Scuba GOAT
Matt Waters
1 Creator
Discover the Scuba GOAT podcast, your ultimate resource for scuba diving, ocean conservation, and scientific exploration. Join dive professional, Matt Waters, as he explores a range of engaging topics and interviews global game-changers, leading advocates of conservation, service providers, and emerging stars. With a focus on delivering relevant scuba and oceanic news, highlighting operators and conservation efforts worldwide, and providing first-hand information from the source, the Scuba GOAT podcast offers a wealth of insights and entertainment. Dive into the Scuba GOAT podcast today and immerse yourself in a world of information and humour.
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Jolyon Collier - Counting Coral
Scuba GOAT
11/21/22 • 79 min
Jolyon Collier is the founder of Counting Coral, a not-for-profit organisation bridging the gap between conservation, art, corporations, tourism and local interests.
As a highly successful businessman, Jolyon created his wealth in the construction industry. Over the years his success has fed his appetite to be in the ocean, initially as a surfer, then videographer and diver, and now conservationist. As a young man, Jolyon found himself drawn to Fiji with his surfboard under one arm and a video camera in the other. The videography of surfers was still relatively new, so Jolyon capitalised on this and sold his footage to the tourist surfers and whilst waiting for them to cruise past, Jolyon's attention was drawn to (you guessed it) the reefs.
With a rather humorous, if not completely dangerous introduction to diving, Jolyon experienced the underwater world off the coast of Malibu and was instantly hooked. Since those days he has had an entire and rewarding career in the construction industry, ultimately leading to an early retirement and a change of focus back to the reefs.
Counting Coral is leading the development of Sculptural Coral Banks, a new and advanced method to aid coral growth. These structures are designed to support the growth of corals in a manner, that once they bloom they become part of the overall artistic design. Furthermore, the corals introduced to the structures are carefully selected from local reefs so that they can be reintroduced once a favourable parent coral has propagated.
Jolyon and his team of scientists, divers and conservationists install the sculptures themselves, select and collect the corals and will, in turn, reintroduce the corals back to the original reef locations.
There are multiple benefits to this system, not only are we protecting, preserving and promoting coral growth but we are creating a new attraction for tourism. Divers, freedivers and snorkelers eager for that next amazing picture or video have an epic backdrop with radiant natural light striking through the clear Fijian water. Local resorts that partner with Counting Coral can proudly announce their part in developing the ongoing eco-protection of their reefs. More importantly, the natural reefs receive some relief from visitors who may be unaware of how delicate an environment it is.
Finally, the structures can aid in scientific research and support those corals that may be diminishing. It's also worth noting that those corals registered as "known" in Fiji are actually just a replication of what is found throughout Australasia, Jolyon's team are able to identify those corals and have even possibly found corals that may previously have been unknown to Fijian Waters.
If you can spare two minutes, please review the podcast on any of the major streaming platforms (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ are awesome btw )
and tell your buddies about the show. You can also follow, share, and like us on all of the social media platforms and add to our numbers. It all goes a very long way and is very much appreciated.
Finally, if you would like to appear on the show don't hesitate to get in touch and let's start chatting!
All of our links can be found in the footer or simply click our LinkTree here...
10/30/22 • 62 min
Michael Menduno has been diving and reporting on technical diving since 1990 when he founded the AquaCORPS magazine and its sister publication Technical Diver. A reporter, technologist and member of the Board of Directors for the historical diver's society, Michael is the editor-in-chief of Global Underwater Explorers online magazine InDEPTH. He is also a contributing editor for Dan Europe's ALERT DIVER and X-ray magazine, and he also writes for DEEPER BLUE. To top it off, Michael also worked with Captain Billy Dean to set up the first tech diving centre, based in Key West, which rapidly became a global mecca for tech diver training.
