Chief Cook and bottle washer. Generally great guy. Father to a pod of porpoises.

In this prologue video, meet Our Epic Ocean founder Rich German and hear how a paddleboarding encounter with four Orca Whales turned his hobby into a commitment to help protect the ocean and sacred life that calls it home.

Co-Founder and CEO Wildtype.

Justin Kolbeck is co-founder and CEO of cultivated salmon producer Wildtype, which is on a mission to create the cleanest, most sustainable seafood on the planet and to relieve some of the pressure on wild fish stocks, protecting biodiversity in our oceans, seas, and rivers.  Along with his Cardiologist partner and longtime friend, Aryé Elfenbein, they have raised enough capital, over a hundred million dollars, to launch commercially and open to the public, the first cell-based fish plant and tasting room in the San Francisco Bay area. 

CEO Tangaroa Blue Foundation. Founder Australian Marine Debris Initiative.

Heidi Tait leads the charge for the Tangaroa Blue Foundation helming several programs including the Australian Marine Debris Initiative – which involves coordinating beach and river clean-up events, data collection activities, community and stakeholder engagement, education and awareness and source reduction projects. These activities have helped TBF achieve great success in decreasing marine debris and plastics in the oceans through both the removal and prevention of litter and marine pollution.

Marine Biologist. Ocean Explorer. Lecturer.  President and Chairman Mission Blue.

Sylvia Earle is President and Chairman of Mission Blue / The Sylvia Earle Alliance. She is a National Geographic Society Explorer in Residence, and is called Her Deepness by the New Yorker and the New York Times, Living Legend by the Library of Congress, and first Hero for the Planet by Time Magazine.  She and Rich discuss her ongoing projects to protect Marine Environments and Hot Spots along with her dream of a future for little thousand-meter submarines to take kids down to see the wonders of the deep and to renew optimism in plight for a better planet. 

Artist. Photographer. Filmmaker. Conservationist. 

Shawn Heinrichs is an artist, a photographer, an Emmy award winning cinematographer, an ocean conservationist, long time investigative journalist and a defender of sharks, manta rays and the High Seas. He founded the Blue Sphere Foundation which merged with SeaLegacy and its co-founders Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier in 2019. He’s also the co-founder and lead storyteller for the Only.One Collective, a new platform and home for stories, solutions, and community action to protect the ocean, tackle the climate crisis, and help fuel the movement for a more just, equitable planet.

Environmentalist. Entrepreneur. Author. Drawdown.org + Regeneration.org. 

As the author of two of the most important recent books on Solutions to the climate crisis, Paul, along with his lifetime of teachings about a better life on planet Earth, takes us on a conversational journey from Land to Sea to explain, in very certain terms, what it is going to take to solve the most pressing issues related to climate change in one generation.  His new book and organization Regeneration provide THE roadmap to follow if you want to contribute to a climate positive future, where justice, equity, biodiversity and human dignity play a leading role. 

Founder + CEO Sustainable Ocean Alliance.

As the Founder and CEO of the Sustainable Ocean Alliance, a global organization that empowers millennials to become leaders in preserving the health and sustainability of our ocean, Daniela Fernandez and her team have built the largest network of young Ocean Advocates in the world, with over 5,000 participants in 165 countries.  With a sense of urgency to act, using innovation along with technology, the SOA proves to be a powerful voice, ready to scale and turn the tides on poor Ocean Health worldwide. 

Co-Founder and Executive Director Kiss the Ground. Regenerative Soil Advocate. Restaurateur. Doc Film Producer.

Ryland is the co-founder and Executive Director of the nonprofit organization, Kiss The Ground, whose ethos supports the vision of a thriving Earth with healthy soil being the key to a flourishing food ecosystem. His family also owns and operates the legendary line of Café Gratitude plant-based restaurants. In 2020 he co-produced the critically acclaimed and socially important Kiss the Ground film, which established his team as leaders in the Regenerative Agriculture Movement.

CEO Oceana. Author. Public Speaker on Ocean Conservation. 

Andy Sharpless joined Oceana in 2003, just after its merging with Ted Danson’s American Oceans Campaign and since that time it has grown to be the largest international conservation organization fully dedicated to protecting the oceans. Under his leadership, Oceana, its powerful and connected Board, world class Ambassadors and its allies, have protected nearly 4 million square miles of habitat and won over 250 significant policy victories that will protect and restore the ocean. 

Co-Founders Blue Latitudes Foundation + LLC. Marine Scientists. Explorers. Entrepreneurs.

Founded in 2018, The Blue Latitude Foundation’s mission is to elevate the traditional concept of ocean stewardship by uniting government, industry and the community to work together to conserve our oceans! In doing so, this foundation strives to explore innovative solutions to traditional marine conservation challenges. Co-Founders Amber Sparks + Emily Hazelwood, today share a deep passion for protecting the ocean and have committed much of their efforts towards initiatives Like Rigs to Reefs, to transform decommissioned oil rigs, like the Deepwater Horizon, into artificial reefs providing many benefits to the marine ecosystems of which they stand. 

Cosmic Engagement Officer (CEO) Dr. Bronner’s.

David Bronner is Cosmic Engagement Officer (CEO) of Dr. Bronner’s, the top-selling natural brand of soaps in North America and producer of a range of organic body care and food products. He is the grandson of company founder, Emanuel Bronner, a fifth-generation soap maker and a leader in the conscious consumerism and triple bottom line movement.  David leads us through the history and messaging of Bronner’s , his intrinsic love for the ocean, and the Heal Soul program supporting psychedelic assisted therapies and plant-based medicines. 

