Team Wilderness

I grew up on the beautiful central coast of California, and I was lucky enough to be born into a family who loved and lived to be on the water. My love of the ocean was instilled at a young age, and I learned to surf and read the water very early on. Aside from surfing, I was also a PADI-Certified Scuba Diver at 16 years old. As a competitive swimmer and water polo player in school, it was a natural progression to become a certified lifeguard and swimming instructor. My first job was at the local YMCA. You could say that I was born for this lifestyle. In fact, my middle name is Waterman. 

Sometime in the early 1990s my family decided to buy a fleet of kayaks and from then on we spent every weekend paddling on the great Pacific Ocean. Towards the end of the 90’s I decided, “Hey I can fish from these kayaks”. And spent my early 20’s hunting the kelp forests up and down our coastline. 

After a hiatus from kayak fishing that lasted far too long, I was reintroduced to the now much bigger sport by my good buddy Andy. From that moment 3-4 years ago I have been back at it with a vengeance to make up for the lost time. I enjoy not only the fishing aspect but also being the best ambassador of the sport that I can be. Spreading the love of this sport/lifestyle means a great deal to me, and I take any chance I get to introduce people to my passion. Luckily I have a wife and children who understand my passion, and they even hit the water with me occasionally. 

I am honored to be the Coordinator for the Central California Chapter of Heroes on the Water, a Veterans/First Responders support organization, that helps our nation’s heroes by getting them out kayak fishing to help them heal. This is a position that I regard with much pride and is something I will look back on with a smile knowing that we were able to help our warriors. 
I look forward to what the future holds for this great sport, and I am excited to see where the next 10 years takes us.