What do cage fighting and kayak fishing have in common? According to Adam Milstead, they both involve embracing the suck to get the payoff.
The Prototype: Adam Milstead Goes from Fighting People to Fighting Fish
Milstead is a 35-year-old former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter now making a scene on the kayak fishing tournament trail.
Known as The Prototype, he retired from MMA—that’s the brutal and bloody combination of boxing, wrestling and karate fought in a caged boxing ring—in 2018. Now Milstead is a tournament angler and YouTube phenom. Type his name in a search engine to watch clips of intense cage fights as well as videos of fighting trophy largemouth.
Milstead has his own channel Str8 Yak’d and gear sponsors. He lives near Pittsburgh and fishes local and national tournaments. He considers his best tournament performance a sixth-place finish in the 2022 Hobie BOS Susquehanna River tournament. He’s broken the top 10 in smaller tournaments and won Laurel Highlands Kayak Angler of the Year. Recently, Milstead joined the Native Watercraft fishing team, another step up the fishing ladder.
Prototype Takes On a New Challenge
As a fighter, Milstead’s professional record was eight wins and three losses. He reached the pinnacle of the sport when his last four bouts were promoted by the high-profile Ultimate Fighting Challenge (UFC). He won his first UFC fight and lost the second and suffered a serious knee injury. Over the years, Milstead figures he suffered several concussions while working as a training partner for former UFC world heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.
The video of his last professional bout shows him on the ground being pummeled with fists and knees. He suffered a lacerated liver. That experience, the fact he wasn’t getting any younger, and the relatively low pay a fighter of his caliber earned convinced him it was time for a career change.
“I did my thing, had fun, fought in the big show. Now it’s time to work toward something else,” Milstead reasons.
For Milstead, the next thing is traveling the country fishing in tournaments and creating media. While the transition from octagon to kayak may not be obvious, Milstead says the move has been years in the making.
As a kid in Maryland, Milstead often fished from a kayak while navigating the Chesapeake Bay swells looking for striped bass. As an adult, he embraced kayak fishing because it helped him balance the chaotic existence of his MMA life. After retirement, he decided to pour the energy and determination that took him to the top of the MMA into competing in kayak tournaments and creating media.
“Everybody has to have something to work toward,” he says. “If you are not working toward anything you are just spinning your wheels.”
Cage Fighting Versus Tournament Fishing
Milstead chuckles that MMA is more physical than kayak angling, though he says physical conditioning, especially core strength, is important for success in a kayak. Endurance also comes into play while paddling to a far-off spot or dragging a heavy kayak through the sand.
As a fighter, the preparation included training for four hours a day, six days a week and working full-time. The payoff was victory in the ring along with bruises, blood and broken bones.
In boxing and fishing, the key to success is enjoying the preparation. Milstead calls it embracing the suck.
As a fighter, the preparation included training for four hours a day, six days a week and working full-time. The payoff was victory in the ring along with bruises, blood and broken bones.
“When I was an amateur, I would stay after training classes to continue working out. My coach started calling me The Prototype,” Milstead remembers. According to the coach, Milstead’s work ethic and drive were an example to other athletes, like a prototype. “With fishing, my work ethic and determination continue and so does the name.”
In a tournament, the rigor includes rigging and organizing his gear, driving to distant tournaments and pre-fishing the lake. Then, he fishes hard during the tournament before making the long drive home to get up for work on Monday morning.
Staying In the Game
Ultimately, kayak angling is a mental challenge more than a physical one. Milstead says gaining experience and then using it in a tournament, studying the water, practicing, working on boat control, and constantly tuning up gear and tackle keeps him on his toes.
“Having a goal, being able to throw all my competitiveness into something, means a lot.”
After fighting in the UFC, Milstead says kayak tournaments offer the same satisfaction, without the broken bones.
Just as competitive, not as painful. | Feature photo: Adam Milstead
