Bigfoot Society - Cryptozoology Mystery Artist and Researching the Unexplained | Cryptid Illustrator | Mister Sam Shearon

Episode Date: November 25, 2022

Mister Sam Shearon is a British artist based in Los Angeles and you've probably seen his art work on many the cover of a cryptid themed book!Enjoy this chat with Mister Sam all about creating cryptid artwork and Bigfoot adventures in California. JOIN THE PATREON TO SEE THE VIDEO VERSION OF THIS INTERVIEW! www.patreon.com/thebigfootsocietyResources:www.mistersamshearon.com_______Join the only Facebook group for Van Meter Visitor fans - “Van Meter Visitor Believers” - See you there!https://www.facebook.com/groups/vanmetervisitorbelievers/?ref=shareFOR MORE INFO ON THE VAN METER VISITOR FESTIVAL:https://www.facebook.com/vanmetervisitorfestival/_______Join us over on Patreon! Get access to extra audio content, exclusive merch like a membership card and stickers, watch me interview guests weekly live on video, a Patron-only Discord and more.https://www.patreon.com/thebigfootsocietyPick up a Bigfoot Society shirt to rep the podcast!https://www.etsy.com/shop/BigfootSocietyTune in for new episodes of Bigfoot Society!https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Qq45W6iaTU8FE9kelxT7QIG: https://www.instagram.com/bigfootsociety/Full links: https://bit.ly/bigfootlinks

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It started running away. And suddenly they're right in front of the car. He slams on the brakes and manages to stop. because it's like quite, you know, gravelling. And literally for about a second and a half, they just stood there because they don't know where to go and you tell them panicking, they're like, their face is like twitching.

Welcome back to Bigfoot Society, a podcast where we focus on cryptids, the strange and the unexplained of this world. If you've got a story or something weird to share, send an email over to me at Bigfoot Society at gmail.com. And if you'd like to support this show, head on over to patreon.com forward slash the Bigfoot Society. And now on with the show. All right, Bigfoot Society.

I've got the pleasure of talking to someone I wanted to have on the podcast for a long time. Mr. Sam Shearhan, how's it going, sir? Good evening. Jeremiah, busy buddy. You've been very busy. I've seen you post and all kinds of things. To the next level, dude. Yeah, you're everywhere. It's great.

I see you're all over Twitter and Instagram. Yeah, that's brilliant, man. How you been? Dude, I'm doing good. I'm having a really fun day. Got to take a walk around the town with my son. We got some apple cider and then got to do some podcast stuff. So, you know, some interviews, get to talk to you, get to do a Bigfoot live extravaganza with Tate later on tonight.

Or this will be in the past for when people hear it. So hopefully you guys made it. But I've wanted to talk to you for a long time, dude. But, you know, before we, I won't jump too far ahead. So let's talk about, you know, when I think of Mr. Sam, here's what I think of. So, you know, your work, you know, I know you for being one of the top most respected artists in the crypto zoology community, I think. And I know that's quite the thing to say, but I think I can say it, you know, because like literally, I will tell you. On my desk right now, I am surrounded by the work of Mr. Sam.

And this is not planned. I have this. Ah. Your beautiful, you know, can get hard. And I have this. Oh, it's taped. Here we go. This beautiful interpretation of Cliff Berwickman that you did.

Colonel Maloney magazine. So, I mean, literally, your work is everywhere. So it's very cool. Are there other things that you would want the listeners to know about yourself before we start chatting? Well, thanks very much for the warm words to begin with. That's really nice to hear. It's always lovely to hear when someone likes your work, you know. I guess I'm pretty much known for cryptozoology, but for most of my, let's call it, art career,

I've been doing album covers for bands and book covers and things like that. for authors and whatnot. And so generally speaking, my cryptozoology hour has been a sort of a side passion in the background. And it's only really in the last 10 years that it's kind of really taken the forefront and moved all of the rock music kind of our work, the album covers and things, which I still do.

It's pushed it aside somewhat. And more and more people are coming forward to me to say, hey, will you illustrate this? Or there was a witness report. We need you to do a, illustration or something. So it's fun. But aside from that, I do,

I'm actually obsessed with Christmas. A lot of people think because I do dark, I would love Halloween and that Halloween would be my favorite. Like everyone says Halloween's their favorite. For me, Christmas is my favorite season, believe or not. Because, and I know we're about to hit the Halloween mark.

