Meet Gentry Hale | Freelance Environmental Journalist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gentry Hale and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gentry, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Life is made up of a series of risks and rewards. At a young age, I realized that taking risks and facing discomfort is when you grow and develop. I decided to base my entire career around risk. As a freelance journalist working for yourself, you have no consistent income, no reliable paychecks and no guaranteed work; it is a huge risk. In return, however, you can live the most exciting life you could dream of. You can write stories on whatever interests you, you can travel to places you’ve always wanted to go, you can take deep dives into the topics that excite you and you have an excuse never to stop learning and growing as an individual and as a business.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have always been interested in the outdoors and the health of our environment. I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah camping, fishing, hiking, skiing, snowboarding and spending every second outside. I earned my undergraduate degree at the University of Utah where I studied environmental sustainability with a minor in creative writing. Through my undergrad, I learned that the environment is what I care about, but writing is what I am good at. I moved to San Diego to surf after school and started to dabble in journalism. Following Covid, I chose to get my masters from the University of Montana in environmental science and natural resource journalism.

My areas of interest in journalism include land management, wildlife (with a specific love of ungulates – hooved mammals), climate policy and outdoor recreation. I found such a niche hole to fill with my work; I love every minute of it. I have spent time in small isolated Alaskan villages reporting on musk oxen, writing about elk across Montana, researching the conservation successes of Ibex and markhor hunting in Pakistan and much more! Being a journalist is difficult given the emergence of the internet and social media, but it is more important than ever at this moment in history to spread truthful and engaging formation. It is an exciting way to never stop learning, follow your passions and help educate society at large.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I have multiple cities that I call home. I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, then spent three years in San Diego, California before moving to Missoula, Montana. When friends come to visit Salt Lake I take them to Brighton Ski Resort, where I grew up snowboarding and working for the majority of my life. I would spend all day every day up there! In San Diego, I would take my visitors surfing at tourmaline surf park, my home surf spot when I lived in Pacific Beach. I would top it off with some fish tacos from Oscars (my mouth is watering just thinking about it!). If they visited me in Missoula I would take them hiking with me and the crew of neighborhood dogs that I have acquired as my hiking pack (we go every day!). I would finish the day with a stop at any of the local breweries and some Bigga Pizza for dinner.

When I travel for stories and I have extra time I always look for unique local restaurants, sushi, concerts, comedy shows and a nail salon! My best advice for traveling to a new city is to ask your Uber drivers!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to shoutout Landon for the unwavering support and never-ending excitement, Maddi for being my other half, Isaac for getting me through the days, Keely for getting me through graduate school and everyone who has ever read or published my work for allowing me to live this life!

Website: gentryhale.com

Instagram: @duddy_g

Linkedin: Gentry Hale

Twitter: @gentry_hale

Facebook: Gentry Hale