Shark Eyes ambassadors

Shanan was born in Esperance, Western Australia in 1978, into a family of keen surfers. He started surfing, fishing and spearfishing at six. At seventeen he began working the water as an abalone diver and deckhand, and he still dives commercially for specimen shells today.

His abalone career ended in 2013 after a run of events in Western Australian waters left him with post traumatic stress disorder and severe anxiety about the ocean. He struggled to get back in the water for a year.

In October 2013, diving 180km east of Esperance, Shanan and two colleagues gave life saving first aid to fellow abalone diver Greg Pickering after a white shark attack, four hours from town, then got him to hospital. That same year he lost someone he loved to a fatal attack at Gracetown, and had several unwanted encounters of his own while spearfishing and surfing.

Shanan accepts that for most people a shark attack is not something to lose sleep over. For him, and for the many others who work and play in the water every day, the threat is a very real thing. That is why Shark Eyes exists.

His honours include the WSL Tube of the Year at the 2017 Big Wave Awards, Billabong Big Wave Awards finalist in 2017, an Oakley Big Wave Award nomination and finalist placing, three wins at the Esperance Deep Sea Angling competition, and work as a One Ocean International Trainer and luxury fishing charter skipper.

Greg started spearfishing and freediving in 1970 and has fished commercially for abalone across South Australia and Western Australia for more than 35 years. He has had over twenty encounters with great white sharks and has survived two attacks.

The first came in 2004 while spearfishing off Cervantes, a bronze whaler bite to the lower leg. He was back in the water three months later.

The second came while abalone diving 160km east of Esperance. Bitten around the head and shoulder, he made the surface from fifteen metres and was helped into a boat by Callan Turner. Andrew Rowe and Shark Eyes founder Shanan Worrall were nearby and came across to assist. They met an ambulance on a remote dirt road 110km from Esperance, reached Esperance hospital, then flew to Perth with the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Greg spent ten hours in surgery at Royal Perth. A 19mm tooth fragment was removed from his right eye and later identified as coming from the rear of a white shark jaw.

He is a former Australian Spearfishing Champion, won the South Australian titles in 1978 and the South African title in 1994, holds three world spearfishing records for blue water gamefish, and has competed at two World Spearfishing Championships.

As a commercial diver and underwater camera operator I have spent my whole career exploring remote and risky corners of the ocean. I have seen first hand the way sharks instinctively pursue the element of surprise and how eye contact can take it away and shift behaviour. It is this experience that gives me trust that Shark Eyes keeps me safer in the water. It is also super low cost and I can use it diving, surfing or swimming with no hassle.

Working as a natural history filmmaker I have had a lot of experience filming and interacting with various shark species. Tigers, bulls, whites and others. I have seen the power of eye contact with sharks and many other marine species too. It is one of the simplest tools available to us to protect our space in the water.

When you look at great whites they tend to keep their distance and approach from different angles, always trying to approach you from the blind side. This is pretty common knowledge amongst divers who have spent a heap of time in the ocean and with different animals.

When out filming, we consciously use eye contact, or a lack of, to give the shark confidence to get closer. By cautiously turning away and keeping an eye on the shark out of the corner of your mask, you can get the shark to come in closer before turning at the critical moment to get the shot.

Raised in Esperance, Western Australia, Kristen has spent years travelling Australia and the world surfing, diving and fishing. Her love of the ocean was the driving force behind her career in marine science.

Dr Perks is a research scientist specialising in fish endocrinology. She completed her studies at the National Centre for Marine Conservation and Resource Sustainability at the University of Tasmania. She has worked in the fish industry for over ten years, conducting research and working with both government and commercial fisheries.

Russell Ord, known as Ordy, is a celebrated international photographer with a unique connection to the ocean. From Margaret River in Western Australia, he has earned worldwide recognition for his big wave photography, capturing the organic and often bewitching beauty of the sea in motion.

Venturing up to 15km offshore in the Southern Ocean and swimming into some of the biggest waves on the planet, Russell shoots distinctive images from inside the wave impact zones. Tens of surfing magazine covers and a slew of international awards, including the Oakley Big Wave Award, the International Loupe Award and IPA 2016 Professional Sports Photographer of the Year, are a testament to the quality and originality of his work.

A fireman by trade, Russell came to photography fifteen years ago after injuring his knee surfing. Rather than sit on the couch he picked up a camera and spent his days at the beach shooting friends in the waves. His work now extends into landscape, lifestyle and portraiture, with clients including Aston Martin, Tourism Western Australia, Quiksilver, ESPN, Red Bull and Billabong. He also shot the poster image for the 2013 Australian film Drift.

Julian is a commercial boat skipper and career diver whose work spans free diving for abalone in New Zealand, air diving for abalone in South Australia, ADAS Level 3 construction diving in both countries, beche de mer diving in Queensland and tuna harvest diving at Port Lincoln. He is a Diver Medical Technician and a seven times New Zealand spearfishing champion.

Over the years Julian has had several encounters that read like a proof of the Shark Eyes idea. The first was in New Zealand. He was lying on the bottom spearfishing, had not made a kill, and turned to look over his shoulder to find a large bronze whaler about two metres behind him. The moment they made eye contact the shark turned and fled at high speed, as if it got a fright.

The same thing has happened several times with bull sharks around Queensland, and once with a white shark near Port Lincoln. Each of those encounters happened with no blood in the water. As Julian points out, things are usually very different when sharks are feeding.

Marc Payne has spent a lifetime underwater in some of the most shark rich waters in the world, off the south coast of Australia. He has survived thirteen unprovoked interactions with great white sharks while abalone diving.

He has been involved in white shark research for the last decade, has made countless observations of sharks in the wild, and is a strong advocate for a non invasive approach to white shark research that limits human impact on shark behaviour.

With a deep passion for the ocean, sharks and exploration, Cristiana Damiano is an oceanographer and marine scientist. She is also a naturalist, producer, presenter and photographer, currently working for National Geographic Expeditions and as scientific adviser on the underwater documentary Eye Under the Sea.

An experienced dive instructor and technical diver, her knowledge spans coral reef ecology, shark research and conservation, and expeditions to remote locations, with her work focused on advocating for marine habitat and ocean protection.

Cristiana presented and helped produce Shark Invasion for the National Geographic series Hunter and Hunted. Her scientific knowledge of shark biology, the threats sharks face and their need for conservation is an asset to the Shark Eyes team.

Justin grew up on the east coast of Australia at Emerald Beach, started surfing at five and has been in the water ever since. He had early success as a junior shortboard surfer on the Billabong junior series, then competed in WQS events around Australia and the world.

He has always loved big waves. His first trip to Hawaii came in 1999, where his second day on the rock landed him out at twenty foot Waimea Bay. He has returned every year since, often twice a year, and has taken on Peahi at Jaws on Maui. He came to Western Australia with Jamie Mitchell to tackle Cow Bombie on what some called the biggest swell to hit the state in decades.

Cow Bombie is an offshore reef and a known spot for big sharks, which is why Justin keeps Shark Eyes on his boards. His results include Australian SUP Surfing Champion in 2012, second at the 2012 ISA SUP Surfing titles in Peru, third on the Stand Up World Tour in 2015, 2015 Rotto Classic champion, and winner of the Oakley Biggest Wave of the Year Australia for 2015 and 2016.