Dan and Joe Swintek grew up in a hunting family. They both have memories of their mother’s relatives getting together during hunting season when firearms were used. Dan remembers getting his first compound bow in middle school, and the brothers started archery as a side activity, just for fun. From there, they decided to start a YouTube channel, S3 Archery, in 2011. Dan and Joe, along with their brother-in-law Andy Soltvedt, wanted to create the same camaraderie that they observered in their grandpa and uncles as they were growing up.
The brothers switched from shooting competitive compound archery to traditional archery after Joe, who lives in Maple Grove, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and lost vision in his right eye in 2011. “Traditional archery is about the experience of being in nature and the relationship between archer and equipment,” he explains. “We researched and learned everything we could about it and realized there’s almost nothing about traditional archery out there.” The brothers hope to be a resource for others interested in taking up traditional archery, and strive to make S3 welcoming for beginning and seasoned archers alike.
