Cuz’s Corner

The Creation of Mossy Oak

A company seeing where it’s come from to determine the direction it needs to go is an important aspect of growth. Toxey Haas had an acorn of an idea about how to become invisible in the woods when he created Mossy Oak, and with that one idea he grew the company that’s far reaching into the outdoor industry with many branches off the trunk of the tree, deeper roots and taller trees that have spread.

Mossy Oak

30 Years of Mossy Oak: Kevin Tate

I came to work for Mossy Oak in the spring of 2000 and, ever since, I've been writing for the brand. Today I oversee our TV productions department and work with a driven, talented group of field producers, video editors, motion graphics artists and outdoor enthusiasts who, like me, love to see in action the power of a good story well told.

Mossy Oak

30 Years of Mossy Oak: Ronnie "Cuz" Strickland

I feel really fortunate to be part of Mossy Oak. I've always believed that if you treat someone else’s money like it’s your money, and you have a good work ethic, you can do well in any business. I think my business card says that I'm the senior vice president, but I feel the most comfortable just being a Mossy Oak family member.

Mossy Oak

Toxey Haas Told Cuz Mossy Oak Needed a TV Show

One day I got a call from Toxey to come down to his office. I went in his office and sat down, and Toxey began to tell me why Mossy Oak needed to be on television. Toxey said, “Cuz, we don’t need to hire some TV firm to come in and shoot a television show for us. We need to learn how to do it ourselves. You started off running a VHS video camera from

Mossy Oak

Cuz Once Did Mossy Oak’s PR

While I was filming people hunting, giving the footage to Will and selling Mossy Oak camouflage, Toxey called me down to his office one day. For about an hour, Toxey kept telling me why Mossy Oak needed to do PR. He said, “This is the way Ben Rodgers Lee from Alabama got his turkey call company started. We want to work with the outdoor press.”

Mossy Oak

Cuz Strickland, Will Primos and the Sears and Roebuck Video Camera

Just before I started working for Toxey Haas and Mossy Oak, a fellow named Will Primos from Jackson, Mississippi, was making turkey calls that he called a True Double-Mouth call for calling turkeys. Will was making those calls in a garage behind his house. About that same time, the first video camera that I ever saw or heard of arrived at the Sears and Roebuck store in Natchez, Mississippi.

Big Game, Turkey, Mossy Oak

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