VanDam's Imprint On Sport Immeasurable

By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor

Larry Nixon’s first interaction with Kevin VanDam was a memorable one.

He doesn’t recall the exact year, but he knows it was before VanDam began fishing professionally, so that means VanDam was likely still a teenager.

“I was in Kevin’s brother’s store (D&R Sports) with Tommy Martin doing a seminar,” Nixon recalled. “After the seminar was over, we were visiting with people and signing autographs. Then this skinny kid, maybe 15 or 16 years old, walks over and shoves his hand in front of me says, ‘Hi. I’m Kevin VanDam and I’m going to kick y’alls ass.”

It wasn’t a physical challenge, but an expression of VanDam’s desire to take on the best of the best once he established himself in the sport. It caught Nixon and Martin, who at the time were among the biggest stars in bass fishing, off guard.

“I said to Tommy, ‘Has that ever happened to you?’ Nixon said. “Tommy said, ‘No. That was pretty brash.’”

Nixon said he’s not reminded VanDam of the story in the years since, but it’s an exchange he won’t ever forget.

“It took a while to happen (his words coming true), but he had so much confidence, it knocked me back,” Nixon said. “It’s amazing the things he’s done in fishing and being that young and confident – that’s everything in sports.”

Sharing the Passion

Gary Dollahon has worked in public relations in the fishing industry for many years and has known VanDam since the early 1990s. He says one of VanDam’s best attributes is his work ethic, especially when working with the media.

One instance Dollahon recalled occurred at a Tracker Marine Group Media Days, held at Big Cedar Lodge on Table Rock Lake a few years ago

“Kevin was always one of the very first individuals on the dock for the event every morning and the last to leave, all the while working his tail off to accommodate every press member request throughout the day,” Dollahon said. “During lunch break on the final day he grabbed me and said to please remind him he had to leave by no later than 4 p.m. in order to make it in time for another important commitment that evening.

"I knew this would be a challenge so I tracked him down about 3:30, finding him doing an interview in a boat slip and I started shadowing him. He wasn't going to be late on my watch so I gave him time readings about every 5 minutes. Each time he'd say, ‘I know, we're just about through.’ I was relieved and exhausted when, finally, a few minutes before 4 he grabbed his gear and walked hurriedly toward the other side of the marina to exit, saying thanks and that he was outta there.

“About 4:30, I rounded the marina's corner and was horrified to discover KVD standing there and helping three young kids catch sunfish from the walkway with live worms. I said, ‘Kevin, it's 4:30!’ He laughed and said, ‘I know, but these guys weren't catching anything, but they are now.’ He told them, ‘One more each and then I need to go.’ They caught another fish and he hurried off, grinning all the way. That gesture was a perfect example of who KVD is and his passion for fishing and the willingness to share it.”

Up Close and Personal

Alan McGuckin has been inside the ropes for much of VanDam’s career.

McGuckin’s work for Dynamic Sponsorships, a Tulsa, Okla.-based marketing firm whose client list includes Toyota and Zebco Brands (Quantum), means he and VanDam spend countless hours working together at various tournaments and events either on editorial content or promotional materials. Their relationship dates back to the mid 1990s when McGuckin worked for Lowrance, which at the time counted VanDam among its pro staffers.

“I often say Kevin gets it,” McGuckin said. “Rather than get big-headed or increasingly more difficult to work with – it’s as though he embraces working to meet the needs of sponsors, the media, and PR people like me, even more as the years pass.

“I remember a photo shoot we did with him at his home in autumn of 2010 or 2011 after he won his sixth or seventh AOY title. We arrived in Kalamazoo at night and we were needing to create a white wall like you’d find in a high-dollar indoor photography studio. Kevin ran around borrowing white bed sheets from family members, along with those from his own bedroom set, to help us create a makeshift white room in his garage – and he helped us hang the sheets, too. Ultimately, the plan didn’t work and we simply shot the scene outside the next day, but it’s that kind of team player he is and the ‘let’s make it happen for the good of all us’ leadership attitude Kevin gives you that you feel so grateful for – and garner great memories from.

“More recently, I was working one-on-one with Kevin at the Mille Lacs Lake Toyota Bassmaster AOY Championship event. It was Saturday’s Fan Appreciation Day. Not only did Kevin make sure to meet me after he had signed autographs for five hours, but then pushed through a rain storm, a full bladder, and a herd of aggressive mosquitos to knock-out a fast 15-minute photo shoot with me alongside a country road by the lake’s edge. We had fun and we got a fantastic photo that he was proud of, and I’m calling one of the best images of the 2017 work year. That never happens without Kevin’s accountability, professionalism, sense of humor, mutual respect, and genuine friendship.”

Team Effort

Mark Zona has the unique perspective of having known VanDam off the water for many years, having worked with him through their mutual ties with Bass Pro Shops and Strike King and covered him as an analyst for Bassmaster Elite Series tournaments.

Zona often wonders if VanDam had chosen another occupation besides bass fishing, what would it have been. Would you believe a host of a cooking show on TV?

