The Lifeguard Project

WANT TO SEE JUSTIN SEMPSROTT LIVE? Sign up for The Lifeguard Project’s first training event, The RESPONDER ROUND-UP: https://thelifeguardproject.org/the-responder-roundup This week we are back with Part 2 of our discussion with Dr. Justin Sempsrott, an emergency medical physician and drowning specialist who spent the last two decades advancing drowning resuscitation. In 2006, he co-founded Lifegua...

WANT TO SEE JUSTIN SEMPSROTT LIVE? Sign up for The Lifeguard Project’s first training event, The RESPONDER ROUND-UP: https://thelifeguardproject.org/the-responder-roundup These episodes are a must listen for anyone curious about all things drowning. From professionals to public. Dr. Justin Sempsrott is an emergency medicine physician and drowning specialist who’s spent the last two decades advanci...

Don Lester is a veteran swift water and technical rescue professional with extensive field experience across firefighting, emergency medical response, and advanced rescue instruction. Over the course of his career, Don logged more than 150 days per season on the water and served as both a Swift Water Rescue instructor and a Rescue 3 International instructor trainer. Known for his thoughtful and di...

Lifeguard Legend Ed Vodrazka (Eddie V) recites the inspirational epilogue from his book - Stories from Sea Level. This book is a hand-picked assemblage of truly exceptional ocean-related events which occurred within the 50-year span between 1969 and 2019. The lifeguards featured in these stories work for various agencies between San Diego and the Sonoma Coast. Of note, the lifeguards themselves pr...

Welcome to a very special episode on the Lifeguard Project podcast. Today, we get to sit down with Greg Bonann, the creator and producer of Baywatch. At its peak, Baywatch became the most-watched television show in the world, airing in over 140 countries and reaching more than a billion viewers each week. Today, Greg shares his journey from his early start as a kid facing challenges to his first r...

Today I interview Steve Long. Steve was a California State Parks lifeguard, and maybe the only lifeguard who never passed lifeguard training yet was chosen by leadership to Excel and fast track into leadership roles throughout his career. Steve worked in the golden age of lifeguarding in California and ended up as a supervising peace officer for California State Parks in the San Clemente area. Ste...

This Rescue Testimonial from Emily Eisenberg explains how she got into trouble and finally rescued from a rip current in Manhattan Beach in Los Angeles County on September 20th, 2020. Emily has a swimming background and very knowledgable about contacting lifeguards and approaching the beach safely. This day when there was less staffing, she found herself taking a dip and getting caught in a rip cu...

Red Isn't Armor is an article by Podcast host Drasko Bogdanovic published in Wilderness Medicine Magazine regarding the misunderstood nature of lifeguarding, mental health, and drowning. You can find the article online to reference some of the photos included. https://wms.org/magazine/magazine/1574/Red-Isn-t-Armor/default.aspx Drasko Bogdanovic is a California State Parks Ocean Lifeguard, Flig...

Welcome to this episode of the Lifeguard Project Podcast, where I interview Newport Beach, lifeguard John Carpenter. John started as a YAP or Youth Employment Program in 1969 and has served with the Newport Beach Lifeguard Service for 50 years, from 1970 to 2020. During his time, he had certain accolades like training instructor for the Rookie Training Academy Lifeguard of the Year in 1985. Cadet...

Welcome to this episode of The Lifeguard Project Podcast, where today I interview Mike Martino. Mike is a California State Parks lifeguard who started as a seasonal and throughout his career, worked his way up all the way to the aquatic specialist or chief lifeguard of California State Parks. Not only is he a lifeguard for life, but he also has become quite a lifeguard historian and represent some...

Welcome to this episode of the Lifeguard Project Podcast, where I interviewed David Rodriguez. David is one of the early founders of Watchtower, a digital command center for Lifeguards. Watchtower is a mobile platform that's tailored to every agency's needs as far as rescue's, data, end of your reports, and a lot of other techy kind of stuff. We won't get into the details here. I&#...

Kalia Chalom is a 2nd year San Diego City Lifeguard. She submitted this essay to The Lifeguard Project and I encouraged her to record her essay "More Than a Summer Job" because it is so powerful. It encapsulates an inspirational take on the lifeguard culture and simplifies the lifeguard condition. Listen along as she reads her very own words which tread softly but strike deep chords about...

