The Autistic Outdoorsman

Bruce Zimpel

If you search the words, Autistic Outdoorsman on the popular YouTube website, you will find several videos telling the story of a local personality with a fascinating history. A key piece to the puzzle of this person’s life came less than two years ago in the form of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Autistim is a developmental disorder that affects communication and behavior and is known as a “spectrum” disorder because there is wide variation in the type and severity of symptoms people experience.

The video series on YouTube captures elements of the outdoor master, Bruce Zimpel’s life as he retraces his passions and struggles. In the introduction, Zimpel describes seeking comfort in the outdoors when he felt like an outsider with kids his own age. He recounts catching frogs and selling them to anglers as bait in order to save up for a bicycle. When asked about his childhood, he responds, “I think I knew something was different about me, but I didn’t know what it was.” This report is consistent with spectrum traits seen in difficulty with social communication and interaction.

Jeffery holds a dandy-sized splake he caught with Bruce Zimple. Photo courtesy of

Over the years, Bruce has become well-known for his skills as an angler with numerous published photographs of trophy sized fish from all over the county. It makes sense that his comfort in the outdoors has led to so much success. Many people on the Autism Spectrum present with what’s known as “restrictive interests”. Though many anglers would describe their hobby as an obsession, for Zimpel, it was the cornerstone of his identity and often the sole contents of his thoughts. This has manifested as a virtual walking encyclopedia of fish species, notable lakes and streams, and technique to fish every season.

One element of Bruce’s life that has felt incomplete to him, is his desire to give back to the community. This is how the Autistic Outdoorsman came into being. The idea was born out of the merging of his passion for the outdoors and his desire to share that passion with others. This desire was taken one step further when Zimpel was presented with the opportunity to mentor a local youth who also has an ASD diagnosis. If you follow the journey outlined in the video series, you will learn that this young person, named Jeffery, has a similar passion for the outdoors in the form of hunting, fishing and his 4-wheeler. In this way, both outdoorsmen benefit from the company of someone who understands the unique feeling of thinking outside the norm.

Though many people stay in our far north rural county because of the natural resources, it couldn’t be truer for Bruce. The woods and water have continued to offer an abundance of safe spaces for a man learning to understand the foreign language of mainstream thinking for his entire life. Now, possibly for the first time, this life spent in the wild is being celebrated in the most unnatural spaces, the internet.