Milikin on Private Equity

[txchaser]

3 hours ago, ElGuapo928 said:

Honestly with the exception of the tanuki, I have no use for any of the GSM additions. Big flappy craws and 10” worms don’t qualify as “subtle”, which is pretty much a requirement in this part of the country.
 

 

Yeah that's fair. I'm in texas so craw-style and big worms are in the middle of the fairway for me. And the 5.5 inch ribbed senko (slinko?) is a great bait with floating plastic. So they are getting more wallet share from me. 

 

 

 

[ElGuapo928]

The loss of Yamamoto as we knew it is especially aggravating, because the business was built on serving the “niche” western market. Spreadsheet marketing will always tailor products/colors to the south/southeast based on simple demographics (more anglers = more sales). 
 

Eventually another manufacturer will fill that void, then the investor types will take notice, and here we go again….

[king fisher]

I like the video, but am disappointed he offered zero solutions to the problem.  There probably is no solution to the problem, but if you are going to make a video pointing out how bad something is, than I would expect some kind of suggestion on how to fix the problem.  As far as making a living as a professional fisherman goes, it is becoming obvious to me that having a video channel on the internet is going to be a necessity.  If I was trying to market a lure, I wouldn't care who won a tournament if I could get my lure on a Video that had thousands of views.  The most successful pros will combine videos with competition, and therefore get the most money from sponsors.

      I am glad he didn't end the video with a buy 6th. Sense products promotion.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Agree King Fisher, being popular on Social Media is a requirement now to make a quality living being a pro Bass angler.     

 

One thing that does suck about Milliken videos is that if he's fishing something that's not made by 6th Sense, he can be down right cryptic about the bait.     

[mcipinkie]

Click Bait !!

 

Get me some more views.

 

That's how I make money.

 

Not often I agree with Glenn, but he's spot on. 

 

"This video has been hashed and rehashed several times already. It's absolutely NOTHING new at all. The industry has been this way for decades.  He knew it when he started, and he's known it all along.  To pretend it's something "secret" is nothing but pure sensationalism.

 

He's certainly got his clickbait worth out of it though". 

[RichF]

Although I knew who he was, this was the first Milliken video I watched. Which led me to a couple others. Gotta say I’m not a fan. I can give props to these guys who put out a bunch of content because I know it isn’t easy…but he ain’t someone I’d care to converse with or fish near.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

He caught a 40lb+ bag, and a C2C DD in last night's video.....hate em' or love em' he'll outfish you to death, or at least he will to me.  

 

He's arrogant, and handles the fish extremely poorly, but I've honestly seen few other anglers as naturally gifted as Ben.   Kyle Welcher is one of the few that I can name that I think is a more naturally gifted angler and has a great YT page. 

 

His early stuff is what I think blew his popularity up, most folks aren't into watching highlights of derbies, rather they like dude catching a catfish out of a manhole cover or catching giant mystery fish in a spillway.    He seems to have changed a bit over last year's content where he won a Open and became Elite qualified.   I imagine he'll return to earth this coming Elite season.           

 

Lot of people both hate and love this guy, but I think everyone can agree Ben Milliken is one of the biggest names in the sport currently.   

[J Francho]

Never heard him mentioned other than on this forum. 

[Stratocat_Joe]

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

Never heard him mentioned other than on this forum. 

Did you see this commercial a couple of years ago?  And, this was way before he jumped into the Opens.

 

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/btTi/orkin-hire-a-pro-ft-ben-milliken

 

 

[J Francho]

Nope. 

[Stratocat_Joe]

10 hours ago, J Francho said:

Nope. 

It caused quite a stir in the fishing world, since it referenced Milliken as a Fishing Pro.  There were a few Pro Tournament anglers that were upset about that.  But, in all honesty, Milliken was probably more well-known to the average consumer Orkin was targeting outside of the fishing industry than 95% of Pro Tournament anglers.  

 

As for the video, and Pro Fishing as a sport, it's always appeared to me to be similar to the old Gold Rush days of the late-19th century.  People dreamed of striking it rich and set out on the adventure...but first, they needed supplies.  Sure, a few of the early ones made it big (i.e. Bill Dance, Roland Martin, Jimmy Houston, etc.) before the masses clamored to the adventure.  Then, there would occasionally be others that worked hard, but also got very lucky, and struck it rich which kept others dreaming.  By the end of it all, very few who embarked on the adventure had much to show for it.  Most came back broke and broken, but with a (fish) story to tell.  The one's who truly made it rich during the Gold Rush was the shopkeepers selling the miners their supplies and promoting the dream to keep the miners/customers coming (i.e. Johnny Morris). 

 

One thing that Milliken's video loosely hits on, but didn't fully explore, was the amount of "free" money that corporations had access to in 2020-2022, including PE firms that managed billion-dollar portfolios but were considered "small-businesses" because they had relatively few employees (i.e. less than 100).  Those PE firms then used the "free" money to invest in growing markets, like the fishing industry at that time, which caused the conglomeration in the market that Milliken addressed in his video.  Some have said that his video has been rehashed before.  But I'm not sure the fishing industry has ever experienced the movement in both the consumer and corporate markets that was seen between 2020-2022, nor has it seen such effects as the predicted fall-out as things return to whatever the new "normal" in the industry will be.

