With a mad highlights reel and a passion for living life to the fullest, the Gold Coast Flathead Classic talk sports fishing with The Mad Hueys.
The Mad Hueys epic journey and connection to the iconic Gold Coast fishing event started in 2008 when Damon and Joel borrowed a boat from fishing and TV personality Paul Burt.
Admitting to Paul their lack of knowledge about targeting fish species, he showed them how and they have been fishing the event ever since.
Talking with the Mad Hueys, Damon Nicholls and Joel Scott, they told Flathead Classic organisers what was running through their mind entering the first event.
“Pure excitement!!! We had 2 days off work to sink piss, talk shit and maybe, just maybe, not embarrass ourselves!” Said Joel Scott.
The Mad Huey’s name is globally recognised; however, there is not much out there that talks about how the name was chosen.
“We just use to call each other Huey or hu as a bit of a joke, there was no real meaning behind it and then if u did something funny or crazy you would be a ‘mad huey’. Once it had transferred across to our fishing team name, it just stuck.” Said Damon.
Officially entering as “The Mad Hueys” in 2010, they did their thing, had a great time and posted their antics on social media; everyone loved it!
Joel commenting said, “The public reaction was great, and we knew people enjoyed watching it. However, we were a little in the dark in regards to other fishos opinions. We understood some people thought we were dick heads, but the response we received the following year was epic. We’d like to loosely call it ‘respect’ from fellow competitors, but didn’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves.”
The following year, they decided to have some t-shirts and hats made to wear at the event, this obviously struck a chord with many event goers with many asking if they were going to make another video.
“People asking us for more was pretty surreal really, fishing or surfing is what we do every other day, and there was always funny shit going on around it, so it all just came together really easy! Pretty much just a couple of units!” Damon said.
The Mad Hueys rise to Insta famous wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, with some flathead classic teams writing them off, for there live in the moment, drinking, we don’t care type of culture. The Mad Hueys response to this was achieving top 20 and showing the sportfishing community there was a serious side to the team.
Danny Sands, Gold Coast Sportfishing Club President and head of the Gold Coast Flathead Classic event team commented on the simultaneous growth of both the event and Mad Hueys brand over the last few years.
“The age of social media marketing has certainly boosted our events capacity to reach a larger audience. Over the last 18 months, we have been able to engage more people than ever and show them what it’s like to fish in an iconic Australian event”.
“We give thanks to teams like “The Mad Hueys” for running with what they love doing, finding their niche and broadening our events reach which talks to the newer generations of keen fishos now wanting to get involved in “The Ultimate Fishing Event”.
The biggest question on all angler’s mind pre-event is how to prepare; The Mad Hueys seem to have it all sorted.
“New tactic this year. No fishing, everybody always talks about pre fish this, pre fish that but the only fishing we are doing is dipping the rod in the bedroom.” Said Joel.
Achieving success, while doing what you love and being surrounded by your mates, is what connects the crew. The Mad Hueys are today a hallmark influencer within a highly connected society, who show their grounding by giving back to the community through sponsoring events like the Flathead Classic and athletes along with charities.
“We just want to show other anglers that it doesn’t matter how shit you are, you can still get involved and have the time of your lives!” Concluded Joel.
With the event just around the corner, the hype for the biggest year on record is channelling a buzz through not just the event organisers but individuals alike.
Don’t miss the 2017 Gold Coast Flathead Classic, for more information visit: www.flatheadclassic.com.au
