Meet the Benelli Pros- Tim Joseph Vice President of Marketing

Benelli: How long have you been with Benelli and what does it mean to you to be associated with Benelli?

Tim: I’ve been with Benelli 8 years. I’ve been in the outdoor industry for more than 30 years so I’ve been a fan of the brand for a long time. To be part of the Benelli brand as a marketing storyteller and work with actual product development in the firearms space makes this the best overall job I’ve ever had.  

Benelli: How long have you been hunting or shooting and what got you into this sport?

Tim: I’ve been an avid outdoorsman all my life. My family did camping trips for our summer vacations every year, first in a tent and later in a small travel trailer. I started fishing when I was old enough to hold a rod and hunting with a BB gun when I was probably 7 or 8. From there it was on to my first .22 and first shotgun. My first shotgun was a hand-me-down Stevens bolt-action shotgun with a fixed choke and a removable magazine. I learned to be good with my first shot on rabbits, pheasants and squirrels because the chance of having a second shot with a bolt-action shotgun was slim. 

Benelli: If you could only have one Benelli firearm, what would it be and why?

Tim: As much as I am absolutely addicted to waterfowling and upland hunting, I would have to pick a Lupo rifle in .300 WM. I love that rifle. The accuracy is deadly and enhanced by the ergonomics and the recoil mitigation. That platform has been responsible for many successful hunts for me—from Africa to Canada to South American—and more than three dozen big-game animals that I’ve taken in the last few years. If I could pick a favorite for each type of hunting, my go-to for waterfowl would be my SBE3 12 gauge in Sitka Timber and the Ethos 20 gauge for upland. 

Benelli: What is your career highlight or achievement?

Tim: I’ve been blessed with a great and successful career. I like a challenge and I like succeeding. I radically rebuilt the brand look for Orvis during my time there. That look stayed in place for decades after I left. Building a direct-to-consumer division for Woolrich was definitely a highlight. Overseeing all things brand and managing a division of more than 170 people at Cabela’s was also a career milestone. Being there during the height of Cabela’s success was both heady and insanely fast-paced. But I feel that being at Benelli rolls all of those previous roles into the role that I’ve enjoyed the most. 

Benelli: What is your favorite hobby, other than hunting or shooting?

Tim: I am an avid reader. That may be borderline as a “hobby” but that’s often what I’m doing when I’m not in the field or working. I enjoy early American history non-fiction and mysteries by C.J Box, Craig Johnson, and Nick Petrie and techno-thrillers by writers like Tom Clancy, Jack Carr and James Tarr.

Benelli: Who was the childhood idol that led you into the hunting or shooting industry?

Tim: (Laughing) Well, this will date me but I grew up watching American Sportsman on TV with Grits Gresham. I read books on Africa about Frank Buck and Carl Akeley. I watched Marlin Perkins on Wild Kingdom every Sunday evening. I read every outdoor magazine I could get my hands on. So I don’t know if there was one specific person or one specific sport that hooked me. It was an overall love of the outdoors. Hunting, shooting and fishing were the means to get me out there. 

Benelli: What advice would you give youth who want to be in the outdoor industry?

Tim: I get asked this question a lot in a slightly different way. I often hear, “Wow, how do I get YOUR job.” My answer is always the same. Work at being as good as you can be at the business side of your job. The association with an outdoor brand and the related outdoor experiences that may come with it are heady and let’s face it, they are FUN. But the outdoor experiences are a small percentage of any annual set of projects and duties. You won’t last long and you won’t grow in the industry if you don’t strive to be exceptional at the day-to-day parts of your job now. For me, being hired by Benelli came after several other jobs in the industry, each one a learning experience and each one a step or two up from the previous position. I was usually being hired away because of my reputation in the job I currently held. My biggest piece of advice is to not think that you will knock it out of the park on your next advancement. Knocking it out of the park in the job you have now is what will get you noticed and identify you as someone who can be successful. I’ve seen too many people coast and kid themselves into thinking “I’ll be great when I get the role I really deserve.” In my experience, you get the job you deserve by being great at what you are doing now. 

Benelli: Tell us about a moment that you feel was a positive turning point in getting into the hunting/shooting industry?

Tim: I worked in the advertising and marketing industry for my first couple of jobs. I always loved hunting and fishing but my roles with those first jobs were not outdoor-related. Then Orvis ran an ad looking for an art director for their hunting and fishing catalogs and marketing efforts. I responded and they hired me. It was the first time I was able to merge my passion for advertising and marketing along with my passion for hunting and fishing. I was with them for 12 years, learned a lot, and grew with the company until I was offered a job with Woolrich to launch a direct-to-consumer division for them.

Benelli: If you could hunt or shoot with one person, who would it be and why?

Tim: I missed getting to know Tom Knapp by just a few years. I’ve always admired his combination of sheer shooting skill and showmanship. He was an entertainer and a great promoter of shotgun shooting. I’d love to have had the chance to get a day of lessons from Tom. Historically, I’m fascinated by the stories of the legendary hunter Jim Corbett. Jim possessed an amazing amount of outdoor lore (evident in his writings) and ventured out with very little gear and a whole lot of guts. It would be tough to measure up, but it would be a thrill to hunt with someone like Corbett. 

Benelli: What goals do you have related to Benelli?

Tim: My goal is to do the best job possible and make each company better for my having been there. That’s been my goal with my previous roles and I can say that I’ve achieved that with Orvis, Woolrich and Cabela’s. 

Benelli: If you had to switch professions from hunting or shooting, what would it be and why? 

Tim: Next question.

Benelli: Coldest / most miserable place you’ve ever been while hunting? Was it “successful” though?

Tim: Adak, Alaska on the far western edge of the Aleutian Islands. It’s not the coldest place I’ve ever been (a Saskatchewan whitetail hunt probably gets that prize) but my Benelli film team and I filmed and hunted Adak for almost 2 weeks. The wind was incessant, and it rained at least part of every day. A heavy misting rain driven by 30 mph winds for hours can grind on a person. Adak was a great place to hunt and a great place to test firearms. But it also tested gear and patience as one of the most desolate places I’ve ever hunted. But, man, it was beautiful and wild and I loved being there in spite of the conditions. 

Benelli: What was your first firearm and how did you get it? Do you still have it?

Tim: My first true firearm was a Marlin Golden 39A .22 lever-action rifle. I still remember feeling like the king of the world when I received that gun as a birthday present. 

Benelli: What is your favorite wild-game dish?

Tim: An upland bird pie is hard to beat. I also love a good Venison Steak Diane made with backstrap.