Michael is also the organiser of the Rebreather Forum, with the latest conference being RF4 (20-22 April 2023). Held in Malta, the Rebreather Forum has a stellar line-up of presenters including Mark Caney, Brian Carney or designee, Simon Caruana, John Clarke, David Doolette, Vince Ferris, Oscar Franberg, Timmy Gambin, Kevin Gurr, Richard Harris, Paul Haynes, Gareth Lock, Alessandro Marroni, Michael Menduno, Simon Mitchell, Andy Pitkin, Neal Pollock, Frauke Tillmans, and Paul Toomer. So if there is anything you ever wanted to know about rebreather diving, this is the place to be.
Topics of conversation
- Michael's background in diving
- The origins of the term "Tech Diver"
- Rebreather Forum origins and Rebreather 4
- Michael's first breaths underwater to technical diver
- Historical overview of tech diving
- The origins of AquaCORPS and InDEPTH magazines
- The background of Michael and Captain Billy Dean
- The passage of information prior to computers
- PADI joins the tech chat
- The bridging of the gap between recreational and technical diving
- The importance of Human Factors in diving
- Close Calls, authored by Stratis S Kas (Amazon link)
- 'Stoned' with Bill Stone - A harp back to the early days of reporting
- What's next for Michael?
- Links and exit.
Lyndi Leggett - The Scuba Gym - S03 E13
Scuba GOAT
10/17/22 • 78 min
"Not all heroes wear capes." This is so true... they sometimes wear fins too!
Lyndi Leggett wears fins, and to many she is an absolute superhero. A few years ago, sick of the corporate world Lyndi was trawling through social media and came across an article about David J Lawrence Sr and his son, Scuba Junior. Following surgery, David Jr was rendered disabled, paralyzed from the neck down. Today, albeit he is still paralyzed on one side, David Jr has regained use of his right side and leads a much more fulfilling life.
Lyndi reached out to David Sr asking what it would take for her to open a Scuba Gym in Australia.
The Scuba Gym Australia operates out of the Central Coast and provides diving possibilities for people with a vast array of disabilities. Throughout this episode Lyndi talks with passion about the successes of her divers so far (see below for links to the videos of those mentioned during the show) and what the future holds for The Scuba Gym.
The Scuba Gym is now a not-for-profit operation and Lyndi holds the golden ticket to the growth of it. Lyndi's dream is to see a Scuba Gym in every major city in Australia. Quite rightly so too.
If you would like to help Lyndi in any way possible then get in touch. You can email or send a message to Lyndi directly or through the show links and social media.
For those of you that would love to join the scuba gym but are not sure if you can. Lyndi has a qualified dive doctor who can talk to you about your disabilities and confirm if you can be authorised to get in the water and have a go at scuba diving. #getinvolved you'll love it!!
The scuba gym America
09/25/22 • 110 min
Lady Elliot Island is a destination that epitomises eco-centric tourism. It is a true reflection of the dedication, hard work, focus and drive afforded to her by so many people over the years, past and present, and none more so than the island's current custodian, Peter Gash.
I am elated to host Peter on the show and discuss not only his success in realising his dreams so far but also the island's successes. Peter has dedicated a lifetime to the islands in this region and first visited Lady Elliot as a child, and was instantly struck by its beauty and mysticism.
Lady Elliot is approximately 80 kilometres northeast of Bundaberg and is nestled between Fraser Island and Lady Musgrave Island. The is also the closest Great Barrier Reef island to Brisbane, Queensland’s southern capital. lady Elliot Island lies within a Marine National Park ‘Green Zone’ and forms part of Australia’s World Heritage Listed Area on the Great Barrier Reef.
Though I'm yet to visit Lady Elliot Island, I can tell there is something very special about this location. Obviously, it is stunning; a spectacular tropical destination that's apart from the bustle of everyday life, not to mention a scuba diver's dream; but it's much more than that. Through minimal digital connectivity, it forces visitors to put down their smartphones and realise the beauty of a moment, our earth, our ocean and our home - but not viewed through a screen enhanced by Photoshop and alike. Much more importantly, Lady Elliot is not an example, but THE example of what we can do for our earth and its inhabitants when we focus, dedicate and commit to doing the right thing.
