Whether you know Chad “Money” Mendes as a two-time All-American wrestler, a bare-knuckle brawler, a UFC fighter, a YouTube hunting sensation or an accomplished hunting and fishing outfitter, there’s still much more to the California native than you probably realize.
A fierce competitor, passionate outdoorsman and devoted family man, Chad is now earning a living doing what he truly loves—bowhunting for deer and other big-game animals—while also running a concierge outfitter service for those who want to spend time in the boat or hunting camp with celebrities.
Money: The Early Years
As a young child, Chad’s father introduced him to two things that would be central to his life for many years—wrestling and archery. Growing up in central California, he pursued both with equal passion.
“As a kid, my dad would make these homemade bows and arrows for me out of the fiberglass flag rods that you would put on the back of a 4-wheel-drive vehicle on the sand dunes,” Chad said in an exclusive interview with Hook & Barrel.
“He’d use some old-school fishing braid for the string. I’d sneak around and shoot cans in the backyard with it after school. And I would sneak around the neighborhood trying to kill pigeons and doves on the ground. I never killed anything, but man, I just absolutely loved archery hunting.”
At the time, kids with hunter education certification could start hunting at 12 in California. Chad took his hunter ed class and received his certification at 11½ and soon got a real bow with which to pursue his passion.
“It took me two seasons before I finally killed my first deer, and I got him with my bow,” he recalled. “It was a buck. I had about a 22-yard frontal shot, just a crazy, crazy thing. I still remember watching that thing die and having just an overwhelming sense of emotion.
"I was excited because I finally got one, but then watching it wobble and then tip over and die made me feel really bad at the same time.”
During that time, Chad was also excelling on the wrestling mat. And when college age rolled around, he was soon spending more time grappling than with a bow in hand.
Chad Mendes: College Success
Chad was recruited out of high school to wrestle at California Polytechnic State University on California’s Central Coast. His competitive spirit and strong work ethic quickly started working in his favor.
Throughout his college years, Chad was always a force to be reckoned with. He finished his collegiate career with a record of 64-14. Along the way, he earned several impressive honors, including being a two-time Pac-10 champion, Pac-10 wrestler of the year, a two-time All-American and runner-up at the 2008 NCAA championships. He also completed his degree in kinesiology.
While his passion for bowhunting remained strong during those days, his opportunities were quite limited for a couple of very good reasons.
“I definitely cut way back on my hunting in college,” he said. “With school taking so much of my time and then wrestling also, there just wasn’t much time to spend in the woods with my bow.”
During his senior year, he was especially impressive, posting a 30-1 record. But that one loss crushed a nearly lifelong dream.
“I was hoping to win the NCAA title,” he said. “I started wrestling at 5, and that was a dream of mine basically my entire life up until that point. Because of a shitty call by the ref, that match just didn’t go my way. But it basically motivated me to want to keep competing, which is nice because I knew Uri.”
Chad Mendes Heads Into The Cage
The Uri he is referring to, of course, is Urijah Faber of Team Alpha Male. After graduation, Chad started training at Uri’s facility in Sacramento and was quickly “thrown to the wolves.”
“I didn’t have any stand-up training, and I didn’t know what the hell I was doing with punching and kicking,” he said. “But Urijah basically threw a headgear, 16-ounce gloves and some shin guards on me and said, ‘Get in there.’
“I started sparring all the pro fighters, a lot of them already in the UFC. Anytime someone would tag me, I would just blast a double-leg on them because that was all I really knew from wrestling. After practice, we were walking down the street, and everybody was like, ‘Dude, your shot is money!’
Faber heard it and said, “That’s gotta be your nickname, ‘Money Shot Mendes.’” It was later changed to just “Money” when he signed a contract with Pepsi, whose representatives didn’t appreciate the “Shot” part.
During his professional fighting years, his opportunities to bowhunt greatly increased compared to his college days. So, he was again able to spend time in the mountains and woods doing what he loved.