Currently, as we're recording this. And it's a little too early to talk about Christmas. So we can set that for another time. But yeah, I do, creepy Christmas cards every year and different designs based on creatures and folklore of, you know, the dark Christmas and the old folklore surrounding it, which in many ways includes Bigfoot. So yeah, that's pretty much what I do. I'm intrigued. So you can tie Bigfoot to dark Christmas is what you're saying. Absolutely.

Really? Yeah. How does one do that? Well, you must have heard of the European versions of the Bigfoot, particularly the English versions, but they spread across, you know, all of Europe, Germany in particular, has thousands of stories, all different variations of hairy, wild people. Oh, sure. Which, you know, spreads into the lore of the werewolf and the dreaded word, the dogman, and that kind of very controversial area. I was talking to Michael Hanks and the gang yesterday about that. Oh, sure, yeah.

But the whole werewolf legend in Europe, I think it's, it's, believe that more people were burned to the stake for being werewolves in Europe than witches. Really? Which is fascinating when you think about it because you always think of which is being burned at the stake. Well, in actual fact, it was more of the fungus and the stuff that was growing in the mills and the corn

and everything that was making people hallucinate. And there's this sort of an epidemic of craziness of lunatics and werewolfism and lycanthropy and everything. And so people were confessing it almost became a popular thing that they would use it almost as an excuse to be a wild person. But then you have these stories of warnings. And this is where the Christmas bit ties in. People would warn their children not to wander off at night

or even too far in the day into the forest alone for fear of being eaten by wolves. And what they would do is they would invent characters that would not only be just wolves that would attack you because, you know, a wolf's a wolf. But if you were to embellish it and maybe say that it was an intelligent character that's going to carry you away in a basket, you know, the legends of crampus, everybody's heard of crampas these days, but there's so many more. And it includes hairy wild men, which in England, you have the woodwows, the woodhouse,

all of those different giant hairy men. Some of them are carved into churches in England with big clubs, you know. So there's that legend of the giant hairy man in. the UK and Europe, which goes back, you know, a couple of hundred years, but it makes you wonder, was in fact the population of Bigfoot way back when? And were they in fact stealing children? That is fascinating. Yeah, the Christmas legends do tend to tie into that sort of thing, where they would warn children and scare them with these stories, because it was, in essence, a very real threat.

I'd never heard of people being burned at the stake to do with, like, dog, Man and Werewolf stuff like that is totally new for me. You know, I grew up in New England. And the big thing out there, of course, is, you know, when you think getting burned at the stake, unfortunately, it's the Salem Witch Trials. You think of Disney. Yeah. Hocus, focus, I guess.

I don't know. I don't know. Yeah, I saw that film for the first time two nights ago. The first one? The first one. The 30-year-old one? Yeah, I'd never seen it before. Intense.

Yeah, it was for me at age 44. Okay. And then I immediately watched the new one after it, which I don't know if you've seen it. I have not seen it yet. No spoilers. A lot of me is like, you know, there is a lot of nostalgia factor for the first one. And that's like, I don't really want to ruin. I don't want to ruin that, you know?

Yeah. I just, I don't know. Maybe someday I'll watch it. We'll see. But the first one has like, you know, some really fun nostalgic memories tied to it. So I believe so. It might take a while. I think a lot of people grew up with that.

And from what I've heard, you know, people are jaw on the floor shocked that I've never seen it. But anyway, back to be true. There you go. And so you grew up originally and in the UK. That's right. Yeah. I was born in Liverpool, England, in the northwest. Yeah.

So, yeah, I'm a Liverpoolian. When was it that you had come over to the U.S. then? Well, I've been in and out of Los Angeles, sort of around the States since 2007. So what are we talking, around 15 years or so, I've been over here. Okay. But, I mean, I go back to England, maybe twice a year. Okay. can see friends and family you know Christmas is always the big one there's nothing quite

like an English Christmas it's oh yeah marvelous oh unbelievable yeah wow yeah I can't wait yeah I you know I did spend some time and I not England it was a Western Ireland and I mean even just the cultures is so totally different and laid back and you know delicious breakfast food and it's just like oh this is really nice I love it well my my last name my whole family my family heritage is Irish. Okay. And it's, you know,

it's Southern Ireland. It's just Ireland. So Sheeran, my last name, that's where that originates. Okay. And yeah, you know, I've been over to Ireland a number of times.

