Today we’d like to introduce you to Lalo Saidy.
Lalo, please share your story with us.
I have spent the past 14 years working with, filming and taking photos of white sharks and dealing with shark conservation issues. For 14 years, I have been based in Gansbaai, South Africa and for the past 3 years, have also had the opportunity to be a white shark guide and dive instructor at Guadalupe Island, off the coast of Mexico.
I went to South Africa in 2004 for a couple of months to clear my head after university and planned a return to settle in Los Angeles. While I was there I decided to tick off the top item on my bucket list- cage diving with Great White sharks. My parents tell me that from the time I was a toddler, I was fascinated with whales, dolphins and yes, sharks.
When I was old enough to watch the movie Jaws, my reaction was the complete opposite of most people. I fell in love with White Sharks and began reading and collecting books about all shark species and watching every documentary about them. Following on from that experience, I promised myself that one day I would go out and see a great white shark in the ocean. But little did I know that working with Great Whites would become my career.
In South Africa, I booked to go out with my childhood hero (and still is), Andre Hartman (he was the first person to free dive with white sharks and I grew up watching him on tv). I also booked a cameraman to film my day trip with the sharks. While talking with the cameraman that day on the boat, I found out that he was launching an underwater filming academy. My first cage diving experience was amazing and I eagerly signed up for 2 months at the academy.
That 2 months turned into 2 and a half years of filming sharks with that company – mostly day trips for clients who were experiencing their own cage diving adventures but also for some film shoots for crews from around the world. Among my favorite projects over the years that I got to be a part of were a shoot for Animal Planet with Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter; the opening episode of Shark Week 2006 with Mike Rowe-Jobs that Bite; Sharkville for National Geographic (the first time we ever filmed a white shark breach at night); a shark submarine with Andre Hartman for Shark Projects; submitting photos for and being a part of Sharks4kids; and being one of the organizers of the No Shark CullMarch in Cape Town – to protest the announcement in early 2014 by the Australian Government to cull sharks in order to keep swimmers/surfers safe.
In my third year in South Africa, I was offered a position to run my own videography/photography department and be the guide for White Shark Diving Company. It is now 14 years later and I am coming to the end of my residence in Gansbaai. The reason for this is that for the last 3 seasons I have been fortunate enough to be the dive instructor & shark guide for Horizon Charters out of San Diego during the white shark season at Guadalupe Island. I have decided to make the move home to focus on the Great White sharks on this side.
It also gives me a chance to focus on the company that I am building called This Is My Shark Life. I consider myself fortunate to have been able to tick off my bucket list item and since I have worked with clients from all around the world the past 14 years, I want to help others find that perfect adventure when it comes to seeing sharks. This Is My Shark Life is a company that deals with cage diving bookings at Guadalupe Island and in South Africa (with the hope of expanding to other shark diving locations around the world), underwater photography/ videography for online publications and magazines and a clothing line.
Sharks are my passion and have been for years. My favorite part of what I do is getting to work in ecotourism and getting to teach people about Great Whites and change people’s perceptions about one of the most feared animals on the planet. Unfortunately, Jaws had such a negative effect in regards to white sharks that they were almost hunted to extinction. The media today often continues to portray them as mindless killing machines.
It is a privilege to be able to help people view these magnificent creatures up close and hopefully change their perceptions for the positive in regards to helping protect a vulnerable species. Humans are destroying the ocean, and I have the opportunity to show and explain to people from all around the world why we need to protect what is in front of us before it is too late. I want to offer an opportunity for people to view and appreciate these magnificent creatures in their own environment and hopefully change people’s perception of one of the most feared and hated animals found in our oceans due to negative media hype.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
In terms of getting to work with White Sharks, I would say that I was very fortunate in getting my job. Being an American, I had to apply for a work permit in South Africa and prove why I was better suited for the position than a citizen of that country. Luckily for me, I grew up traveling around with the world with parents who were working for the United Nations. We had moved more than half a dozen times, mostly in Africa but also Europe.
One of the skill sets that helped me land the job was that I spoke different languages which facilitated communications/interactions with international clients. In addition to English and Afrikaans, I speak French and Spanish. I also had proven skills relating to filming underwater – essential for the work. My passion and knowledge about sharks were not enough alone and there is no question that not being a marine biologist, I had to work a little harder to get my role as a guide.
I first applied for a job out of San Diego to travel to Guadalupe Island back in 2005. I didn’t get it because at the time I didn’t have enough experience. It was my dream to go there and see the white sharks in the clear blue water so I continued to work in South Africa, hoping there would be another opportunity in the future.
Luckily for me, in 2015, a position opened up for a dive instructor on Horizon Charters and turned out it was with the same outfit I had applied for a job with 10 years earlier. I did second guess myself about it before applying for it as this time the ad went out all over social media. But something in my gut said to go for it. And I am so happy I did. Not only did I get to live my dream of seeing and working Guadalupe Island, I am about to start my 4th season with them and relocating to San Diego to move my bookings company forward.
As a struggle, I would say that the biggest part has been learning a whole new part of the industry and how to make all the pieces of the puzzle come together. Learning about websites and design, marketing, internet traffic, competition and so forth. The most important part to being successful is client service. I have been fortunate to have spent so much time with people from all around the world. My business is geared towards the wants and needs of people coming onto the boat to fulfill their dream of seeing sharks. I, myself was a client once upon a time, so I run my company based on the idea of how I would want to be treated. I have been fortunate enough to live my dream and I want others to have the same opportunity.