As for the man making this happen, you won't find him on social media at all, he's far too busy working on the next major project and looking after this island paradise. You can, however, read more about him on their webpage, better still, go and pay him a visit!!
Scuba GOAT is an independent production and can be found across all social media platforms. Are you a dive pro or operator? Do you know your location? Do you want to increase your customer base? If the answer is yes, get in touch as we would love to host you on the show and help raise awareness of your operations and/ or passions. Simply fill out the form found on our LinkTree.
09/12/22 • 51 min
Nays Baghai is a young and impressive director with an exceptionally keen and creative eye. His feature film debut, Descent, won the Best Australian Documentary award at the Oscar-qualifying Sydney Film Festival and has gone on to be available on Amazon Prime ANZ. Having been screened at numerous other film festivals such as, the International Film Festival, Hot Docs and Raindance, Nays’ is taking his directing skills forward as he documents Scuba diving legend Jill Heinerth’s story in, Jill Heinerth: Room To Breathe.
Nays joins me in the studio to talk about filming and of course, scuba diving. He’s also presenting at OzTek this year so be sure to check it out if you are in Melbs for the show. If you’ve not got your tickets yet you, click the button below and reserve your spot, we’ll see you there!
Nays’ links:
Scuba GOAT is an independent production and it is your feedback that makes it all worthwhile so, if you can spare 2 minutes to give us a review on your platform of choice we’d really appreciate it.
You can also contact Matt directly through any of our social media links with your ideas, comments and feedback. Simply head on over to our LinkTree for all routes available.
08/29/22 • 50 min
Stephen Fordyce is sometimes described as a mad professor and I can't help thinking that there is some truth in that. When it comes to listening to his explorations deep beneath the surface of the earth and then beneath the surface of the water therein. Scuba diving is a relatively niche sport, and within it there are many more niche areas and I think Stephen has found the pinnacle of niche as a 'sump diver.' Spending days lugging gear to remote locations, trekking into dry(ish) caves and creating base camps therein, to then explore kilometres of routes underwater certainly confirms that he's barking mad, but also justifies the recognition he rightly deserves as a fantastic explorer.
'Stephen has dived many caves around Australia and further afield - being a successful push diver at the pointy end of projects in Elk River Cave (Victoria), Growling Swallet and Niggly Caves (Tasmania), on the Nullarbor (WA) and West Timor (Indonesia). This culminated in receiving the 2019 OZTek Emerging Explorer Award.
Since then, Stephen was the push diver in a large team effort which connected Growling Swallet and Niggly Cave, setting a new record for the deepest (mostly dry) cave in Australia, as well as for several other significant Tasmanian push dives.
With a degree in Mechatronics Engineering and a professional background of designing industrial gas equipment, Stephen started TFM Engineering Australia, to combine his passions for 'making cool stuff' and technical diving, and now works full time designing and building technical diving equipment of all shapes and sizes.
Despite enduring the pandemic in the most locked-down city in the world (Melbourne), Stephen spent his lockdown time developing a system of water tracing equipment and much of the rest field-testing and exploring caves in Tasmania. (OzTek biography 2022)
Joining me on the show today, Stephen chats about some of his adventures including that fantastic latest achievement conducted with 8 equally barking mad explorer buddies
08/14/22 • 67 min
OZTek Advanced Diving Conference & OZDive Expo is a major international event that, since its inception in 1999, has done more to highlight the adventure and excitement inherent in diving than any other show. The show continues to play a key role in creating broad awareness of new techniques and technologies which transform and push back the boundaries of underwater knowledge.
