‘Captain Brock’ sets the record straight after boating video goes viral
Captain Brock Wagner says he and his wife try to live a simple life.
“I’m 55 and I don’t really follow the internet a lot. Maybe a little Facebook presence, but that’s about it. I guide in the Everglades and am kind of a one-trick pony,” the inshore-based captain Wagner explained.
But the couple’s lives got chaotic in an unfortunate way following a viral video that surfaced Wednesday afternoon.
“My phone rang at 10:30 or 11 o’clock that night. My dad’s been in the hospital for a few weeks, so my stomach kind of sank when it was ringing that late — worried about the reality of that phone call. But the message had nothing to do with my father. It was basically some guy from Arizona who said ‘Are you the captain who was cussing out that kid?’ He called me a few choice names then hung up on me,” recalled Wagner.
“My wife Maureen said, ‘Honey, what is going on?’ She started looking around a bit and found the video he was talking about,” he added. “We see it and I say, ‘Oh sh—, this is going to destroy me.’”
Mistaken identity in viral video
In the video, which has already been shared and seen by millions in a short amount of time, a fishing captain jumps from his boat onto the boat of a self-described kid who was recording the interaction while fishing.
The captain yells in a threatening manner many physical threats leaving the young angler, who is alone, feeling quite threatened. Three men from the captain’s original boat watch on.
Strong language is used by both parties in the bizarre interaction, but the general consensus from those who have seen the video is that the captain was way out of line jumping onto another person’s boat, knowing it as an extremely aggressive action bordering on life-threatening.
The captain’s name, Brock Horner, has since become infamous across the internet for his actions. Many threats of violence were made toward him in comment sections in a retaliatory nature for his actions.
“The captain was completely wrong,” said Wagner. “But I feel bad for him, you don’t know the demons he’s living through.”
After watching the video Wagner and his wife were not aware of the backlash that was about to occur in their own lives. People were mixing up captain Brock Wagner with captain Brock Horner. The next morning multiple messages and posts were made demeaning Wagner’s business. The couple quickly took action on Wagner’s webpage to address the issue.
“There is a negative viral video about a Captain Brock with an aqua boat out of Punta Gorda. This is NOT ME,” the message displayed under the word Attention: “I have the unfortunate luck of sharing the same first name and I have the same color boat. I am Captain Brock Wagner and fish in the Everglades and not the one in the video. I am a hard-working family man and this is affecting my business and family. Unfortunately, we are also getting threats. Please help us to spread the word!”
But as much negative attention as they have received, the Wagners have been able to also get backing from friends and others in the fishing community.
“All of the sudden there are people now supporting us, sharing that we aren’t the one. I’ve been brought to tears with the outpouring of support,” said Maureen Wagner. “I’m so humbled and shocked. As soon as I put it on our webpage the support started to come. People that know us, people that don’t know us. People are sharing to help us out.”
On Friday night, the Punta Gorda Police Department announced that Brock Horner had been arrested on burglary and assault charges due to his actions in the video.
