Floating cageless in the open ocean with 20 sharks taught me something that 19 years of sobriety already knew: you don't have to face your fears alone.
I'm floating in the open ocean off the North Shore of Haleiwa, Oahu, holding onto a rope on the side of the boat. I'm excited. My breathing is deliberate. And somewhere below, a female tiger shark the size of a small car is circling, graceful and completely unbothered by my presence.
This is not a cage dive. There is no barrier between me and over a dozen sharks. Tiger sharks, Galapagos sharks, sandbar sharks, oceanic blacktips. Five or more species, 10 to 20 animals at a time, all moving through the water like they own it. Because they do.
And I am here because someone I trust waved me in.
The Guide Makes the Difference
Ocean Ramsey is a marine biologist, conservationist, and one of the most experienced shark divers on the planet. You might know her from her early days, when she became one of the first people ever captured on film freediving cageless with a great white shark. If you missed that, you've almost certainly heard of her from Shark Whisperer, the top Netflix Emmy-nominated documentary that put her work in front of millions of people around the world. Along with her partner Juan Oliphant, she founded One Ocean Diving and has maintained a 100% safety record while pioneering Hawaii's first non-caged commercial shark dives.
I'm grateful to call Ocean and Juan friends. I'm blessed to have crossed paths with them on a tiger shark dive in the Maldives years back. Since then, we've connected over coffee, laughed and taken selfies together, chatted about ocean conservation and beach cleanups, and they've been tremendously supportive of my work, including my book Love Unlocked. They've even helped connect me with clients through their network. The relationship is genuine, built on a shared respect for the ocean and a belief that these animals deserve better than the fear-based narrative they've been given. It speaks to the heart that they have for humans and people's well-being in general, as well as the sharks and wildlife that we all hope to coexist better with.
Here's how the dive works. Before you ever touch the water, you get a thorough briefing. No shiny jewelry. No reaching out to touch the sharks. Constant awareness of what's around you. Two shark safety divers are in the water, one for every six people or less. When you're not actively diving, you're holding the rope on the side of the boat so they can keep eyes on you. They call you off one at a time. They either assist you with the dive or let you watch from the boat. The point is this: at every single moment, someone is watching over you.
When Ocean waved me over and I descended into the blue, a chunky female tiger shark glided past, not interested in me in the slightest, and I was reminded of something. A huge reason why I sought out One Ocean Diving and diving with Ocean and Juan specifically was because I had a huge fear of sharks, like many of us, understandably so. If I'm being honest, my fear of sharks hasn't actually disappeared. It simply transformed. There's much more respect now than there probably ever was, and much more awareness as well as presence for these amazing animals.
These opportunities are some of the most majestic, incredible moments I've had across 50+ countries of travel and the decade-plus years I've been privileged to do this work.
I've written before about whether it's actually safe to dive with tiger sharks, from my first connection with Ocean and Juan in the Maldives. The short answer remains the same: with the right people, yes. Absolutely.
Doctors of the Ocean
Here's what most people don't understand about sharks. They are not the mindless predators that Hollywood taught you to fear. They are the doctors of the ocean. They eat the dead and the dying. They keep our marine ecosystem in balance. Without them, the whole system goes out of whack.
And we are destroying them. Over 100 million sharks are killed every year, primarily for shark fin soup. The fins are sliced off and the still-living shark is dumped back into the ocean to die. There's no real nutritional value in shark fin. If anything, the meat is high in mercury and potentially harmful to humans. It is brutal, unnecessary, and it's wiping out populations that the entire ocean depends on to survive.
How many sharks swim past human beings every single day without incident? That alone is a testament to what these animals actually are. The fear is understandable. It can be scary, of course. But really, it's about respect for the animals and understanding them at a deeper level.
The more people who get into the water with these creatures and see them for what they actually are, the better chance we have of protecting them. That's part of what One Ocean Diving is doing, and it's part of why I'm writing this.
The Parallel to Recovery
So does that mean I should just jump into the middle of the ocean by myself and swim with a bunch of sharks because I want to conquer my fear? Absolutely not.
And that right there is the lesson that connects this experience directly to everything I do in recovery work.
Whether it's sponsorship, sober coaching, clinical counseling, or therapy, the principle is the same. You don't have to face your fears alone. In fact, trying to do it alone is often what keeps people stuck, or worse, puts them in danger.
In shark diving, you have a guide who knows the water, knows the animals, gives you the right equipment, watches over you, and calls you in when it's safe. In recovery, you have a sponsor, a coach, a clinician, someone who has walked the path before you and can take you into unfamiliar territory with structure and support.
Whether that's alcohol, drugs, gambling, relationships, or anything else that's been running your life, at the end of the day, having a guide to walk you through areas that are uncharted, unfamiliar, or genuinely terrifying is how we find success. It's how we come out safe, with a real experience on the other side. That's what a sober companion trip is really about.
I've been sober 19 years. I've been to over 50 countries. And some of the most transformative experiences of my life, including this one, happened because I had the right people around me. Not because I was brave enough to go alone.
What This Experience Gave Me
When I think about what diving with Ocean and Juan really meant, it comes down to three things.
The deep, authentic connection that led me there in the first place, not just a simple Google search. Those moments that establish relationships built on trust, shared values, and real conversations over coffee. Chatting about wildlife and the love and care that we have for the world around us.
The safety and trust that comes from being guided by someone who knows what they're doing. Ocean has spent her entire life in the water with these animals. Her expertise, her calm, her 100% safety record. That's what allowed me to have this experience without recklessness.
And the ability to carry that message forward. From this, I'm able to encourage others to see sharks in a new light. I'm able to write about it, support One Ocean's mission, and connect the experience to the work I do every day helping people walk through their own fears in recovery.
That's the cycle. Connection leads to trust. Trust leads to transformation. Transformation leads to impact.
Whether you're deep at sea looking down at a tiger shark or standing at the edge of your own life trying to figure out how to take the next step, the question is the same: who do you trust enough to guide you through?
If identity and self-acceptance are part of your journey, my book Love Unlocked explores that work in depth. More at loveunlocked.com.
Curious about sober companion trips or 1:1 clinical coaching?
Reach out to me to learn more. The first conversation is always free. Let's see if we're a match and how I can help you experience the best moments of your life. Learn more at Nomadic Addictt or email me directly. Explore my full range of work at zacspowart.com.