It is with heavy hearts that Waypoint TV announces the passing of its beloved President, Todd Hansen. Todd, a true visionary and a passionate advocate for the outdoor community, left an indelible mark on the industry. His legacy will continue to inspire generations of entrepreneurs and outdoor enthusiasts and he will be sorely missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him.
Todd’s journey was a remarkable one. He was named President of Waypoint TV in 2021 and under his leadership, Waypoint TV has flourished to become the true connection for the viewer to the outdoors that he always envisioned. Before that, Todd co-founded the cable network, Sportsman Channel, and was responsible for its successful launch while serving as CMO and COO during his tenure. He was guiding force between the partnership of Sportsman Channel and InterMedia Outdoors, which eventually led to what Outdoor Sportsman Group is today after the sale of Sportsman Channel to Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. His creativity and vision to see Sportsman Channel as the leading outdoor cable network led his team from sponsoring a camo-clad hot-rod bike in the NHRA to coming up with PR opportunities at trade shows with games such as “Deer or No Deer” based off the hyper-popular “Deal or No Deal” TV series. Giving back was always in Todd’s DNA, and he started Sportsman Channel’s “Hunt.Fish.Feed,” which is going on more than ten years of touring cities across the U.S. connecting local sportsmen and women to shelters to provide donated and processed deer meat.
Additionally, he took on many business ventures and leadership roles in his lifetime but always found an immense amount of success and joy where his passions lied – the outdoors. As an avid hunter and angler, Todd was a world record holder and a member of many affinity organizations, the majority being lifetime memberships, including Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Pope and Young Club, NRA, Boone & Crockett Club, Pheasants Forever, and Mule Deer Foundation to which he made it his mission to help educate on the importance of conservation. His decades long involvement in the media industry served as a vehicle to communicating these efforts where he ultimately contributed to making Waypoint TV and Sportsman Channel influential voices of the outdoors.
Todd was well respected by colleagues and business partners due to his exceptional mentoring skills and his ability to guide through kindness. “Todd was a great man who had a big heart and cared deeply about those around him. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have gotten to work alongside him and to call him a friend. He leaves a lasting legacy and will be missed,” said Builder Brock, CEO Waypoint TV. And beyond the office, his huge heart shined through in everything he did. Todd was a loving husband, father of three, and grandfather of seven.
While we mourn the loss of a dear friend, we also celebrate the incredible life Todd lived. His relentless pursuit of adventure and his unwavering commitment to sharing the outdoors will forever be a source of inspiration for all who knew him and those who were touched by his work.
A letter of remembrance from Todd’s friend and colleague, Graig Hale:
It’s hard to know where to start with the so many memories, but it all began at a makeshift office, the site of my very first interview with Sportsman Channel. I pulled up to an office with a Black SUV parked with two ATVs on a trailer behind it; because as soon as my interview was over, guess where Todd was headed…. Deer Camp. I said, man, this company knows it’s priorities. I knew I was in the right place and that should I be lucky enough to get the job that I would never look back. Shortly after, I was asked to join a roster of only a few people and we quickly became over 50 employees, and a leader in delivering the outdoors. Those accomplishments would not be possible without the culture that was built in New Berlin, Wisconsin. Little did I know at the time, but that interview was just one of many special memories of how Todd made the workplace fun, and built culture of friendship, hard work and success.
Todd’s calm confidence and friendly disposition was the inspiration for many young professionals. His leadership and vision built friendships, opportunities and companies – providing careers for many. The culture that Todd would bring into the workplace provided balance, and because of that, he experienced almost no turnover in the workplace. People loved to work for Todd and wanted to give him their best. He never forgot about the staff and people that impacted his personal and professional life. Whether it was tons of presents and raffle items at the company Christmas party or tickets to the Milwaukee Bucks, Packers, Iron or some other event, Todd was always willing to give back to his people. His loyalty was beyond measure as well, maintaining his relationships with employees and vendors for decades, including bringing employees with him on his next business ventures. I often said Todd was able to bring the pressure in a stressful conference room back into normal range, managing expectations and keeping the bigger picture in mind – it was a constant reminder of his calm confidence and friendly disposition – allowing us to continue to grow and develop as a company.
Certainly an expert at balancing work and life, Todd always prioritized his life, even with as many business ventures he was deeply involved in, he never lost focus on priorities – family and enjoying our time with those close. Todd brought levity into the meetings and business environments to keep smiles on our faces, and his as well. His smile and trademark body-jolting chuckle were simply without match and would light up a room. In the spirit of that levity, I’ll bring some to this letter. I think I can speak on behalf of everyone that had the pleasure of working with Todd, that the most precious thing that he brought to the company was that he granted us “Half Day Fridays” in the summer and birthdays off every year. Naturally, a few performance based things had to be met in order to get your half day, but I think the bar was intentionally set extremely low so that staff would be enjoying the majority of Friday with friends and family, in the great outdoors of Wisconsin. No matter what, staff would remind him, “Don’t mess with our Half Day Fridays.”
Beyond those days and the success story of Sportsman Channel, Todd and I remained close friends and we always talked about future opportunities together. We would always say that we knew we would find another opportunity to work together. We found that opportunity with Waypoint TV and were again building culture, jobs and careers with his vision and leadership. I know Todd is excited to see the great things we continue to do at Waypoint, spreading the outdoors to as many people as we can, working alongside numerous affinity groups, I know he is excited to see us build more jobs, build more careers and spread the word of conservation and the great outdoors…. Rest Easy friend, we’ll take it from here.
Todd Hansen’s obituary and details on his memorial services can be found here: https://bit.ly/Todd-Hansen
