The Mark Schulein Passion Project

Kanesa Duncan-Seraphin is world class. She has an unmatched record of 8 wins in the Molokai to Oahu women’s prone paddling world championships and 1x Catalina Classic winner. She has paddled and raced the Molokai channel many times on many craft. Put Kanesa in the ocean and she’s home… both in sport and in her professional world where she has her PhD in marine biology; so she is actually Dr. Kanes...

The island of Kauai continually breeds world class ocean athletes and Kristin Foster is at the top of the outrigger world. A multiple time outrigger World Champion, she has won the Molokai to Oahu solo one-man race twice, has been a part of the top women’s 9-man team for more than a decade, has won this same race in the two person relay event, and has a long, long list of paddling accomplishments...

Spencer Wadsworth and Stu Jeremias. Young guns, good buddies, and great watermen that have some impressive paddling accomplishments under their belts… including a recent World Record. No joke. Both of these guys grew up in and on the water; with full-on surf families. But the similarities in how they grew up in the water is super different. Spencer grew up at the Wedge and as a result, both he and...

Maddie Musselman Woepse has an incredible story; complete with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Through it all her passion, positivity, composure and resilience absolutely shines through. Truly amazing. Maddie’s path to becoming a three time Olympic athlete, a two time gold medalist, Olympic MVP and one of the most decorated athletes in women’s water polo. Her accomplishments are based...

Tim Burnham does a lot of things… and much of his life has been influenced by his decades of focusing his attention on one of the heaviest and most notorious waves on the planet. The Wedge. The Wedge is an iconic beast of a wave in Newport Beach, CA and when it’s big it is one of the heaviest, most dangerous… and most mesmerizing waves out there. Are there bigger waves? Yes. Are there more dangero...

M.C. Sungaila is a passion driven, highly acclaimed and award winning litigator whose advocacy, leadership and service to others have made her a well-regarded pillar of her community. And, her passion to serve goes well beyond her legal skill and experience and manifests itself outside of her daily work, in many ways for the greater good. M.C. shares many traits, the work ethic and mindset of ultr...

Adam Cleary is 3rd generation Newport Beach, California and thus his kids are 4th gen. There are very few families that can claim this. His heritage goes back 100 years in Newport; which was VERY different at that time. Remote, small, nominally populated, agricultural and fishing focused. It was NOT what it is today. Adam’s family has a long history of passions for, and careers associated with, th...

Gael Dutigny is… the most interesting man in the world. Raised in Paris to a father that was an arms dealer, a mother that always worked two jobs in the fitness world, and a grandfather that was a POW during WWII. If you listen closely you can hear the clear impact of his upbringing. He is incredibly well traveled and has lived in 5 countries and speaks three languages fluently. He also has three...

Joel Guy was raised on the North Shore of Kauai. Not only is this area stunning, with an incredibly rich history, but it also happens to produce some of the world’s best surf, and surfers. For these reasons and more, it has also become a major tourist destination. Joel tells the story of growing up there, becoming Andy Irons primary filmer, and traveling the world with Andy and a crew of world cla...

Dr. Tim Brown is a leading name, and an innovator, in the world of chiropractic sports medicine. With more than 40 years of experience working with and on some of the world’s most recognizable athletes, he has built an incredible reputation for his value on the sidelines, in-office and around the world. Tim is the go to for some of the biggest and most recognized athletes and brands out there. You...

Erin Tharp is an impressive young woman; and I found her to be cool, smart, well spoken and passionate about her pursuits. From USC undergrad to her masters at UC Irvine, and playing water polo at both universities; she is now pursuing her PHD in marine biology in Florida. Add in a NCAA championship win and becoming a yoga instructor on top of them all; she has accomplished a ton already, at only...

Jimelle Carlson is amazing. She is the co-founder and leader of Foundations Cognitive Schools; a physical and online school and a methodology that is focused on helping students and families that are navigating learning challenges. What it provides and how it does so is unlike anything that is currently available in the public school system. Foundations approach is to transform the brain, establis...

