Importer strives to make it as easy and hassle free as possible. They have access to a bonded warehouse, you won't be charged storage fees and you get a dedicated team that's readily available and will update you at every step in the process. They'll even go one step further. Safari Specialty Importers is working with us and they are going to donate a hundred dollars from every shipment that they work with to conservation projects that include anti poaching, community development and wildlife conservation. At the end of the day, choose to spend your money with a team that's dedicated to you and is dedicated to helping show how hunting is a great conservation model. Hassle free logistics, fuel and conservation go with Safari Specialty Importers. Hunting and shooting suppressed have become the norm in over 42 states where suppressors are legal. The growing popularity of suppressors has even led to legislative changes. You might have heard some things around the big beautiful bill, right? Including the reduction of the NFA mandated tax stamp. Before you used to pay 200 bucks and now starting January 1st of 2026, the tax stamp is going to zero. However, why wait until January 1st? Our partners, Silence Essential, great friends of ours, they're going to pay your tax stamp right now. So if you buy a banished suppressor or other popular brands that essentially are qualifying purchases, Silence Essential is going to cover the cost of the tax stand. They're going to save you 200 bucks right now. So make sure you don't miss out. Shooting suppressed. If you're in the market for a new suppressor, Whether it's your first or your next one, visit silenceesscentral.com or call them 866-811-6536. Silence Essential is going to cover your tax stamp right now they're going to simplify the submission process and deliver your suppressor right. Right to your door. Don't wait. Get your suppressor right now and start shooting. Suppress. This season, Bushnell is eager to help you get set up for conservation success. That's right. They want to help you. The conservation and research community is dominated by good people doing good things and investing significant time and effort for the benefit of habitat and the species. So what do you need to do? Pretty simple. Send us your conservation story and or your conservation wish. Could be managing whitetails, could be understanding your environment or species or something else related to conservation. What would you be able to do if you had a great trail camera setup? We will select the best story every other month and send you a camera bundle. Cell camera, normal SD camera, SD cards, as well as optics, everything you need to get set up for success. I can't wait to see what you submit. You can email us, DM us, message us, whatever you want. We are not hard to find. Good luck.
Brittany
The mission, while it is still to convey the truth about hunting, is honestly bigger than that. And we're doing so much more. And so in order to reach as big of an audience as we can and to be able to do as much as we are and we want to do, we needed a name that could include all of the different aspects of our mission. Because the mission is bigger than just to convey the truth about hunting. It's about promoting and, and helping to sustain, to, to save sustainable hunting, sustainable wildlife, sustainable natural resources around the globe.
Mike Axelrod
That's right, yeah. And we're not going to get into like, you know, forestry or any of that kind of stuff. It's all going to be tied to, to wildlife and the sustainable use of wildlife. Because at the end of the day, it comes down to the fact that we believe that for wildlife to prosper, for fisheries to prosper, you have to have some sustainability component to it, end of story. If you don't, then that wildlife or that fisheries is not going to survive because you're going to need something that carries value for people. People need to see value in wildlife to keep it around. And so that is simply why we changed the name to the Origins Foundation. And to really champion, just like we've been doing, nothing's different. Our name has changed, but our heart hasn't that we are championing the sustainable use of wildlife globally. That's it.
Brittany
Right? You're not about to hear us do an episode on the lungs of the Earth. We're not about to talk about the rainforest and how the rainforest is the lungs of the earth now. Maybe they are, but we're not changing our identity. Everything is still going to be centered around hunting and fishing. And because we look at the end of the day, hunters and anglers are the best conservationists in the world. And, and unfortunately that is still a little known fact outside of the hunting and angling community. We know it because we're in the midst of it. But we have to make sure that we are doing a better job of educating the non hunting, non angling community about the conservation efforts of our group and all of the good that we are doing as a community to ensure the survival of our lands and waters and our wildlife.
Mike Axelrod
Yeah, no, totally agree with you. You know, I was even just reading an article today that a good friend of ours, Jim English, sent us and it was about, it was really about a specific parrot species in the grasslands of Cape York in Australia and how the fact that the fact that fire had been taken out of the landscape had resulted in tree encroachment in that landscape which had resulted in this parrot getting heavily predated on by raptors essentially. I was like, man, you know, fire is an integral part of the system. Like fire needs to be like people need to put fire in the system. Like it's such a boogeyman. Same thing as hunting. Not that we become a fire organization. I'm just using as an example to say we can talk about that because that's a tied in with the wildlife conservation issue. That's tied in with, you know, people looking after the land, managing the land, managing the land for wildlife, for biodiversity, for hunting opportunities, for fishing opportunities.
