Things are going to get interesting with this one. I won't take a stance, nor a side, but will report kinda what's going on with one of the legacy brands out there in fly fishing. That company is R.L. Winston and they have set off a firestorm with something they did, knowingly or not.
You know over the years I've addressed some of the marketing campaigns that have been introduced in and around fly fishing. They include some hot topics like race, gender, and sexuality. They've also touched on things that are, or were, going on in society, with some labeling things as "Woke". And you know what some say, "Go woke, go broke".
So with not knowing all of the facts here's what I do know. There is a women who is an influencer, or content creator. And part of her jam is publishing adult content by subscription. I'm not sure if she is on Only Fans, but it's along those lines. That's a platform where males and females post content, usually of sexual nature, adult stuff, where paying subscribers can see when visiting said sites. Some may call it pornography, and I guess it pretty much is.
Her name, maybe it's her stage name, is Lamar Gatz. I don't know much but I saw, while scrolling around social media, that she does her business along with her husband, along with others that join in. That's him in the middle, below.
Hey, they're adults, it's adult content, there's big money to be made- like a ton, by their own admission on podcasts they say they make about $1.5 million dollars a year. It's legal, there's my body my choice, so to each their own. Searching around it doesn't take much to find images of her at work, um, that's her below.
Did I post this for attention? No. I included it in this blog for context as to why it has added to the furor of the connection between Gatz and Winston. What could an Only Fans type adult content creator and a fly rod manufacturer have in common? Well, let me explain.
Like other influencers, content creators, hell, bloggers, basically their lives are an open book. So you get things across a broad spectrum depending on how much or little they want you to know. Well, it seems, Gatz wanted to learn how to fly fish. That's all good, as a sport we want more people, regardless of age, gender, identity, or beliefs, or how they make a living, in the game. At least that's what I think. We are all different. We all have our own lives, and make our money in different ways, and that can include professions that others may not be able, or choose, to do.
So it appears Gatz did what other influencer's do. She most likely penned an introductory letter to R.L. Winston stating that she wanted to get into fly fishing and has 700,000 followers and could help further expose, no pun intended, others to fly fishing by telling her story. Sounds innocent enough, right?
So like any other company out there the chance to gain exposure, again no pun intended, as they fight for market share sounds like a good investment. Someone at Winston probably saw the introduction, didn't vet her much, and decided to send her out a Winston starter kit, which she posted in video format on her various social media outlets. She also has posted videos about her first fly fishing outings and even her first fish she brought to hand. While yes, those videos are stacked between teasers about threesomes and solos with sexual overtones, it's still fly fishing, and she's an adult in an adult world. Again, just the facts, not my opinions.
So, like about anything else, people took to the airwaves, well social media, to give their perspective on the damage this scenario could do to women and fly fishing. It, the comments, delves into the sexualization of women in fly fishing, and probably everything else out there, especially if it comes to market share and money. Let me stay this fact, sex sells, good looking people sell things, both men and women. Look at the ads and the catalogues. Ever see a dude with a body like mine selling anything? Well, of course not.
Now when it comes to fly fishing the sexualization, of men and women, kind of gets tampered down depending on what they're selling and where they're selling it for. Most of the time fly fishing is done in freshwater and anglers have on waders and clothes and hats etc. In the saltwater maybe not so much, but the big outfitters have done a good job staying away from selling mens Speedo's and women's thongs to wear while on the front of the skiff casting to rolling 150 pound tarpon. That's the fly rodders, the spin and gear side well they need some work. But I'm not judging.
I'm only on Facebook but I'm sure it's the same across all social media outlets. When you become part of the algorithm for a topic you just get enrolled into all those types of feeds. So for me, fishing is part of my computer IP address DNA, so I get a lot of stuff like the above. And the more south or warmer climates you see images with anglers with less clothing on, especially from the ladies. I can picture images like these in some old calendar hanging in a tackle shop back in the 1970's but I wouldn't think they would pass todays equality litmus test, but they do.
