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Fishing

Passion Guides Don’s Pursuit of Paint and Gel Coat Perfection

Afield Daily
Last updated: 2024/03/06 at 3:31 PM
Afield Daily

Providing the superior level of smooth perfection Vexus® owners expect in their boat’s gel coat or paint is about like trying to spread the perfect layer of honey across a slice of toast.

It’s a sticky task, and it’s tough to achieve perfection. But if there’s one man in America you’d want for the job, it’d be Kevin “Donk” Cooper, paint and gel coat supervisor for Vexus Boats.

Given the nickname “Donk”—short for donkey—by a physically larger co-worker he jokingly referred to as “Shrek,” the Southern Arkansas native started painting cars at age 17 and has spent the past 15 years applying his gift with a spray gun to premium fishing boats.

“My job is to make sure my team and I coat boats for fishermen with the same level of quality I’d want a boat to be built for myself to fish out of,” Cooper said.

And man, does he love to fish. Seldom is a school of Bull Shoals crappie safe from “Donk” and wife Patty when they launch their AVX1980 aluminum Vexus, armed with live minnows and cricket-colored 1/16-ounce jigs tied to 4-pound line.

But when they’re not jerking crappie from bluff walls, they’re tending to hives as avid beekeepers, and recently took it upon themselves to sell honey for a fellow beekeeper who was suffering poor health and unable to distribute the golden nectar for income.

In short order, “Donk” and his bride raised hundreds of dollars by selling his friend’s honey to folks at Vexus and around the Flippin, Arkansas community.

“That’s the epitome of “Donk,” always working with passion to do the right thing, and be the best at whatever he’s doing,” said Vexus leader, Keith Daffron.

“Whether it’s gel coat, paint, honey, catching crappie, or simply treating people right, everything “Donk” does is based on a passionate desire to please our customers and the folks in his life,” added Daffron.

Daffron’s description of “Donk” seems spot on.

When asked what the key ingredient is to the superior coatings he and his team of 15 experienced craftsman achieve at Vexus, “Donk” responded, “Determination. The determination to get it right. To do our jobs extremely well. It’s hot and sticky work that ultimately comes down to having the right mindset,” he said.

A mindset not unlike spreading the perfect layer of locally raised honey across a slice of toast before heading out to catch crappie with Patty, or to lead a committed team at Vexus in their daily pursuit of passion driven perfection.

To learn more about the premium boats “Donk” and his team pour their best talents into, please visit https://vexusboats.com/.


As an Amazon Associate, we may earn income when you click on an Amazon link. Thanks for helping us do what we love.

Alan McGuckin

Amid a fishing trip on the bass-starved Ohio River in the summer of 1987, Alan McGuckin’s Dad told a then 16-year-old “Guck” — “I don’t care what you do for a living, just promise me you’ll do something you love.”

Originally from Pittsburgh, McGuckin considers himself a blue-collar kid, who has been richly blessed to live-out the best piece of advice his dad ever gave him for many years now in the Tulsa area.

After earning a degree in ecology at Juniata College in Pennsylvania, where he placed radio transmitters in largemouth bass to track their habitat preferences, he moved his life to Oklahoma in 1992, where he earned a Masters in Zoology and Fisheries under the direction of Gene Gilliland at the University of Oklahoma, before then embarking on what’s now a nearly three decade long career as a marketing and media veteran in the fishing industry.

His career spans 28 years of wisdom-rich marketing experience working to strengthen brands and increase sales for Lowrance, Terminator Lures, Toyota, Yamaha Outboards, Boat U.S., Carhartt, Costa, Quantum, Vexus Boats, and Zebco.

– Member of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame voting committee, as well as a Board of Directors member for Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful

– Co-piloted the Terminator brand of premium lures from its birth to more than 10 Million pieces sold between 1997-2006.

– Has authored and published more than 800 stories on Bassmaster.com, along with several other popular bass fishing websites.

– He has generated $3 Million dollars’ worth of branded digital media since 2020, as a content creator.

– Serves as emcee for hundreds of guests at the annual Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners event.

– Avid angler, who fishes nearly every weekend when not on the road working.

– 13,000 followers on Instagram @GuckFishing.

“Guck” lives just north of Tulsa, OK at Lake Skiatook with wife Sherrie, an elementary school principal who also loves her job, and has a genuine passion for slinging a Rapala Brat crankbait on shallow points and habitat-laden flats.

Read the full article here

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