Brittany
Right, right. And, and so you also, we also have, uh, we are expanding geographically with new countries that are being added. Um, and hopefully more and more will be with the expansion of Wild Origins India, Wild Origins Canada.
Mike Axelrod
Yeah, and all of our other affiliates like that. We've been working with Australia and Finland and Spain. We have one in South Africa, one Namibia will be slowly converting those over to wild origins. Call the country name, what do you want to call it? But we also are taking a, you know, a much more deeper approach into those things. So you know, we're going to have a charter and we're going to have people that are going to drive that train for us. And we, you know, we want volunteers in those spaces to really take up the mantle of that volunteer effort and go, okay, we want to push this forward. We want to belong to this organization, we want to move this organization forward. We're going to move that organization forward in our specific country that has a different flavor to it than North America or wherever else that we're working. And so yeah, that's, you know, that's something that we've been working on just behind the scenes slowly but surely, but have never really like lit the fire under anybody and said like, go do, like really go do. So that's coming too.
Brittany
It's so exciting to me because different areas obviously have different priorities. Nothing is the same. You know, the situation in India is drastically different from the situation in North America, from the situation in South Africa or even between the various countries in Africa itself. And so it's so important that the work being done is driven by and being guided from the people on the ground in those geographic locations. And so we can give the support and we can give some suggestions and some oversight and some financial help and bring people together across the globe, which you do such a fantastic job of doing. People don't see what you do behind the scenes. They have no idea how many people you talk to on a given day. It honestly blows my mind. Um, Robbie has a unique ability not to sleep, which people probably watching your Instagram out there can tell. But the number of WhatsApp groups that Robbie is a member of and the number of people that he touches on and talks to in a given day is really superhuman to me. This is coming from an eight hour person a night. I think Robbie probably averages a 5, maybe 4 sometimes, so. But he can't do it all. We can't do it all. And so we, we so badly need people who are like minded and, and there are so many people across the globe. You know, we really are a global system now and so we need people out there. And if you're listening to this and you believe what we believe and you, you know, want to see the sustainable use of wildlife and hunting and fishing in your country, please reach out to us because you know, we are expanding and you know there's, we don't agree with everyone everywhere. And so, you know, this isn't the right organization for everyone, but it is the right organization for some people and a lot of people and I think a lot more than we even know about out there. And we'll be starting chapters across North America, which is really exciting. Some I think are ready to go and were more known in some parts than others. And so it's just a really exciting time to be involved in Origins Foundation.
Mike Axelrod
Yeah. And I think that, you know, the, the, the coolest part about it and, and this is one of the things that I say to people is like, we're so young. We're five years old. And so you're getting involved at the grassroots level of something that could be absolutely ginormous. You know, think about a Ducktown Limited or a Dallas Safari Club or a National Wild Turkey Federation. When they were 5 years old, what were they like? We're already way bigger.
Brittany
Ten years ago was small and they're huge now.
Mike Axelrod
Yeah, we are way bigger than them at this point in our longevity. And we want people who just believe in the mission. And we know we have lots of people that do because we wouldn't have grown this much if we didn't. And so it's a matter of people just, you know, giving of time, treasure and talent. That's really it. Like you have something to offer. You either have time, which is super valuable, you either have some treasure which you just decide to donate to us on a monthly basis, or you have talent and you're like, hey, I know how to, I don't know, create Spotify know programs that creates a roundup scenario for our conservation corporate members. I don't know. Or I'm really good at drumming up volunteers, or I'm really good at event planning, or I'm really good at running social media. Okay, great, we'll use you.
Brittany
We need all of it.
Mike Axelrod
Yeah, we'll take all of it.
Brittany
Or I am single handedly dedicated to helping Ashley through her technological issues.
Mike Axelrod
Please, somebody, somebody volunteer to be our IT expert and be assigned to Ashley 24 7.
Brittany
She needs someone on call a hundred percent.
