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Justin Desmond is the owner of Mayfly Mafia, a new clothing company designed for fly-fisherman and outdoorsy characters. Although he hasn’t achieved success just yet, he’s passionate and I know he will become successful. I hope you enjoy the interview of someone who is at the beginning stages of success and will learn what true passion sounds like.

Justin Desmond is the owner of an up and coming product line called Mayfly Mafia. Justin is passionate, eager and ready to make an impact on the fly-fishing world.

Justin has worked many jobs as an LAPD officer and he learned that he was not passionate about working in law enforcement. He decided to start a company that made him happy about what he was doing and where he was going.

Justin came up with the idea for Mayfly Mafia when he traveled to Hawaii with his wife for their honeymoon and he came into contact with Willie from Duck Dynasty. Willie told Justin that to be happy in life he needed to find something he was passionate about and then figure out how to make a living off of it. In the following days Justin racked his brain and spoke with his brother who together decided to start Mayfly Mafia.

Mayfly Mafia came up with the name because they wanted a name that would be catchy to the older crowd but also apply to the younger crowd. We also wanted to appeal to someone who had never been involved in fly-fishing. The mafia is essentially a family and Justin is trying to build a family that is connected to the hit . . . The hit meaning the fish biting the hook.

Justin is looking to go into a clothing line and apparel and set up nation-wide fly-fishing tournaments. They want to set up these tournaments and travel the country doing different events.

Justin really wanted to get into this business with his older brother, Harry and they’ve gone back and forth on numerous ideas. Prior to working with his brother, he talked with me and a couple of his other close friends and asked for their advice. He wanted to pick the mind of three people whom he considered successful, myself, Frank Lee and Daphne Stegman, who all gave him basically the same advice. That the only way not to succeed in this company was to give up.

When it comes to the business world, you’ve got to anticipate going in ten different directions because things are constantly changing. When Justin started he thought he figured out exactly what he was going to accomplish, but quickly realized that his rules for success had quickly changed and he adjusted rapidly.

The biggest mistake Justin has made so far was not starting sooner. He’s always had the passion to get going sooner and he’s always put it on the back-burner because he always thought he needed a regular 9 to 5 job. He was afraid of failure and to dive into his business was a scary thing, but now that he’s started it he’s very happy he made the decision.

The biggest success story Justin has so far is his Instagram account who has more than 2,000 followers. He’s received emails from other countries wanting to know when Mayfly Mafia was going to be in there country. To Justin, it’s been extremely gratifying. Another big event was the printing of his stickers . . . and Justin loved seeing those stickers come off the press.

People are now hashtagging our name on Instagram and more and more people are wanting to connect with us and he’s watching people connect with Mayfly Mafia and he loves it.

Justin is working hard to bring in more people into the fly-fishing community and make them aware of opportunities that they can get involved.

Justin believes that with the guidance he has received and his brothers knowledge of fly-fishing and being able to pull those all together, they feel they have a recipe for success. The passion they have for fly-fishing and Mayfly Mafia isn’t to be matched.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

• What do you think of Mayfly Mafia?
• Are you interested in becoming a part of Mayfly Mafia?
• What does it take to succeed?

Links to Great Stuff:

•  Mayfly Mafia – “Mayfly Mafia is a group of dedicated fly-fisherman who are obsessed on the pursuit of the HIT! We are an up and coming fishing apparel company whose loyalty lies on the caddisfaction of its hitmen. Because when you become one of the family there is no hit that is too big or to small for the mayfly mafia. With branches on the east and west coast we will be seeing you soon……”

Success Quotes:

• “To be successful isn’t going to be about numbers or money . . . it’s seeing those random shirts with our logo on them and people talking about us.”
• “The passion that we have for fly-fishing and Mayfly Mafia isn’t to be matched.”
• “When it comes to the business world . . . it’s almost like a puzzle I’m watching fall in place in front of me.”
• “Find something that I’m passionate at and I truly enjoy and see if there’s a way I can make a living at that.” – Willie from Duck Dynasty
• “The only way not to succeed in this company was to give up.”

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