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LXD050 : Wayne Brown

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Wayne Brown – Liveaboards Icon

In this episode of The League of Extraordinary Divers I chat with legendary philanthropist and industry liveaboards icon Wayne Brown.

Bio

Hey everybody welcome to another episode of the League of Extraordinary Divers. It’s so great to have you here with me today on the momentous occasion. It’s the 50th episode of The League of Extraordinary Divers Podcast. That means we have had 50 of the diving world’s top legends. And just as the show was originated imagine you were sitting down having a beverage with these legends and they were just telling you their diving history and stories and throwing in a tip or two.

The inspiration for this show was Bob Croft. I had the pleasure of being his roommate at the Pacific Cup of Freediving in 2004. And every night, over copious amounts of Scotch he told story after story of his Navy diving days and the early days of freediving records in the 1960’s. I was amazed. So, Bob Croft became episode one of The League of Extraordinary Divers and that’s what we’ve been doing for 50 episodes and it could not be possible without today’s guest, that’s why Ive reserved this 50th episode for him.

Wayne Brown’s passion for adventure can be traced back throughout his childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. Whether as a member of the U.S. Air Force or as a boy growing up on a small farm in an even smaller town in Florida, Wayne has thrived off an experience-driven lifestyle.

Upon being honorably discharged from the USAF, Wayne went to work at Taco Bell Corporate and eventually worked his way up to owning more than 60 Taco Bells.

Wayne has always been an enthusiast of service-oriented businesses and after two trips as a customer on Aggressor Fleet, he was hooked on Liveaboard diving and the company’s commitment to service. Wayne purchased Aggressor Fleet from the Haines family in April of 2007 and subsequently purchased the next largest fleet, Dancer Fleet, in March of 2008.

Expanding the scuba diving business each year, he rebranded the company to Aggressor Adventures in 2018 when he added River Cruises and Safari Lodges to the offerings. Aggressor Adventures has become the largest adventure travel company in the world offering 5-star adventures and has earned its spot on prestigious lists such as the Inc. 5000, 5 Telly Awards, recognized with multiple Magellan awards and SCUBA Diving Readers Choice Awards.

Despite his demanding schedule, Wayne is still an avid adventurer and makes it his mission to travel the world with his customers. He has earned prestigious distinctions as a Platinum Pro 5000 Diver, Nikon Professional Services Member and SSI Instructor Trainer and a PADI Staff Instructor.

When he’s not traveling or diving, Wayne is in Augusta, Georgia spending time with his family.

Items In This Podcast

Sponsor

Special thanks to our episode sponsor Aggressor Adventures

Aggressor Adventures

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039 Joining The Sea of Change Movement

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In this episode of The Dive Locker Podcast we hear from Samantha Whitcraft to learn how the Sea of Change Foundation creates positive change in the dive industry.

Welcome To The Show!

Welcome to The Dive Locker Podcast, the podcast for dive professionals where we bring you the latest in diving industry resources that make you excellent at teaching techniques, risk management and dive business.

Today’s episode is about The Sea of Change Foundation. Now you’ve heard me describe before about our office and inventory as dive professionals is our reefs and fishes.

We really need to care about our inventory. We need to live it and be examples for it and be educators. Well The Sea of Change Foundation funds conservation and research initiatives that directly impact the natural world we all love to enjoy and explore. Their mission is to create positive change.

Their motto is leading through education and conservation. Each of us could have that motto tattooed on us as dive pro’s that’s what we need to remember as to how to lead. Wait till you hear how you can put some of these simple initiatives into your courses and briefings, and hear how Sea of Change can come to your aid if your dive site has an environmental issue associated with it.

Samantha Whitcraft

The Sea of Change Foundation has an amazing lineup of directors and advisors including industry legends. So today we speak with Samantha Whitcraft. Samantha is the Director of the Sea of Change Foundation. She is also the Director of Conservation & Outreach for Aggressor Adventures™. Over the past 20 years, as a marine conservation biologist, Samantha has worked from the field, lab, and office to protect the oceans’ ecosystems. Researching biodiversity, sustainable fisheries, and the illegal wildlife trade has taken her to the Amazon with National Geographic, to the Mesoamerican reef with NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program, and to some of the most remote islands of the Pacific to develop citizen science and sustainable ecotourism while promoting ocean literacy.

Samantha has served on the Water Resources Advisory Commission for the South Florida Water Management District, on the Sanctuary Advisory Council of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, and the board of the New England Aquarium’s Beach Teach Program.

Samantha graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor’s in Natural Science with a concentration in marine conservation biology and earned her Master’s of Marine Affairs and Policy at the University of Miami. She has taught formally at Miami Dade College and the University of Hawaii on the subjects of environmental ethics, traditional ecological knowledge, and coral reef ecosystems. After the Gulf oil spill, she was recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce/NOAA Fisheries with a national award for exceptional service in response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Samantha was also one of twenty women selected for the Women’s Environmental Leaders Forum – Miami with the White House Council on Environmental Quality, principal environmental advisor to the President. She has produced award-winning short environmental films, researched and reported on the impacts of the illegal wildlife trade, and is an avid photographer and published nature writer. She is a Platinum Pro 5000 Diver.

So here we go pro’s join my interview with Samantha Whitcraft about the Sea of Change Foundation

Items In This Episode

Thanks For Listening!

That’s it for today, everyone. Thank you so much for listening. Remember to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Google Play or Stitcher, that way you’ll be notified of new episodes as soon as they go live and please leave a rating. Items talked about in this episode can be found on the show notes Page at scubaguru.com and there you can also click the microphone and leave us a comment. Thanks again. We’ll see you in the next episode. Safe diving and take good care of my friends.

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See what we mean by Go Beyond the Standard and enjoy the rewards of being truly great at what you do!

Sincerely,

Tec Clark

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