Tony Adams, co-founder and president of DiscoverTheOutdoors (DTO), heads up the DTO Hunting Pro Staff. As a lifelong hunter, current host, and executive producer of Heartland Adventures Outdoor Show, Tony has put in countless hours in the field, pursuing virtually every game animal throughout America’s heartland and across the North American continent.

As the leader of the DTO hunting pro staff, Tony provides nearly 40 years of experience and expertise in all types of hunting, from big game to small, archery to muzzleloading, and nearly every aspect of hunting in between. He’s also a certified Hunter Education instructor and remains committed to encouraging others—particularly young people—to become active in the sport so they too can experience the wonders of the outdoors.

“I have always considered hunting a privilege and not a right, and it’s a philosophy I share with everyone I come in contact with,” Tony says. “My experiences in the field on each and every adventure are what inspire me to continue to be an outdoorsman and hunter, not the harvest.”

A former college and professional football standout, Tony began his career at the University of Texas and eventually found his way to Utah State University, where he tied or set 20 team offensive records including career total offense, touchdown passes and passing yards, along with five NCAA records. He began his professional football career when the San Diego Chargers drafted him in 1973. In 1974 Tony signed with the World Football League’s Southern California Sun. While there, he became the WFL's leading passer and the league's first Most Valuable Player. After the league folded, he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as a free agent, where he played for next five seasons. Tony remains an active member of the Chiefs’ elite alumni organization, known as the Ambassadors.

Tony will be the first to tell you that hunting and the outdoors has shaped his life before, during and after football. He says the outdoor activities he was afforded as a youngster taught him valuable lessons, instilled a strong conservation ethic and cultivated a lifelong source of fascination and fun. But looking at today’s world, he sees fewer young people with the same opportunities, as well as a growing disconnect between most people and the outdoor world. An abiding passion to turn the tide on that movement is what led him to create both Heartland Adventures and DTO.

“I’ve always thought that something more has to be done to interest people in the outdoors, to help them make the connection with nature that has been such an important part of my life and the lives of so many others,” he says. “I believe that television and the Internet are two powerful mediums that, if used creatively, will connect more people to the outdoors. I want the show and our Web site to influence new generations of sportsmen and women so that they, too, can build fond memories that will last a lifetime.”