As you might imagine, most Bassmaster Classic® press conferences involve a small room in the basement of an arena, filled with working media members all trying to get their slice of the story, along with a photo or video capturing a pro whose career and life changed forever just moments earlier.
However, brand new Classic champion Justin Hamner’s press conference in the bottom of floor of Tulsa’s BOK Center looked a little different, with nearly a dozen Yamaha marketing folks piling in to celebrate their new champ.
At one point, Hamner, who delivered the ultimate down-to-earth, funny, and sometimes teary-eyed answers to questions stopped and paid special recognition to Yamaha, stating how grateful he was to be a part of their team.
It was heartfelt and meaningful as the highly likable young pro from Tuscaloosa detailed how a lack of sponsorship not so long ago placed unthinkable stress on his fishing performance. After missing a paycheck in a tournament on the James River in Va., he was left searching under his truck seat to find spare coins to just buy a cheeseburger.
“The Yamaha Pro Team is always a great representation of the integrity of the Yamaha brand – Justin Hamner exemplifies all of those great qualities,” said Lucas King, Yamaha’s Senior Sponsorship & Pro Staff Specialist. “Aside from his abilities on the water, he’s simply one of the good guys. We’re proud he’s a part of the Yamaha family and excited to celebrate his incredible Classic championship.”
A perfect statement indeed to summarize all the goodness of a rags-to-riches Classic story, to compliment a $20,000 Yamaha Power Pay bonus for a young man who not long ago found himself looking under the seat of his tow vehicle for “cheeseburger money.”
To learn how you too can cash-in on Yamaha Power Pay money like the brand new Bassmaster Classic Champion, please visit https://yamahapowerpay.com/.
Amid a fishing trip on the bass-starved Ohio River in the summer of 1987, Alan McGuckin’s Dad told a then 16-year-old “Guck” — “I don’t care what you do for a living, just promise me you’ll do something you love.”
Originally from Pittsburgh, McGuckin considers himself a blue-collar kid, who has been richly blessed to live-out the best piece of advice his dad ever gave him for many years now in the Tulsa area.
After earning a degree in ecology at Juniata College in Pennsylvania, where he placed radio transmitters in largemouth bass to track their habitat preferences, he moved his life to Oklahoma in 1992, where he earned a Masters in Zoology and Fisheries under the direction of Gene Gilliland at the University of Oklahoma, before then embarking on what’s now a nearly three decade long career as a marketing and media veteran in the fishing industry.
His career spans 28 years of wisdom-rich marketing experience working to strengthen brands and increase sales for Lowrance, Terminator Lures, Toyota, Yamaha Outboards, Boat U.S., Carhartt, Costa, Quantum, Vexus Boats, and Zebco.
- Member of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame voting committee, as well as a Board of Directors member for Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful
- Co-piloted the Terminator brand of premium lures from its birth to more than 10 Million pieces sold between 1997-2006.
- Has authored and published more than 800 stories on Bassmaster.com, along with several other popular bass fishing websites.
- He has generated $3 Million dollars’ worth of branded digital media since 2020, as a content creator.
- Serves as emcee for hundreds of guests at the annual Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners event.
- Avid angler, who fishes nearly every weekend when not on the road working.
- 13,000 followers on Instagram @GuckFishing.
“Guck” lives just north of Tulsa, OK at Lake Skiatook with wife Sherrie, an elementary school principal who also loves her job, and has a genuine passion for slinging a Rapala Brat crankbait on shallow points and habitat-laden flats.