And it is like stepping back a few hundred years. It's amazing. There's still people using horse and carts and things. Yeah. There's, you know, a hundred pubs in every town, yeah. Yes, totally.

And, you can get away with anything because you just, sorry, I'm American. I did a, know, it'll be like, ah, it's okay, friend, you're American, whatever. Yeah, that only lasts so long. That's true.

They lasted for at least six weeks. So I guess don't press your luck after six weeks. So I asked that about you being in the UK versus the U.S. Because I'm curious, have you noticed that there's a difference in the way that, you know, people in the UK versus people here view cryptids and folklore and legends, things like that. Very much so. Okay.

Very much so. I don't know if you've spoken to Andy McGrath before. I haven't actually. You should get him on. He's a great guy. Yeah, definitely. You know, he's done a book recently published by Doug Huychak's company. Oh, sure.

Yeah. Hanger 1 publishing, I believe it is. And Andy McGrath, he's worked with Brett Manning has illustrated, some of his books, I believe. But he's a good person to talk to about British cryptids. but in terms of the difference between the attitudes and I suppose the view on it I think in the UK and Europe in general we tend to come from a position of we don't really think about it because it's always been part of the landscape it's always been woven into the culture growing up I mean we have a lion and a unicorn on our coat of arms

You know, the Welsh dragon has a dragon on its flag. You know, so it's very much instilled in us. So we haven't sort of ever been in a position to be looking from the outside in of, oh, this is strange. And let's think about this. It's just part of the United Kingdom in Europe is fairies and folklore and hairy wildmen have always been there, lake monsters and ghosts in particular. You know, UK is considered the most haunted nation on the planet.

It's haunted, of course. I always say that. But, yeah, we have this entire history of strange. And so the attitudes towards cryptozoology, it's become, especially in the last 10 years and very much on the last five years, you'll have obviously seen this incredible explosion of documentaries all over Discovery Channel or the travel channel. you know, and it's everything from five different documentaries about the Chubacabra or the Loch Ness Monster or there's, you know, 25 ghost shows, all different groups and different teams of ghost shows. And it's just gone out of control. And there's, you know, you have Expedition Bigfoot.

Of course, we've had finding Bigfoot since, you know, around was it, 2009, 2010, maybe. Believe so, yeah. But now we have these other documentaries that are. sort of following the pattern, following the suit. And some of them are a little bit more exaggerated. And I think this is where I'm coming from here is in the U.S. it tends to be more of a commercial machine. It's an entertainment machine rather than a factual investigative team.

You have some fantastic documentaries with small-town monsters who actually do investigate stuff. Whereas other documentaries, which are of much bigger budget and considered somewhat mainstream, tend to embellish a lot of things and exaggerate things and quite often get a lot of things wrong, but it's all in the name of, and sometimes purposefully as well, it's all in the name of entertainment. And I think that's a shame

because we're also seeing this evolution of the word crypted to now be an umbrella term to capture all kinds of strange things. You'll have, and I said this the other day, you know, someone will say that they saw a UFO in the sky and it's a cryptid. Or they'll see a ghost. It was a ghost, but it was, oh, it was a demon.

I saw this cryptid. And you think to yourself, you know, I just want to pull my hair out. It's a tricky, it's tricky, man. I mean, I don't want to sound pretentious and old and dusty, but words have meanings. Yeah. They should stick to the meanings. I mean, if you go back to how it was when it first originated, It is like, you know, undiscovered animals.

That's pretty much what it is. It's out of place animals, hidden animals, alien animals, and alien in terms of not supposed to be there. Right. Not extraterrestrial or weird. And so that's the other thing. You know, you have this explosion of pop culture almost of things like the Flatwoods monster, the Dover Demon, the Fresno Nightcrawlers, you know, and I've illustrated these. But they're considered cryptids.

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And yet are they, or are they alien creatures? And so it does come into that sort of blurry-edged area of, well, it's unexplained. It is a creature of some kind. So is that not cryptic in its own existence? therefore cryptid is a correct term to use. It really, it does fit and it doesn't fit. And I think I said this the other day, I think it's, you know, you can't put it back in the box now.