 

 

[greentrout]

Pure Fishing at risk of Default Despite Sycamore Partners Company Efforts | Bass Angler Magazine

[J Francho]

1 hour ago, Stratocat_Joe said:

Milliken was probably more well-known to the average consumer Orkin was targeting outside of the fishing industry than 95% of Pro Tournament anglers

People with roaches?  I don't follow. The link between YouTubers, roaches, and fishing seems very niche. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Milliken is an Elite and Classic qualified pro angler who has a top 3 Bass fishing Youtube channel with over 500k subs, if you don't know who he is, then you don't follow the fishing industry very close, it's that simple.  

[Stratocat_Joe]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

People with roaches?  I don't follow. The link between YouTubers, roaches, and fishing seems very niche. 

It was part of a series of commercials Orkin ran with a variety of sports personalities....Milliken was just the fishing personality.  

[J Francho]

Professional bass fishing is such a small part of the bass fishing industry as a whole. And no, I don't really follow that segment. It has little to no bearing on my fishing. It never has. Add to that, it just isn't interesting. 

[Bandersnatch]

Wondering what your guys thoughts are. I’m not a huge milikin fan but this seemed far from click bait and quite good content as it relates to us anglerr and our money. 

 

[TnRiver46]

@BandersnatchThere is already a thread about the video you posted so I merged them together 

[rangerjockey]

Personally, I can't stand his arrogant azz and I'd love to see Randy punch him in his big mouth.

On a personal note, I've bought 6th sense products for years until he got a part of the business, I won't buy them any longer and I wouldn't use the MFer rods for a tomato stake.

[Bandersnatch]

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

@BandersnatchThere is already a thread about the video you posted so I merged them together 

Thank you 

On 12/7/2023 at 9:09 PM, mcipinkie said:

Click Bait !!

 

Get me some more views.

 

That's how I make money.

 

Not often I agree with Glenn, but he's spot on. 

 

"This video has been hashed and rehashed several times already. It's absolutely NOTHING new at all. The industry has been this way for decades.  He knew it when he started, and he's known it all along.  To pretend it's something "secret" is nothing but pure sensationalism.

 

He's certainly got his clickbait worth out of it though". 

It doesn’t make it acceptable nor do we have to accept just because it was this way before Milikin. I for one spend a boat load of money and wasn’t that aware of all of this. Something I can do is switch from my beloved rage craws to a smaller business that makes a flappy trailer. There are dozens of them. 

1 hour ago, rangerjockey said:

Personally, I can't stand his arrogant azz and I'd love to see Randy punch him in his big mouth.

On a personal note, I've bought 6th sense products for years until he got a part of the business, I won't buy them any longer and I wouldn't use the MFer rods for a tomato stake.

Once again, I’m not a milkin fan boy but also found nothing arrogant about calling out private equity firms. Maybe you haven’t seen what they have done to other industries…because “it’s always been this way” doesn’t mean it’s not getting substantially worse much more quickly. 
 

instead of Plano buy buzbee 

 

Instead of rage craws buy xzone or missile baits (oh no, not the rage baits! ;))

 

Instead of Yamamoto senkos buy gambler fat ace 

 

Instead of strike king weights buy spro, gamma or other local brands 

 

this least likely needs tweaked but you’d think it could even be a sticky.

[rangerjockey]

33 minutes ago, Bandersnatch said:

Thank you 

It doesn’t make it acceptable nor do we have to accept just because it was this way before Milikin. I for one spend a boat load of money and wasn’t that aware of all of this. Something I can do is switch from my beloved rage craws to a smaller business that makes a flappy trailer. There are dozens of them. 

Once again, I’m not a milkin fan boy but also found nothing arrogant about calling out private equity firms. Maybe you haven’t seen what they have done to other industries…because “it’s always been this way” doesn’t mean it’s not getting substantially worse much more quickly. 
 

instead of Plano buy buzbee 

 

Instead of rage craws buy xzone or missile baits (oh no, not the rage baits! ;))

 

Instead of Yamamoto senkos buy gambler fat ace 

 

Instead of strike king weights buy spro, gamma or other local brands 

 

this least likely needs tweaked but you’d think it could even be a sticky.

I was talking about his attitude in general. I don't need him to educate me on the fishing industry.

Sooner or later, somebody will come along with a big check and make an offer to buy 6th sense.

We will see what he does then.

[Bandersnatch]

11 minutes ago, rangerjockey said:

I was talking about his attitude in general. I don't need him to educate me on the fishing industry.

Sooner or later, somebody will come along with a big check and make an offer to buy 6th sense.

We will see what he does then.

Why are we mad at Milikin and not the giant corporations that buy out our small companies destroying the innovation, diversity & cost effectiveness to the customer? 
 

[TnRiver46]

This is trending the wrong way………

 

if you leave the YouTube personalities out of if, the discussions are easier to have 

[Bandersnatch]

You’re right. It’s not about a single persons attitude,  and somebody coming by with a big check buying six sense won’t help the consumer. Apparently that disappointing milkin will be the answer though.. more importantly, PE is buying more at a faster rate and it’s not good for the consumer. We should be able to buy small.

[Mike L]

If someone is selling what I want/need at a price I’m willing to buy, I could care less who owns what. 

PE firms or any entities business model only works if the public wants what they’re selling. 
Why should I care how they get there?

 

Innovation and R&D takes cash, and lots of it. Without it there wouldn’t be any small businesses 

 

 

 

Mike