Ep. 808: A Costa Rican Immigrant on Hunting In America

Summary

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The MeatEater Podcast — Ep. 808: A Costa Rican Immigrant on Hunting In America

Date: December 20, 2025
Host: Steven Rinella
Guest: Pablo Escobel

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Episode Overview

In this vibrant and engaging episode, Steven Rinella welcomes Pablo Escobel, a Costa Rican immigrant whose journey to becoming a passionate American hunter is full of grit, humor, and cultural adaptation. Broadcasting live from Birmingham, Alabama, this “flop” episode traces Pablo’s childhood forays into illegal hunting in Costa Rica, his move to the United States, and his hard-earned success in Alabama's hunting woods. Pablo’s story is as much about the process of learning and perseverance as it is about embracing new opportunities and traditions.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Introduction to Pablo and the “Flop” Format (03:16–05:47)

• The episode opens with a festive, live-tour energy.
• Steven introduces Pablo as a local ticket holder whose past podcast appearances and compelling personal story grabbed the team’s interest.
• “I thought, man, we’re down here. I want to meet you and have a chance to talk to you and introduce you to our listeners to hear some about some of your hunting adventures.” — Steven Rinella (03:57)

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2. Childhood Hunting in Costa Rica (06:25–14:14)

• Illegality & Approaches:
  • All hunting is illegal in Costa Rica, so Pablo’s introduction to hunting came clandestinely, using slingshots and homemade blowguns.
  • Resourcefulness: crafting blowguns from hardware store rods and molding clay pellets by hand.
• Methods & Challenges:
  • Pablo describes collaborative, youthful expeditions, targeting birds and small mammals, and cooking everything brought home—even with limited kitchen supplies.
  • “It was hunting with a slingshot and blow guns… As kids, man, you develop your interest for slingshots, blowguns, and things like that, because you have resources all over the place.” — Pablo Escobel (06:53)
• Community Attitudes:
  • Hunters in Costa Rica are viewed negatively—“People grow with the mentality that the hunter is the uneducated… the savage.” (13:02)
• Fishing:
  • Improvised fishing gear from bottles and heavy line, from creeks rather than big-game opportunities.

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3. Immigration to America and Adjusting to Southern Life (14:14–29:39)

• Mother’s Journey and Pablo’s Transition:
  • Pablo’s mother marries an American (Rick) and moves to Alabama. Pablo stays behind as a young teen for several years, then abruptly receives news of a U.S. embassy interview and, within days, moves to the U.S. at 22.
  • Culture shock: “The idea that you get from the States is like big cities… I was like, where’s the city? She said, ‘Son, well, do you remember where you at?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, Alabama.’ She said, ‘Yeah, there’s no big cities in Alabama.’” — Pablo (18:05)
• First Impressions and Goals:
  • Rick, his stepfather, sets strict rules: get a job, learn English, get a car, a license, and an apartment in 90 days (20:43–22:07).
  • Pablo’s hustle: secures work at a Mexican restaurant despite no English, where he soon meets his future wife.

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4. Love Story: Meeting and Marrying His Wife (22:07–37:17)

• Persistence and Cultural Clashes:
  • Pablo’s courtship meets resistance; his future father-in-law is intimidating and unpredictable — from silence to violence to a bizarre “blessing” involving a kiss on the mouth at gunpoint (31:34–34:52).
• Integration and Independence:
  • Overcoming obstacles, Pablo completes all of Rick’s requirements and starts a new life with his wife.
  • “At the end of the 90 days, I had all the requirements that Rick wanted. Plus I was moving in to the apartment with my current wife.” — Pablo (37:33)

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5. Becoming an American Hunter: Obstacles and Lessons (38:48–60:53)

• Initial Struggles:
  • Early misconceptions and the challenge of regulations; Pablo’s first years mimic TV hunters with little success. He even soaks himself in deer urine, disastrously misunderstanding hunting scents (47:24–48:12).
    • “I go to Walmart… Can I get some sand deer Sin… She gives me a big bottle, man… And the first pump I was like, God almighty. I said, this crap is stout.” — Pablo (47:24)
• Journey to Proficiency:
  • Mentorship from neighbor Tony Myers is pivotal, teaching Pablo to read signs, identify food sources, and understand deer behavior (53:16–54:21).
  • A slow build: three years of hunting before his first close encounter and miss, resulting in frustration—then eventually, success.
    • “I'm not going to lie, I cry like a kid that day.” — Pablo (55:33)
    • His first harvest is a small 8-point buck—proudly shown off to Tony and celebrated.

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6. Breakthroughs and Big Bucks (60:53–62:03)

• Persistence Pays Off:
  • Pablo breaks his personal best twice in one hunting season—both on Alabama public land.
  • He shares photos and celebrates with the MeatEater crew on stage.
• Mindset and Community:
  • Steven reflects on the universal divide among hunters: those lamenting lost opportunities vs. those energized by the abundance around them.
    • “Everywhere you go, there’s two kinds of guys… The guy who says it all sucks now… And next door is the guy that can’t scratch the surface, he’s so excited to be alive… and you’re that guy.” — Steven (62:46)

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7. Community, mentorship, and Giving Back (63:22–66:22)

• Mentors:
  • Pablo credits a supportive network (Tony Myers, Michael Perry, Jamie McCain, and more) who helped him master the subtleties of American hunting.
  • Key lesson: “Don’t think that you’re gonna just go out there and shoot one of these [big bucks]… You got to put some deer under your belt.” — Pablo citing Tony Myers (63:59)
• Learning Through Experience:
  • Many mistakes—including misunderstanding sighting in rifles!—are now humorous milestones on his path.

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8. Reflections and Gratitude (67:48–69:41)

• Renewed Enthusiasm:
  • Pablo’s story is an inspiration, his infectious joy a reminder to savor every hunting experience.
    • “The enthusiasm is both like jealousy inducing and motivating… I sometimes find myself [thinking] I should be more excited in this moment. I just got to kill another beautiful mule deer buck in the mountains, and… I don’t have the enthusiasm that you’re experiencing.” — MeatEater Crew Member (68:01)
• American Welcome:
  • “I want to welcome you to America, man.” — Steven (69:37)
  • “Thank you, man. Thank you.” — Pablo Escobel (69:41)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

How Pablo started hunting in Costa Rica:

• “It was hunting with a slingshot and blow guns… And then, you know, you start kind of like getting a little bit more curious. Like, I'm wondering if I can take that bird down with this rock. And next thing you know, you start becoming efficient.” — Pablo (06:53)

Culture shock arriving in Alabama:

• “I was like, where’s the city?... ‘Yeah, there’s no big cities in Alabama.’ I was just looking down like, oh my God, what I got myself into.” — Pablo (18:05)

The surreal blessing from his future father-in-law:

• “This dude comes out running, flashing a gun... Now he's crying. He started doing the, you know, the Hispanic blessing... grabs me by my mouth and kissed me in my mouth... I froze on time right there. And I said, hell no, man. That ain't no blessing.” — Pablo (31:34–32:05)

Misadventures with hunting gear:

• “That was a really rough lesson that day. I was like, don't spread this crap on yourself, you know what I mean?” — Pablo (48:12)

Reflections after his first deer miss:

• “I'm not going to lie. I cry like a kid that day.” — Pablo (55:33)

Celebrating his best season:

• “This year, the biggest book ever of my life happened on Halloween. And little did I know, three weeks later, I was gonna kill the biggest book ever. You know, I broke my pb… two times.” — Pablo (61:04)

On hunting attitudes:

• “Everywhere you go, there’s two kinds of guys… And you’re that guy [who’s excited].” — Steven (62:45–63:18)

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Episode Flow with Timestamps

• 03:16 — Live show intro; meet Pablo Escobel.
• 06:25–14:14 — Growing up hunting and fishing (illegally) in Costa Rica.
• 14:14–22:07 — Moving to the U.S.; starting a new life in Alabama.
• 22:07–37:17 — Romantic exploits; adjusting to Southern and Mexican-American family culture.
• 38:48–60:53 — Learning to hunt in America; struggles, funny mistakes, and eventual success.
• 60:53–62:03 — Achieving major milestones: personal best bucks.
• 62:45–63:18 — Philosophy of hunting and outlook on life in America.
• 63:22–66:22 — Community, learning, and the value of mentorship.
• 67:48–69:41 — Reflections, gratitude, and a warm American welcome.