Right. We have to in some way embrace the fact that cryptid is a casual term for anything that's unexplainably strange in a creature's sense, which could be alien or it could be a demon. I mean, that word gets thrown around so much. But we don't know, do we? It's in its years exactly right it can't go back in the buck to where at this point it's not going back we kind of have to learn how to deal with it and not I guess become the you know the old the old get off my lawn yeah guys that are like a new generation you don't know what you're talking about but it's like you know it's important for you know all generations to know like this is where it came from too I guess absolutely and it's the same with music um

You know, people who are interested in goth music. Okay. From the, you know, late 70s and 80s, you know, sisters of mercy, fields of the aflum, the mission, the cure, all these old goff bands, Susie and the Banshees, Bauhaus. And then in the 1990s and early 2000s, you have Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson. And people were calling it got got really angry about it. And they would say, you know, that's not goff.

And so it's the same sort of thing happening now where the dusty old cryptozoologists, I hate to call them that. But, you know, good friends of ours, I won't name names. But they get really angry, including me. And they sort of, as you say, you know, we can't put it back in the box. Pandora has exploded. But people are getting really kind of frustrated with the idea that, you know, you'll roll your eyes when you see a documentary. And this is supposed to be a documentary where there's money behind it. a major network, as it said, that are getting things wrong.

And it's annoying because they are, in a sense, educating people incorrectly. They have a service and they should be upholding it. Those documentaries, the effects are far reaching because I've talked to guys that have, you know, let's just say sometimes things are said in documentaries about cryptids and then eventually those things, if they're not right, they can become part of the legend and affect the original legend and the something that it wasn't originally. And it's like, we got to be careful what we're doing for the future generations, you know. Absolutely. Yeah.

Let's talk about your artwork. So first, you know, the cool thing, I love your current, you got a lot of projects, but your current project I really like is, you know, you're doing all these covers with David Weatherly. That I think is awesome. I mean, what you'll hopefully be done in. Is there a time frame? I don't know. We're trying to get out as many as we can each year. David can only write so fast.

I mean, he has an insane memory for strange things and a huge catalog of documents and files and research. He's done himself over the decades, you know, 40 years. of work. So he has all the information, but it's putting it in order into a book form that will, without leaving things out as well. You know, he was always the last minute. I'm sure he's like, oh, I forgot about that one. I've got to include that. Oh, is that even going to fit? And then you've got me with all my other projects and things that I've got to do and whether I can fit in a book cover into that month or those three months or whatever, depending on how long it takes, you know, it's whether I'm working with a band or another order.

So we're trying to get as many as we can, but we can only go so fast. And of course, we're working on the 50 different states of the U.S. Exactly. And we lightheartedly talked about it when we began that, you know, wouldn't it be great to do Europe and branch out? And we had to sort of be realistic and be like, well, let's just get the states done first. Yeah, let's see how far we get in life. This first part.

Yeah, I think we're on the 10th or 11th book. Now the 12th, I forget. But yeah, we're working through each state one by one. And there should be one out before Christmas. Oh, wow, really? Okay. We're doing one now, yeah. Awesome.

Yeah, well, it'll be interested to see what that is once it's released to the public. But, you know, I remember, you know, my favorite course, Iowa, that's where I'm from. And when I saw the cover, oh, it's so beautiful. It's one of the, such a beautiful interpretation of the van meter visitor. And like to see it, you know, you did it good. You did it amazingly good. I appreciate it coming from you because you're such a knowledgeable person on that particular cryptic. It is kind of.

So getting your approval was, was nice for me. Oh, that's awesome. Thank you. What is your, so how long does it usually take to create, you know, any of these book covers that you've done? a long creative process? It can be. And sometimes it can be really fluid and very easy. Sometimes it can be tricky and meticulous,

particularly if I'm trying to emulate a specific thing. Like when I did CHAMP, and I tried to as accurately as possible recreate the Sandromancey photograph of Champ. And so because we didn't want to use. use the actual photograph it has to be sort of you know an entire scene that wraps around to the back cover and there's always a big foot on the back cover hidden somewhere i love that part it's so cool yeah on every single state there's a big foot on the back cover somewhere um and so creating that particular cover took a little longer because i had to sort of you know really zoom in because the

original photograph isn't particularly as always clear it's quite blurry there isn't that much detail to make out so it's for a lot of people it's up in the air you You know, is that actually a tree stump? Is it just quite small and close up? And, you know, there's always those sort of questions with like monsters and things. So what I did with most of my cryptid work is I would always try and make it look as realistic as possible. As though, you know, if this were alive, what would it look like living and breathing? Put those anatomical natural history references in there that I know so well.

