Matt Watson is the first name most of us think of when it comes to Fishing in New Zealand.
His iconic TV show ITM fishing is about to finish up after 20 years on our screens.
This conversation is, I hope, Matt Watson as you’ve never seen or heard him before. We discuss the struggles in the early days of getting his idea on TV, Matt gets emotional when he recalls meeting his wife Kaylene and later delivering their son in a car.
We reflect at length on his US TV appearance on Late night with David Letterman- you don’t want to miss that one. And much much more.
There is limited fishing chat in this conversation- but I’d like to think it’s a good conversation and a profile of an awesome New Zealander who has achieved so much through his own grit, persistence and dogged determination. Lessons in this about not giving in that we can all apply!
Matts career would not have been possible without the help of ITM. And I have just as much gratitude for my sponsors-
Radix Nutrition and Generate KiwiSaver- a couple of epic Kiwi owned and operated companies doing great things in their respective fields.
https://www.generatewealth.co.nz/
EPISODE CHAPTERS:
3.00 The end of an era- ITM fishing
9.40 Fist fight at family Xmas when he was 17.
17.30 Matt the kiwi battler
23.50 The life-changing roofing-testicle injury
31.00 His OE: Ending in a German hospital and meeting the Pope.
37.00 How he met his wife, Kaylene.
39.30 Matt gets emotional.
40.45 Winning a contest on Sports café.
46.00 Making the first pilot episode of The Fishing Show.
51.00 Mortgaging the house to make the first TV series.
1.01 Pitching the show to TV networks.
1.12.30 How ITM came to sponsor the show.
1.22 Going to the US to appear on David Letterman’s show.
1.48 “Man Vs Fish” show on Discovery/Animal Planet.
1.54 Delivering his son in a car late at night.
2.05 Matt’s mental health and how he stays well.
2.13 Reflecting on a young Matt Watson
","author_name":"Dom Harvey"}