Interview with Will Brunker
Today’s interview is with Will Brunker of Aquagat! An innovator in the speargun world, Will has developed several unique and bespoke designs and components for spearguns! Colourful, tough and functional! He gave up his day job to go into making spearguns and components full time and has been making it work! We don’t talk much about his spearfishing journey but we sure do geek out about spearguns, from designing them to making custom and unique parts and everything in between. Today’s episode is a great one for anyone interested in making their own parts or gear. Be sure to check out Aquagat.com for all the great gear he makes!
Important times:
- 00:13 Intro
- 03:30 How to write a guest recommendation! Welcome Will!
- 06:00 You have made a lot of innovation with different materials
- 07:30 How did you start building spearguns and how do you do it?
- 09:30 Aquagat is a great name!
- 12:05 How long have you been doing this?
- 16:15 How do you manage the balance between work, family and spearfishing?
- 18:55 What does your spearfishing look like at the moment?
- 22:25 Mentorship mentality
- 24:45 Early lessons and experiences in the water
- 26:45 Dry training
- 28:05 Speargun accuracy and pool testing
- 31:15 How do you aim?
- 32:55 How long should it take to get used to a new speargun?
- 36:50 Taking your ego out of it
- 39:40 Let’s talk about your spearguns and components
- 46:00 Keeping your intellectual property safe and R&D
- 51:51 Buying cheap gear – the poor man pays twice!
- 54:30 Tell us about your reels, how many designs did you go through until it worked?
- 59:35 Do you get many Noob Spearos or mostly experienced ones?
- 01:01:50 “Where form meets function”
- 01:05:45 Who do you get your speargun inspiration from?
- 01:07:15 Tell us about your inverted speargun
- 01:12:30 How hard are they to load?
- 01:14:00 D Revolution
- 01:18:10 How to ballast your speargun
- 01:21:00 Changing the setup too soon
- 01:24:15 Should spearos have different spearguns?
- 01:27:25 Bluewater gun rental
- 01:29:10 Consistency in rubber bands
- 01:31:25 14mm bands vs thicker ones
- 01:35:30 Tell us some of your funny stories!
- 01:41:25 How often are you diving and what all is in your dive bag?
- 01:42:23 Innegra DiveR fins, Ocra footpockets, in-house prototype wetsuit 3.5mm and 5mm. Magnesium supplement and hydration.
- 01:47:15 Advice for new spearfishing creators
- 01:50:10 Spearo Q&A
- 01:52:25 Thank you for being on the show Will!
Listen in and subscribe on iOS or Android https://link.chtbl.com/Download_This_Episode
Important Links
Noob Spearo Partners and Discount Codes
- Adreno Spearfishing – Buy your spearfishing equipment here. Use the code NOOBSPEARO save $20 on every purchase over $200 at checkout – Flat shipping rate, especially in AUS!
- Neptonics Spearfishing and Freediving – Use the code NOOB10 to save 10% off anything store-wide. Free Shipping on USA orders over $99
- KillShot Spearguns | Simple, Effective, Dependable Wooden Spearguns. Use the Code NOOB to save $30 on any speargun:)
- Adam Sterns FreedivingFamily.com use the code SPEARO to get 20% off any course and the code NOOBSPEARO to get 40% off any and all courses!
- Penetrator Fins Use the code NOOBSPEARO to save $25 on the full Penetrator Spearfishing Fin Range here.
- Immersion Online freediving classes | 28-day Freediving Transformation (CODE: NOOB28 for 15% off) | Equalization Masterclass – Roadmap to Frenzel | Free Courses | Freediving Safety Course | How to Take a 25-30% Bigger Breath!
- How To Freedive | The 5 minute Freediver | Break the 10 Meter Barrier – Use the code NOOBSPEARO to save $
- Old Man Blue | Wickedly tough and well thought out gear! Check out their Lobster Bag HERE
- Noob Spearo MAD GEAR | ‘Spearo Dad’ | ‘Girls with Gills’ | ‘Jobfish Tribute’
- The Best Place to Find Fishing Buddies and Fishing Trips | Fishing Trips (fishingtripsapp.com)
- Spearing Magazine Subscribe to the best spearfishing magazine in the world. International subscription available!
- Audible.com Get a free audiobook along with a 30-day trial here. Listen to 99 Tips to Get Better at Spearfishing
Related posts:
NSP:165 Spot Burning | Fin and Forage's Andrew Miller and Charlie Robinton
NSP:196 Australia East Coast Part 2 | Intelligent Whales, Lobster Boys & Laughter
NSP:220 The Pressure Project - 'How to teach more relaxed students' masterclass | Adam Sellars
NSP:203 Brisbane Spearfishing | Gear, Training & Community | Michael Heitzmann & Ben Eckert | Brisba...