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Tone and Language

The tone is energetic, often humorous, deeply personal, and celebratory of the American hunting tradition. Pablo’s candid storytelling, accented by cultural misadventures and heartfelt gratitude, conveys the possibility and reward of stepping outside one’s comfort zone and embracing a new country’s traditions. Steven’s genuine warmth and curiosity amplify the podcast’s characteristic blend of irreverence and deep respect for the outdoors.

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Summary prepared for those seeking detailed understanding and memorable highlights from “A Costa Rican Immigrant on Hunting In America.”

Transcript

[Pablo Escobel]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[Coca Cola Announcer]

What a matchup we got y'.

[Pablo Escobel]

All.

[Coca Cola Announcer]

This is that classic HBCU vibe. Non stop action. The band is rockin and the crowd lit. Chance echo drum beatin Everybody showing that school pride. Game like this. Yeah, it calls for an ice cold Coca Cola. Ah, crisp and refreshing. That's a game changer right there. Yeah, that taste always hits the right note. Just like the band at halftime. And just like that, we're back at it. Passionate fans, school colors everywhere and in ice cold Coca Cola. That's a winning combo no matter the sport, no matter the yard. Everybody knows fan work is thirsty work. So grab a Coca Cola and keep that HBCU pride going.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

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[Pablo Escobel]

Subscribe to the YouTube.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Oh, Reba would like you. Reva's one ask is he subscribed to the YouTube feed at the meteor podcast YouTube channel. We're. So what we're doing today is we're joined by a ticket holder.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Pablo Escobel. You're coming to the show tonight?

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, yeah, sure you're gonna be.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

You excited for the show?

[Pablo Escobel]

Absolutely. Yeah, definitely. Because it's gonna be my first time too, so. Yeah, definitely.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Now, I. I know you well. The reason I wanted to talk about you is I know you well from coming on. You've been on a handful of podcasts and I've listened to your story and other podcasts. The Southern Outdoorsman. Is that what it's called? Southern Outdoors Podcast? Yanni sent that to me saying, this guy's a riot.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

And I've heard you do other interviews and I thought, man, we're down here. I want to meet you and have a chance to talk to you and introduce you to our listeners to hear some about some of your hunting adventures.

[Pablo Escobel]

Wow.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

And kind of your strange trip toward becoming an American hunter.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, absolutely. It's. It's an honor, man. I really appreciate it. Definitely.

[Podcast Co-host or Guest (possibly MeatEater crew member)]

Can you, before we get to Pablo, can you explain flop in case anybody isn't up to speed?

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Oh, yeah, I'd be happy to. What it means is this. A lot of times we have this problem. I'm addressing you listeners. We have this problem where we release shows on Mondays, so we always run into this problem where things will prevent us from releasing our show right away. Do you know this why it's called that? So one day I was saying that I wanted to be able to do. To record certain shows or just flop. It comes out flop being the noise made when it just comes out like flop, wham.

[Podcast Co-host or Guest (possibly MeatEater crew member)]

When I heard it, I felt like you were some somehow going to compare the noise of it coming out with the sound of you slapping meat because you're such a different kind of flop. You have such an affinity for slapping meat. So I thought there was some connection there.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

That's different kind of Fly. Yeah. When you slap a back hand.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

No, this just means it's going to come out. We're going to do three. We're gonna do three flops here on. This is day one. This is the opening show. Everyone's nervous. We have a. We're doing. I'm looking around to see who's listening because we're doing, like, a blowgun thing, and we're very scared about getting in trouble with the venues. So we asked one venue if we could bring Clay's mule. They said no, so we didn't ask about the blowgun stunt.

[Pablo Escobel]

Should be fine.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

I know, but I don't want to. I don't want to bring it up ahead of time.

[Pablo Escobel]

No, you shouldn't, because if you bring.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

It up ahead of time, it's just going to be. No.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah.

[Podcast Co-host or Guest (possibly MeatEater crew member)]

Which is hopefully, like, the manager of the last venue that we're going to this week won't listen to this episode.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

We have a pretty. So we bought some blow guns from Tim Wells, and he sends them with some wooden darts, which look unassuming, like a puncho.

[Pablo Escobel]

I mean, a pincho. My bad.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Yeah. So I'm just. No one's around right now. I'm just a little nervous about the blowgun situation.

[Podcast Co-host or Guest (possibly MeatEater crew member)]

What's a pincho?

[Pablo Escobel]

A kebab. I'm sorry? Yeah, Kebab. Pretty much, Yeah.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

A skewer. Shish bob. Skewer.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

So, Pablo Escobel.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

You grew up in Costa Rica.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yes.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

And I didn't know this until today. You grew up in Costa Rica and you were engaged in, like, hunting activities in Costa Rica or you. You experimented, you dabble.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yes. Experimental.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Tell about that a little bit. I didn't know that about you.

[Pablo Escobel]

So the thing is, when I was down there, man, you know, hunting is legal down there and illegal. Yes, it is legal. Any kind of species is illegal, honey.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

You're saying illegal, like not legal.

[Pablo Escobel]

Not legal.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Got it.

[Pablo Escobel]

Legal. Yeah. So, you know, as kids, man, you develop your interest for slingshots, blowguns, and things like that, because you have resources all over the place. And. And then, you know, you start kind of like getting a little bit more curious. Like, I'm wondering if I can take that bird down with this rock. And next thing you know, you start becoming efficient. And so, yeah, it was. It was hunting with a slingshot and blow guns. We used to go through. Well, the blowgun, man. It wasn't your particular blog. And it was just like, we used to go to the hardware store, the only store, and they had like, corking rods, like aluminum rod. About half an inch.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Okay.

[Pablo Escobel]

About a meter long, which is like three feet, three and a half. And then we used to go to the river, to the creek areas and just dig some clay, because it's clay everywhere. Keep them in a, like in a plastic bag in your pack, a little bit of moist into it.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Keep what in there?

[Pablo Escobel]

The clay.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Okay.

[Pablo Escobel]

So it stays nice and moist. It doesn't dry right away. And man, I guess it became like a muscle memory because you were just kind of like doing your pellets with your fingers all the time and keeping pellets in there. So the pellets were getting mush. But then you just pull it back up and round it back up, put it in there and just keep on shooting.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Shooting soft clay.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, but.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

But what were you hunting with the soft clay birds that would have enough oomph.

[Pablo Escobel]

Oh, man, you be amazed. Being soft, we didn't know anything about ballistics, but I guess when they hit and they kind of mushroom, I mean, we're talking about birds about this big. Oh, they don't stand a chance at 20 yards. Like, they coming down, you know, so.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Would you ever get any kind of furred animals? Like, I don't know what they got in Costa Rica?

[Pablo Escobel]

Well, they got.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

They got like. They gotta have like, lava. The paka.

[Pablo Escobel]

Do you know pisoti? No. It's like a. Like a coon with an elongated nose.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Oh, yeah, yeah. We call them.

[Pablo Escobel]

I forgot the monkey. Yes. Okay. There's some. There's another one is watusa and tepesquinte. Those are like small capybaras as a reference. Right. And those used to be with the slingshots. But that was not a one man job, man. It used to be like trying to put a snake upon him. You know, three or four guys and everybody's gonna aim at the same time, and somebody's gonna hit it. Somebody's gonna hit it good. Well, you gotta aim with a rug right at the head. So somebody's gonna hit him. We're just gonna stun him, and then we're gonna run to him and get him and finish what we started. Yeah. So. And you know, and unfortunately, maybe 1 out of 15, 1 out of 20 homes were successful.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Okay.