And I'll try and weave it into a believability so that when someone sees it, they're like, oh, that's a real creature. And then more persuaded perhaps to read about it and find out about it or be inspired to pick the book up and say, what the hell is that thing? Exactly. So doing the book covers, it can, you know, it can take, in some instances, just a matter of days, sometimes weeks, literally. Because it's down to, you know, sometimes, especially someone like the Van Mehta visitor is very, it's very touching go as to, well, how do you portray that? because there's so many conflicting stories as to what it looked like, but also what it could have been. Yeah.

So you have stories in that region of dragons as well, and that's a very loose term. So how many ways can you illustrate a dragon? So that element was thrown in there with it being, perhaps a fire breathing dragon is the old romantic thing. But of course, they have this light that comes out of its horn. Yeah. That's sort of a thing maybe with a dragon.

dragon. And then you have the terosaur idea or the giant bat idea, the humanoid alien idea. There's so many different things as you know. It is. Yeah. That's cool. How do you do that? So that one took a little while because it had to be, for me,

real. It had to look like a creature. And I think that's also something that David appreciates is that he comes from an area of skepticism as much as I do in a sense that we do celebrate and enjoy these tales of monsters, but we also come from the angle that this happened.

And we want to get to the basis of telling the account as it was without, you know, adding any frilling to it really, you know. And I think that's important as well, keeping it real. Exactly. And, you know, those books, you know, the information within those, you know, coupled with your interpretations on the cover, I think it's, it definitely, you know, some of the best state focus crypted books. And I mean, for Iowa, it's like the only one, really.

It's amazing to have it. It's like 80 pages of Bigfoot history. But do you have a, you know, thinking over the years, you've done so many different, you know, interpretations in art of cryptis. You have a favorite one that, you know, after you did it, you were like, ah, I really, really like how that turned out.

Or is it hard to pick just one? It's really difficult. I suppose it's like picking your favorite child. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. I've heard. So, yeah, I don't know. I mean, if I would say what's my favorite cryptid?

Oh, yeah. Should we? I guess that's the same question. Yeah. With anything with artwork, you know, a lot of artists, I'll completely agree with, we don't like our own work for the most part. It's hard to step away and it's hard to finish. work. And I'm sure it's the same

with music, you know, where you'll be working on a piece and it's just not quite right. And things are never finished. They're only abandoned, I think Picasso said or something like that. It sounds really pretentious, doesn't it? But it's a quote that works.

You know, I will work on a piece of artwork and I'll just I'll walk away and then I'll be like, oh, I'll just fix that little bit there. Or that toenails bugging me. you know, that little eyeballs bugging me or there's a glint and that a horn on its head that's bothering me. And so, yeah,

nothing is ever really finished. So I could never pick a favorite because I like some of my own work. I'm not going to lie. Sometimes I will sit back and go, oh, I did a good job. Give myself a part in the back. But then a week later, a week later, I'll look at it. I know we're like, oh, I should have just added

that little bit there or that. Oh, sure. Yeah. I'll see things wrong with it that no one will ever see. Oh, man. Yeah. that's also why I don't have any tattoos because if I would yeah as much as I work with some of the biggest rock bands on the planet it's ironic because I don't have any tattoos I've never had any pierced I don't drink I don't smoke and so yeah you know I used to but I don't have time anymore and I've got to the point where now it's like well it doesn't even

interest me anymore because I'm getting so much done but yeah if I was to get a a true. You should try it's great. If I was going to get a tattoo, it would have to be my own design. And then, of course, I'll look at it in six months and be like, oh, no, why do that? You know, so I just yeah. Yeah, so it's funny. Cryptids, I think Bigfoot's got to be up there as a favorite. No doubt. Because there's so many variations. It must, you know, I'm not an artist, but I think it would be very cool to know that, hey, people are looking at my interpretation of big foot. And for a lot of people, that's wow. They're going to, you know, think about the cryptid.

At the end of the day, that to me would be awesome. But also, like, you know, it would definitely add to the weight of the work I'm doing while I'm doing it, I think. Yeah. One thing I want to talk to you about is, you know, I forget, I think you may have shared a video somewhere, some photos. But, you know, you mentioned your. in L.A. area. You've been in L.A. But you also kind of go on adventures. Yeah.