Spencer Pirdy grew up in Newport Beach, CA and was a Newport Beach lifeguard. Spencer met Ben Carlson working with the Newport Beach Lifeguards and shares how he became one of his early influences around lifeguarding, along with witnessing his older brother Travis Pirdy making rescues. On top of being a professional surfer and just an all-around good guy, Spencer sits on the board of the Ben Carls...

Welcome to this episode of The Lifeguard Project Podcast, where today we interview Dr. Andrew Schmidt. Dr. Schmidt started as a junior lifeguard and progressed through the professional lifeguard ranks at Jacksonville Beach, Florida. He currently serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine Jacksonville. He's a medical...

Debbie was one of the first women to step into a lifeguard tower along the Camp Pendleton coast in 1978 and became the first female permanent Peace Officer Lifeguard with California State Parks. Debbie has served as a leader, a mentor, an international lifeguard, and a training instructor. But lifeguarding wasn't just a job for her, Debbie's husband and two kids also followed in her footst...

This mini session provides a brief introduction to the California Water Safety Strategy and focuses on a panel discussion from the CA Water Safety Summit in 2025 about the importance of media in transferring ideas of public safety and drowning prevention. We are all responsible in elevating the standard of lifeguard and safety messaging as we share media and raise the bar in how we transfer ideas...

Zoe Chait is a California State Parks Lifeguard working in Half Moon Bay, CA. Zoe started as a junior lifeguard and has progressed to lifeguarding professionally along with traveling the world chasing waves and competing. At 18 years old and just a few years of Lifeguard experience under her belt she’s able to offer a very unique perspective on life. Zoe has faced many unique challenges working in...

Welcome to the first "Expression Session" a Lifeguard Project mini podcast "session" designed for bite sized lifeguard topics and interesting information to fit into your day. We will be featuring all sorts of lifeguard topics and ideas as well as micro-learnings, and much more! Have an idea? Reach out! Topic: Tips on applying for The Ben Carlson Scholarship. This scholarship is fo...

Ed Vodrazka (Eddie V) is a "lifeguard for life" with an extraordinary 47-year career. Born to immigrant parents in Canada, he became an ocean lifeguard in 1976 and went on to make history as the first paid foreign lifeguard in New Zealand in 1979. Ed’s career spans iconic roles, from California State Lifeguard to a permanent Peace Officer Lifeguard at San Diego’s coast, to working with LA...

Alex began his lifeguarding career after playing water polo at the University of the Pacific. Inspired by his brother, a California Parks lifeguard in Santa Cruz, Alex started working as a lifeguard in Santa Cruz in 2013. He quickly became immersed in the ocean community as a lifeguard, surfer, and body surfer, eventually rising to a supervisor role. In March 2017, Alex transferred to North County...

Chief Scott Haberle serves as the Fire Chief for the City of Huntington Beach and has a strong track record of effective citywide collaboration resulting in enhanced emergency service delivery and leadership development. His 32-year fire service career has given him a wide variety of experience. Today, Chief Haberle discusses his take on leadership throughout EMS, Fire, and how it all fits into li...

This episode recounts a firsthand point of view from David Villareal, who was rescued by the Newport Beach Lifeguard's after being sucked out by a strong rip current. The rescue happened on July 6, 2024, the 10 year anniversary of the death of Ben Carlson, a Newport Beach Lifeguard who died in the line of duty while making a rescue. July 6, 2024 brought a heat wave with large swell and massive...

This conversation represents over 100 years of lifeguarding experience in a single room discussing virtually every aspect of lifeguarding. Mike Silvestri (Mestri) and Mike Brousard (Bruiser) are career lifeguards who began lifeguarding in California in the 1970's. They have been intimately involved in the profession and bring a whole new meaning to what it means to be "Lifeguards for Life&...

This conversation represents over 100 years of lifeguarding experience in a single room discussing virtually every aspect of lifeguarding. Mike Silvestri (Mestri) and Mike Brousard (Bruiser) are career lifeguards who began lifeguarding in California in the 1970's. They have been intimately involved in the profession and bring a whole new meaning to what it means to be "Lifeguards for Life&...

"Hey Lifeguard, are there sharks out there?!" Dr. Chris Lowe, a distinguished figure in marine biology and the Director of the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach. He brings over 35 years of expertise in studying sharks, rays, and bony fishes, focusing on their behavior, physiology, and ecology. For the past 15 years, he and his students have delved into the world of juven...