[Pablo Escobel]

It's incredible.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

And you're just going out in the jungle.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, Right there on the fields. Because, you know, I grew up in a place with a perfect balance in between country and a teeny tiny city or tin tin town, you know, like there was a hospital in there, Hardware Store. Of course, as the years went on and on, everything started developing. But at the time when I was 7, that was it. And the funniest thing. Well, the best thing ever is that nobody had Internet, nobody has cell phones. Like we used to just go knock on somebody's door trying to round everybody up. Because we're gonna go to the river later on and everybody will wait on.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

The corner, like round up your hunting party.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah. Or whoever wants to go. Which it was nothing. But kids, would you guys fish? Yes. A lot. And I mean, I look at this core. We used to go to the hardware store and we were like, we need some fishing line. Man. You will get line like for a thousand pound marlin. Just the girls right there to the creek to get brams about this big, you know.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Okay. Because you just didn't have access to sporting good stuff.

[Pablo Escobel]

No, they didn't have a rod. They didn't have nothing. And we used to just like, dude, do you know. Are you familiar with the Cuban yo, yo. Like a. Got one of those. It's kind of like. We used to have bottles, plastic bottles, and just kind of like wrap your line around then long.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Would you guys cast off those two? I've seen dudes do that down.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Like down in South America. Cast with a bottle.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah. Usually you cast towards the bottleneck.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Okay.

[Pablo Escobel]

Like the end of the bottle is going to be your stop. So you cast. When you cast kind of like towards.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

You're holding. You're holding the bottom of the bottle.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yep. Pretty much like this. You will. Cause the line will go that way.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Got it.

[Pablo Escobel]

You know, and we had a lot of fun, man. A lot of fun.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Would you guys. Would you guys bring the stuff home and your mom and dad would cook it?

[Pablo Escobel]

I did. I brought everything home. My mama used to get so mad because, you know, we didn't have much. And the few things that she had, I was always bringing everything into it. So she was like, this is your pen now. You ain't gonna cook anything else. None of these utensils. This is going to be your pen. So I was like, okay. And I had the pan and I used to cook all kinds of birds and some of the mammals when we used to get lucky, cook them in there or go to a friend's house and they had like a bigger pan so we could put a bunch of pig lard on it and just deep fried them. Oh my goodness, man. Yeah, it was good times. Really, really, really good times. Of course. How can I say this? It was a different time. Run as, as, you know, everything else that is around us has been evolving. The culture has maintained itself, you know. Now, unfortunately, these days, the laws are still the same. And. And one of the things that I don't like is that we just enjoy the outdoors, man, like we did. And, and the thrill of the chase and the, you know, like, that was it. It was not just kill for kill. No, it was the thrill of the chase and then eating it. But unfortunately, we were caught up many times. And I'm telling you. Oh, yeah, back in those days, anybody was allowed to give you a whooping regardless where you were. If it was somebody that, you know you're doing something wrong, somebody's gonna whoop you, you know.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Got it?

[Pablo Escobel]

And it happened like that many, many times because they grew up with them.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

You'd get caught and get whooped by someone. Yeah, but not a cop.

[Pablo Escobel]

No, no, the cubs, they only have batoons. They didn't really care, you know. But anybody else were like, what are y' all doing killing birds? Oh, no. But just whoop you, man. And. And it was like, ah, we gotta regroup and stay out of this place, pretty much. And unfortunately, man, people grow with the mentality that the hunter is the uneducated, the hunter is the ignorant, the hunter is the savage.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

You know, that's a sentiment in Costa.

[Pablo Escobel]

Rica pretty much, you know, and I. I truly respect it. Like I said, the place is beautiful, man. Don't get me wrong. And it's a fisherman's paradise.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Yeah, but you can't. Spearfish can't hunt. Can't spear.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah. And so. So this is where you. I bet you laws has changed throughout the years. And of course, with social media now, it's a lot easier to access everything else. But when I was down there, man, I never heard anything like such about, like, fishing restrictions or regulations or never. Like, if you can catch a thousand snappers, catch them, you know, that was back then, but we're talking about like 20 years ago, right? So now these days, I bet you they do have different regulations and things of that nature back in place.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

So how is it that your mom.

[Pablo Escobel]

Came to the US she got married with my stepdad. Right. My stepdad, Rick. She got married. Let me take a sip of water because this is going to be a long story.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Well, keep it short. We got a lot of ground to cover. We haven't even gotten to deer hunting yet.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, yeah. She gets married, Rick. She said I. Well, here's the thing. I didn't even know they were fixing to get married. My mom was kind of dating Rick. Rick was kind of like going back and forth to Costa Rica and all that stuff.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

From America.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, right here. Born and raised in Alabama, so I didn't know English at all. Nothing, dude, like, was just like, hey. I was a teenager, then suddenly she's like, all right, son, we're going to get married. I'm going to the States. I said, cool. How old are you, man? When she left, I was between 14 and 15. What? I was about to be 15. My grandmother, she was going to be on charge with me, but.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Oh, okay.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, but my grandma used to live on the other side of town, which I call town, you know what I mean? So on the bright side, I was the only teenager without adult supervision, you know? So I was like, let's go.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

But what, What? Once she took off, what were you doing for money? How'd you support?

[Pablo Escobel]

Well, she said, did you stay in school, don't get in trouble. And we pay the bills, which the bills was the water, electricity and food.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

So she split. Yeah, but you didn't view it that way.

[Pablo Escobel]

No, I just thought about like, I'm a man, dude. Two weeks after my mama left, I felt it. And that's when I realized, man, I was missing my mom so bad. She was like, son, we. We have a process. Like, we got you in the process. Oh, like in the reason. I don't know. I gotta ask her. I don't remember why I didn't qualify as a dependent right away. I want to say because I was about 13 or 14. It's kind of like an immigration thing. Well, the years go on. She keeps saying, like, well, we got a notice, your documents. Have moved into a different office and all that stuff, man. To be honest, I thought that it was never going to happen. So I just kept on going. My life got done with high school. Then I went to a community college and I took sport fishing. That's what I wanted to do. I wanted to eventually become a captain of a sport fishing vessel.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

You studied sport fishing?

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, we said it was about, like six months of classroom theory, learning about species, how to rig lines and things like that. And then after that, it was nothing but fishing, fishing, fishing, every single day in the ocean, man, it was the greatest time ever. You know, even if we didn't cut anything, it was. It was the greatest. Well, so as I'm going, man, think about this. I'm 21, fixing to be 22. Or I was 22, got a life, the whole thing, you know, Got the house and pursuing A career, friendship, know, childhood friends and all that stuff. Suddenly mom calls. Mom used to go every Christmas, you know, suddenly she goes, she says, son, we got an appointment at the US Embassy. And I say, ah, whatever. Like it's been so many years now. Like we're probably just going to go in there, somebody's going to read a paper, something like that, and then they're going to say the documents have moved to that office, whatever. That's what I thought. I said, we're just going to be a quick in and out. Yeah, do. Little did I know, three days later I was living everything, everything behind me. Jumping in a plane, which I never done it before. No. Didn't know the culture, didn't know the language. Have nobody. No.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

And you landed where?

[Pablo Escobel]

Well, we jump in Costa Rica. We landed in Houston, but I was with my mom. Okay. Because I was losing my mind when I went. We landed in Houston airport. I never seen anything like that before in my life, man. So I was just mind blowing. We landed in Houston, went through the immigration office right there. The lady was asking me all kind of questions. I was just like, yes, have no clue what she was asking because I didn't speak English. Came in, we flew from Houston to Huntsville, landed in Huntsville. And you know, the idea that you get from the states is like big cities, all these big, big cities. And, and I'm looking, I don't see nothing on the plane. You know, nothing feels like, feels. And I was like, where, where's the city? She said, what city? I was like, the big tall building cities. And she's like, son, well do you remember where you at? And I said, yeah, Alabama. She said, yeah, there's no big cities in Alabama. I was just looking down like, oh my God, what I got myself into.

[Podcast Co-host or Guest (possibly MeatEater crew member)]

But you were excited and moving forward because.

[Pablo Escobel]

Absolutely.

[Podcast Co-host or Guest (possibly MeatEater crew member)]

You were going to be with your mom.

