Entry 79-4
Meet Mark Rose
Getting Sponsors
Editor's Note: Mark Rose was an Executive Director for the Boy Scouts when the tournament-fishing bug bit him. Armed with the courage required to be a tournament fisherman, Rose left a safe and secure job to enter the uncertain world of professional fishing. Rose jumped out on the tournament circuit and has never looked back. This week, we’ll meet a young man with a vision and learn what his life is like, living his dream.
Question: What is it like being a 32-year-old and never having won a major tournament to solicit sponsors? How have you gotten sponsors to support you even though you haven’t yet made a major win?
Rose: Strike King knew about me because I was a local fisherman, and they began to support me in the early days of my career. I was extremely lucky, also, when I met up with the folks at Mossy Oak. I approached them at a time when they were expanding their influence in the outdoor industry, and they were ready to come into the fishing market. Strike King and Mossy Oak were the two companies that believed in me the most in the very early days of my career. Then, as I began to do better in tournaments and began leading seminars, other companies started coming to me and offering to be sponsors for me.
Contents:
- Part 1: The Courage to Change
- Part 2: The Hardest Part of Being a Professional Fisherman
- Part 3: The Best of Fishing
- Part 4: Getting Sponsors
- Part 5: What You Do for Your Sponsors
