In the 20th installment of the Beneath the Surface Podcast, Corey and Sean have a conversation with Rob McAbee, BOTE Creative Director and Founder of Bug Slinger™️ fly fishing gear. Rob started Bug Slinger in 2007, right around the time Corey and Magda founded BOTE. As the BOTE and Bug Slinger™️ brands grew within the outdoor industry, it was inevitable that the paddle board fishing-focused company would collide with the fly fishing apparel brand and produce epic collaborations for years to come.
The two companies have a lot of common threads, which include creating new categories within their industries and producing innovative designs that stand apart. In this episode of the Beneath the Surface Podcast, the guys dive into the creation of the Bug Slinger brand, the design process behind the BOTE brand, and a glimpse behind the scenes of the Bug Slinger and BOTE relationship.
Links from the Episode
Check out Bug SlingerTM and Buff® collaborations.
Introducing the new LONO Aero Inflatable Kayak 12'6" / Bug Slinger™ Tarpon.
Check out the BOTE x Bug SlingerTM line up.
Who’s in the Episode
Lead Designer, Co-Founder, and CEO at BOTE, Corey Cooper is a licensed engineer hailing from Auburn University. Corey is the pioneer of the DarkRoom, assisting with the design of the machinery, concepting the layout and ultimately developing the workflow used in DarkRoom production. Corey’s passion for this project is so strong that on any given day, regardless of how busy things are at BOTE, you will often find Corey working in the DarkRoom.
Sean Murphy is the Director of Photography at BOTE and a world-renowned photographer based in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. After spending most of his career based in Los Angeles, shooting for brands like Adidas, Red Bull, and Toyota, just to name a few, Sean moved back to the Redneck Riviera. You can find Sean capturing gritty America and spontaneous moments that translate into visually stunning photography.
BOTE Creative Director, Rob McAbee, brings the style when it comes to designing eye-catching stand up paddle boards and developing color palettes, patterns, fonts, and illustrations that unite and define the BOTE brand. With over 25 years of professional brand building and marketing experience, Rob combined his love for fishing with his love for creative design when he joined the BOTE family in 2013. An avid fly fisher, Rob is the founder of Bug Slinger™ Fly Gear and, in collaboration with Corey, the creative brain behind the BOTE brand.
Sound Bites
“In 2007, I set out to create a hip clothing brand built around artistic designs to reflect a fresher insight into the fly fishing market. The designs and clothing reflected an outward expression of the way I viewed fly fishing. The designs were typically influenced by current trends from the action sports, fashion, and music industries. This trajectory has been applied to the BOTE brand over the last 8 years and has influenced the paddle sports space.” - Rob McAbee / BOTE Creative Director and Founder of Bug Slinger™
“When Corey asked me to design a few limited edition Bug Slinger™ boards, I thought to myself, ‘Sweet, I’ll get a couple of free boards!’ Eight years later, it’s been a hell of a ride being a part of building this brand.” - Rob McAbee / BOTE Creative Director