Executive Director, the Whale Sanctuary Project.  Former E.V.P. Ocean Futures Society + V.P. Cousteau Society.

Charles Vinick with his partner Jean Michel Cousteau are working tirelessly to bring the first safe haven, refuge for cetaceans to North America, The Whale Sanctuary Project. The realistic goal; to give these intelligent, socially complex animals respect and autonomy in a natural environment, so that they may survive and thrive.  Charles also is known for his time as director of the highly-publicized Keiko Project, a pioneering effort that marshaled public and media support to reintroduce to the wild the captive orca made famous through the “Free Willy” films.

Founder, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Co-founder, Greenpeace. 

Captain Paul Watson, recently featured in the controversial documentary Seaspiracy, is the articulate and prolific founder of Sea Shepherd, the most powerful watchdog marine conservation group in the world, protecting our oceans and marine life from illegal fishing practices.  He talks with Rich about his 40 + years of activism, being a wanted man and the power of using media when it comes to exposing wrongdoing. 

Richard Yelland: Director + Producer. Chief Creative Officer at Curtis Birch.
Jeremy Black: Executive Producer with Ryan Black. Co-Founder’s Sambazon Acai. 

Award-winning Filmmaker Richard Yelland and Sambazon Acai co-founder Jeremy Black join us in conversation about their new documentary on the practice of conscious commerce, Seeding Change – unraveling the myths around what it takes to do well, while doing good and shopping smarter. We find out about this powerful business revolution, where consumers are empowered by choice and aligning with brands and products which fit their values.   

Executive Director – Lonely Whale. Board Member. Green Sports Alliance.

Dune Ives, the Executive Director of the Lonely Whale Foundation, joins Rich to discuss how innovation through collaboration and partnerships can make big changes in how we address issues related to Ocean Pollution. Topics include banning single use plastics, going Strawless in Seattle, and How to Hydrate like a Mother, and why media plays such an important role in outreach and community building. 

Professional Kitesurfer. Ocean Warrior. Co-Founder of Ultramarine Ocean

High flying Susi Mai is a kiteboarding legend, who in the past several years, has discovered a new superpower in organizing events to benefit a healthier and more vibrant ocean.  Together with her business partner Jeremy McKane, one of the events, Ultramarine, has consistently  brought together the finest minds, across many disciplines, to workshop ideas and to inspire action and regenerative solutions, ensuring a healthy, vibrant, and resilient ocean. 

Filmmaker. Photographer. Executive Director Oceanic Preservation Society

Lauded Filmmaker, photographer and activist Louie Psihoyos talks to Rich about his films The Cove, Racing Extinction and The Game Changers. He shares why eating more plants and less meat could not only make us healthier but can help solve the climate crisis. Also learn why he can no longer travel to Japan and how a National Geographic photographer became one of the most sought after documentary filmmakers of our time.

Chief Executive Officer of the Surfrider Foundation

Dr. Chad Nelsen, CEO of the Surfrider Foundation and Rich talk about the global Surfrider mission and vision on plastic pollution, Ocean Protection, Clean Water and Coastal Preservation. They discuss the many current challenges, along with victories are large and small, and how growing up in Laguna Beach with a family of ocean lovers led him to a dream leadership position.

Ecologist. Author. Marine Conservationist. Endowed Professor at Stony Brook University.

Avoiding a Ghastly Future, hard truths on the state of the planet, issuing a stark warning of a snowballing crisis caused by climate change, population growth & unchecked development, represents part of the conversation legendary author , ecologist and educator Carl Safina discusses with Rich, along with his intrinsic long standing love of nature, the animal planet, and how communication and our understanding the value of all species is the key to their and our survival.

Ocean Advocate. Skipper. Public Speaker. Founder of eXXpedition + The SHiFT Method.

Salty and sweet, full of power and grace is one way to describe Skipper, Ocean Advocate and international speaker, Emily Penn. Discover how a chance trip on a bio-fueled ocean vessel en route to fulfill a dream in Architecture “shifted” her career goals away from design, towards finding global solutions to ocean plastic and imagining our future society on this blue planet.

Explorer. Documentarian. Producer. Artist. Public Speaker.

We find Legendary Activist and humanitarian Céline Cousteau, near her home in the French Countryside, and talk about her newly released film, Tribes on the Edge, why protecting indigenous culture and the rain forest is critical to a healthy planet and what motivates her to face danger in order to bring impactful messages to the public through her artistry.

Producer. Time Lapse Cinematographer. Director of Fantastic Funghi

Globally renowned and award-winning producer, director and cinematographer and Visual Healer, Louie Schwartzberg’s career spans more than three decades providing breathtaking imagery for feature films, television shows, documentaries and commercials. 

Marine biologist. Innovative and entrepreneurial scientist. Wild-water advocate. Best-selling author. Lecturer.

Meet the author of Blue Mind who examines the emotional, behavioral, psychological and physical connection to water, and how being near, in, on, or under water can make you happier, healthier, more connected, and better at what you do.

Entrepreneur. Ocean Activist. Philanthropist.

A lifelong ocean advocate, George is the former surfboard design editor for Surfer Magazine, co-founder of Project Kaisei and Ojingo Labs, a company creating social/ mobile/ web technology. In this episode, he shares his passion for global networking, surf culture, motorcycles, and regenerative solutions for our planet.