With themed adventures. And I think, you know, one I know about is you've been to Willow Creek. Any cool stories that came from that journey up the coast to the first place in Bigfoot, you know? There's a handful of stories. I first went out there in 2009. And this was, you know, from a childhood love of monsters and cryptozoology coming from the UK. And I write about this in a chapter in David Weatherley's Woodnox Volume 4, I think. Oh, snap. Okay. I'll have to check that out. Yeah, there's a chapter in there by me. And I write about it in there.

It's sort of saying that coming from the United Kingdom, looking at the Redwoods in California or Washington, Oregon, they were to me. so far away, there may as well have been on another planet. I would open up a book and be just astounded by these stories of monsters on these faraway lands.

And so 2009 comes along and I'd been, like most people, watching YouTube and had seen various bits of new at the time, Bigfoot videos. And I just was obsessed.

And I was also in a sort of transitional period where I was visiting Los Angeles back and forth quite a lot working with lots of bands and stay in at various music studios and working with them, going to Comic-Con and that sort of thing. And I said to a friend of mine, let's go to the Redwoods while I'm over there. Let's just do it.

So I did. So me and my friend of Leah Ferrier, we got on a forerunner and we drove all the way up from San Diego Comic-Con after 2009. We went straight after Comic-Con all the way up, PCH, Pacific Coast Highway. And right up there, we stayed in Eureka, a little town called Eureka. It's a real thing. We stayed there. We saw the big mansion, the Carson Mansion, the big Gothic looking at.

And it's firmly like green house you might have seen. Yeah, yeah. That's incredible. It's absolutely incredible. And then each day, we would stay in the motel there, and each day we would drive into Willow Creek. And then we would hike around that area in the mountains and the valleys and the Klamath River and stuff like that. So the first time out there, and this is before finding Bigford even... It always happens right before the whistle.

There's a little voice that says, what if I mess up? What if I'm not ready? I see a whole highlight reel of everything I don't want to happen. Missed shots, turnovers, letting my team down. And for a second, there's doubt. But then, I realize I've done enough to be where I'm at. The early mornings, the extra reps, the day. I wanted to quit and didn't.

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Find your shade of Instant Eracer concealer at your local retailer, Mabelene, New York. You know, I had already had sort of some understanding from Bookshead Red and other documentaries had seen on YouTube videos that you could put trail cameras out and you could do wood knocks or you could do calls or that kind of thing and so I was out there like an idiot,

oblivious to danger. You know, although I will say when we first got to the Redwoods, I didn't want to get out of the four by four at first because I saw a big, I saw a big metal sign

literally next to me with a bear on it. And I looked at my friend with Lear and I was like, Am I actually going to get out of the car? Is this safe? Wow. I was really scared.

But after about 10 minutes, I was just running around banging around banging trees and, you know. Nice. Like a four-year-old. Pretending you're in return the Jedi. Pretty much. Yeah. Or, you know, Bigfoot and the Hendersons, Harry and the Henderson. Oh, exactly.

Yeah, totally. Just obsessed with that film when I was a kid. Oh, my God. But yeah, we went to Willow Creek and each day we would go in, hike around, go back to set the motel and then go back again. We did that for a few years. days. And we went down to the Visitor Center. There's a little museum down there at the Willow Creek Center in the little town. And it's a tiny little town. It's literally a handful of people. And in the Visitor's Center, they said, because I was there with my video camera like a tourist,

you know, what can you tell me about Bigfoot and that kind of thing? And they were saying, well, just please be careful out there. There are mountain lions. There are bears. Don't go in the river. it might look still on the surface, but there's an undercurrent, and it will carry you away. So it might look cool and refreshing, but don't get in the river, please.

We've lost nine people this year already. Oh, man. And so I sort of got a little shiver at my back, and I was like, oh, wow, danger. Okay. But it was a really hot day, and I got down to my boxer shorts, and I got in the river, like an idiot.

And you're still here, so that's good. Yeah, you know, so it wasn't that dangerous. But we found a little kind of a lagoon area where the river curled. And so it wasn't particularly fast flowing. And I did an experiment. I threw a stick in the river to see where it went. And it wasn't really moving. So I thought, well, if that's not moving, then I don't think I will.

So I got in. And it was nice and cool. And it was refreshing. And there was bald eagles flying over me. I mean, literally there's like two or three of them. And I'd never seen them before. And it was just, it was just magical. You know, absolutely magical.