[Pablo Escobel]

Absolutely. That was the main thing. Well, we landed, made it home, next.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Day, I got back up on one. All right, kind of what he said, what was the main selling point to come to America?

[Pablo Escobel]

But there's no selling point. It was pretty much like a self explanatory thing. It's like, I'm gonna be with my mom.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Yeah, yeah. You know, so you viewed it like primarily a way to be reunited with your mom?

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, with my mom and my little brother, you know, because I have a little brother.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Oh, he was here.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yes.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Okay, I understand now.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah. So I was like, it's this is meant to be like this and whatever else is up there for me, it's going to be there regardless. Then we landed. Next day, wake up. First morning on the stage, it's September. So I'm out there looking, man, like, losing my mind on Rick's property. We'll call it the farm. And my mom, she said, and I'm gonna mention this to you. They fixed some chocolate gravy biscuits. And I was like, this is the greatest day ever of my life. And, I mean, I'm dunking them puppies in that gravy, man. You know, just going out because I never tried it before. First breakfast, excellent. Then mama says, ah, we gotta talk. Rick has to talk to you. She was translating because Rick didn't speak Spanish and I didn't speak English. So she was translating between us. And Rick said, ah, boy, no.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Is he a good guy?

[Pablo Escobel]

Oh, yeah, yeah, he is. Yeah. It's pretty much the backbone of everything that I have accomplished, to be honest. He said, all right, boy, we got to put some rules and. And things that you got to accomplish. And I said, so? He says, you got 90 days. Kind of like on the order to get a job, get a vehicle, learn English. Learn. Learn some English, get a driver license and find an apartment. And I just kind of laugh at my mom, you know? And she looked at me and she's like, he's serious. Like, you got 90 days to make that happen. And I was like, well, crap. You know, I waited all these years, and now here we are. I. I didn't realize I was in a courtroom, you know, like, Now I got 90 days to make this happen, man. Oh, all day long that day, I just couldn't stop thinking, like, what am I gonna do? Like, literally, what am I gonna do? We go eating that night to a Mexican restaurant. Never been before in a Mexican restaurant. We go in there, and I was so pumped. And on my way back home, it clicked. I said, man, these people speak Spanish and they speak English. This is it. I didn't have a way to ride around, so I called my mom and said, mom, can you take me to the spot I really want to go and ask for? She said, we dropped to it.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

To where?

[Pablo Escobel]

To the Mexican restaurant? Yeah, we went back next day, next morning. So I look for the manager, and I said, man. I introduced myself and I said, man, I really need a job. I will do the dishes, I clean the floors, like you tell me, but I need a job. Key word. I do not speak English. He said, okay, cool, man. I really like that attitude. I'm gonna teach you how to wait, tape tables. I was like, Dude, I just told you, I don't speak English. He's like, don't worry. I'm gonna put you with this girl. She's gonna teach you. And don't worry about it. Little did I know, that day, I was standing in front of my wife.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

What?

[Pablo Escobel]

Right there.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

That's who you're married to?

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, that's the lady. And it was like the Billy Madison movie with the child bore and all that stuff. That's pretty much what she was teaching me, how to do everything.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Huh.

[Pablo Escobel]

And, well, I started getting good at it. And I said, honey, really, like, you. Would you like to be my girlfriend? She said, my dad doesn't let me have boyfriends. I was like, what? You know, I said, who's your dad? She said, he seated out there. I said, ah, give me one second, man. I just went straight to him and I introduced myself and I said, sir, I really like your daughter. I would like to see if I can get permission to. To date or. Or maybe to go in a. On a.

[Podcast Co-host or Guest (possibly MeatEater crew member)]

Why was he in the restaurant?

[Pablo Escobel]

He was eating. Oh, yeah. That day, the day that I asked, he was eating on the restaurant. So I said.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

You said this in Spanish?

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, yeah. Because he's Mexican.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Yeah, yeah.

[Pablo Escobel]

So I'm asking him, can I date your. Your daughter? And also, I mean, you're more than welcome to come with us. To a movie theater, to another restaurant. It don't matter. And the dude don't say nothing. He just is staring at me like a pit bull, you know? And I'm there, like, is that a yes or no? Like, is this a cultural thing that I'm not aware of? So I said, well, sir, thank you so much for your time. And I just came back and no answer. No, none. And. And. And that's the beginning of one of the craziest ride of my life. Like, one of the craziest one. And.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Well, when. When did he say yes?

[Pablo Escobel]

He never did.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Well, you're married. But.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, but here's the thing. I go back to her. She said, what did he say? I say, he didn't say nothing. She said, oh, my God, I'm in trouble. So I was like, God Almighty. Well, next day, she doesn't show up to work. And now I'm kind of nervous. Oh, no. Second day she does. And I was like, dude, I blew it. Third day. And I'm just gonna put it out there because everybody knows that, like, it's not that big of a deal no more. It's a personal story, but it's not A big of a deal. No more. But she comes to work and she has a little bit of purple on her side. And I said, what happened to you? She said, well, my dad had a little like one too many drinks and he kind of like hit me a little too hard because I've been talking to you. What I say? I say, heck no. See, do you want to go with me? She said, where? And I said, I don't know. She said, yeah, dude. The only thing that I needed was a horse.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

No way.

[Pablo Escobel]

And a cowboy hat to make it look like the western style. And we just left on my truck that day. Oh, well, at the time I already had the truck, but I'm still living with Rick. On Rick's house?

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Yeah. You stole her away. Well, she needed to.

[Pablo Escobel]

How old was she? 18. She was fixing to be 19. Wow. And I was 22.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

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[Pablo Escobel]

All.

[Coca Cola Announcer]

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[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

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[Pablo Escobel]

We left and I said, I gotta talk to my mom. Called my mom and say, mom, do you remember that girl that I talked to you about? Did I like her? She said, yeah, now she's with me. She said, okay, what are y' all doing? Said, well, we're running. And it was a brief pause. She's like, in the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, you stop where you at, Tell me right now. And well, it was a big deal. One of the one of them guys from the restaurant gave her dad my number and the news called me furious. Oh, my God, I'm gonna kill you. And I said, listen to chill. I Said, chill. Let's speak like, man, you know, let's. Let's just be reasonable about this and let's just talk. Like, man, I try to talk to you once. You didn't talk to me. Let's just talk this time. Ah. I meet you tomorrow at the Walmart up there where I live. And I said, bye. Elsa's like, my wife. She's like, it's not looking good. And I said, no, no worries. Like, I got it. We get two, man. I pull up to the parking lot and I get out of the truck, and this dude comes out running, flashing a gun, like, losing his mind. And I said, listen. I said, whoa, chill. I said, listen, first and foremost, they're fixing to call the cops. I said, put that thing up. If you're trying to impress me, that's the wrong impression. I said, I came here to talk to you, and you're behaving like, I don't even know how. Well, then the situation gets weird because the dude starts crying. And I was like, well, as dude just pointed a gun at me, cussing me out. Now he's crying. He started doing the, you know, the Hispanic blessing, you know, stuff. And he said, I gotta give you the blessing. I'm just kind of like, what's. What's going on with this dude? I mean, he grabs me by my mouth and kissed me in my mouth. Her father?

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Yeah.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, dude, I froze on time right there. And I said, hell no, man. That ain't no blessing. Like, what's wrong with you? You know? And. And she was like, no, no, I'm. I'm. Is. I'm sorry. I don't understand. And, well, you're taking my little baby and this and that. And I was like, well, back up.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Your wife views it as a blessing or she.

[Pablo Escobel]

No, she. She was like, I. I never heard that before.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Is he. Is he gay?

[Pablo Escobel]

I hope it ain't, because that day traumatized me.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

So it was an unexpected maneuver on his part.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, it was a car ball. I was never expecting. I was like, what's going on?

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

And your wife wasn't expecting it?

[Pablo Escobel]

No, she was just like, what is this? And I was.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Then my wife, she was surprised by it.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah. And she began.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Are other dudes, you know, from.

[Pablo Escobel]

Are.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Are other, like, Latino dudes that, you know, surprised by that?

