For this installment of Flylords’ Organization of the Month, we talked with the folks at Pig Farm Ink. You may have heard of Pig Farm Ink before–they host events and organize volunteers in the name of fly fishing all over the country. Or you may not have heard of them. Either way, follow along to learn more about Pig Farm Ink!
FL: Before we dive in, can you give a brief summary of what Pig Farm Ink is?
PFI: Pig Farm is a group of folks that volunteer their time to bring people in their local communities together. They do this by putting together local events build bonds that expand the love of outdoors and highlight conservation. And we are world class at partying. And fuck spending your lives on cell phones and video games.
FL: How did Pig Farm Ink Start?
PFI: It’s a looong story, but it starts with broken hearts and ends with turning that energy into something that saved our lives, and that’s fly fishing. It started with 2 people, turned into 4 then into 8; then on and on. It’s mainly based in the United States but has reached as far as Iceland – there is a rad community going on there.
FL: Going off that, care to explain the origin of “Pig Farm Ink”?
PFI: let’s start a channel about getting people fly fishing by getting bad tattoos, really bad tattoos. No Shit. We think they are great. Watch the pig farm YouTube channel episodes.
FL: What are some of Pig Farm Ink’s guiding principles?
PFI: We think we can help a lotta large scale problems by connecting people to the outside world in a way that shows them the opportunities in their own backyards.
Our thing is:
1. Build Community
2. Go Outside
3. Have Fun.
With those things, we think we can make some headway into getting young & old away from video games and cell phones. Maybe we can get some people to look up and step out, and learn that once they start building bonds locally their communities expand nationally as the Pig Farm communities create a connective strand every time there is an event. Our hashtags are #flyfishingsaveslives and #pigfarmbuttsdrivesgirlsnuts
FL: How do you achieve those principles?
PFI:We throw and teach/help people throw fun outdoor related events. It starts by getting people together. Often with lots of beer, you increase the amount of smiles around. That’s when a community forms or gets tighter. Then the next step is usually planning an event based on getting people that don’t fly fish to at least think that they would like to try it and bringing the homies together for the cause. There’s a shared bond and people that attend an event in one town decide to host an event in their own town. That’s a really important outcome, people feel like they can do this, and other Farmers (as we refer to ppl in the community) are there to help. Sometimes there’s fights, dating, rock n roll, puke, cops, gifts…
FL: We’ve heard some rowdy stories of past Pig Farm events. Can you tell us about your events?
PFI: We shoot first and ask questions later. One of our events “Iron Fly” (think iron chef but fly tying but scored mostly on teaching new folks) usually starts at a bar and with a crowd based bad tattoo contest. If yours can beat ours we will remove it from you for free and tattoo it on us. Ya see this is how we get the folks at the bar that didn’t come for the fly tying party to pay attention
FL: Any specific stories come to mind that you can describe? (emphasis on can)
PFI: Something dumb is bound to happen at every event. Flipped canoes, trucks stuck in the mud, people gettin stitches, pickin’ prosthetic legs out of a river, third degree burns, you name it. Lots of good times.
FL: How can our readers get involved?
PFI: Follow us on Instagram to learn more about upcoming events–be sure to bring friends that fish and that don’t fish! Host an event in your town, almost every river could use a little love. Except Vermont, those people keep that shit clean! Also, check out PigFarmInk.com to check out some of the Pig Farm gear!
FL: Do you all have any new projects in the works?
PFI:Yes 🙂
