Our Inception 2013

OHC was formed as a brotherhood of outliers, those closest to us that live outside conventional rules and standard by pushing themselves beyond perceived limits. It’s not about pretending we are a gang or “pretending” anything else. It’s about being an actual tribe, and supporting one another to be exceptional. It’s about striving to live by our bylaws, declaration and credo: Fortitudinem et Honorem.

Fortitudinem in Latin has two, equally important meanings in English. It means both “truth” and “strength”. It means the strength to be truthful to yourself and your commitments, with the courage to live them. Honorem is the willingness and ability to “show up”, bringing your best talents to bear, for the benefit of our brothers…even when its hard or seemingly impossible. Honorem is having the strength to maintain your shield. None of it is done because we have to, it’s done because we choose to. It’s brotherhood by choice with membership by action.

The journey began when Drew took Slaughter elk hunting for the first time. They didn’t really know each other well, but they were neighbors who seemed to have several views in common. That first experience was a great one…they both learned some things. A few years and several hunting trips later, OHC was conceptualized at elk camp near Steamboat Springs CO. They had a lot of shared time and experiences…by that point they were “brothers”. They discussed the clan as a group of unique individuals who pursued living extraordinary lives and understood the value of true friendship…the family we would choose. Those who could be counted on for real support. And, of course, they had to be hunters of some sort.

A couple of years later, after much more history and many lessons learned, we formalized OHC by issuing the first three rings in 2013, making the commitment to our life-long brotherhood.

As we further defined the meaning and requirements of membership, we drafted initial bylaws. As we’ve added members and broadened our perspective, those requirements have developed. With that evolution we have learned there are levels of commitment, even within the clan. Though we all agree that each standard is valid, some of us choose to live it more purposefully and some of us choose to keep it subdued. Some of us need to be reminded of the standards and some of us reinforce the standards with actions.

Some of those differences make us more well-rounded / grounded, and some may make us vulnerable. But as long as we are having respectful discussions to address discrepancies while we agree on what the OHC commitment means to us collectively, we are an actual tribe.