February 24, 2007. Lake Powell. Water temperature 44 degrees Fahrenheit.
Randy Brooks' Plane Crashes into Lake Powell, February 2007
When Randy Brooks’ plane hit the surface of Lake Powell a mile from shore, amazingly the aircraft held together, but immediately started to sink. Brooks, his brother and a companion climbed onto the wing – a perch that quickly eroded into the frigid water.
An hour later and physically depleted, Brooks who was just a few dozen yards from the shoreline began to sink. The weight of the tight cowboy boots and jeans he was unable to remove, the frigid water and the one-mile swim had taken their toll.
Brooks’ last glimpse, before going under, was of his brother onshore waving his arms. Sinking, Brooks imagined his brother as a sports fan cheering on an athlete from the stands – a natural progression for a rodeo athlete.
Tenacity of an African Lioness is Brooks' Saving Grace
As water seeped into Brooks’ lungs and he literally started to die, another vision, a memory of a hunt in Africa, entered his subconscious.
As it had in real life, the charging lioness that Brooks now saw with his mind's eye, appeared to move in slow motion. The breaths escaping her were palpable. Time crept and the groans she emitted, due to the force of her furious attack, were audible.
Haaahhh… haaahhh… haaahhh – paws pounding the earth, muscles undulating, dust flying. Killing her prey, to survive, was her singular intention.
Underwater, Brooks powerfully exhaled… haaahhh. The effort lifted him to the surface. Every miniscule, doggie-paddle-style stroke that followed was punctuated by a “haaahhh.” Stoke by stroke, breath by breath - Brooks made his way to shore.
The lioness that charged Brooks during an African hunt years before provided the inspiration, courage and strength Brooks needed to cover the final distance to land.
“My experiences as a hunter saved my life,” Brooks claims. “I lived because of that lioness. The memory of her tenacity inspired me to fight to survive.”
Brooks' Bulldog Tenacity Grows Bullet Business
Others will tell you that Brooks’ tenacity and refusal to ever give up saved his life. Brooks is a bulldog, whose personal dictionary doesn’t include the words quit or negativity.
When Brooks is knocked down he scraps and scratches to get back up. His doggedness is evidenced as much through the history of his company, Barnes Bullets, as it is through his life’s actions.
Barnes Bullets
When Brooks and his wife Coni bought the company back in 1974 for $35,000, it was far from successful. In fact, Randy called their decision , “The poorest business decision ever made in the United States.”
Today, Barnes Bullets is heralded as a highly successful premium bullet manufacturer. The company and its innovations, such as no-lead ammunition, the infamous X-Bullet and the Varmint Grenade have changed the ammunition industry.
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