Staff Bios

Captain Juan Oliphant - Staff Divemaster

I was born Tijuana, Mexico on December 12, 1975 in a Catholic hospital. Since I was the first male born on that day, Saint's Day, I was named after Juan Domingo. I moved to the North Shore of Hawaii when I was two and was introduced to the water through swimming and surfing. My passion for ocean activities started at this early age and by 13, I had started scuba diving with friends. By 14, I became a certified scuba diver. At this age, I continued my diving education until I was a certified rescue diver. However, I lost interest in diving by myself when my friends moved back to the mainland. I, eventually, turned my energy completely towards surfing. I graduated from Kahuku High School in 1992 and then pursued a degree in Fine Arts at BYU, Hawaii. I obtained a job, as a waiter, at Haleiwa Joe's to pay for college. One month after graduating from BYU, I broke my back in a rock climbing accident that changed my career path. After a four-month recovery, I ran into Ken and got an opportunity to do a turtle rescue with him and the dive shop. Later, he asked me to work as a salesperson in the shop. I received my captain's and dive master licenses while working at the shop. I also went on a Sea Shepherd campaign with Ken, traveling down through Central America and the Caribbean. I now live by the "Direct Action" policy and have helped to save many turtles. Working at Deep Ecology has given me a chance to give back to the ocean that is so important to me and whatever my destiny may be, I know I will always strive to keep the ocean clean.

 
   
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