Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Matt Wesley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Matt, appreciate you joining us today. Everyone has crazy stuff happen to them, but often small business owners and creatives, artists and others who are doing something off the beaten path are often hit with things (positive or negative) that are so out there, so unpredictable and unexpected. Can you share a crazy story from your journey?
Being on Social media has it’s ups and downs, pros VS cons, and it’s a rollercoaster ride of both good and bad experiences. But before I dive into the wildest and most life changing story of my life… let’s go back a bit. My wife and I were married in 2013 and we honeymooned in Hawaii for 3 weeks. How exciting, right??!! By way of capturing this experience, we bought a GoPro 3 and took it to film snorkeling, fishing, volcanoes, etc. Well the trip was amazing, but after we came home, the GoPro sat on the shelf, unused, for years. Until 2018…. When we decided to take it out to document memories of us on our outdoor adventures. Mostly fishing our local creeks and rivers. What started as a way to capture memories to watch back when we are old and grey, turned into us putting the videos up on Youtube and other social media. Viewers and fans came, and I upped the production value for an audience VS just capturing it for us. We gained sponsorships, built relationships in the fishing industry, and even made valuable close friends that remain in our close circle to this day! Well, here’s the crazy part! In 2020, my wife and I decided to try to have our first child! We were nervous, excited and just a ball of anxious emotions. A few months in to the process, complications had us at our first doctor visit. We got terrible news. Jenny had cancer. It was cervical cancer on an inoperable tumor. The oncologist told us that chemo and radiation would render Jenny unable to carry a child. We were crushed. Our lives suddenly felt like the world caving in on us. We had 1 small chance to have a child that would be biologically ours, and we had to race against the clock. The oncologist did not want to wait to treat the tumor, for fear that it would grow and endanger her life. So… we decided to try to create and freeze our own embryos, with the hopes we would find a surrogate to carry it for us someday. Well, IVF was not covered by our insurance, and the up front cost was almost $20,000! We knew that we weren’t going to have the time to save up that amount without risking Jenny’s health. So a friend put together a fundraiser and sent it out to our fishing community online. WOW… in less than a week, we had raised the money to cover the IVF expenses! We proceeded with the plan! We harvested 11 of Jenny’s eggs. 6 were fertilized. The lab called us on day 5 of them growing the embryos and told us that they had TWO left that matured to this stage. They said they usually go to day 6 to reach full maturity in order to freeze and preserve them, but we COULD roll the dice and freeze both on day 5. We prayed on it, and let the last 2 go to day 6. We asked God to provide a miracle. We were ready to talk adoption if this route failed. Day 6 came and we got the call. ONE LEFT. We had it frozen, and Jenn went on to do her chemo and radiation. They shrunk the tumor successfully! Sadly, at the end of the first treatment… more cancer was found, and she went thru a 2nd round. Near the end of the 2nd round. We got a text message that changed our life forever. Crystal, my cousin’s wife, messaged us and said she would gladly carry our embryo! She didn’t want paid. She wanted to bless us with the amazing chance to be parents of our own child! We knew the rate of our last embryo “taking” was about 50/50, but at this point, God had gotten us through so much and provided so many miracles of healing and support… we trusted this would work. And it did! In September of 2023, we were blessed with our beautiful daughter! We could never thank Crystal enough… words just don’t do justice. So on the floor of that delivery room we told her our wonderful miracle child would be named Phoebe Crystal Wesley! So… all this to say. A dusty old go pro sitting on the shelf, was the catalyst to finding and growing a loving and supportive community that helped bring us a life changing opportunity when our back was against the wall! God Bless each and every one of them!
Matt, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I got into fishing as a young kid. Catching bluegills for catfish bait for my dad. I self taught bass fishing by watching youtube and keying in on a local ohio angler named Jon B when he was just a college kid in the creeks. Now he is one of the most successful men in the fishing industry as one of the founders of the Googan brand.
That being said, I think learning to collaborate with “competitors” is such a great thing for any creative industry.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I think learning HOW to curate and distribute content throughout social media in the beginning would have taken away a lot of struggle and frustration. Watching Gary V was a game changer!
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My motto is at the end of EVERY video. ALWAYS BE ON MISSION. It’s a double entendre. Stay focused on the goal and keep producing… AND… don’t forget why you are here – God has a plan or a MISSION for you to honor Him and spread His gospel.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattsfishinmission/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MattsFishinMission
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MattsFishinMission
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@mattsfishinmission
https://fishbrain.com/anglers/MattsFishinMission1
Image Credits
Matt Wesley Photography