Tom Rowland Podcast

Joe Simons is the co-founder of Salt Strong, one of the largest fishing communities in America — built from scratch with his brother Luke to teach the world how to fish. Over 600 podcast episodes later, Joe joins me to talk about the journey from startup to acquisition, what it means to stay true to your mission, and how community, content, and faith built something much bigger than a business. Some of the moments I found most meaningful in this conversation were: The early days of Salt Strong — from t-shirts to teaching anglers How Joe and Luke grew to 60,000+ members without investors The inside story behind Salt Strong’s acquisition by Sportsman’s Guide What it takes to stay authentic after a sale Why building community will always beat chasing followers The vision for a Fishing Theme Park and the next five years Lessons from selling a company, leadership, and family legacy