'Our Epic Ocean' Founder Shares His Journey

LAGUNA BEACH, CA—If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life, they say. Local Laguna Beach paddleboarder and photographer Rich German has turned that into a reality, first with a book and now with a non-profit to help protect our oceans.

In 2015, Laguna Beach resident Rich German videoed a pod of orcas off Laguna Beach, he says. That is when he began focusing on making his hobby his life's work. During that encounter, German maneuvered his paddleboard among the pod of five orcas and the small group of whale-watchers that gathered to see them. The serenity of the moment is palpable, with only the sound of sea birds and splashes as the leviathans briefly breach. At one point, the black and white beauty dives below his board, then spouts immediately beyond. It is no wonder that German has devoted the next five years toward photographing the pacific's gentle giants.

Years after that experience, German still sets out daily on his paddleboard. By his assessment, he's spent over 9,000 hours on the ocean, covered about 25,000 miles—the same as the circumference of the planet, he says. He photographs marine mammals from his paddleboard and has compiled those pictures into a book.

At first, it was his exercise, but soon it became almost spiritual. German says that the ocean is his church, temple, and sanctuary. "She demands respect and offers love without condition," he says. He is returning that love with his new podcast and seven-day challenge to learn more and do more to protect the waters.

Our Epic Ocean, German's non-profit podcast, features people who are doing the work to protect the ocean and the animals who call it home, and amazing people committed to saving the planet.

He invites all to take an Epic Ocean Challenge, free, fun, and simple toward creating a healthier planet. Their mission?

To restore, protect, and sustain the ocean and the sacred life within it.

"It's not too late, but we no longer have the luxury of time," he says. "We need to take action, and we need to do it together."

Learn more at www.ourepicocean.com/challenge.