Who was your hero as a child ? My hero as a child was my mother . My mother is an extremely hard worker . Watching her get up every day and give 100 % to not only her career , but to her kids as well inspired me . She never missed a field trip , a sporting event or a milestone .
Billy Jack " B . J ." Hensley
Internal Quality Manager , Malibu Boats / Axis Boats
What was your first job ? My first official job was a bagger at the local Food City . Before that I had been mowing yards in my neighborhood . What accomplishment are you most proud of ? Getting my kids to bed on time . But in all reality , my contributions in growing Malibu Monsoon Powertrain Plant were very satisfying . Being part of the team who transformed empty space into a high-performing manufacturing environment offered me a strong feeling of accomplishment and something I am proud to remain a part of . As a young professional , what are the biggest challenges you ’ ve faced in the marine industry and how did you overcome them ? The marine manufacturing atmosphere is often bursting with passionate people ; knowing when to speak , and when to listen has been a challenge for me . Managing emotions and involving input from teammates allows me to make the best business decisions . It ’ s not a challenge I
have necessarily defeated , but one I will continue to improve upon with the support of my key influencers . Who was your hero as a child ? It may sound cliché ’ but my dad had an enormous impact on my life and still does to this day . I am blessed to have had an influential figurehead growing up . Watching how hard my dad works inspired me to dream , but more importantly , to get my hands dirty and work for it ! Why should young professionals choose a career in the marine industry ? Being able to work with your hands and see the results of your labor every day is extremely rewarding . I appreciate working to produce a beautiful product that enables family adventures and creates lasting memories . A boat is made entirely in-house from start to finish using the collective skills and resources from multiple groups that you can interact and learn from . Given the wide range of opportunities within the marine industry , there are limitless career paths that can reward even the newest members of the workforce .
Nick Hooge
President , Freedom Boat Club of Seattle & Greater Puget Sound
What was your first job ? My first job was a skeet shooting trap operator at Ashland Gun Club in Ashland Nebraska . In hindsight , it was probably very dangerous but for an eager 12-year-old ready to make money , the country culture of the Midwest taught me how to combine hard work and lots of fun . What accomplishment are you most proud of ? I am most proud of the meteoric growth of Freedom Boat Club Seattle and Greater Puget Sound . I reflect and revel on the fact that in 2017 I bought a FBC franchise , jumped in a U-haul in Florida and on a hope and a prayer , drove crosscountry to open FBC Seattle . I had only enough money for moorage and boats , so I didn ’ t pay myself and slept on the office floor . Now we ’ ve grown to 13 locations in Washington , with over 180 boats and over 1400 members . I ’ m blessed and honored to create , own and operate one of the biggest and best Freedom Boat Club Franchises in the world in just six years ; this is the culmination of my life ’ s greatest work . Did you have any key mentors or influences in your career ? I have had many mentors who taught me to raise my standards , shoot for the moon , and never stop grinding . The first , Stan Barnhisel , taught me to always take significant and immediate action and to raise the standards I have for myself every day . Stewart Cooper taught me that if you can sell , you can achieve anything so sell a lot , build big and never stop investing in people . Hoppy Rodenbaugh taught me to believe in myself . He called me Rockstar and handed me a fake 1-million-dollar bill saying , “ now go make that real !” Lastly , Dan Kettleson , taught me how to build wealth leveraged to grow business at every level . It ’ s been an honor to learn from these wise and successful men . How do you set goals for yourself and set yourself up for success ? I set massive goals for myself every quarter and year . I call it my Impossible Game . They are goals so big , they seem impossible today because I must become a different and better version of myself in order to achieve them . I track daily and weekly metrics within several categories as things I must start , stop or sustain in order to move the needle on becoming a new and unrecognizable version of myself . I take a weekly assessment to see if I ’ m on track , then shift to produce the desired outcome . The discipline of tracking where I am today and where I want to go by getting real , raw , and relevant allows me to be ruthlessly committed to achieving big results .
26 march 2023 www . boatingindustry . com