CREDIT: BassFan.com
What's life like the first 2 months after a pro wins $1 million at the Forrest Wood Cup? Busy, according to Lincoln, Calif. champion Michael Bennett.
Things have been "pretty crazy" since August, the 24-year-old pro said. During that time, he's bargained with sponsors, he's seriously injured himself in a fall, he's become engaged to his girlfriend Emily, and he's currently pursuing a reality TV deal.
In the Q&A that follows, he talks about all that's happened over these past few months, and what the future might hold.
BassFan: So what was it like those first few weeks after the Cup?
Bennett: Afterward, it was pure chaos. That's the best way to describe it. It was 24/7 – it felt like I worked all day, worked all night, then woke up to do it again. I don't even know where the time went. It literally flew by.
I was finally going to get a break by fishing a tournament and I went up to the Columbia River (Western FLW Series) and had an accident there and broke my cheekbone in four places, got stitches and stuff, and that set me back a bit. And everyone seemed to leave me alone a little more after that because I couldn't talk. It was a quiet time, but it hurt for a few weeks. It sucked. But it was a little bit of a relaxing break.
We covered that on BassFan after it happened, but in brief. Can you explain a little more about the accident, and the injury?
I was staying at a new motel, and there just happened to be no traction on the bottom of the tub. I think I was shampooing, and just the slipperiness of the shampoo on the bottom of the tub caused me to lose traction.
I fell at a sideways angle, straight through the shower curtain and hit my head perfectly on the corner of a granite countertop and split my face. I was very fortunate. If it was any higher, it could have been my eye or temple, which is real bad. Or if it was lower, I would have broke my jaw. I will say the cheekbone's not a horrible bone to break.
Were you alone? What did you do?
Emily was there. She came in and asked, 'Are you okay?' And I was like, 'It's bad.'
She kind of got me dressed and drove me to the hospital. Luckily she was there. I was shaking quite a bit. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I was in a daze, but it worked out to be not so bad.
And how was the long-term recovery?
I've had to get it lasered to reduce scarring, and I had to keep the injury out of the sun. I really couldn't do anything for 3 weeks, but I was able to fish the Delta (Western FLW Series) right before I got my face lasered.
I had to keep it all covered out in the sun, and I only got 1 day of practice at the Delta, but I still managed to get a check, so I was happy with my performance. I lost a few key fish, though, that would have bumped me up.
It felt good to go fishing. You kind of lose sight of how nice life was when you'd just go out and fish, and nobody realized who you were, or cared much what you did.
Don't get me wrong, though. It's great being in the winner's circle and having the title and being able to take it and grow the sport and do things with it. I definitely realize what past winners mean when they say they want to do things for the sport, because you have the ability to do things in this position.
How would you best characterize your life after the Cup?
For me, it's been a whirlwind, and I just feel extremely blessed to have won. And I feel very fortunate, with the way the economy is, that I have some money in the bank.
Sponsor-wise, things are extremely tough in that world right now. A lot of companies have cut their budgets in half, and let go a lot of people. It's probably the worst year for sponsor deals, but the best year to win, because you can ride this little depression out.