“What’s great about the fight game is you’ll typically fight every three months,” Chad said. “So, you train your butt off, you go through the fight and I would usually take two weeks or so off after.
"I would always try to plan my hunts in those little pockets of time. So, I got to do quite a bit of hunting in my downtime.”
Mendes maintained a 4-0 record in World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). During his UFC career, the three-time UFC Championship challenger won 18 of his 23 matches. Later, he had a 1-1 record as a bare-knuckle fighter.
It was during those later years of fighting that Chad started his own outfitting service. (More on that later.)
The Video Lifestyle
While Chad had always loved bowhunting, he had never really considered sharing his hunts through video until a friend suggested it. The rest, as they say, is history.
“My good buddy Eric Chesser, who has the HUSHIN YouTube channel, has been filming his hunts, editing and uploading videos since before it was even a thing,” Chad said. “Their page was growing tremendously, and he said, ‘You gotta get into this, man.”
At the time, Chad was still fighting and felt he didn’t have enough time. Also, when he did get a chance to hunt, he wanted to enjoy it.
“Finally, after I retired, I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to fly to Utah, but I need you to help me set everything up,’” he said. “We created my YouTube channel and he showed me basically how to vlog stuff. We vlogged our first video there in Utah nine years ago, and I just kept rolling with it.”
Chad never really expected his YouTube channel, chadmendes8589, to become such a hit with so many viewers. Actually, he had an ulterior motive for keeping it going.
“This was way before I had kids,” he said. “After a while, I started thinking, basically, all this stuff is going to be in one spot, and it’s the story of my life. It would be cool to have all these hunts, competition events and different things I’ve done on my channel so that as my kids get older, if they want to watch all that stuff and see it, it’s there.”
Chad Mendes Finz & Featherz Oufitting Operation
Jumping into the outfitter business was a clear next step for Chad. As a result, Chad Mendes’ Finz & Featherz was established. For a lifelong sportsman like Mendes, his guide service was a natural extension of his passions and a great way for him to share his love for hunting and fishing.
Chad and Finz & Featherz take outdoors enthusiasts on some of the best guided trips available, guided by their highly passionate celebrity pro-staff members.
“We wanted to do something that was different,” Chad said. “Basically, what we do is just add an athlete or musician or whoever to the trip. You know, hunt camp camaraderie is unlike anything; you just can’t duplicate it.
"So, I thought, ‘How do we build something where people get to stay in camp, sit around a campfire, maybe drink some whiskey or something, tell stories, talk about how the hunt went, you know, or be on a boat fishing with these people, passing around some tequila, having a good time?’
“We kind of mapped this out, and had no clue how it was gonna go. We put our first schedule together, launched it in December of 2015 and booked out everything we offered within the first month and a half. So, I thought, ‘This might take off.’”
And take off it certainly did. You can check out the service or book a hunting or fishing trip by visiting finzandfeatherz.com.
What the Future Holds
Always a competitor, Chad recently signed a wrestling contract with Real American Freestyle. He was set to wrestle Michael Chandler the month after our interview, and the contract was a five-match deal.
“I figured I can still get a little bit of competitiveness out of me while I’m still young enough and without getting punched,” the 40-year-old said. “Plus, I’ll still be filming all of my hunts and keeping up with the YouTube channel.”
Chad’s children have reached an age where they enjoy accompanying him on his hunts, which has opened a new, fun opportunity for him and his family. And as with most families, children’s activities are starting to dominate the schedule.
“I’ve got two daughters, and sports are starting to take over,” he said. “So, I’m going to be doing a bunch of that kind of stuff moving forward.”
And, of course, he won’t be slowing down his work with Finz & Featherz anytime soon, based on the experience he’s had with that venture so far.
“It’s just like living a dream,” he said. “Sometimes, I almost feel like I cheated the system by getting paid to do it, because I’m out there just hunting, having fun and chilling with really cool people. I just feel completely blessed and honored every time I’m out there.”
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