[Pablo Escobel]

Everybody said that was no blessing. I knew everybody.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Wow, man.

[Pablo Escobel]

Everybody's like, I did. That ain't no blessing. I said, that's the.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Think about that rea.

[Pablo Escobel]

Show of dominance.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

You think it's a Show of dominance.

[Pablo Escobel]

What kind of dominant? Well, I don't want none of that dominance, you know what I mean?

[Podcast Co-host or Guest (possibly MeatEater crew member)]

Like, I get the feeling I've heard Pablo's story about the kiss. Yeah. But my, my. The way I would read it would be that he sounds like he had his own issues.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah.

[Podcast Co-host or Guest (possibly MeatEater crew member)]

Sounds like maybe he didn't have a plan.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Like, you're getting an unstable vibe off him.

[Podcast Co-host or Guest (possibly MeatEater crew member)]

I am, yeah.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah.

[Podcast Co-host or Guest (possibly MeatEater crew member)]

And. And that maybe that, like, he was literally overjoyed that you, such a fine, young, upstanding man, would, you know, want to be with his daughter. And the way that he express, expressed himself in that moment was with a kiss.

[Pablo Escobel]

That's one way to express himself. And I wish he would just shook my hand.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

That's really something. I would have been thrown by that. I had to go ask my wife's dad if I could ask her to get married. Yeah, he didn't do nothing like that.

[Pablo Escobel]

Really. And I was like, I was like.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

I didn't give him a big old smooch.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah. I was like, dude, you just like, traumatized me for life.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Sure. Yeah.

[Pablo Escobel]

I said, from now on.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

So how did the interaction end?

[Pablo Escobel]

That was it. Well, he just keeps saying some stuff. Man, my head.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

But, but how did he. Okay, I wanna, I wanna, this is great. I wanna, I just want to cover a couple more things, but I just need. What, to your knowledge now, looking back on it, what is his state of mind? From brandishing a pistol to a blessing, a Catholic blessing to a kiss.

[Pablo Escobel]

I don't understand it.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

How many seconds? How many minutes?

[Pablo Escobel]

We're talking about. We're talking about five, four or five minutes. It was a blast. You know, the drill came out really good, I mean, really quick. He came out of that truck like if it was a drug bust, you know, just. And all that stuff by himself. Yes. And then he kind of hit a brick wall, I guess, because he, if you think about it on the psychological aspect, he might have done hit a brick wall because he wasn't impressing me and I was telling him.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

He. You weren't intimidated?

[Pablo Escobel]

No.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

You know, was some part of you wondering if he was going to shoot you or did you know he wasn't going to shoot you?

[Pablo Escobel]

No, I knew, man.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

You knew he wasn't gonna shoot?

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, I knew he was just bluffing and it was just the wrong cowboy to mess with, you know? So I was like, man, then he hits that wall and he realizes that, yeah, they like each other's. And she's fixing to go with him and he starts Going that. And then I guess his emotions just went crazy.

[Podcast Co-host or Guest (possibly MeatEater crew member)]

Is he a part of your life now?

[Pablo Escobel]

No, no, no, dude. I cut ties. I said, man, because Christmas later, I was like, hey, man, I'm gonna go back to something else. The attention stayed in there.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Sure.

[Pablo Escobel]

It was tension, especially from my part, because I was just looking at him like, you weirdo.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, Christmas and you'd hit your wife.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah. And Christmas party comes along. He knew that I didn't eat spice food at all. Like, spice spice.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

You don't like spicy food?

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, yeah, I eat some. But not like fire, Right.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Okay.

[Pablo Escobel]

He fixed a plate for me and he's. It was dynamite with chicken. Literally, like, my nose was running ask. I mean, you're talking about. I was having a bad time and he's just looking. I'm like, how is it? Is it good? And I was like, it's delicious. I would and do. And I cleaned that plate because I wasn't gonna let this man saved me fumbling right there. I was like, no, if I'm done, I'm done standing, you know? And it was a trident. She was like, don't eat that no more. And I said, no, I'm not gonna give him the joy, you know, when I'm finishing this. And that day I was like, this is it.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

That was it.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah. I said, I don't give you many, many chances. You keep coming to kind of like a trial and sucker punch, man. I said, every time that I'm a, you know, pretty much like opening myself up to you. So after that, I just decide that for my personal interest, it was better off if I just kind of like, kept my distance, not interfere with the relationship between father and daughter, because that's none of my business. You know what I mean?

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Are they still close?

[Pablo Escobel]

Kind of, yeah. That's a story for a different time. Yeah. Yeah. But wow.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Welcome to America.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yes. And. And all this happened. 90 days are up and I got all this.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

This is all in the 90 day window.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yes. And I was thinking like, you're like.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

I'll do you one better. I'll find a girl.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah. And then at the end of the 90 days, I had all the requirements that Rick wanted. Plus I was moving in to the apartment with my current wife. You know, with my wife, we're moving into.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Driver's license.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yes.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

I was Social Security number everything I had.

[Pablo Escobel]

I had a two hour break on the. On the restaurant. So I had a dictionary and the driver license manual, and I was just trying to translate and make sense out of it. I knew how to drive a vehicle kind of, but I knew that she was going to ask me a bunch of questions. I failed the test four times. No, three. And I passed it on the fourth one cuz she, she was like, ah, let's do a three point maneuver. And I was like, yes, keep driving.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Cuz you didn't know what she said.

[Pablo Escobel]

Make it right, make it right. And I was like, okay. And until she was like, pull over, pull over. Pulling the, the wheel up of me. And then she was like, ah, you sit on the passenger side. And I was like, oh, I fail. You know what happened? And my mom. What? And I was like, what happened? Well, you failed. That's what happened. I was like, oh. So yeah, the fourth time I got it.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

So when, when did you. Because, because you've become a very avid American hunter.

[Pablo Escobel]

Here's what.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

When you got to America. So you. We talked about growing up in Costa Rica and you had like a, you, you had like the drive. And this is an interesting deal. My man was raised by Italian immigrants. He's raised by his Italian immigrant grandparents. My father, they didn't know. There's no kind of. He, he grew up in the slums in the south side of Chicago. But he knew, he don't know where it came from, but he knew he was supposed to be a fisherman.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

And a hunter. And he would go fish on the pier in Lake Michigan. He would go try to jump on a train and ride a train out and try to hunt rabbits along the railroad tracks outside the city. He just, he was called to it. Right. So you had the calling when you came to the U.S. how long did it take for you to put together that you'd landed in like a hunting and fish in paradise?

[Pablo Escobel]

It took me a little bit because everything, everything was a process. Right. And I was kind of like evolving as I was going and understanding a little bit more at the time. And then I start seeing deer on the side of the road, being hit by a car, whatever, alive. And I was like, oh my God. Well, my stepdad's never been a hunter before.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Ever. He was a farmer?

[Pablo Escobel]

No, he, he had a construction business.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

He had a farmer. Didn't farm.

[Pablo Escobel]

We just call it the farm. Yeah, the only animal in there was my little brother's dog. So I said, rick, how do you hunt? And he was like, no man, you know, you gotta have property, you gotta have land. And you know, and I was like, really? My mom is kind of translating me. So they turned direct to you. At the time it was DirecTV, remember? It was no, no big social media like it is right now. I didn't know anything about anything. And well, it was this deer hunting shows from the promised land, you know, the Midwest. I have no clue. Just watching. He was like, these guys that got thousands of acres manages as anything else. Well, there's public gun, but if you go public land, everybody's going to be shooting at you. You don't want to go there and all that. I remember about a year or two went by and I was like, man, I really, really want to like, because I brought my slingshot with me, the frame now practicing. My little brother had a baby gun and I got a baby gun, man, that was in middle. The first thing the Rick told me is like, do not kill anything. I was like, why? He's like, there's rules and regulations. Well, that was another chapter to me, understanding why we do the things that we do right here, right now, why we have laws of conservation and why do we follow the things that we follow, you know, which was a really good, like, mind opening, breath fresh. And I was like, oh my God, these people really do the right thing. As it kept going. I was very interested at the time because I was just shooting pellets and clays and things about on the backyards of targets, you know. Well, we're doing a work on a construction business. This gentleman pulls up and he says, man, can I speak with the foreman? I will. I just want to know he was needing some concrete on the side. Well, they asked me if I wanted to participate on that Saturday, and I said, sure. So we go, we're pouring the conquer and all that stuff. My step that comes by, I got.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

You're at a job site.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yes, I was.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Another dude shows up to inquire about some concrete work pretty much to get.