Produced by divers for divers, both OZTek Conference & OZDive Expo offer unique insights into the entire world of underwater adventure by encouraging a better understanding of all diving has to offer. This unique event represents a broad spread of diving interests - reflected by the Speaker and Exhibitor list - including many prominent world leaders in their particular fields of expertise; people whose wealth of knowledge is second-to-none and who are instrumental in helping to shape the future growth and development of diving.
Focused on the full spectrum of underwater activities, (from recreational, technical, commercial, military and scientific diving through to free-diving and marine conservation issues) the two-day OZTek Advanced Diving Conference and OZDive Expo merge all facets of diving into one event aimed at promoting the exhilaration and adventure of diving to a passionate and enthusiastic audience.
Joining me in the studio is Sue Crowe to discuss a variety of topics including a shout-out to a number of presenters that will be sharing their experiences during the two-day event.
Tickets
OZDive SHOW GENERAL ENTRY - $45.00
Tickets are available at the door from 8 am Saturday and Sunday.
General entry tickets allow a full range of The OZDive Show (see who'll be there); the Exhibitor workshops (unless otherwise stated); and the Photographic Image Centre which includes an Underwater Photographic Exhibition, Photographic Workshops and a Winners' Display of the OZDive 2022 Underwater Photographic Competition (including the Nikon Dive Shot of the Year). Come and explore!
Children under 15 are FREE if accompanied by an adult
OZTek SINGLE SPEAKER TICKET - $45.00 + entry ticket
Never been to OZTek before? Want to try just a small taste? Perhaps there is one presentation you simply MUST see - then the Single Speaker Ticket is perfect for you. This ticket includes one speaker of your choice as well as UNLIMITED access to the exhibition and associated activities. Please see the important note above. Single speaker tickets will be available during the event from the registration office.
Please note: Unless otherwise stated, admission to all OZTek2022 speaker presentations will be restricted to Gold, Silver Passes and Single Speaker Tickets.
OZTek2022 Single Speaker Ticket AUD $45.00
(these tickets will be available at registration and is on top of your General Entry)
OZTek SILVER (SINGLE-DAY) PASS - $195 (Saturday OR Sunday)
If you're unable to make both days of the Conference, you can purchase an OZTek2022 Silver Passes (Saturday) offering single-day access to the full spectrum of activities for the day of use, either Saturday or Sunday. A Silver Pass offers full access to ALL the OZTek speaker presentations, break-out sessions, workshops and seminars, plus UNLIMITED access to the exhibition and associated activities. A silver pass also includes on-demand access.
Please note: Excludes the Gala Awards Dinner - held as a separate event
OZTek GOLD (TWO-DAY) PASS - $295
Absolutely no better way to enjoy the full OZTek2022 experience than with the purchase of an OZTek2022 Gold Pass. Offering delegates full two-day access to ALL the OZTek speaker presentations, break-out sessions, workshops and seminars, plus UNLIMITED access to the exhibition and associated activities.
08/01/22 • 80 min
Gareth Lock and Mike Mason return to the Scuba GOAT podcast for a catch up on the latest in human Factors in diving. Recently Gareth invited me to complete the remote training package "Essentials of human factors in diving" followed by a 2-day face-to-face course held at Dive Centre Bondi.
The course delves deeper into the meaning of Human Factors and how it relates to the dive industry and how it can be used to enhance not only our safety but our day-to-day processes before, during and after diving.
By creating The Human Diver training programs I believe Gareth has created a clear path of evolution for not only the scuba diving industry but for individual divers, regardless of their experience and qualification levels. As a stand alone structure, the human diver is not designed to enhance any one training agency but focuses on how the diver, and his or her peers can operate to the best of their abilities. No one decides that today I am going to go diving and lose a customer, run out of gas, damage coral or bolt to the surface. Accidents happen, whether they are minor or major however, we can minimise these risks by being open to discussing sensitive subjects, errors in judgement and being honest with ourselves.
