Meet Wayne, a spirited explorer from Southern California

Meet Wayne, a spirited explorer from Southern California whose life has been defined by a love of the outdoors, a thirst for adventure, and a deep commitment to inspiring others. In the beginning of his life, he traveled around the country in the backseat of a 1950s sedan, in a plywood playpen that his father constructed. Wayne was born while his father was attending college in Maryland. After graduation, the family moved to Michigan, where his father started a career with Ford. He is the eldest of four. He and his siblings were introduced to travel early on in life. His father’s passion for adventure and travel became infectious. By the age of eight, Wayne had visited every U.S. state except Alaska and Hawaii. Fueled by these road trips and his parents’ love of nature, Wayne developed a deep connection to the outdoors. He didn’t want to experience nature passively, he craved adventure. Inspired by the daring spirit of James Bond, Wayne’s definition of adventure is extreme sports. He has ice climbed in Alaska as a member of the Anchorage Mountaineering Club. He is a licensed pilot, an avid skier, and certified scuba diving instructor. As a teenager, after high school, he drove across the country to Florida with a good friend, to apply for a job at Disney World during its first season of operation. He was hired as Jungle Cruise skipper. He said, “I once set a record by riding the attraction continuously for 13.5 hours (66 loops) with guests on board and without a bathroom break!” From a young age, he thrived on pushing the limits of his endurance. During his time in Florida, he became a certified scuba diver. He loved it so much that he worried about affording the gear and training required to continue. His solution? Get a job in the diving industry. By chance, discovered that U.S. Divers Aqua Lung (founded by Jacques Cousteau) was located near his college. He began working for the company giving scuba diving lessons. He eventually was given the opportunity to meet Jacques Cousteau, and then worked closely with Cousteau’s son Philippe. During this time he pursued a degree in ecology and environmental science from the University of California, Irvine, and UCLA, where his academic interests aligned with his love for the natural world. Eventually, he met a beautiful woman, named Karen, and married her. On their honeymoon, he taught her how scuba dive. She fell in love with it immediately. He said, “While on our honeymoon, directly after a scuba diving excursion, she looked at me and said, “I want to do this all the time.” We took a leap of faith, quit our jobs in California, moved to St. Lucia and set up a diving operation at a resort. For five years, we lived out that dream while shooting underwater photography. Our images were so good that we began teaching guests how to shoot underwater photography. Back then it was quite complicated as everything was film. Eventually, we moved into developing the film ourselves for our guests. Then we began selling the images to outside companies for marketing. A chance encounter with a woman at the resort changed our lives. She introduced us to the world of school assemblies where we could use our photography and knowledge to educate children around the world about the planet. It was the beginning of turning our passion into purpose. We eventually launched TheOceanAdventure.com, combining stunning underwater photography with environmental science education. Our work caught the attention of expedition cruise companies. They now hire us to work for them for a few months out of the year. We travel to remote corners of the world as marine biologists and naturalists on expedition ships. We have done excursions in Russia, the far East, Japan, the Caribbean and we are currently working in Antartica. We have spent years exploring, photographing, and educating. These trips not only give us the content to create compelling school programs but also reaffirmed our commitment to conservation and education.” Wayne’s story is one of reinvention, risk, and reward. He has lived a life driven by passion, fueled by curiosity, and sustained by a desire to share that passion with others. His adventures have taken him across continents and into classrooms. His message remains simple but profound. The one thing he wants to tell the world is, “Figure out what you like to do and then figure out how to get paid for it. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Thank you so much for visiting!