[Pablo Escobel]

Out to get an estimate. Now you got to remember, I was on the Mexican.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

You guys take it as a side job and you, you jump in on it.

[Pablo Escobel]

I was on the Mexican restaurant about three months and I said, you know what? I got it. I'm good. I'm. I can go through the word. I know how to speak English. And I'm. Which I didn't. But I was very confident. Like, I. Now I know what I'm doing. Well, little did I know, man, I go get a job in construction and I'm going, I'm going to a standard system. And I'm coming from a metric system. Well, back to square one. And I was like, God almighty. Yards, miles, inches the dumbest in the world, man. Everything is just backwards. So I was like, God almighty. Anyways, I get better at it. It's been three years. I started as a groundsman with no experience on anything, didn't understood anything, and I move up to a concrete finisher. So that day we're doing that job, my stepdad comes out. I've been watching the shows, keep constantly watching the shows. My stepdad comes out, he said, son, let me show you something. He. He's like, come over here. So we go on the back of this property where we pour in the concrete. That's Mr. Tony Myers residence, right? We walk on the backside and there is giants, 160 plus, class books all over, 170s, 180 state records, you name it.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

All over on the wall. Yeah, taxidermy.

[Pablo Escobel]

So, yeah, shoulder mounts and a bunch of Euro mounts. So I'm losing my mind, man. Never seen this before. And I was like, oh my God. First thing that came to my mind, I said, he probably sells them. I said, do you sell them? He. Mr. Tony was kind of laughing. He said, no, I don't. I said, where did you kill him? He said, right up there, you know. And I was like, what is that? And I asked my step that the name of the place. He's like, well, that's public. I was like, oh, my God. And I'm admiring and all that stuff. Well, the concrete is drying up, so I have to go back at it. Went back, had a brief talk with Mr. Tawny and. And man, I came back home and I just couldn't stop thinking about it. I just couldn't stop thinking about it. How magnificent these animals were, the size, everything. Never seen anything like that before in my life. So I said, rick, I really want to go hunt. He said, well, first thing you got to do is take the hunter education course. I said, ah. So I took it online, got it done. That was in 2013. I said, okay. He's like, ah.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Well, did they have that in Spanish? You did it in English?

[Pablo Escobel]

No, in English, yeah. At the time, I was able to comprehend way more than what I was able to speak. Like, I could comprehend, but I couldn't speak anything. And which I'm still, you know, fumbling here and there, but got it done, you know, based on the pamphlet and all that stuff. I said, okay, so you can hunt from this day to this day, you know, from like October 15th until January 30th as an example, right? So good. I want a bow like the guys from the show. So they Take me to a big box store, man. And they try to give me a right handed bow, but I'm left handed, so. So I'm grabbing the thing like this. It doesn't feel good. And I'm like, no, I can't. Eventually they found a left handed bow. And the so called technician is called another technician, who is calling another technician just to try to help me set it up. Said the pip side. And I said, I'm going home, man. I go home to set the boat, watch a few videos. And I said, I'm gonna set it up. The first shot they smoked my forearm. I mean, I'm talking about like, yeah. And put several shots through the siding of the house. Several errors disappear. By the grace of God. There was no neighbors because I sent a lot of broadheads to. They just said, you know, and I got good. Well, it's been three years. Well, hold on because this is one. It's a shame, but I went to Walmart. It's my first day, first day ever, man. I'm ready. I'm gonna do an evening hunt. So I go to Walmart and I told the lady on the hunting section, can I get some sand deer Sin, you know, because these dudes are spraying all the time in the shows, okay? They're saying. And I said, yes. And she said, you're peeing? I said yes. You know, like, what do I know? She gives me a big bottle, man. I go jump out the truck and I. That's what these guys are doing. And the first pump I was like, God almighty. I said, this crap is stout.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Yeah, yeah, but I just go at it, man, Soaking yourself in that deer.

[Pablo Escobel]

And I'm gagging. Well, it was do estrus a little that I know these dudes are spraying with sand. Killer, man. I didn't know the difference, you know. So that was a really rough lesson that day. I was like, don't spread this crap on yourself, you know what I mean? I was like, God, man, made it home. And I walk in, she said, how did you get out? What is the smell? And I was like, that's what they use. And she was like, nobody's using that kind of crap. What's wrong with you? Anyways, you know, I have to get rid of that thing. And I was mimicking what I was watching on the shows.

[Coca Cola Announcer]

What a matchup we got, y'.

[Pablo Escobel]

All.

[Coca Cola Announcer]

This is that classic HBCU vibe. Non stop action. The band is rocking and the crowd lit. Chance, echo drum beat everybody showing that school pride Game like this, yeah, it calls for an ice cold Coca Cola. Ah, crisp and refreshing. That's a game changer right there. Yeah, that taste always hits the right note. Just like the band at halftime. And just like that, we're back at it. Passionate fans, school colors everywhere, and an ice cold Coca Cola. That's a winning combo no matter the sport, no matter the yard. Everybody knows fan work is thirsty work. So grab a Coca Cola and keep that HBCU pride going.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Hey everybody, I'm talking here about Montana Knife Company. From our very own state of Montana, this company was founded by one of the most experienced master blade smiths in the world, Josh Smith, who over recent months I've become friends with. And my God, have I learned a lot about knives from this guy. Just a phenomenal hometown company that makes world renowned knives. Josh has been making knives for 30 years. You get one of these knives up and open it, it is sharp like something that came from outer space. And here's the deal. They make knives that can be sharpened. You can work on these knives. If you don't want to work on them, you send it to them and they'll work on it. They'll get it sharp. Phenomenal hunting knives. If you want to see them in action, we just did. Me and John Hayes, the taxidermist just did a video about how to properly skin a black bear. Watch that video and in that video you'll see Montana Knife Co. Knives in action. MKC products usually sell out in minutes of being released, which is true. But now for the first time, they're dabbling with having knives in stock on their site. So right now you can grab yourself a Blackfoot 2.0 or the ultralight speedgoat. Use Code Meat Eater and you get 10 off your first order. Montana knife company working knives for working people. 10 off with code meat eater. That's a good deal. Fishingbooker.com because the best gifts don't come in a box. They come from time spent outside, maybe chasing stripers in the winter, ice fishing for walleye, or helping your kid land their first trout. That is what Fishing Booker is all about. Thousands of verified guides around the world ready to get you on the water in minutes. With Fishing Booker, there's no stress, no hassle, no guesswork. You just show up and fish. So this holiday season, skip the boring usual stuff. Find yourself a great fishing trip with a great guide. Book a trip and catch a memory with fishingbooker.com so how long did you hunt for? You got a deer?

[Pablo Escobel]

Hold on. It's been three years.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

So at this point you hunt three.

[Pablo Escobel]

Long seasons mimicking what they do.

[Podcast Co-host or Guest (possibly MeatEater crew member)]

All bow hunting.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah. On Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, down here in.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Alabama, you're taking those moves and you're.