This is my review following The Human Diver training I received:
"I have just completed the "Essentials of Human Factors in Diving" pre-learning for an HF course that I am excitedly attending later this week. The ‘Essentials’ is delivered remotely via online bite-sized tutorials. It is a little over 3 hours long in total, and as a 17-year military veteran turned 10-year multi-agency dive professional, I firmly believe that it should be included in ANY recreational diver training course, from try dives through all training programs and all agencies, to the top of the qualification tree and here’s why...
We are taught from a very young age that there is a ladder of authority in all that we do. When we entered schooling that authority figure was a teacher and as such, there is an expected level of respect from the bottom up which ultimately prevents us from questioning the teacher.
The same expected hierarchy occurs as we enter the workforce and beyond. It is therefore of no surprise that when we return to the learning environment, we are naturally holding back on questions and dampening down doubts or nerves for fear of perceived reprisal or embarrassment.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Next time we’ll do it differently.
What if...
Just a few old phrases that are common and really have no place in our sports vocabulary. The Human Diver shines a light on such antiquated quotes, promptly kicks them in the bin and opens the door to a modern, safer, and more transparent diving environment. If you are considering becoming a diver, if you have been actively diving for 50 years, or anything in between you need The Human Diver in your scuba life!"
07/10/22 • 84 min
Dr Leonardo Guida, shark scientist and shark conservation lead at the Australian Marine Conservation Society joins us in this episode to talk through a variety of topics ranging from personal experiences swimming and diving with our apex predators to the conservation efforts currently in place throughout Australia and across the globe.
Leo is actively involved in many projects including the "Nets out now" call for shark nets to be removed throughout Australia, he .appeared in the documentary produced by Andre Borell Envoy Shark Cull which focuses on the subject. Leo emphasises the indiscriminate targeting that hails from these antiquated defence systems with a prime example being that of a Humpback Whale being caught in a net only a few days prior to this recording, with a further 2 more whales entangled since.
We also discuss the apparent movement of sharks from locations such as South Africa pushing further south, presumably due to climate change and rising water temperatures. With larger predators such as Great Whites moving into locations inhabited by more docile species such as Grey Nurse Sharks, are they to become a new target for the larger shark and what impact does this have on the overall balance in the regions?
Leo talks with such passion it's hard to break away from listening to his experiences, skills and knowledge across a wide spectrum of conservation. Actively sharing his knowledge via social media, Leo regularly posts updates on what is happening within Australia and you can follow him via the links on the Scuba GOAT website.
12/05/22 • 77 min
Josh Richards may not have decades of caving experience under his belt, however what he does have is a love for Wombats and the desire to act like one at times. Joking aside, Josh's thirst for adventure started whilst diving as a kid with his father, continuing into a military career as a soldier and Royal Marine, a comedian, a science geek, and even as a candidate with a one way ticket to inhabit Mars!
Josh talks openly about his journey through life and its various stages leading up to his discoveries with his dive wife, Matt Aisbett and in detail about the discovery itself. The Engelbrechts east extension.
Englebrechts cave history
1865 - Originally described in a publication by Julian Tenison-Woods, the cave system was referred to as Vansittarts cave.
1885 - Carl Engelbrecht's purchase of a flour mill located nearby, which he converted into a whiskey distillery (good man!) used the cave as a dumping ground for his waste products. This led to the cave system being referred to as the Engelbrecht cave.
1929 - the land on which the cave is located was purchased by the then District Council and the cave was sealed off.
1969 - The council invites expressions of interest to open the cave for potential tourism. Reportedly, it was not suitable for tourist development and remained shut.
1979 - The Lions Club of Mount Gambier commenced a project to beautify the cave to the tune of $10,000
1995 - Engelbrecht Cave was added to the South Australian Heritage Register
2019 - Dive buddies Matthew Aisbett and Josh Richards mooch around the end of the east cave system and find access to an enormous previously undiscovered cave system running under the centre of town.
2022 - Josh joins me on the show to reflect on many of his life adventures and what is now known as the Engelbrechts east extension.
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