Pueblo youth pastor wins first place for duck decoys at Colorado State Fair

Mike Marino tests out every duck decoy he makes in a kiddie pool in his backyard in Pueblo.

"I usually test them to see if they're floating side to side," Marino said.

Mike Marino

Marino says if the decoys do not go upright when they tip over, they're pretty much useless to duck hunters.

"If you have one out 40 yards that's tipped over, a duck is not going to come to that," Marino said.

But to get there, he had to start somewhere.

"This was my first decoy," said Marino as he laughed looking at his first carving he made just one year ago. "It was a practice. It looks like a chicken. It's missing half of its chicken eyes."

Mike Marino

Marino says his interest in decoys began with wanting to make ones better than he had purchased.

"I'm like these are horrible, these don't even look like the real thing and so I said, 'You know what? I think I could carve some,'" he said. "I've heard about guys carving decoys."

Mike Marino

One of those is world champion carver Luke Costilow .

Costilow has been awarded 9 "Best of Shows" at the world championships in Ocean City, Maryland.

"I would send him pictures of the things I would carve and 'He's like, oh, you need to pinch this down or do this, you need to bring this in,'" said Marino. "I'm like, 'Hey, man, I appreciate your help.'"

Mike Marino

The carving in a way is meditative for a man who has little time to spare.

"I'm a children's pastor at Family Worship Center and so I see a bunch of kids throughout a week," said Marino. "We have about 100 kids on a Wednesday night for this thing called 'Thrill' that we do. We see about 300 plus kids on a weekend and and I love it. It's fun, but this just gives me a time just to myself to I think about nothing."

Marino says he feels a deep satisfaction in completing each decoy.

"We are a work in progress, but this, I can finish this," Marino said. "I can take it from nothing and turn it into something and finish it. People, kids, it's a process. I might never get to see the finished product, especially for kids, but for this, I can. I can see the finished product."

Mike Marino

Marino's work has been getting the attention of people around the state.

In July, Marino won first place in at the Pueblo County Fair, giving him the confidence to compete this month at the Colorado State Fair.

Mike Marino

We were with him at the fair the moment he found out he won the blue ribbon in the wood division for duck decoys and beat 21 other entries for "Best of Show."

Dianne Derby

"Looks like I got first place," Marino said as he saw his three decoys on display in the Creative Arts Building at the Colorado State Fairgrounds. "That is cool. Best of show, cool! That's awesome!"

Dianne Derby

A special win for a man determined to show the children he works with are winners, too.

"These these kids that I get to see, you know, some of them have dads, some of them don't have moms and if if I could just give them some hope, some encouragement, somehow some way, that's what life is about about, right?

Mike Marino

Marino has also turned duck decoys into urns for hunting dogs. He says he puts ashes into the decoy so their owners can still go hunting with their dogs.

Mike Marino

Right now Marino does not sell his decoys for profit but says if you want to reach out to him you can connect with him through his social media pages here.

Facebook: Mike Marino
Instagram: Mike Marino

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