Interview
Our premiere interview with...

Thomas Sergent
Founder, Amphibious Warrior Scuba Wear

		When did you fall in love with sharks and what is your favorite species of shark, why? I have been interested in sharks ever since I was a kid.  Sharks, Dinosaurs...most kids are all about them.  The Oceanic White Tip is my favorite.  It is one of the sharkiest looking out there.  It is just a beautiful looking creature.
When did you first meet a shark "in-person" and what was the experience like? 1st shark encounter was a nurse shark off LaJolla Cove in the early 90's.  After that every time I went into the ocean I wanted to look for sharks.
		What inspired you to go beyond just being a fan to getting involved in shark conservation? I think it was 4 years ago and picking up a Project Aware Save the Sharks brochure from a dive show.  After reading that I started looking into the threats and getting more vocal about it.
What inspired you to start Amphibious Warrior Scuba Wear and what are your aspirations for the business? AWSW grew out of 1 set of concept sketches. In 2005/2006. I wanted to make a difference in the shark conservation community and decided to dedicate the clothing line for the purpose of saving sharks.  My aspirations for the business is to make it the Patagonia/1% For The Planet counterpart to the world of ocean and shark conservation.  I want the business to grow to a point where I am writing out grants to NGO's [non-governmental agencies] to aid in their projects.
		Of all of the places you have traveled for diving, what is your favorite place and why? Australia will always be my favorite place.  Since my first trip there I can't get enough of that place the diving is great, the people are the friendliest people I have ever met...I could really fill out a book on all the reasons I love that place!
You lead shark educational workshops and work with shark conservationistsfrom all over the world, do you have a favorite shark advocate, and if so why? My favorite advocate is Alisa Schwartz.  She has mastered the art of shark networking and has her hands involved in most shark conservation projects.  She is an inspiration to many in our community.
		What are your thoughts on shark diving and do you believe shark dive operations lead to shark attacks? I think shark diving can be as safe as playing with your neighbor's dog.  I am not going to put my face or my hands or food in front of that dog nor any wild creature.  It is just common sense really.  If a diver can act in a manner that does not pose a risk to the sharks and gives them the option of interacting or not then I believe it can be done with minimal risk.  I do not think that shark diving ops lead to attacks in the slightest.  I think the more people that get a chance to see sharks in their natural environment will be more likely to educate others on all the misconceptions of these beautiful creatures.
What issues do you believe present the most risk to global shark populations? Finning is a huge threat as well as unsustainable fishing practices.  They can't just keep taking apex predators out of the ocean before most of them reach sexual maturity.  There is a lot of shark lovers out there right now working on taking out nets, changing types of fishing hooks and educating the public.  This kind of work is vital and more people need to get involved.  If you were to walk into any high school classroom or room full of average adults and tell them that sharks are in serious threat of extinction almost all of them will admit they had no clue.
		What can an individual interested in shark conservation due to help advance the cause? 1st would be to get educated as to the threats.  The biggest key to advance the cause is passion.  Everyone needs to know that 1 person can really make an impact.  1 person, 1 store, 1 restaurant at a time.  If a person has the passion they will find the best use of their particular talents and go from there.
How do you manage running a business, educating the public about sharks while making time for your large family? Manage??  Ha Ha.  My family life is chaos.  It helps to be able to run Amphibious Warrior Scuba Wear out of the house and keep up with my duties as a stay/work at home dad.  I do most of my online work late at night when the kids are sleeping.  I also keep most of the social networking sites on and running all day and check in on them when I get a chance.  As far as classes go I try to do those on weekends and bring my kids along.  Teaching classes to kids is really my favorite thing to do.  I love to watch their eyes get really big when talking about sharks and it makes it even better when the parents stick around and you can sense that they are really taking it all in and you know that you have just won another advocate for shark & ocean conservation.
		A little about Thomas Sergent... Thomas was born in Rockford, Illinois [same as our director's pops]. Thomas is 37 years old, and a former United States Marine, Anti-Terrorism/Nuclear Security Contractor, private investigator, police officer and now Ultra Shark Conservationist. Thomas is also a master scuba diver, dive master and Emergency First Responder, (ERF) instructor.

More interviews on the way!