That is why the name of my company is This Is My Shark Life. It isn’t just about me, the name applies to every client out there who loves sharks, wants to dive with them or is just an adventure seeker. Very importantly, it is also about booking that experience with companies that are honest, eco- friendly, and contribute to conservation and education about the ocean environment we work in.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
This Is My Shark Life is an online booking company that specializes in sending you to your dream shark diving location. For now, we are focusing on two different locations- San Diego (for Guadalupe) and South Africa. As the company grows we hope to offer Bahamas, Fiji and a couple of other special destinations that I don’t want to give away just yet but will offer some pretty amazing diving. The other parts of the company focus on underwater photography and videography images for print and online magazines and also have a clothing line that I am hoping to have up and running on Amazon merchandise.
For diving in San Diego, we offer day trips to view Blue Sharks and 5-day trips to go see the Great White shark and do cage diving at Guadalupe Island from August to November. With South Africa, we offer Great White sharks year round, with breaching during the winter months, in two different locations, Gansbaai and False Bay. The other dives we also offer in South Africa are diving with the 7 Gill Cow Shark in the kelp forests/ seal dives (a combo dive), Blue and Mako Shark diving and the Sardine Run.
We also can assist in booking you with a couple of volunteer programs in South Africa that will offer those studying marine biology an opportunity for a hands-on learning experience (also open to fellow shark lovers). These vary in duration from 2 weeks to 3 months.
The most important part of who we book with is that we only choose companies that are honest, cater to the needs of the client, are eco- friendly and promote conservation and education of the environment that we get to work in. The companies I choose to work with are ones with the highest possible standard, manage their environmental footprint, offer educational experiences, portray sharks for what they are and most importantly, are honest with latest sightings, prices and weather conditions.
Today there is Trip Advisor but it’s still hard to choose a company to go with as some clients rate high while others only have negative things to say about the same company. What sets us apart is that I have spent the past 14 years/7 days a week working in the industry so I know and have worked or dove with these companies myself. I know what it is like trying to pick the best possible company for this experience and that is why I started my own company. In choosing This Is My Shark Life to help you with your booking, I can use a comprehensive network of operators, tour guides and lodges and therefore be able to offer the convenience of booking easily.
Although I work in the industry, I do not play favorites – I will help you book YOUR trip specific to YOUR requirements and wishes because this is YOUR experience. I can work with you to break down down your requests and find the ideal trip that fits your own needs and expectations.
And that is what I most proud of – that through all my hard work I have been able to establish a network of ‘shark friends’ that feel the same way I do about offering the best possible experience to fellow shark lovers and adventure seekers. My goal is to have you leave feeling the exact same way I did after seeing my first Great White- in awe and continued fascination which is also why I will help with booking the company that I think will make the experience most educational from start to finish.
What were you like growing up?
My childhood was different from most. My parents were with the United Nations so I was fortunate enough to grow up traveling around the world, mostly Africa and Europe, so I was able to experience different cultures and see the world. Some places were harder than others- conflicts and civil wars and with parents dealing with refugees and hunger issues, it definitely made me appreciate what I had.
But from that experience it also placed an adventure/travel bug in me- I love getting out and seeing the world, learning new languages, experiencing different cultures, and enjoying the adventure opportunities. I have white water rafted the Nile in Uganda, dove with Whale Sharks and Giant Mantas in Mozambique, snowboarded the Rockies and the Alps, bungee jumped off the worlds highest bridge jump in South Africa (709 feet), zip lined over waterfalls, hiked Table Mountain and Lionshead in Cape Town, gone to Victoria Falls, done safaris in the Masai Mara in Kenya, cruised the Mediterranean, gone face to face with a Great White on the seabed in a shark submarine and backpacked around Europe. And there are still a lot more adventures out there waiting.
Life is on a skewed scale. Good and bad outweigh each other. All you can do is to stand in the middle trying to balance it out. For a long time, I would have said I had bad luck but instead I have tried to find positives out of negatives. If one door closes then another opens.
In the beginning, I was not so keen on coming to South Africa but it led me to working with Great White sharks in not just one but two different locations, allowed me to learn underwater videography and photography, be a part of film crews from around the world, meet and educate people from all around the world about my favorite animal, gave me an opportunity to start my own company and most importantly, to meet my fiancee. And now we are moving to San Diego to start the next chapter.
I wouldn’t have pushed myself further and to be better without her love and encouragement to do more or without the support of my family. There are things that you can accomplish on your own but sometimes you need that extra kick from behind to seize the next opportunity. I am transitioning from 14 years of working 7 days a week for someone else to move on and make my dream company work.
Most importantly, see the world both from above and underwater. For me, it has been about having a dream, taking a chance and now doing what I love for a living. Do not prevent yourself from following your own dreams because you never know how things may turn out. It could end up being the best decision you ever made.
Earlier I said I was fortunate to be able to spend time with these sharks and I am just as equally fortunate to be able to take everyday people as clients on this fascinating journey both in South Africa and Guadalupe Island, and spend time with them to help get rid of this negative stigma that surrounds sharks and changes peoples perceptions about such a feared creature. They are not the monsters of the deep they have been made out to be and have earned the right and deserve the respect and protection for continuing to survive no matter the challenges in front of them.
Pricing:
- Guadalupe Island (5 days) – $2795
- Blue Sharks San Diego – $399
- White Sharks South Africa (day trip)- $146
- White Sharks South Africa (breaching & cage diving) -$237
- Sardine Run South Africa – $2370
- Blue Sharks South Africa – $276
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thisismysharklife.com
- Phone: (703) 416 9248
- Email: thisismysharklife@gmail.com
- Instagram: @sharkphotography_lalosaidy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisismysharklife
- Twitter: @ThisIsMySharkLf
Image Credit:
Harry Stone
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