Maria Millan and Isa Lassinaro, owners of OceanGalz, met in Hawaiʻi and quickly became friends as they learned to freedive together. “We were the first in the water and the last ones out,” Maria recalls. Their social media page started as a way to share diving videos and arrange beach cleanups; today, their online community has surpassed 420,000 followers.
Hawaiʻi served as the gateway to their international ocean exploration. Isa is currently in Sri Lanka, working alongside organizations to remediate pollution, while Maria is sailing through Fiji, documenting its vibrant reefs.
Through their mainstream platform, OceanGalz deliberately withholds specific locations to avoid overcrowding in spaces vital and sacred to local ecosystems. Instead, they use their reach to advocate for the conservation and protection of the ocean.
“We’re aware that one trash cleanup won’t change the world. But little, consistent actions slowly change the culture,” says Isa.
At the heart of each project and exploration is one simple goal: to teach people to love the ocean.
Learn more at OceanGalz.com | @OceanGalz.