Copyright Adweek
When most executives talk about “the thrill of the hunt,” they mean new business. But Mādin Agency’s Jamieson Maunder means it a little more literally. When he’s not crafting campaigns as partner and chief creative officer, Maunder chases game fish off the San Diego coast aboard his deep sea charter, AWOL Sportfishing. Maunder’s love of fishing began during his childhood in England, where he grew up “really in the boonies” in Suffolk. His parents divorced when he was young, and Maunder’s mother took it upon herself to teach her sons the things boys should know, like clay pigeon shooting and fishing in the local river. Their town was so remote that hunting and fishing were not just hobbies for the Maunders and their neighbors: “I love the freedom of being out in nature and having that skillset, going out to fish to feed myself and my family,” he said. Eventually, his creative streak took Maunder to London, where he led experiential campaigns for the likes of McDonald’s and Coca-Cola through Olympic partnerships with CSM Group. But the constant travel—including going to Brazil every other week—wore thin once he started a family. Just after the Pyeongchang Winter Games in 2018, former Mother CEO Peter Ravailhe lured him to San Diego for a creative role with performance apparel startup Snapbac. Maunder instantly fell in love with the sunshine and happy people. “We couldn’t get out of vacation mode,” he recalled. “As soon as I saw the ocean, how beautiful it was, I was like, ‘I’d love to be out here, I’d love to own a boat, I’d love to fish more.’” He started going out on the ocean every Sunday with a captain, Andrew Lasky, coming back with tuna, yellowtail, and dorado. When Covid hit, Maunder co-founded Mādin Agency with Nick Valenti, and also expanded his fishing ambitions. Boats were cheap as people offloaded assets during the early part of the pandemic, so Maunder and Lasky pooled their savings and bought a classic Boston Whaler, fixed it up themselves, and started AWOL Sportfishing. The name—short for absent without official leave—came from Maunder’s frequent “disappearances” to catch the next big thing. His largest prize so far: a 280-pound bluefin tuna. “It unfortunately ruins everything else about fishing for you as soon as you go out on a boat and catch a big fish,” he warned. With nothing else as large in the waters of the coastal Pacific, Maunder is looking to Miami or Costa Rica to pursue quarry such as marlin. Running a charter pays the boat bills, but that’s not the only reason Maunder decided to go commercial. As a deckhand in AWOL’s early days, he did everything from buying the snacks to baiting the hooks, with the goal of “giving people the opportunity to really experience how I want fishing to be for everyone.” Maunder still joins trips when he can, usually once a month, and admits feeling the same thrill every time. And while the AWOL crew can tailor the fishing experience for any skill level, “sportfishing” is in the company’s name for a reason: Fighting a 200-pound fish for an hour is not for the faint of heart. “There’s moments where my biceps are burning, I’m out of breath; I’m holding onto a boat going 40 miles an hour, I’m on my feet the whole day,” Maunder said. “It really is a sport.”
