Sometimes life’s setbacks pave the way for blessings in disguise. That sums up Carl Jocumsen’s fate following a low point in his quest to qualify for the 2015 Bassmaster Elite Series.
Last fall, Jocumsen’s truck got vandalized as he traveled through Atlanta en route to a Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens event. Gone were his passports, visa and other valuable documents required for visitation in the United States.
Replacing the stolen documents proved more time consuming and costly than imagined.
“It set me back at least $15,000,” said Jocumsen, now about to embark on his rookie season in the Elite Series. “I’d saved that money to get me through until my sponsor contracts kicked in earlier this year.”
Jocumsen returned to his homeland after the tournament season ended. Word of his misfortune spread. His enormous Australian social media network blossomed into a campaign to lend financial support to the native son.
News of the setback reached Christine Hunt, president of the Gold Coast Sport Fishing Club. She reached out to Jocumsen through Facebook and pitched him the idea of regaining the funds through crowdsourcing, a social media fundraising application.
He learned through Hunt that crowdsourcing is common practice in Australia. Young, aspiring athletes like Jocumsen use it to raise funds for travel and related expenses.
Jocumsen set a humble goal of $5,000, even though his finances had dwindled so much after the setback. The four-week campaign concluded in November with $22,000 deposited into his bank account.
“There’s a good chance that I would not have been able to make ends meet without the generosity of all those great people,” he said. “I was just blown away.”
Jocumsen’s sponsors embraced the cause, too. Donors received gifts based on a graduated level of support ranging from $25 to $5,000. The highest amount was donated by the Gold Coast Sport Fishing Club. One of its members is the lucky benefactor of a daylong fishing trip with Jocumsen.
The most humbling prize donation of all came from Fish ‘N’ Bits Bait & Tackle in Toowoomba, Queensland, and hometown of Jocumsen. He worked there as a teenager, and his brother owns the shop.
“I have a huge support base and everyone wants to be part of what I’m doing,” he said. “I had no idea about just how much my friends and the people of Australia, some who don’t even fish, cared about me or my dream.”
Now, the rest is up to Jocumsen. One goal is complete and another is within reach.
“I want to make the people of Australia proud,” he said. “There is such a thing as living the American dream, and I’m the proof.”