Up Close with Todd Smith, Editor-in-Chief, Outdoor Life

My alma mater: University of California at Los Angeles.

Where I worked prior to Bonnier: Petersen Publishing in Los Angeles.

My main duties as editor-in-chief of Outdoor Life: I am in charge of all content, both in print and online. My duties include: being a steward for our brand, planning the yearly editorial calendar, managing our staff of print and online editors and working closely with our sales and marketing departments on a variety of integrated content programs, which play out across multiple media platforms.

Professional goals for 2010: Continue to make every issue more exciting than the last, deepen my Web and digital content knowledge and launch several new initiatives online at outdoorlife.com, including much deeper survival and weather information.

Favorite part of my job: Working with a staff that is truly passionate about hunting and fishing and getting to occasionally travel to some truly amazing places.

Most challenging aspect of my job: Continuing to enhance the quality of everything we do while at the same time working to increase the margins across all aspects of our business.

Daily/weekly traditions: I try to make it to the gym every day. I try to have dinner with my family every night. I try to book several hours in my appointment book each week just for myself. This gives me time to research new websites, develop new ideas — and dream.

Todd Smith with the elk whose antlers hang in his office. He found the elk during
a horseback hunt in Colorado.

On my office walls: You will find several game heads, including an elk from Colorado, a chamois from the Austrian Alps and an antelope from Wyoming. We have many game heads adorning the walls of our offices. Each tells a story and each reminds me of some wonderful days spent in the field.

Best day on the job to date: The day I received the first-bound editions of our new redesign. So much work went into those pages, and seeing so many ideas come to life — not just for myself, but also for our entire staff — was really gratifying.

Greatest advice for success: The reader always comes first. If he is truly happy, then every other success will follow. Never be afraid to take chances. Unless you push the boundaries, you will never know where the edge really is. Hire those who are strong in the areas where you are not. Listen twice as much as you talk. Make an appointment with yourself each week to give yourself time to think, plan and let your creativity soar. That’s how the best ideas are born.

Fast Facts

Where I live: I live in Rye, New York, about 25 miles north of the city. It’s a lovely town established in the early 1600s with a beautiful commons and lovely trees.

About my family: My wife and I have been married for 21 years. We met through publishing, which is great because she really understands my business — a big help on those nights when you have to work late. We have a daughter who is 17. She is very interested in art, school, drama and hanging out with her friends. Our son is 13. He loves rock collecting (his room looks like the Natural History Museum) and playing soccer and lacrosse.

Having the opportunity to combine his passion for
hunting and fishing with his love of magazine-making
is what makes being editor-in-chief of Outdoor Life
so satisfying for Smith.

In my spare time, you can catch me: Reading, gardening, shooting my bow and being outdoors.

Who I would most like to meet and why: This is a tough one. Among the living, I suppose I would like to meet President Obama to speak about conservation and the preservation of wild places in our country. Among those no longer with us, I would love to have met J.A. McGuire, the founding editor of Outdoor Life. He was a great conservationist and had a strong vision for the magazine he started back in 1898. I would have loved to talk to him about magazine making.

My favorite vacation spot: Blue Mountain Lake in the Adirondacks of northern New York state. It is a lovely place to hike, canoe and get away from it all.

Favorite sports teams: The Yankees and the Giants, though I really enjoy World Cup soccer.

My personal bucket list includes: Paddling the Boundary Waters; returning to Africa, perhaps to climb Kilimanjaro; writing my first book; exploring Tuscany, Italy; and sailing in the Caribbean.

Favorite food: Anything Italian or Indian.

Last movie I watched: The Expendables — a truly old-style action film with lots of gunplay.

What day on my calendar I am most looking forward to this year: Probably my daughter’s 18th birthday. She will have finished high school by then and, hopefully, been accepted to a college and headed to a future that she really likes. That will be something to truly celebrate.