[Pablo Escobel]

Hunting in Alabama, I mean it's like Halloween and I'm entering rattling. They don't run until January, right? Never saw a thing until finals. Start seeing deer poop. And I was like, at the time I had a phone and I was like, how those deer poop looks like. And I was like, oh my God, I'm on, you know, I was like, I'm getting very close and never seen a thing. So I said, Rick, something's gonna have to change, man. I said, do you remember Mr. Tony? He said, yeah. I said, do you know if he still lives in there? He said, I don't know. I said I'm gonna go, I know the concrete so I'm gonna go find them. He said, oh, I man, I'll go up there and look at the house. Found the concrete. And I said that's him, that's the house. Doesn't seem to be nobody. And I said, ah, two things. Something is going to happen. I'm going to find Mr. Tony or I'm going to catch around, you know, I'm going to fix and get shot. Knock on the front door, nobody. And I was like, I remember we went on the back now. I was just bracing myself for the impact, you know, because it's the south, you know how it goes. And then if you use stereotypes, it has an accent, it has tattoos, you know what I mean? So I said, here we go. I went back there, knock on the door, Miss Donna comes out, she's like, can I help you? And I was like, hello. Hey, do you remember me? No, no, who are you? I said, Is Mr. Tony home? She said, he's, he's honey, he back later on. So I, I'll be back. I just went inside in the party for like six hours and then I seen his truck pull in. I said, ah, here we go. Pull back in, man. He recognized me.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Oh yeah.

[Pablo Escobel]

Hey buddy. Coming in. Yeah, I remember, man. It's been three years. Then I start talking with Tony and he realized that I was a grown man with the experience of a 3 year old kid on the woods. And, and he said, man, we got a lot of work to do. We're gonna start from zero. I said, I do you know your feet trees. And I was like, what is that? Do you know your seasons, the road? And I was like, what is the road, man? Feeding wise and all that stuff. I end up getting a book that says Alabama plants and bushes, you know, like native. Just to get a better understanding of all the different species. He was like, okay, this is a white oak, this is a red oak. I had no clue. And when, you know, whenever they get full of acres, they're fixing to drop. And I was like, what? They're gonna drop? He was like, acorns. And I was like, what is an acre? He was like, this. And I was like, what is it? The deer's gonna eat it. And the process went like that. Next year I'm sitting on this piece of public. First time ever a deer. Well, I was climbing at the time. I was wearing a steel climber. Bad choice because you climb about 100 yards from the truck, man. Circulations to your arms. Everything is good. Like is. Everything is purple. Yeah. You know what I mean? It's so heavy. And climb up and there is a deer, like I can actually see and he has antlers, man. So I never understood this by bug fever, man. I thought I was having a heart attack. Like I couldn't stop shaking. My blood pressure was up to the roof. And I was like, oh my God, this is it. This is it. And the thing comes riding like textbook. Ain't no telling where I send that error, man. This. There's no telling where that era went to. That thing takes a running. And I was like looking at the arrow and the deer just disappears.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

There.

[Pablo Escobel]

It's been three years.

[Podcast Co-host or Guest (possibly MeatEater crew member)]

How old are you now?

[Pablo Escobel]

Well, it was like 25, 26. And I'm not going to lie, I cry like a kid that day. Cuz I was like, this is what it. Like this is what it was like. It just came down to this moment.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

On tears of joy or frustration.

[Pablo Escobel]

Frustration. And I was like. And I blew it. That guy blew it out of the water. Well, I came home heartbroken. Told my wife, I ain't never doing this again, period.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

You're done.

[Pablo Escobel]

What happened? I said, I missed the deer. Seen deer and he had antlers and I missed him. She said, well, just try harder. And I was like, it's not that easy. You know what I mean? She doesn't hunt. About three days later, I was off the whole week. She says, you're not going back to the woods. And I said, no, I'm not. I'm done with that. Never ever again. She said, just going walk and kind of clear your mind. And now she left the work in about 12, 1230. I said, you know what, she's right. I'm just gonna go For a walk. So I went back to the place where I missed. Look up. And I was, like, about to cry again. I was like. I had him right here. Walk about 100 yards south, sat on the ground.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

How far was that shot that you missed?

[Pablo Escobel]

13, 14 yards. Yeah, like, he was right there. Yeah, yeah. And that area.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Sure, man. We've all been there, man. You don't need to be Costa Rican to miss, man. We've all missed all kind of stuff.

[Pablo Escobel]

Oh, yeah. And I. I sat on the ground that day, that evening. I said, screw it. I'm just gonna sit here for the evening. And I remember this like, if it was yesterday, I mean, had a street stump behind me, a log, and a previous head. I'm just pretty much in the same position that I'm at right now, looking at. It was a trail, but I have no idea that it was a trail. That was the opening right here. So I was sitting here with a little bit of sand and stick, just kind of, like, making the time go a little bit faster. Next thing I know, I heard some footsteps, and I said, that's a squirrel. And I look up and. And the same book, that small eight pointer is walking my way. So I was like, dude. And. Well, I'm on panic mode. I cannot get my release on the bow. I'm. I'm shaking so bad, I'm having a seizure attack, man. And I'm on the ground. Yes, sitting. And next thing I know, that book is right there, man. Like, right there, just looking at me.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

But how far?

[Pablo Escobel]

10, 12 again.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Dodging his head all around.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, Bobbing his head. Like, what is that thing, man? I don't remember seeing the pip side. I don't remember aiming. I just know I did this, and. And I heard that thump, boom. That thing mu. Kick Sticks up running. And I thought that I seen him pile up because I seen him kind of, like, going. And I was like, oh, my God. All right. Now panic sets in. Because I was like, they're gonna find us both dead right here. Like, I'm fixing to have a heart attack. You know what I mean? Settled myself down a little bit. Went to the arrow, man. The air was covered up with blood. And I said, I gotta get out of here now. So I got out, called my wife, and I was like, honey, I kill him. Instead of being supportive, she's like, are you sure? Like, you sure you, like, you kill him? Like, you didn't miss like last time? And she got on my head bad, man. And I was like, you know what? She. She Might have been right. I could have just spooked him. I don't even know if I hit him, man. Man, talk about a pickle, you know? Well, at the time I didn't have onyx. My. The only light that I have was my cell phone. So I'm trying to find this stump. It's already dark. And I'm trying to find this thumb where I was sitting to go look for my arrow. To try to find that.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

You can't even remember where you were, let alone.

[Pablo Escobel]

I have no clue. About two hours go by, I was like, right here. There it is. The arrows, Torch and blood. I was like, oh, my God, I hit the thing. I hit him. And man, I keep looking and look. Well, there was a blood trail about this big. And I just keep walking over. I never saw it. You know, I was about to start crying again. Next thing you know, that bug was laying maybe from here to where Ray was at.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Yeah.

[Pablo Escobel]

And lost my mind. Drag him out. The first thing I did, went to Tony's house. He was so pumped about it, man.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

He took the buck and showed him.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah. He was like, it's nothing but a small two and a half year old, eight point basket, eight pointer. I showed them out that book, I swear to God, because it was. Is the first deer that I ever shot in my life. And it was a book. So I showed him. I got him out there on the house. And after that, you know, the processes start getting better. Now I'm hooked at birth, man. Yes, but. But this is like. I don't. Like I was able to taste it. You know what I mean?

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Yeah, yeah. And you. Did you just get your. You got your biggest buck to date.

[Pablo Escobel]

This year, day before Christmas on public land here. The first one I got.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Oh, I'm a day before Christmas. So you got.

[Pablo Escobel]

No, I'm sorry. Day before Thanksgiving. This year, the biggest book ever of my life happened on Halloween. And little did I know, three weeks later, I was gonna kill the biggest book ever. You know, I broke my pb. If we can say like that two times.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

This is not both on public ground.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yes.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

This year I see a picture.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, sure. And I'm gonna show you the one that I killed the day before Thanksgiving.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

So this is the second biggest bug.

[Pablo Escobel]

I was like a man. You ain't never gonna make this happen again. And next thing you know, this. Hold on. This one is acting. There it is.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Holy cow, man.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, man.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

That's Alabama public.

[Pablo Escobel]

That's an Alabama public land giant. Look, look, the one right here.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Here Reva, film that with your camera.

[Pablo Escobel]

Look, the inside spread of that thing.

[Podcast Co-host or Guest (possibly MeatEater crew member)]

How, how wide is it?

