Professional angler Brent Chapman grew up in the Kansas City area and has been a Kansas resident his entire life. When he and wife, Bobbi, had the opportunity to combine their business and home life, they decided to build a new home attached to a 5,200 square-foot Morton shop.
“We wanted to be on some property, we wanted to be able to play and have a bigger piece of property. We wanted to have our business and all of our hobbies right there at home,” said Brent. “And that’s what allowed us, working with Morton and our home builder, to put everything under one roof. So, we found this piece of property that fit all our criteria and then the process of building started, and it was a fun one.”
As a professional fisherman, his needs involved more than just housing a bass boat in a normal home garage. It was about needing the extra space that comes with all of the equipment and gear as well.
“When we started this process, I measured my boat, my truck, my fifth wheel and areas I would need for fishing tackle. I literally got a tape measure out and sketched it out so I knew what I would need for the bare minimum side. Then, in a perfect world, how would I like to have things? We wanted the square footage under the roof. From there, some of the cosmetic stuff, I left that up to my wife. This was her dream home and we wanted them to blend together and look pretty. We went with a gray base with black trim, and it turned out well. We wanted doors in certain places. On the back side of my shop, I’ve got a hobby door where we can pull our UTVs and ATVs in and out, maybe a tractor, but the way it’s set up you can pull the fifth wheel into the shop forward so we can enjoy it inside because the door isn’t facing the wall,” said Brent.
As he looks back on his career, he is able to see that his new shop will set him up for success.
“I’ve been a professional bass fisherman for the last 25 years, but it started out as a hobby as a kid. Back in the day they didn’t have kids in bass fishing. It’s pretty neat that now they have college and high school teams. Back the I got into a local bass fishing tournament and from there I was hooked. I talked my dad into joining a local bass club and still it was just a hobby. I had fun, but I had success with it, and then from there into high school and college days, I started working my way up the ranks into the more regional levels then even some of the almost semi-pro levels. While I was going to college, I made it to the big leagues and here we are 25 years later, and I still get to fish for a living. I know as my career progresses on, I’m going to be better on the water because of this set up because I’m going to be more organized and relaxed due to my time at home.”
How did Brent know Morton was the right choice for him?
“In my travels across the country, I come across many different buildings and homes and I actually have some buddies who have Morton buildings. When we started the process of building our home, we started doing our homework as any consumer would and comparing brands and talking to people we know and trust. Our home builder actually had a Morton shop attached to his home and he told us about that partnership and how it worked. The thing I was really sold on was the quality of Morton, the reputation they had. They go with the thickest steel you can get and when it comes to that, bigger is better.”
“We bought the property and then it was “wow, we’re starting from scratch here.” We had never done this before, so we didn’t really know what we were getting in to. We had found a home builder, and we were looking for a person to help with our shop. Our local Morton sales consultant was great, very patient with us, he showed us ideas, and he really took in what we needed and wanted out of the shop. I was drawing sketches and then he would take it and say what the parameters and options were. The best thing was that the two builders worked really well together. “It’s really neat to see how the whole process works, from bare ground with a vision that my wife and I had to see it turn into something like this. They were very helpful in educating us and made it enjoyable.”
“That day when Morton shows up with big semis and they’re delivering your future shop. It was really neat to see how professional the crews are and thoroughly impressed at how quickly they were able to get it done. It’s important to have confidence in the foreman and crew whenever you are building something and with Morton, we never had to worry.”
“I like to be outdoors, I like to fish and hunt, I don’t like maintenance, so that’s what we really wanted with a steel building for a shop,” said Brent. “We wanted our home to have the same exterior because I think it looks awesome, but at the same time, I’m not going to be painting a house or worrying about a roof. We wanted something maintenance-free. I absolutely love the attached shop. When it’s cold or when it’s super-hot, there’s no lugging stuff across the driveway. We go right into the hallway of the house or go into the shop.”
“The thing I love most about my Morton shop is the confidence in knowing how it was built, that it’s going to be here forever. If you want quality, you’re going to get with Morton for sure.”
