Trey Harpel- Thkustom

We value and support small businesses, thus we love to hear about their passion, commitment and innovative ways. Today we had a conversation with Trey Harpel, the owner of Thkustoms. 

He tells us that he cleans, tunes, and upgrades reels.  Additionally, he does custom lure painting. This keeps him pretty busy all year round.  He has some great photos of his work on his Facebook page. 

Trey says his true passion is anything and everything related to fishing.  After quitting his job at Apple he devoted his time to his true calling. “I’ve always loved fishing tackle, especially high end fishing reels and lures. I started working on reels for buddies about 15 years ago or even more. I didn’t think at that time that it would become my full time job, but here we are 5-6 years after quitting my full time job with Apple.” 

We asked Trey how he was introduced to this craft and his answer was a simple albeit definitive one; “I just love to tinker with things and make things better/unique” He added, “ I just love helping people get the most out of their gear and give them an advantage. Either with cleaning their reels, upgrading bearings to get better casting or painting up baits that they have done really well on.” 

Some 10 or 15 years ago Trey, wanting to provide quality work/products to his customers, went on the search for better casting bearings and Boca Bearings undoubtedly became the best option. 

Trey tell us how he installs Boca Bearings, “I typically install them in fishing reels. Mostly the spool bearings and handle knob bearings with one drop of oil per bearing with the seals taken off.” 

Trey has a YouTube channel where you can learn more about his abilities. Here is one of his great videos. 

We asked Tray to share with us his future plans. He simply said, “Honestly just to grow the business and gain new customers to help make better fishermen on the water.  I never thought in a million years I'd be doing what I've been doing.” 

In that case, we wish Trey and Thkustoms greater growth and further success.  Cheers to catching more fish!