As I've said good looks, sex, and sexuality sells, even in fly fishing. And that's moreso with women, unfortunately. To me good looking people are good looking people, and I like to see them, doing things I like to do. Hell, there's hot firefighters, doctors, nurses, guides, photographers, bloggers, and fly rodders out there, good for them, wish I were one of you. And when you come across beauty, male and female, and talent, they can make for the perfect storm for advertising and influencing and ambassadorship, which can led to brand recognition and sales. True dat'.
So from all the comments I've seen out there it's kind of leading to ganging up on R.L. Winston, I guess, the real adult in the room, not the adult content creator. There's a shaming going on for that company for aligning or allowing the sexuality of a women to be brought out into the mainstream, for possible financial gain. In most posts people start off with the gist that they are not attacking the young women or how she earns her money. Fair enough. Below is just one post that I read...
People are allowed to have their opinions and even put them out into the social media world where they will live forever. They can even choose to boycott a company, or an event, if it doesn't align with their beliefs or are offended in any way. That brings us back to the cancel culture stuff that was a big part of our daily lives just a half a dozen years ago.
But then, truthfully, how can you blame one without judging the other? How can you have distain for a company that is supporting a new fly fisher whose career path interferes, or is incongruent, with the image, or likeness, that one gender has worked hard to create? And then does it harm women fly fisherwomen? That's not a statement, that's a question. My respect for fly rodders, of both genders, can't be tarnished by the alignment or ads a company, that they own, chooses to do in their best interest. But I'll recap, I don't think this went down like we are seeing it unfold. It's reminding me of that whole Bud Light drama a few years back. And drama? Well that cost Anheuser -Busch about 1.7 billion dollars in North America alone.
So what will happen? Well it'll blow up in fly fishing circles, on social media, and in online magazine blog posts. There will be You Tube videos and most likely some kind of seminars during the upcoming fly fishing shows that kick off in a few months. And then it will go away, just like everything else does.
I know someone will want to hang me by my nuts on where I'm headed next. If not for the mere mention of Joan Wulff but by including a picture of her with the others that are in this post. Now Joan Wulff is one of the OG's. She's royalty in fly fishing. Style. Grace. A huge contributor to fly fishing and of course casting. And I might add beautiful, even as she approaches her 100th birthday on October 18th.
I found an article in Hatch Magazine published in 2013. The lead image shows a photographer catching Joan mid-cast. Now while her outfit is modest in today's standards what was that standard some 70 years ago? We all know times, people, and limits change, just look at pictures from ladies on the beach in the 1950's and then todays beach scenes. It's about enough to make you blush.
In the article it kind of leads the reader to believe that fly fisherwomen of today have Joan to thank, "...for making fly fishing hot...". I'll let you read part of it below.
I'm not going anywhere further with this, but I will say, things evolve. Back then some may have taken offense to the pictures of Joan. Imagine how a wife might have felt if her husband had those pictures posted above his fly tying table? Might someone say that there was a hint of sexuality in between the style and grace of Joan's casting abilities? We can't punish people for being beautiful. But now we can judge, or even punish them, for what they do in on-line subscription only adult websites.
And that to me is the end. Obviously there's no comparison between Lamar and Joan, and I never intended there to be. But if we're going to open a can of worms then let's open it, and be honest. I think in the end this was just a bad accident, two things meeting at an intersection where they collided. Winston will no doubt separate itself from Gatz in some social media admission of guilt and poor judgement while Gatz's subscription numbers will go up a bunch. But the damage will be done. She'll be shamed and asked to remove the Winston swag from her photos and videos to appease the general population, or at least those who are offended and are voicing their opinions the loudest.
The shame is, at the end of the day, I believe Lamar was truly excited about stepping into fly fishing and even landing her first trout. And instead of attacking her, or being repulsed by what she does for a living, maybe we should teach her how to handle a trout that's going to be released. You know the trademarked saying everyone used for a while, "Keep Em' Wet", well no pun intended.
But somewhere someone got offended at that possibility on how "Keep Em' Wet" could be interpreted, so, after a kinda cancel culture kicked in, it was renamed to a more accurate and fitting, "Keep Fish Wet".
That way we would never think that the campaign to save fish from dying could be misconstrued in thinking we were somehow talking about a human being and their sexual arousalness. This is all nuts, like nuts, that you eat, not the ones I'll be hanging from after this post goes live.