And after about an hour of dicking about in the river, looking at dragonflies and trying to find teeth in the river, you know, find any bones or anything. Oh, sure, yeah. Calling out to Bigfoot and stuff like that. And occasionally up on the mountain, you'd see some dirt roll down the hill and you'd think, ooh, is that deer? Or are we being watched by something?

And, you know, we never did see a Bigfoot. But it made me wonder, were we being watched? Because every now and then a couple of rocks would crumble down the side of the hill and something moved them, you know, rocks don't move by themselves. And then of course, I guess it presented itself what it would have been because I got out, towel dried off. We got into the four by four and we were just pulling away. And a black bear lumbered down right to the spot where I had just been where we were playing around in the river. Oh, man.

And he wasn't a massive animal, but it was a big black bear. And I thought, wow, that was close. That was close. Because I was pretty much naked, so I couldn't have done anything. Other than scream, maybe. That would have been a terrible situation. I don't know if you saw the recent Joe Rogan video that he posted the other day of a man. Yeah.

Of the, the wrestlers, like, pretty much kicking the bear off the mountain, trying to see themselves. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. That's wild. Yeah, it was scary to watch. Yeah, if anyone, yeah, if anyone hasn't seen it, it's worth seeing. It's not gory. He doesn't get bitten or no, no.

Or anything like that. But you hear the terror in his voice, and he's shrieking, like, you know, you know that sound is someone absolutely facing death. Oh, yeah. They are terrified. And you can hear it in his voice, and it's a phenomenal little capture of a video. Yeah, he was lucky. So was I. It's enough.

That video is so good. crazy. It's enough that, you know, the next time I go into an area where I know there's bears, I will view it differently than I did before. Yeah, me too. Yeah, me too. For sure. You just, they can rip your face off, dude. Yeah, but I've been out to Willow Creek maybe three or four times. Um, and I went recently this January. Uh, and I stayed at the Bigfoot motel. I don't know if you've been there. Oh, you did. The one that. Yeah. show in Willow Creek the movie. It's funny because I watched the Willow Creek movie.

I've put it on DVD over there, actually, with Bryce Johnson, who let's remind everyone is an actor. He's in that film. And it's a great movie. Bobcat Goldthwaite's excellent direction of a Bigfoot scenario. But it's funny, I watched that film when it came out. And it really tickled me because pretty much everything in that film, I had already done in 2009.

You did. So they went and had the Bigfoot Burger, which is the bun in the shape of the foot. And if you go on my Facebook, you can look at all my photographs from 2009 and there's me with a burger. And they did the whole thing, the museum, the trip, the tent, just all of that. All of the signs that were there, the big wood cut out of a tree, chainsaw carvings of Sasquatch. So I watched that film and it was nostalgic for me because it was like, oh, I've been there. Oh, I've done that. just, you know, really weird.

The story you told of like asking the person like, hey, is Bigfoot out here and like, yeah, be careful this? Like that pretty much happens in Willow Creek. Exactly. And I couldn't believe it when I was watching it. And I was, yeah, I was almost sort of not to blow my own trumpet, but it was like, you know, I've done this. And I was thinking they should have just filmed me.

Oh, it's funny, dude. Oh, yes. It's a great film. I will get. out there myself for sure. We'll have to go together. Let's all get a group together. That would be wild. Sam, it has been, it's crazy. It's already, I mean, it feels like we just started talking, but this has been a fun chat. I've got a crazy Bigfoot adventure that I've got to make sure I get to. Yeah, I'll be watching that from afar. It'll be, it'll be a fun time.

But it's been so fun chatting with you. And I definitely, you know, we'll have to check back in sometime in the future, but I can't wait to see, you know, what you come out with next, your artwork, whenever I see it puts a smile on my face, and I'm sure many others as well. But can you take a few minutes and definitely tell the listeners all about, you know, how they can keep up to date with what you're doing, how they can get involved with your community, all that good stuff. Well, thanks so much. Yeah, this has been fun and we'll absolutely have to do it again.

