Q&A

Bentley Murdock

In a unique experiment aimed at promoting tourism to the area via social media, the City of SLO’s Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) created a contest to select the City’s first-ever tourism ambassador. The competition attracted 44 applicants, each of whom submitted a short video that was then voted on by viewers. The top ten vote-getters were then interviewed by a panel of city officials and, at the end of that process, Bentley Murdock was awarded the year-long gig and a $50,000 contract (paid for by the 2% hotel occupancy tax). A devout Mormon who gained fluency in Spanish during his two-year mission in Mexico, Murdock is also a musician, a traveler, a longboard skateboarder, and an avid Facebook user who has maxed-out his personal account with 5,000 friends. Murdock, who goes by “Bent,” dropped by our office one day recently for a visit…

What exactly are you going to be doing as tourism ambassador?

It’s been said that I will be “barnstorming”—I had to look up that word, actually. [laughter] I will be going to all of the events in the County, and I will be representing the hotels and the businesses to bring tourism to the area. I will be creating a presence to help with the buzz, invite people; then I will document it, photograph it, video it, and put it online. Hopefully I will be able to bring people to the area who would not have come otherwise; and generate awareness about it and create a buzz about it that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. Something I have always loved to do is to bring people together, and that’s what this is really about.

You know, it’s actually pretty risky for the City to make someone the face of SLO…

Yes, definitely. The City is putting a lot of trust in one individual to represent them, and to be their face and to speak for them and it makes me feel very honored that they have that kind of trust in me. But, you won’t ever have to worry about me showing up tispy or hungover or what I might say at a public event if I were socially lubricated. [laughter] Since I don’t drink, when I go to a gathering, I just have some juice or water, but I am usually too busy mingling and socializing to drink anything anyway. I am all about trying to keep it fun, keep it light-hearted, family-friendly, keep it clean, keep it wholesome. And, I think that is what the City was after—they wanted to capture the character of SLO.

When did you first realize that you wanted to live here?

When you go to a new city or you travel to a different area, every once in a while someone will stand out. One person will stand out and you think, “Wow, that person totally made my day” or “That person really made me feel special.” And, this would just be some stranger, someone at a business, or at the bank, something like that. But, that happened so often here in SLO that, when I was away, it constantly reminded me about those people. And, I found myself saying, “I want to be more like that person I just met because they did this or said that,” and I knew that there are so many people like that here because it happens so frequently. It really impressed me. More than anything else, it was that—those random interactions— that kept bringing me back.

So, what brought you to San Luis Obispo in the first place?

My family is from Utah. They live in Vegas currently. We have family in Utah, Vegas, and Hawaii. Those were always our checkpoints for our family, our roots. But, I had a brother who moved to Cambria when I was about twelve or thirteen-years-old. And I came along with him and kind of checked out the area. I totally fell in love with the Coast and, from there on out, I just kept coming back. And eventually I would stay for longer and longer. I’ve been here for about 18 years now. My brother and I were the only ones in our family here on the Coast, and he passed away and left a wife and four kids and I kind of stepped in to help out with the transition and all of that. And I just really fell in love with the people as they came together to help her during that time.

Can you tell us about the band you’re in?

It has always been about the passion and the love for the music. To help people feel happy, to feel good. That’s why I feel so at home here in SLO because that’s what it’s all about. And, regardless of whatever else was going on, it was always just about this passion, this happy-go-lucky, soul acoustic style. Whenever we perform as a band, we call ourselves Bentley Murdock & The Soul Purpose, which is a great name because the purpose behind the music is to help peoples’ souls feel more complete. All of our original music is positive, wholesome and feel-good.

Are you nervous about your new gig? Or are you just feeling positive?

I’m really stoked, actually. I feel very honored, and am so excited. I feel like I have been preparing for this role for a long time—for the past ten years I’ve actually had a personal toll free number so that anyone can reach me free of charge, which is 1-TOOSLO-CITY (1-866-756-2489). I just have a huge passion for the character and the genuine nature of the people here in SLO and I want more than anything to show that, and for people outside of the area to see that and feel it. I want people to enjoy themselves so much when they come to visit that when they leave I want them to remember it and think about it. I want to exemplify that. I want to show people what that looks like on a daily basis and carry it outside of SLO and let it be the magnetism that will pull people to the Central Coast.