A youth nonprofit dedicated to hunting, fishing, camping, and outdoor education — connecting kids to the wild, to discipline, and to themselves.
Fort Worth, Texas · Youth Outdoor Education · Nonprofit
Reynolds Ranch was born from a belief as old as land itself: nature is one of the greatest classrooms we have, and far too many young people have never had the chance to step into it. Not because they don't want to, but because nobody opened the door.
"To create a space that challenges you to live with clarity, move with purpose, and leave something behind that provides a positive lasting impact."
Founded by RJ Reynolds — Extracted Season 2 winner, survivalist, engineer, and Fort Worth native — Reynolds Ranch is a youth-centered nonprofit bringing outdoor education, survival skills, hunting, fishing, and wilderness experiences to kids who need it most.
RJ's story is Reynolds Ranch's story. A "metro-cowboy" who visited 23 national parks, built his own firearms, survived 25 days in the wilderness on national television, and won $250,000 — not through luck, but through discipline, faith, and the refusal to quit. That's what Reynolds Ranch aims to teach.
We believe that discipline is built in the field. That self-reliance is a skill, not a personality. That every child deserves the chance to test themselves, grow, and discover exactly what they're made of by stepping away from screens, away from noise, and deep in the quiet of the nature around them.
Reynolds Ranch is rooted in family. RJ Reynolds, his mother Makala Wilson, and his aunt Tanisha Wilson — together known as Team RJ — won $250,000 on FOX's Extracted Season 2, watched by an estimated 7 million unique Americans.
Bound by faith, discipline, and what became the season's defining phrase — "Discipline, not denial" — Team RJ's journey became the most talked-about story of the season. From a bear-raided campsite to a nine-hour hike on limited calories, they never extracted. They never quit.
That same grit and family commitment is the DNA of Reynolds Ranch. Tanisha Wilson brings the strategic and business vision through Wilson Strategics. Makala Wilson anchors the community and outreach. RJ leads the field through building, teaching, and showing young people what's possible when you commit to something bigger than yourself.
Every Reynolds Ranch program is designed around one core belief: real growth happens outside your comfort zone. Our curriculum connects youth to nature, to each other, and to themselves.
Structured outdoor learning that teaches youth how to observe, navigate, and respect the natural world. From trail safety and plant identification to map reading and wildlife awareness, we build essential nature literacy that lasts a lifetime. Kids leave with knowledge, confidence, and a renewed sense of what's possible beyond four walls.
Traditional hunting and fishing instruction taught with patience, safety, and deep respect for wildlife and conservation. Youth learn the discipline, responsibility, and gratitude that come with understanding where food comes from. These aren't just skills — they're rites of passage. We believe every young person deserves the chance to earn their first catch and learn what it means to provide.
Fire-starting, shelter-building, water sourcing, navigation, and emergency preparedness — drawing directly from RJ's Extracted experience and years of personal field practice. Our survival curriculum teaches youth to stay calm under pressure, think clearly in crisis, and act decisively when it counts. Not just outdoor skills. Life skills. The kind that build character that lasts.
Family-oriented outdoor gatherings, wilderness workshops, and community camps that bring kids and their families together around shared challenge and shared land. These events are built to create bonds — between youth, between families, and between people and the natural world. No screens. No noise. Just real connection, real challenge, and real community.
"Strength doesn't come from comfort. It is bred from responsibility, from building something with your own hands, from embodying the true creative nature instilled in each of us — and taking ownership of that process."
Reynolds Ranch founder RJ Reynolds and Team RJ became national figures following their Extracted Season 2 win — watched by an estimated 7 million unique Americans. Their story aired across FOX markets and sparked conversations about faith, family, survival, and what it means to truly endure.
The media attention that followed the win — FOX News Edge in 6 national markets, multiple FOX Dallas in-studio appearances, and podcast appearances across the reality TV world — brought the Reynolds story to audiences far beyond the show's immediate viewership.
That visibility is now Reynolds Ranch's platform. Every appearance, every interview, every piece of coverage is an opportunity to grow the mission — to show young people that discipline pays, that family matters, and that the outdoors is for everyone.