There's always too much to talk about, isn't it? Yeah, you can find me everywhere. like Jesus. On my website, you can find all my social media links, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. I even have a Patreon, like you have a Patreon. And I think everyone has those now. I have a YouTube channel,

and it's all linked on Mr. Samshiren.com. And it's Mr. the word as in M-I-S-T-E-R and then Sam and then Shearron, like Ed Shearan, but spelled correctly because he spells he's wrong. Yeah. Mine's spelled F-H-E-A-R-O-N. So, yeah, all of the links are on there. So if you want to follow me or, you know,

check out more of my work on Instagram, that kind of thing. It's probably the best place to go. Awesome. And I'm releasing Christmas cards again this year of my creepy Christmas monsters, winter warnings, and look out for those. They'll be coming out in a couple of weeks.

And do you still do the tier on Patreon where if you, if someone has wanted to have their Mr. Sam interpretation, if you want Mr. Sam to draw what he sees of you, it's there. It's there for the taking. Check out of the Patreon. It's pretty cool. Yeah, I draw live every Wednesday as well.

So, you know, it's like four times a month you can hang out and we can just talk about stuff while I draw monsters. Very cool. Sam, it has been so fun chatting with you. It's great to get you. Finally, but you have a great rest of your night and we'll be checking in with you in the future, my friend. Thanks, Jeremiah. Take care now. Thank you for listening to Bigfoot Society.

If you like the show, please review and rate it five stars on iTunes. Hit the share button and send this episode to all your friends on social media. Subscribe to Bigfoot Society wherever you listen to podcast. It doesn't cost a thing. Pick up a Bigfoot Society shirt or enamel pen over on our Etsy page and people will tell you all about their Bigfoot sightings when you wear it. At least, that's what people tell us. That's what happens. If you'd like to become an official member of Bigfoot Society with a membership card,

a community of like-minded individuals, and extra content each month, then please consider becoming a supporter of the podcast by going to www. www. patreon.com forward slash the Bigfoot Society. Thanks for listening. It always happens right before the whistle. There's a little voice that says, what if I mess up? What if I'm not ready? I see a whole highlight reel of everything.

everything I don't want to happen. Missed shots, turnovers, letting my team down. And for a second, there's doubt. But then, I realize I've done enough to be where I'm at. The early mornings, the extra reps, the days I wanted to quit and didn't. So I smile. Self-doubt is natural, but my smile is a reminder

that I'm resilient. To put more smiles out into the world, Holgate has supported female athletes for over 50 years with the Colgate Women's Games. The Colgate Women's Games is the nation's longest running indoor track and field series for girls and women. Colgate, your smile is your strength. Let's go, girls.

So this is the little pink pill everyone's been talking about. Yep, that's Addy. Good things do come in small packages. And Addy is definitely a good thing. Not just good, it's all. Mm-hmm. Ooh-la-la-law. Meow.

Meow. Man, I feel like a woman. Meet Addie, the little pink pill. Addie is a prescription medicine for women under 65 with hypoactive low sexual desire disorder that's distressing to them. Adi is for low desire that happens in all situations and isn't caused by a medical condition, relationship issues, or medicines. Addie isn't for men or to enhance sexual performance. Addie can cause severe low blood pressure and fainting. Your risk is higher if you drink alcohol close to your dose.

Don't take Addie if you have liver problems. Take certain medicines or allergic to any of its ingredients. Before taking Addie, tell your doctor about all the medicines you take. If you have had any mental health conditions, are pregnant, planning pregnancy, or breastfeeding. Side effects may include dizziness, nausea, tiredness, trouble sleeping, and dry mouth. Learn more at adi.com, including important warnings. Use coupon code IHeart for a $10 telemed appointment at adi.com. It may just be the world's greatest eraser.

Mabeline Instant Eraser Concealer is your secret weapon for erasing signs of a sleepless night. Instantly cover dark circles and undereye bags in a tap, swipe, blend, leaving a bright, refreshed look without feeling heavy. Instant eraser does more than cover and conceal. With 24 shades, you can correct, highlight, or sculpt. From a subtle brow lift to defining your pout. This is the multitasker that keeps up with you. The best part?

The formula delivers flawless results for up to 16 hours with crease-resistant, lightweight wear. Instant eraser won't settle into fine lines and stay smooth, breathable, and hydrating. No cakey vibes here. Just a natural skin-like finish that looks fresh from morning coffees to late-night RSVPs.

Mabelene Instant Eracer. Find your shade of instant eraser concealer at your local retailer. Mabelene, New York. Your social media feed delivers plenty of advice. But it doesn't know you. It doesn't ask questions. It doesn't give physical exams or order tests.

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