Gone Fishin’

RV senior Spencer Freehling is making life work as a student and small business owner

Spencer+Freehling+shows+off+a+nice+catch+using+one+of+his+Liv+N+Life+lures.

Photo courtesy of Liv N Life Lures Facebook Page.

Spencer Freehling shows off a nice catch using one of his Liv N Life lures.

Sammy Smith, Online Editor

Not many adults can put down “successful small business” on their résumé, let alone an 18 year old.

But for RVHS senior Spencer Freehling that will never be a problem.

Freehling began fishing at an extremely young age.

“I started fishing before I was potty trained” said Freehling, who caught his first bass when he was about four and since then he’s been hooked.

After that first bass Freehling and fishing became intertwined.

“I collected lures when I was a little kid. I was intrigued by the color patterns and designs,” said Freehling. “I even would sometimes make improvements on pre-existing lures.”

And that’s where it all started. In April of 2014, Freehling founded Liv- N- Life Lures with former RVHS student and graduate Colin Gluck.

Freehling and Gluck wanted to start a company producing fishing lures, but they wanted to make a more superior lure.

“I remember being out fishing one day with Colin and talking about lures and other fishing gear,” Freehling told the Review.

That’s when Colin said, “Hey, what if a company came out with a lure where it actually had scales and real fish patterns?”

I looked at him and said, “Why can’t we be the company to make that change in lures?”

And with that, Liv- N- Life Lures was born.

Freehling and Gluck started working on the first Liv- N- Life Lure prototype right away.

“After lots of trial and error we had exactly what we wanted,” Freehling said. “Once we perfected the process of making lures we could crank out a hand made lure in 3-5 minutes.”

This short process is what sets Liv- N- Life Lures apart from their competition. With attention to detail on each one of their lures, they can do what they set out to do, create a more realistic and life-like lure.

Being able to do this has meant the world to Spencer.

“I’m so blessed to have been able to start this company at only 17 years old,” said Freehling. “Even though it has put some stress in my life I love every minute of it. I have learned so many things in the course of a year. I file my own taxes and I even go to corporate business meetings with other fishing companies from around the state.

“For some people, fishing is a hobby,” Freehling added. “For others, it’s a passion.”

With Spencer Freehling, this is just the case.