Photograph by Robert Wright / Courtesy Men’s Journal.com.

AT THE RANCH

Ask Ryan Van Duzer (at left), how he became a travel video journalist and filmmaker for Men’s Journal, and he’ll likely tell you his career began on a bicycle. After serving in the Peace Corps for two years in Honduras, Van Duzer rode his bike home to Colorado—from Honduras! “I met the most wonderful people,” Van Duzer says, “and I just got hooked on adventuring.” The trip took 87 days and covered some 4,000 miles, yet Van Duzer says he had little trouble and few flat tires. “Everybody asks about the tires, though,” Van Duzer explains with a laugh.

Later, the budding journalist rode a cruiser bike from Oceanside, California to Washington, DC, in the quest to promote bicycle advocacy. And each time, he brought a camera and recorded his exploits. He ended up with pretty sophisticated movies: after all, he has a degree in Broadcast Journalism.

His career as professional videographer  then wound through Boulder, Colorado (he created an outdoor adventure show called “Out There,”) and his role as ‘adventure guy’ was secure. As a host, he appeared on National Geographic‘, on NPR, the Travel Channel, and a pilot for the History Channel. Van Duzer’s newest venture for Men’s Journal, is called Remote and Refined, an original video series recently launched.

Now, anyone with online access can join Van Duzer as he explores the far corners of America in the Men’s Journal series geared to adventures that end with lodging that’s several notches above spending the night in a sleeping bag. “We want to highlight ranches,” Van Duzer says,”and find the best hidden spots in America.”

And these online mini-movies aren’t just for men, he notes. “They’re for anyone who has adventure in their spirit—we want to make you say ‘wow’!” So far, Van Duzer has taken his cameras to a number of Ranchweb.com members, including Red Reflet Ranch, The Resort at Paws Up, and most recently Triple Creek Ranch.

In the Triple Creek Ranch fly fishing video, you’ll see Van Duzer heading out through beautiful, forested countryside with one of the ranch’s angling guides. In short order, our man snags a good-sized trout, and later watches as the ranch chef grills up his fresh catch into a gourmet dish. It makes for a compressed but fascinating adventure you can enjoy during a coffee-break. Van Duzer makes Triple Creek Ranch look like the great destination it is (and the host looks pretty good himself). Men’s Journal has snagged a great ‘adventure guy’ reporter, and we’re pretty sure we’ll see a lot more of Ryan Van Duzer in the future.

Details: Go to the Men’s Journal website and you can click on the fishing video and others as they get posted. Or read more.  Follow them: @mensjournal on Twitter | MensJournal on Facebook