“I’ve had as many dinners that Kevin has prepared as I’ve had with my family,” Zona said. “He could have his own show on the Food Network. I don’t give him enough credit. He’s a phenomenal cook and it’s all about preparation, preparation, preparation. It’s not like we’re throwing a steak on the grill for three minutes a side and calling it good.

“I’ve watched him cook and I’ve thought he could do it professionally. He’s a little bit of Chef Ramsey (from Hell’s Kitchen) where you don’t want to get in the game because there is potential that he could bite at you.”

One element of VanDam’s success that gets overlooked, Zona says, is the influence Kevin’s wife, Sherry, has had. He’s believes her drive and competitiveness has stoked the same traits in VanDam’s personality.

“I truly see he and his wife work together as a team and I 100 percent do not think he would remotely have achieved what he has in the industry without that team dynamic that he and Sherry have,” Zona said. “She’s a very smart businesswoman and is a very competitive person like Kevin. She’s the silent driver.

“He gets the accolades – and he should – but behind most other big competitors in other sports are people like Sherry. You don’t hear about it, but I’ve seen it.”

Early Riser

Rick Emmitt got tipped off to VanDam’s fishing talents before he’d even made a cast as a professional. The service manager working at D&R Sports alerted Emmitt that he should keep tabs on VanDam since he was winning tournaments on a consistent basis around Kalamazoo.

“He told me we will want him on our pro staff some day and to sign him before someone else does,” recalled Emmitt, now the Marketing Manager – Angler Programs/Pro Staff for Bass Pro Shops/White River Marine Group. “I kind of took it with a grain of salt as I would hear these stories all the time. Sure enough, Kevin busted out on the Bassmaster trail and started winning immediately and we end up signing him right away.”

Over the years, VanDam’s name has become synonymous with Bass Pro Shops and Nitro Boats, but Emmitt has never seen him rest on his laurels.

“I think the thing about Kevin is he absolutely eats, sleeps and breathes fishing,” Emmitt added. “I have been on numerous photoshoots with Kevin where we start early in the morning to get some fishing shots while the light is good. Kevin is always the first one there, with his boat in the water, running and gunning down the bank to get some fishing in before anyone else gets there. He simply loves to catch fish. And talk about the consummate professional – he has done so many photoshoots over the years that he knows more than the photographer on how to make the boat, rod/reel or fishing shot look the best. He is the ultimate professional.”

Taking on Denny and Jimmy

Like Nixon, Jimmy Houston’s first interaction with VanDam happened at D&R Sports during a seminar. While VanDam didn’t challenge Houston directly, it was a few years later during the 1991 Bassmaster Georgia Top 100 tournament at Lake Lanier that Houston got an up close look at VanDam’s fishing prowess.

Houston, VanDam and Denny Brauer were all in contention after day 1 and all three were fishing up the Chattahoochee River.

“We were all fishing the same pattern in the same areas and really didn’t know it,” Houston recalled. “Denny was using a jig and Kevin and I were throwing spinnerbaits.”

On day 2, Houston said he encountered VanDam on the water he remembers being struck by VanDam’s intensity.

“We hadn’t seen each other before, but as we later figured out, I was starting not quite as far up the river as the other guys,” Houston said. “I was fishing it after they fished it.”

VanDam went on to win the event, beating Brauer by three pounds for his first career B.A.S.S. win. Houston finished 10th. Afterward, VanDam approached Houston and told him he deserved some credit for VanDam’s victory.

“He came to me and said, ‘Jimmy, I won because of you,’” Houston said. “He told me, ‘How I caught most of my bigger fish was something you did on a show one time where you threw at a log on Lake Dardanelle. You’d made 40 casts at the same log and caught a 4-pounder.’”

Houston knew the exact show VanDam was referencing.

“We were fishing laydowns (at Lanier) and he told me most of his bigger fish came after seven or eight casts at a log,” Houston said. “He was acknowledging he won because he’d seen me do that on TV. It was his first win and he wasn’t bragging. He was thanking me. That’s how I took it. He has been forever a great student of the game.”

Take Five: In Their Words

Rather than circulate a birthday card for Kevin VanDam around the fishing industry, BassFan asked folks from around the bass fishing world to give us their brief description (five words or less) of the man who has dominated the sport for nearly three decades as he approaches his 50th birthday.

> Bob Bagby (vice president of marketing, Zebco Brands): “Fantastic angler. Great human being.”
> Denny Brauer: “Great representative of the sport.”
> Gary Dollahon (owner, Dollahon PR): “Rewrote ‘professional angler’ definition.”
> Rick Emmitt (Marketing manager, White River Marine Group): “Fierce competitor.”
> Davy Hite: “G.O.A.T.”
> Jimmy Houston: “Great student of the game.”
> Jeff Kriet: “Best fisherman on the planet.”
> Jordan Lee: “Hardworking, competitive, motivated, iconic.”
> Phil Marks (lure designer, Strike King): "Like a poodle on caffeine!”
> Larry Nixon: “Incredible determination and confidence!”
> Jay Yelas: “KVD = GOAT (greatest of all-time).”
> Mark Zona: “He is the fishing industry.”