Charlie Richie Jr.

I have been in the publishing & magazine business for 19 years. I grew up with the Backwoodsman Magazine and it was started in 1979 by his father (Charlie Richie Sr. founder/publisher/editor and former professional bass fisherman & guide) in Livingston, TX with only $50 dollars. The Backwoodsman is now one of the most successful magazines currently on the newsstand. Publishing and writing is in my blood.

I am the Associate Publisher for the Backwoodsman Magazine. The Backwoodsman is a bi-monthly family owned publication that has been in existence for over 34 years. He is also the Special Assignments Editor, Advertising Director and handles Media Relations for the publication. My writing contributions to the magazine include special assignment articles, reviewing products, and copy editing. I have interviewed Les Stroud (Survivorman), Cody Lundin (Dual Survival) and Mykel Hawke. I'm also also responsible finding most of the cover images used by the Backwoodsman and also helps with the design of the covers. I also work in other various areas of the magazine as well. Charlie's entire family works for the Backwoodsman in some type of capacity.

The Backwoodsman features subjects such as: sustainable living, self-reliance, homesteading, survival & primitive living skills, treasure hunting, muzzleloading, history, fishing, knives, woods lore, camping, how-to-projects, hunting, music, etc. Our current circulation is 240,000 and is distributed to newsstands, major chain stores, and to subscribers all across the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, & the U.K.. Coming soon, the Backwoodsman will be available for on-line subscription along with Kindle, ITunes, and Google Play. The magazine's headquarters are located on the South Texas coast in Fulton, TX and the web site address is . All advertising inquiries can be sent to me at advertising@

I'm also the owner & operator of the Backwoodsman Magazine's on-line store, Backwoods Mercantile. My store sells back issues and the current of the Backwoodsman Magazine. Backwoods Mercantile also sells the Best Of Backwoodsman Series, Volumes 1,2,3,4, & 5. The rest of the product line consist of books, knives, camping & survival gear, etc. The website address is

I'm currently working with Gurney Productions on a freelance basis developing show concepts and finding talent for television programming. Charlie co-created the show with Scott Gurney (creator of Duck Dynasty) and discovered some of the talent for a show called Yukon River Run that premiered on The National Geographic Channel on July 20th. It will continue to air Mondays on Nat Geo until the end of the summer. Listed below is a more detailed description of my involvement, and the Backwoodsman Magazine's connection with Yukon River Run:

This past year, I had the fortunate opportunity to be involved with developing a show for The National Geographic Channel called Yukon River Run. The show was based around Alaska resident and past Backwoodsman contributor, Neil Eklund. Neil wrote an article for the Backwoodsman called “Rafting In Alaska” that was published in our July/August 2014 issue. The article was about Neil’s log rafting ventures in Alaska down the Yukon River. He’s been building his own lografts and floating on them for 39 years, mimicking Yukon lografters from the late 1800’s by constructing and navigating them just like they did. With his youngest son Lauro, they have been making other kinds of trips down the river offering their services delivering firewood and other types of goods to native villages & other people who live in remote areas along the Yukon River. While proofreading Neil’s article, I became fully captivated by it and ultimately an idea for a documentary style television show formed around Neil & Lauro’s lografting adventures. One thing lead to another and a production deal was eventually agreed upon with The National Geographic Channel. Last September, Gurney Productions began filming Neil’s crew and two other log raft crews building their rafts and floating down the river while making deliveries to their customers along the banks of the Yukon River.

I was the founder, publisher, and editor of Earthworks Magazine. Earthworks Magazine was started when he was 25 years old, and it was a publication that was focused on sustainable living. It was in existence for 5 years and at the end, the circulation was up to 15,000. Earthworks Magazine was distributed to newsstands, and major chain stores all across the United States & Canada. It also had a good subscriber base, but it ended in 2000. I was involved in every aspect of the publication from top to bottom. I was also working at the Backwoodsman part-time while Earthworks was in circulation, and the decision was made to work full-time for the Backwoodsman. The publication was considered ahead of its time and it was often compared to the old Mother Earth News. The magazine received offers but I chose not sell the magazine and retained rights to all of the back issues, name, etc. All back issues have been sold and there no copies that are available for sale. Articles from past issues of Earthworks will be featured in future issues of the Backwoodsman Magazine