Deadliest Catch: What Happened To Rick Mezich From The Show's Precursor Documentary?

F/V Fierce Allegiance captain Rick Mezich appears in the 1999 TV documentary "Deadliest Job in the World," which served as a precursor to "Deadliest Catch" and predates the introduction of series mainstays like Sig Hansen. However, after completing its filming, Mezich largely stepped away from the world of TV and film. Unsurprisingly, though, he remained in the fishing industry after the conclusion of his brief stint as a documentary star.

Not a lot of information about Mezich and his life in the wake of "Deadliest Job in the World" is publicly available, largely due to his lack of social media. That said, at some point he secured a prominent role in the Central Bering Sea Fishermen's Association, remaining in the very same stretch of ocean that serves as his former TV documentary's principal location.

According to the Central Bering Sea Fishermen's Association website, Mezich once sat on the board of directors for the St. Paul Fishing Company, as well as a second subsidiary called Star Partners. The website appears to have been last updated in 2018, so this information may not be current. Nevertheless, Mezich was, at that time, the only individual to hold a prominent position in both of these two particular companies.

The Central Bering Sea Fishermen's Association website outlines the purpose of the St. Paul Fishing Company in detail, revealing that Rick Mezich largely quit pursuing snow crab in the Bering Sea. For the St. Paul Fishing Company, he and his wife Mary Mezich helped run a company called Frozen At Sea dedicated to catching and processing cod. Together they owned a 25% stake in the company.

Meanwhile, for Star Partners, Rick and Mary Mezich were in charge of four ships of a total of seven owned by the Central Bering Sea Fishermen's Association. For this venture, their quarry consisted of cod and pollock.

Mezich's sole public appearance since taking his fishing career private took place on a Season 9 episode of Motor Trend original TV series "B***hin' Rides" that aired in December 2022. In this episode, host Dave Kindig presents Mezich with a customized CF1, which is a proprietary car model he based on a 1953 Corvette and produces to each of his customer's unique specifications. A post on the automotive blog Fuel Curve about Kindig's work for Mezich includes detailed photos of the car and an account of the specific modifications he requested. Since Mezich keeps his life private, this TV appearance provides fans of his work in the documentary that preceded "Deadliest Catch" with a rare look into his life many years later.