Times of the Islands Spring 2019

Grand Slam Times Winter 2018_Layout 1 11/14/18 8:36 PM Page 1
their fear to love, respect and a desire to protect them.
I began studying sharks, reading anything I could find,
and educated myself on their habits and behaviors. This
transitioned me from being deathly afraid to craving close
encounters with them. Our oceans and reefs need sharks
to keep the eco-system balanced. The only way to protect
sharks is to help people understand them, and the best
way to do that is to get “up close and personal” in their
natural environment.
I had followed SDM Adventures (Shark Diver
Magazine) for years on social media. I was constantly in
awe of their ability to safely share close-up space with
massive tiger sharks, hammerheads and bull sharks—all
of which are touted as top apex predators. I became very
familiar with three of the regular sharks that appeared on
these shark dives and was intrigued with the relationships
Eli Martinez, owner of SDM Adventures, had seemed to
build with these big girls. Emma and Hook (both tiger
sharks) and Patches, the great hammerhead, are celebrities
in their own right and have become ambassadors for
protecting their species.
A little history on SDM Adventures and Eli Martinez
may shed some light on how exposure to animals we fear
leads to curiosity and learning, which then leads to understanding
and the desire to protect them.
Eli grew up in Texas surrounded by wildlife, always
playing with toads and lizards. He consumed as many
books about animals as he could find, which fed his passion
to learn more. As a child he wanted to grow up and
become a wildlife vet in Africa. His desire to help animals
burns even deeper as an adult. On his first ocean dive
he saw a shark. This both frightened and excited him
because he thought it was going to attack him, and when
it didn’t, it opened up Eli’s mind and pushed him to learn
more about them. His love affair with sharks began.
There seemed to be a magazine dedicated to every
other recreation and sport out there, but there was nothing
about diving with sharks, so in 2002 the concept for
Shark Diver Magazine (SDM) was born and in March 2003
the first issue was published.
The goal of Eli and SDM Adventures is to destroy the
“predator” myths about sharks and bring awareness to
their necessary role in the eco-system and the importance
of protecting them. In his own words, he is the “voice of
the voiceless” for these beautiful and intelligent animals.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of people have changed
their perceptions of sharks after having the opportunity
to dive and interact with these amazing predators, as well
as attending speaking engagements by Eli and his team
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Times of the Islands Spring 2019 27