IT STARTED WITH A RACE BOAT AND A DEAL.
Mickey Thompson grew up in Conway, a small town just outside Myrtle Beach. When he was younger, he got his hands on a raceboat engine and struck a deal with a local dealer: help me with this engine, and I’ll help you with your dealership. Mickey held up his end of the bargain. He went to work for that dealer full-time in 1986, spent nearly a decade learning the business, and bought a stake in 1996. By 2009 he had bought out his remaining partner entirely.
What started as a marine service center slowly became something much bigger. In 2014 he started a full remodel of the dealership, changed the name to Sportsman’s Choice Marine in 2015, and built it into what it is today: 34 employees and one of the most respected Contender dealerships on the East Coast.
His wife, Kayla, and both of his sons work there with him every day.
“I’m one of the luckiest guys in the world,” Mickey says, “because I get to come to work and see both my boys.”
THE RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE TOURNAMENT HAS 236 BOATS. THE THOMPSON FAMILY RUNS IT.
After Sportsman’s Choice signed with Contender in 2011, they sponsored a local fishing tournament that had been running since 2002. Contender and Yamaha came on as partners in the sponsorship. When COVID slowed the tournament down in 2020 and 2021, Mickey and his team stepped in and took it over entirely.
That tournament is now the Rumble in the Jungle King Mackerel Tournament. It started with 125 boats. In 2026, it has 236.
The family sells Contenders, sure. But they also fish them, race them, and put them in front of the people who will love them most.
“With us being out there, it separates us from the other dealerships,” Mickey says.
His son fishes alongside him on the tournament trail now, too. The recognition they’ve built through competition has started generating calls from people who know the family from fishing, want to know what they’re running, and want to order one for themselves.
THE DEALER WHO FISHES THE BOAT HE SELLS
If there’s one thing Mickey Thompson believes more than anything else about this business, it’s that service is the only thing that lasts.
“Anybody can sell boats,” he says. “But you have to give people service beyond their expectations and you’ll sell more than you can ever dream of. You’re only as good as your service department.”
Sportsman’s Choice has worked hard to build a reputation for being detailed in helping customers spec out their builds, something that matters enormously in a market where livewells aren’t a “nice-to-have,” they’re a need. Contender’s livewell systems have gotten better over the years, and Mickey credits a lot of that to the brand’s willingness to listen to feedback.
“Over the years, Contender has listened to us and what the consumer wants and has continued to make that better,” he says. “That’s one of the things that’s helped us move product.”
In recent years, Mickey says Contender has won the ‘most improved’ award in his eyes. The wiring, fit, and finish continue to improve dramatically.
“The best 39 I’ve ever owned,” Mickey says of his own 39ST, “and I’ve owned several. It handles phenomenally. It’s the most efficient, it runs in every sea condition. It’s the best boat I’ve ever had.”
A compliment like that hits different when the person who owns the dealership says it about a boat he could replace tomorrow.
THE PARTNERSHIP WHERE THE FOUNDER PICKS UP THE PHONE
Sportsman’s Choice Marine is built on the people who show up every day.
“I couldn’t do it without them,” he says of his family and growing team.
The family fishes together, runs tournaments together, and shows up to work together every day. That presence on the water, the recognizable family that wins tournaments on Contenders and answers questions from other anglers at the dock, is the most authentic marketing any dealership could have.
“Everything isn’t rosy all the time,” Mickey says. “But we have way more good days than bad.” A family business built by a kid from Conway who made a deal over a raceboat engine and never stopped delivering on his word. That commitment to service is the whole thing, and it’s what Sportsman’s Choice has built everything on.
Looking for a Contender on the East Coast? Visit Sportsman’s Choice Marine and work with a team that fishes as hard as you do.