Mike Axelrod
100%. But yeah, we've. The name change happened yesterday. You'll see. You know, it'll take a little while for all of our bits and pieces and bobs to come across at the Blood as changing from Blood Origins to the Origins Foundation. I'm gonna slip up probably in conversations and talk about that. It's been my baby for, you know, seven years now. Five years is the nonprofit. But yeah, yeah. So I don't think we need to just to say much more on the roundup. That's what we wanted to talk about. We want to talk about the name change. The other thing that I will say is if you have gotten this far, we do have a live auction happening right now. Not a live auction, an auction, an online auction. You can go to the link in our bio. There's some great things up for grabs. There's some cool wallets from Teton Leather company. There's some cool guns that you can bid on. We got some cool sig sour range finders, binos up for grabs. We've got some amazing hunts. Cree Cree ibex hunt in Macedonia. A Rusa stag hunt in Mauritius. If you don't like to hunt. You're listening to this and. Or you love to go to the beach, convince your husband or your wife that they need to go hunt a rooster deer and go sit on the beach in Mauritius because that is the place to be. We got a bunch of South African hunts, we've got a bunch of Spanish hunts. Yeah, lots of stuff on there. So just go.
Brittany
Am I eligible for these?
Mike Axelrod
You're raising money for. It's a, it's a, it's a bidding situation.
Brittany
Depends on how much I put in.
Mike Axelrod
If you want to bid $10,000 for one of these hunts. It's, it's, it's the online auction platform.
Brittany
The Mauritius. The Mauritius thing sounds pretty.
Mike Axelrod
Mauritius is pretty darn cool.
Brittany
How do you get to Mauritius?
Mike Axelrod
You fly to any one of. I don't think there's a direct flight out of, out of the Middle East. So you'd fly into, you know, one of the countries like Nairobi or Johannesburg, South Africa, and then transfer over to fly into Mauritius.
Brittany
Okay. Yeah.
Mike Axelrod
That's where everybody used to go on vacation. So, yeah, get in on it. And some art, some amazing art. So lots, lots of things up for grabs for everybody's taste.
Brittany
In two weeks, we will be part of a film festival in Colorado raising.
Mike Axelrod
Money for Blood Origins, a part of the film festival in Colorado. We will. I will be in Colorado Springs this weekend at the Colorado Houndsman's banquet will be the key one of the keynote speakers. We have our film event.
Brittany
I'll be in Ducks this weekend.
Mike Axelrod
We'll be at Ducks. Yeah. Ashley will be at Ducks. So we're going to be around lots of different places. So, yeah, pretty happy.
Brittany
Kind of a slow time for legislation right now. Congress is taking their August recess. The House took it early, which, honestly, I think they may have earned after everything that's been going on with the budget this year. But some, I mean, look, last year they, they were all stuck there for a long time, so they decided to hit it. Trump, of course, has asked the Senate to stay and confirm a bunch of his judicial nominees and other cabinet appointments. There are, I think, almost 200 seats that have not been confirmed, but I don't believe a decision has been made on that. I would bet they will not stick around. August recess is a pretty important time for them to get, get back out in the district and go in junkets and they go on trips around the world and they go, it's always clogged up with a lot of things going on. So I would be very surprised if they stuck around to confirm nominees. But we'll see, we'll see what happens with that. But it's just a slow time of year for legislation. Not, not much big news on that front.
Mike Axelrod
Well, good. So, yeah, big name change yesterday. If you have any questions, reach out to us. You can DM us if you want to volunteer for us. You can email us info. You can DM us on socials super easy.
Brittany
You can send us a message on our Google voice number.
Mike Axelrod
What's that number again?
Brittany
Let me look it up real quick.
Mike Axelrod
I thought you would have it. 6017-9006-0760-1790-0607. Yeah, let us know. Are you, are you, are you happy with the name change? Are you not happy with the name change? Give us some feedback. Cool. Short shock, to the point.
Brittany
Congratulations.
Mike Axelrod
Congratulations to us, to everyone. See ya.
Brittany
All right, bye.
Mike Axelrod
Well, that's it for today. I appreciate you listening as always.
Ashley
Hi, I'm Matt, founder of Afueta Coffee. Coffee for the outdoors. A fueta means outside in Spanish and we believe your coffee should be as exceptional as your outdoor experiences. We source specialty coffee grown sustainably, sourced with care and roasted on demand. No hype, no gourmet or premium labels. Just the best coffee you've ever had delivered to your door. We roast, bag and ship right here in the US and everything we do has mother Nature at the forefront of our decision making. From compostable bags to recycled mailers and labels. Plus, we donate 5% of all sales, not just profits, and to charities that protect and preserve the outdoors we love. Ready to upgrade your coffee and make a difference. Check us out@afueracoffee.com that's a f u e r a coffee dot com. You'll find our full lineup of roasts, stories behind the beans, and more about the causes we support. Enjoy your next outdoor adventure with purpose and an incredible coffee in hand.
Melissa Baughman
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Mike Axelrod
Leave a review, share it with your friends, and most importantly, do what's right to convey the truth around hunting.