Dan Levine is a long standing industry leader with an incredible backstory that brought him from the East Coast to the West as part of the strategic plan that he created… when he was 11. From his days at The Gap under the iconic Mickey Drexler to REI, Hurley, RVCA, Skullcandy, Stance and other iconic brands in the surf and outdoor markets; he now operates the premier lifeguard outfitter brand, Ori...

Lauren Segal found her calling to help those impacted by social injustice, early on. Since a teen, her passion has been to help those in underserved and heavily impacted communities. I happen to have grown up with Lauren and have watched her along this path; always striving to make a difference on big and challenging issues impacting our world. Today she is the co-founder and Executive Director of...

Sara Schulting-Kranz is the epitome of the goal of Passion Project; to share stories of amazing people doing amazing things. Sara is that. After a life changing traumatic event a dozen years ago, she has made her way back to happiness and success, not through medication but by way of a lot of hard work, extensive learning; and through immersion in nature and adventure. And that too changed her wor...

Danielle Judd is the founder and passionate force behind Farmhouse Friends - “The farm that grows purpose.” Their mission is very clear: “To Save the Lives of Animals to Restore Purpose and Hope to Humanity.” Danielle’s story and all she’s accomplished is so impressive but her path to creating Farmhouse Friends (formerly Farmhouse Rescue) is nothing short of harrowing. As a result of what she was...

Yoki. Jeff Yokoyama. If you surf, have surfed over the last 45 years, or have ever worn any surf inspired clothing, you’re likely aware of Yoki. He’s a globally renowned designer, visionary brand builder, innovator, entrepreneur many times over, a forward thinker, a family man, a model, a master of the “California Cool” style, and one of the coolest, most stylish guys you’ll meet. All of which is...

Jay Wild and his wife Anik are world class, accomplished, multisport athletes with a passion for adventure, the outdoors, coaching, and doing really good things. They have used their impressive skills to build an incredible “waterman” community far from, and far above, the ocean on beautiful Lake Tahoe. You may not think of Lake Tahoe as a “waterman” destination… but because of them, it absolutely...

Jason Lavin is many things; a business founder and CEO, an entrepreneur (even though he refers to himself as a “risk mitigator,”) he is a mentor and coach, a podcast host and studio owner, an author, an acclaimed speaker, a sports aficionado, a non-profit leader, a dad and husband, and so much more. Meanwhile Jason is as humble as they come and he downplays all of these roles and accomplishments w...

Molly Kassouf is rad. A proud mom of three, an accomplished ultramarathoner, and a community builder within the trail running world. If you run trails or trail races in Southern California and beyond there’s a good chance you know Molly, or have run in an event that she organized. For the last decade Molly has led her Wednesday Night Run Crew (WNRC) and the Whoos In El Morro (WIEM) trail races; an...

Kai Bartlett is a multiple time world champion outrigger paddler, an elite boat builder, master craftsman and an Adventrepreneur. Kai started paddling late by today’s measure and quickly found his way to the very top by way of hard work and passion resulting in numerous World Championship wins; on canoes that he designed and built under his brand, Kai Wa’a. In 2023 Kai was inducted into the Hawaii...

Danny Ching is about as impressive as they come. Humble, cool and approachable while being an absolute monster when it comes to training and racing. If you paddle just about any craft you know his name because he is a multiple time world champion in outrigger and in stand up paddling; and many, many more accomplishments at the highest levels. All while inspiring and coaching scores of people, youn...

Terry Romine is a huge resource for people that beat up their bodies and break themselves down. Like me. As a well known sports chiropractor, Terry works with some of the top athletes and biggest sports brands in the world. While his practice is in Costa Mesa, CA he does extensive on-location work around the world with his athletes. He does this for events like the World Surf League and this thing...

Bud Hohl and Billy Whitford have been part of the Outrigger Paddling world since the 60’s; and they haven’t stopped. Bud is a walking encyclopedia of paddling history, trivia, names, dates and details with a long history of making canoes, paddles and everything else in the sport. These two continue to provide leadership, support, race organization, humor and history. Today they are dedicated to ga...