[Pablo Escobel]

20, 19 and a half.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

That's a cool picture film that your camera even. You want to film something, you getting a good shot of it. Dude, you know what I like about all that? I mean, I like everything about that story. But the biggest thing is this is an observation I make all the time and I've mentioned it a bunch. It doesn't matter where you go in the country. And me and Yanni have been fortunate to go everywhere, all over the place, talking to guys that hunt, talking to guys that fish everywhere around the country. Everywhere you go, there's two kinds of guys and man, they live next door to each other.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

There's the guys that like. It all sucks now. Fishing game ruined it. The Hmong ruined it.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

The wolves ruined it. The out of staters ruined it. It all sucks, right?

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

And next door to him, everywhere you go in the country is the guy that can't scratch the surface. There's so much to do and he's so excited to be alive and he can't get to it all.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

And you're that guy.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah. I appreciate it.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

I like that, man.

[Pablo Escobel]

The crazy thing is that, you know, after. Well, Mr. Tony introducement with Mr. Michael Perry, Mr. Jamie McCain, the ball keeps on rolling. Parker, McDonald, Daniel Williams, and everybody just starts like pitching in, you know, to.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

To educate you.

[Pablo Escobel]

To educate me, yes. And I start learning from all these killers, man. Like, everybody's like, ah, doing good. This lesson that Mr. Tunney taught me, and I think it was the most valuable thing that he could say to me. He was, you got to put some deer under your belt. Don't think that you're gonna just go out there and shoot one of these.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Let's get it figured out.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yes. I said, I'm. So I kill a bunch of spikes, a bunch of them and those and four pointers, and just keep shooting with my bone, with the rifle. If it was legal, I was shooting it just to learn.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Yeah.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yes. And he was like, eventually it's gonna click. Well, I had several encounters with really big deer. Couldn't take a shot, couldn't. Got busted five years ago. Christmas is going to be five years ago. Put a shot on that monster with my bow. He was running, man, and I hit him a little too far back. I couldn't stop. And I was a mad, mad, mad, mad. We got dogs that shot them about 9 o' clock in the morning. It was like 4 o' clock in the in the morning, next day, never found them. Never. Man, the blood went dry and Heartbreaker.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Yeah.

[Pablo Escobel]

But it was incredible. It was one of the best moments ever because I was like, good. That confirms, you know, that what I've been learning and the process that I've been following is actually paying off now. Now I'm. I took it, like, put a step inside of what these guys do, you know, Like I had an encounter. And it's really good that I have this experience because now I can relate with them because this will happen and is going to happen. You know, I think that killing that deer would had steer me on the wrong direction. I could have got cocky. Oh, I don't got it all figured out.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Oh, I got you.

[Pablo Escobel]

I just killed. You know? You know what I mean? So it was a very humbling experience. There's a lot more work to do and it has to start with myself practicing throughout the whole year. Then. Well, one of those days with Daniel, Rick and my mom, they gave me my first rifle ever in my life, ever. Never owned one of arm. It's a 3006 Remington 7730 06. Then throughout the years, I've been having issues missing, you know, I was like, kind of weird. Then Daniel said, like, when was the last time you sighed this thing in?

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Johnny told me about this.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah. And I was like, what? What do you mean signing? Little did I know, you know, you gotta take this coat to range. And I have no clue. I thought they just go out there.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

It was. It was brought to you with a scope on it.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah. And I just thought that you put that cross where it's at. Cuz, man, I had a dough, I heated, boom. And she hunch over. And now I went crazy, man. And it looked like a battlefield, like dirt just blowing all over her, you know, she was kind of like hopping around. I just keep shooting, reloading. Four more shots in the magazine. I end up entering 12 shots that day. And I was like, what's going on? I bet you everybody in that public piece was like, what's going on in that holler? You know? And to make it short, man, I never found the dough. Never did.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

You know, I learned your lesson there too.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, that's. I said, daniel, he said, what happened? I said, I missed. And then that's when he brought up like, when was the last time you saw this thing? So what, man? He's like, you shot at our target, say a deer. He's like, wait, like a target? And I said, I never. Like, I just duke and wing Hunting. He was like, oh, my God. No, man, it was like Your typical Goodwill 29.99 is COPE. You know, you gotta try to, like, you spend five minutes trying to find the thing, finally you find that it looks awful. Yeah, I thought that's what it was. And it was pretty funny. It was a very fun experience. Yeah.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Well, Pablo, listen, man, we got to get ready for the show. This is awesome to talk to you, though.

[Pablo Escobel]

I know, man. Is that this is a very unique opportunity. I really appreciate you guys.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

I'd like to have you on and tell more of the hunting stories. But that's a good background primer right there.

[Pablo Escobel]

Yeah, definitely.

[Podcast Co-host or Guest (possibly MeatEater crew member)]

The enthusiasm is both like jealousy inducing and motivating, you know, because I think part of the thing that we sometimes battle, at least I do, is because we get to do it so much. I sometimes find myself like, I'm like, I should be more excited in this moment. I just got to kill another beautiful mule deer buck in the mountains of.

[Pablo Escobel]

Whatever western state, man. Man.

[Podcast Co-host or Guest (possibly MeatEater crew member)]

And I'm here in the moment, but like, I don't have the enthusiasm that you're experiencing for shooting spikes and does, man.

[Pablo Escobel]

I get it with a dough, like as we speak. I get laser sharp on the moment. As soon as that arrow or that bullet leaves, it's like a dump of a. I don't know how then this. Oh, man, this been the best season ever. Two bucks out of state. I gotta give a shot to Clay really quick. Gave me his bibs. Got Clay Newcomb's babes they've been working for you. Didn't even wash him. I said, I ain't even gonna wash him. Cuz he got Clay's luck. Put him on. Went to Kansas by myself. Just jump on my truck and drove. Shot a buck. Call a friend. They're like a man. Nice. We're heading to Missouri. I said, can I join? Yeah. Went down to Missouri, shot a buck. Those two with my bow. Came home and shot two. One of them being that big one the river was showing. Y' all great with. With all of them with Clay's bibs on.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Excellent.

[Pablo Escobel]

So the man has something. You know, I've never been superstitious, but.

[Podcast Co-host or Guest (possibly MeatEater crew member)]

This I might have to get a pair of clays.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

I want to welcome you to America, man.

[Pablo Escobel]

Thank you, man.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

Welcome to Meteor Live.

[Pablo Escobel]

Thank you, man. Thank you.

[Podcast Host (possibly Steven Rinella)]

All right, buddy.

[Pablo Escobel]

I appreciate you. Have a good one.

[Coca Cola Announcer]

What a matchup we got, y'.

[Pablo Escobel]

All.

[Coca Cola Announcer]

This is that classic HBCU vibe. Non stop action. The band is rocking and the crowd lit Chance Echo drum beat, everybody showing that school pride. Game like this. Yeah, it calls for an ice cold Coca Cola. Ah, crisp and refreshing. That's a game changer right there.

[Pablo Escobel]

Mmm.

[Coca Cola Announcer]

Yeah, that taste always hits the right note. Just like the band at halftime. And just like that, we're back at it. Passionate fans, school colors everywhere. And in ice cold Coca Cola. That's a winning combo no matter the sport, no matter the yard. Everybody knows fan work is thirsty work. So grab a Coca Cola and keep that HBCU pride going.

[Pablo Escobel]

Sometimes you just need to be comfortable, you know? But that doesn't mean you don't want to look good too. Well, Old Navy, the kings of cozy have done it again with Bounce fleece. It's soft, stylish, and comes in elevated colors that look good anywhere.

[Podcast Co-host or Guest (possibly MeatEater crew member)]

Basically, it's fleece reimagined for real life.

[Pablo Escobel]

Made for moments when you want to be cozy but still need to look good. Call it airport chic, call it errand elegance. Either way, Bounce Fleece nails it. Find Bounce Fleece and other holiday goodies [e-mail] okay, so there's nice and there's luxury. The Delta 1 experience is all about luxury. It's the extra touches and personalization. If you've experienced it, you know. If you haven't, well, you deserve to. You deserve to relax in the comfort of Delta one lounges. You need to enjoy the chef curated meals during flights and the comfort of spacious 180 degree lie flat seats. If there's one thing I know, it's that everyone needs to experience Delta One. Learn more about the Delta One [e-mail] Delta One this is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.