Summary of "Roundup 155 || We Have Big News!" – The Origins Foundation Podcast
Release Date: July 30, 2025
Host: The Origins Foundation
In Roundup 155, titled "We Have Big News!", the hosts Mike Axelrod and Brittany unveil significant developments for their organization, marking a pivotal moment in its evolution. This episode serves as a landmark announcement, highlighting a strategic rebranding and expansive growth plans aimed at enhancing their conservation and sustainable hunting initiatives globally.
A central theme of the episode is the organization's decision to change its name from Blood Origins to The Origins Foundation. This rebranding reflects a broader mission beyond merely conveying the truths about hunting. The new name embodies a commitment to fostering sustainable wildlife management and comprehensive conservation efforts worldwide.
“Our name has changed to reflect that we are... expanding our mission beyond just conveying the truth about hunting.”
— Mike Axelrod [05:38]
Brittany elaborates on the necessity of the name change, emphasizing that the organization's mission has grown to encompass sustainable hunting practices, wildlife preservation, and the sustainable use of natural resources on a global scale.
“The mission is bigger than just to convey the truth about hunting. It's about promoting and helping to sustain, to save sustainable hunting, sustainable wildlife, sustainable natural resources around the globe.”
— Brittany [10:07]
The podcast details ambitious plans to expand The Origins Foundation's presence internationally. New chapters are being established in countries such as India, Canada, Australia, Finland, Spain, South Africa, and Namibia. Each regional chapter will address unique conservation challenges and leverage local expertise to drive effective wildlife management.
“We have new countries being added, Wild Origins India, Wild Origins Canada... and we're working with Australia and Finland and Spain.”
— Mike Axelrod [14:14]
The hosts highlight strategic partnerships that bolster their conservation efforts. Notably, Safari Specialty Importers collaborates by donating a portion of each shipment to conservation projects, including anti-poaching initiatives and community development. Additionally, Silence Essential supports by covering tax stamps for suppressors, further promoting sustainable hunting practices.
“Safari Specialty Importers... are going to donate a hundred dollars from every shipment that they work with to conservation projects that include anti-poaching, community development, and wildlife conservation.”
— Mike Axelrod [06:48]
Furthermore, Bushnell is introduced as a partner eager to support conservation success by providing trail cameras to individuals, fostering community-driven conservation stories.
“Bushnell is eager to help you get set up for conservation success... They want to help you...”
— Mike Axelrod [09:00 onwards]
A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to rallying support and encouraging community involvement. Mike and Brittany call upon listeners to volunteer their time, donate resources, or contribute their unique talents to help advance the organization's mission.
“If you're listening to this and you believe what we believe and you want to see the sustainable use of wildlife and hunting and fishing in your country, please reach out to us.”
— Mike Axelrod [15:40]
The hosts announce upcoming fundraising initiatives, including online auctions featuring exclusive hunting trips in destinations like Mauritius, Macedonia, and South Africa. These auctions aim to generate funds to support ongoing and future conservation projects.
“We have a live auction happening right now... including hunts in Macedonia, Mauritius, South Africa, Spain.”
— Mike Axelrod [19:58]
They also mention their participation in a film festival in Colorado, which will further aid in fundraising and promoting their conservation message.
Mike provides a brief update on the current legislative landscape affecting hunting and conservation. With Congress entering an August recess, there is a slowdown in legislative activities. However, ongoing discussions around regulations, such as the reduction of the NFA-mandated tax stamp for suppressors, remain a focus.
“Shooting suppressed have become the norm in over 42 states where suppressors are legal... Silence Essential is going to cover the cost of the tax stamp right now.”
— Mike Axelrod [06:48 onward]
In conclusion, Mike and Brittany express optimism about the organization's future, emphasizing their commitment to sustainable wildlife management and conservation. They reiterate that while the name has changed, the core mission remains steadfast. The episode closes with an invitation for listeners to engage, provide feedback on the rebranding, and continue supporting their conservation efforts.
“Our name has changed, but our heart hasn't. We are championing the sustainable use of wildlife globally.”
— Mike Axelrod [11:58]
Roundup 155 marks a transformative phase for The Origins Foundation, highlighting a strategic rebranding and extensive global expansion aimed at enhancing their impact on wildlife conservation and sustainable hunting. Through strategic partnerships, community engagement, and continuous advocacy, the organization is poised to significantly advance its mission on a global scale.
For more information or to get involved, listeners are encouraged to reach out via the provided contact channels and participate in upcoming events and initiatives.