About usMeet The Team

In 2015, I co-founded Catch The Fever. Back then, I was a guy obsessed with chasing giant catfish, spending every chance I could on the water. Living in North Carolina, Kerr Lake and the James River were two of my favorite places to fish, but each demanded something different. On Kerr, we would drift or anchor with 1 to 4 ounces of lead. On the James, the current could require 8 to 16 ounces just to keep a bait on the bottom. I couldn’t find a single rod that could handle both the way I needed it to. So we set out to create one.

That is how the Big Cat Fever rod came to life. It came from real time on the water, recognizing what was missing, and believing we could build something better. But creating the rod was only the beginning. Getting anglers to try it, trust it, and believe in what we were doing took everything. We had to be all in, all the time.

One of our biggest early breakthroughs came when Zakk Royce, a guide on Lake Gaston, landed two state-record catfish within 24 hours using our rods and captured it all on video. That lit a spark. Anglers began to see what we believed these rods could do.

Another defining moment for me was catching a 111-pound catfish on the James River and sharing that experience on YouTube. Early in my journey, I had wanted to become one of the best anglers in the game. But after reaching one of my biggest personal goals, something changed. I realized my purpose was no longer just about the fish I could catch. It was about creating the gear that helped other anglers chase the moments that mattered to them.

Over the years, that purpose grew into something much bigger than I could have accomplished alone. I was blessed to work alongside an amazing team of people who cared deeply about our customers, our products, and the future of Catch The Fever. Together, we continued to evolve, adapt, and overcome. We listened to anglers, challenged our own ideas, and relentlessly pursued better products. The brand continued to climb in the industry, and we began to see possibilities that had once felt far beyond our reach.

In the fall of 2023, Catch The Fever was acquired. We believed the new partnership would finally put the company in a position to expand, serve more anglers, and do more for the industry we loved. It felt like an opportunity to take everything we had worked so hard to build and carry it further.

By the spring of 2024, the Catch The Fever brand and the partnership needed to part ways. It was a challenging season, and I knew the decisions ahead would affect more than just me. I was thinking about our team, the customers who trusted us, and the future of everything we had worked so hard to build together. This was never just a name or a product line. It represented years of work, relationships, and a purpose I still believed in.

I had to decide whether to start over or acquire 100% of the company as it stood, taking on its existing condition and obligations and working to preserve our mission, our team, and our partnerships. At first, the decision had been made that Catch The Fever would remain under the ownership established through the 2023 acquisition.

I brought our team together to talk about where things stood and what the changes could mean for us. We had worked hard and poured so much of ourselves into Catch The Fever. There was uncertainty about what would come next, but I knew the work, relationships, and shared belief behind this company were worth preserving.

On the drive home that evening, I prayed for God’s wisdom and direction. Later, sitting in our living room with Sarah, who is now my wife, I was grateful not to be facing those decisions alone. Her support meant so much to me, and I remain deeply thankful that she was there beside me.

Then I received two phone calls from employees encouraging me to keep going. They still believed in Catch The Fever and wanted to help move it forward, even offering to work for free for a little while. Their support and willingness to stand beside me reminded me that this mission wasn’t mine alone. We had a team of people who cared about what we were building and believed there was more ahead of us.

That became a turning point for me, a David-and-Goliath moment in my own life. I made the decision to take the company as it was. I didn’t suddenly have all the answers, but I believed in our team and what we could accomplish together. With their encouragement, I found a renewed sense of purpose and trusted that this was God’s will for my life.

I acquired 100% ownership of Catch The Fever. My commitment was to preserve its future, protect what we had built with our team and customers, and give this vision the opportunity to keep growing. Taking the brand back was not the finish line. It was the beginning of the work required to rebuild, reinvest, and move forward.

Rebuilding took patience, commitment, and faith. I couldn’t see every step ahead, but I leaned on God’s wisdom and guidance as I led our team forward. We kept Christ first, stayed focused on our customers, and continued doing the work in front of us.

By the fall of 2025, Catch The Fever had grown 43% beyond its previous best year in company history. After everything we had been through, that milestone meant far more to me than a number. I knew how uncertain the future had looked and how much it had taken to reach that point. God showed me that when He gives you a vision, He gives you the provision. I owe it all to Him.

In 2026, we took another major step forward. We found and secured our very first headquarters for Catch The Fever, based in Roxboro, North Carolina, and went to work building it out. It was a huge investment and an enormous undertaking. We created shipping and receiving operations, built offices for our team, and brought product design, marketing, and fulfillment together under one roof.

That headquarters gave us the ability to take greater ownership of the entire process, from the first product idea to the moment an order leaves our doors. Our team could work side by side, solve problems together, and respond more directly to what our customers needed. To me, that is what meaningful innovation requires: staying close enough to anglers to listen, and being willing and able to adapt when their needs change.

For me, relentlessly pursuing perfection does not mean pretending we have reached it. It means never becoming comfortable with something we know could be better. It means listening when a customer speaks, taking responsibility when something is not right, and continuing to earn the trust that allows us to do this work.

To our customers, I want you to know how grateful I am for you. Every time you choose our products, share your experience, or introduce someone to Catch The Fever, you become part of this story. You have given our work a purpose beyond anything we could build inside a headquarters. You have trusted us to be there for moments on the water that you may remember for the rest of your life. I do not take that lightly.

To our team and the partners throughout this industry who have supported this mission, thank you. Your work, encouragement, and belief in Catch The Fever have helped carry us through difficult seasons and into new opportunities. I am proud of what we have built together, and even more grateful for the people who have made it possible.

As we look toward 2027, my mission is to continue creating and innovating products that serve anglers, while also living out the call to be fishers of men. My heart is to share the wonderful hope, safety, peace, and deliverance that can only be found in Jesus. I want the way I lead, the way we serve, and the story of this company to point to Him.

There is still so much ahead of us. But when I look back at where this journey began, what we have walked through, and where we stand today, I do not see a story I can take the credit for. I see God’s faithfulness, an incredible team, and customers who gave us a reason to keep going.

Galatians 6:14

“God forbid that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”