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I caught my first sailfish when I was 8 years old off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, in a little boat my dad built. Back then, catching any billfish off Savannah was a rare event, and it sparked something in me that never faded.
For the past 30-plus years, my professional life has been wrapped up in Release Marine. When I started the company, my mission wasn’t to make money—it was to build the best fighting chair in the world. Period. I spent 15 years tearing chairs apart, redesigning hardware, reshaping seats and rethinking every detail, all in pursuit of something better. That mindset—obsess over quality, focus on the why and how—guided everything I did. And it eventually led me to my next challenge.
After decades of traveling to tournaments and fishing some of the most iconic waters on Earth, I started to ask myself what came next. I had reached a place with Release Marine where I no longer needed to obsess, but knew I didn’t want to retire—I wanted to build something again. Something that scratched that same itch for planning, logistics and execution. And I always kept coming back to those magical islands off the coast of western Africa.
Cape Verde has long been a mecca for serious blue-marlin fishing, with some of the best captains and crew in the world fishing its waters. Although the boats and fishermen were great, the actual quality of the boats seemed lacking to me. I wanted to change that. I had found my new project. So I pulled the trigger. I bought a 48-foot G&S, completely rebuilt it from the waterline up—new engines, sonar, transmissions, electronics, ice maker, the works—and shipped it nearly 4,000 miles across the Atlantic to start a charter operation of my own.
We named the boat The Release Man, and my captain, Marty Bates, along with my mate Elton Fortes Lopez, has been running it from day one. We’re now in our second season, and while our results speak for themselves, I can say this: Chasing the dream is never easy. It was twice as hard as I expected. From dealing with government paperwork to flying in parts to outfitting the boat with backup gear, it’s been a logistical marathon. But when you’re building your own dream, it should never be shorted. You go all in.
The decision to set up operations in Cape Verde also provided the perfect testing ground for another dream of mine, Sta-Stuk hooks. I needed a quiet place to dial in the gear without distractions or loose lips on the dock. I wanted to log hundreds of bites, refine the product and test ideas the right way. Cape Verde gave me that chance. And just as with Release Marine, it wasn’t about profit—it was about performance.
Looking back, the decision to finally pull the trigger wasn’t about timing, money or even freedom—it was about vision. I saw what could be, and I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied until I built it. For anyone standing on the edge of their own dream, I’ll say this: Don’t chase the wrong one. Pick the right purpose, and then give it everything you’ve got.
Because if you’re going to build your dream, it might as well be world-class.
