Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Rynne.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Patrick. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
As a PhD Student at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science, I started to realize that the scientific community needed to do a better job at communicating with the general public. The conventional methods of disseminating knowledge: technical papers, powerpoint presentations, posters etc…was geared more towards communicating to other specialists while public outreach was often boring, watered down and not terribly engaging. In 2011, I started Waterlust as an experiment to bring marine science topics to the public in creative ways. At first, we focused on video storytelling and photography and used social media to engage a global audience. Later, we realized that clothing offered a more impactful opportunity and created what we call “advocate apparel,” a philosophy that what you wear can act as a science communication tool and that by wearing it, you become a walking, talking advocate for the topic. The concept worked, and today Waterlust is a fast-growing international clothing brand focused on marine science research and education.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Early on the biggest challenges we faced were a lack of funding and balancing our academic commitments with growing the company. Our team was composed entirely of graduate students, so we had a lot of research responsibilities that we couldn’t neglect. We prioritized manageable growth and recognized early on that doing things too quickly led to mistakes. We traveled around the world a lot in the early years for our filmmaking and experienced all sorts of disasters. While in Iceland making a video about the impacts of eco-tourism there, our van filled with our entire team was blown off the road and our lead photographer broke her spine. That was a really difficult time for all of us, but we persevered and she made a complete recovery. She’s also now my wife 😉
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Waterlust story. Tell us more about the business.
That’s a big question! I think we’re most proud of our advocacy for science and the people that conduct it. Whether through our filmmaking work or our clothing line, we take great joy in showcasing the amazing work done by scientists around the world. As scientists ourselves, we also apply the same approach from the laboratory to how we run the business. Decisions must be based on data and experimentation, not opinion and intuition. So whether we’re analyzing the environmental impact of a manufacturing process or the biological accuracy of a print, we rely on the scientific method to make educated decisions.
Is there something we can do as a city to improve the outlook for businesses like yours?
The city of Miami influenced our brand a lot in the early days. The style and aesthetic present throughout our community, from minimalist typefaces to bright and vibrant colors is reflected throughout our brand. We feel like Miami is unique in its ability to inject bright and energetic style into everything it touches, and we feed off that. From an environmental conservation perspective, Miami has a fascinating dichotomy. On one hand, we have a thriving economy built around tourism and the service industry, while on the other we’re physically surrounded by nature on all sides. Unfortunately, it seems like many folks here prioritize the former at the expense of the latter. We think South Florida could do a much better job protecting and preserving its natural resources and that doing so would be for the best interests of our community. Sadly, like in many parts of the world, there seems to be a lot of environmental apathy and a lack of political will here. We find that very interesting and are constantly studying how to help nudge our city in a better direction. From hosting beach cleanups to participating in local politics, we think Miami is a great test bed for developing conservation strategies that can be used elsewhere around the world. It seems to be working and we’re very hopeful about the direction the city is headed.
Contact Info:
- Address: Waterlust
2600 SW 26th Street
Miami, FL, 33133 - Website: waterlust.com
- Email: hello@waterlust.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waterlust/
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/waterlust
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/waterlust
- Other: https://youtube.com/waterlust
Image Credit:
Whale shark photo is taken by scientist and photographer, Simon J Pierce, Remaining photos are taken by the Waterlust Team
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