Interview with Renee Taylor – The Salt Sisters
Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui // Be strong, be brave, be steadfast
Join Shrek as he chats with Renee Taylor, speech therapist, business owner, lover of the sea and co-founder of the Salt Sisters, an initiative that connects women to the ocean, themselves, and to each other through bespoke Wāhine Weekends and Salt Sessions. Above all else she is a lover of the natural world and a frothing speara to say the least! Come have a listen as they chat about Salt Sisters and what they do, how you can join, what her journey in spearfishing has been and what it means to her, they also have a good time speaking about many things in New Zealand! Have a listen and let us know what you think!
Important Times:
- 03:10 Welcome
- 03:30 How did your speech therapy start?
- 05:39 Desire to get into the natural world, scuba diving
- 06:30 Getting a free “apprenticeship”
- 08:00 Getting into freediving with the Auckland freediving club
- 09:00 Freediving connected you to the ocean
- 09:34 Spearfishing is barbaric
- 10:58 Frothing on spearing and how SALT Sisters started
- 12:00 The healing power of freediving
- 13:50 Respect and Fear for the ocean
- 14:51 What problems did you encounter when you started freediving?
- 17:00 Are the numbers important?
- 17:58 Spearfishing competitions and how they’ve changed
- 20:01 What hunting and equipment challenges have you faced?
- 22:08 Wetsuits for women
- 25:54 Business opportunity
- 28:25 You’re passionate about your message, how do you get it across?
- 31:45 Where are your origins?
- 32:58 Wahine Divers
- 34:54 Tell me about SALT Sisters and the events you run
- 37:17 Meeting her business partner Amber
- 37:48 How’s Covid changed things?
- 38:20 What events have you run so far?
- 40:46 Learning the freediving before the spearing
- 41:29 Freediving ambitions and courses
- 43:08 SALT Intro pool sessions
- 43:27 Where can people find you? (See link below)
- 44:03 What are you busy learning now?
- 45:02 Finding less common, more sustainable fish
- 46:57 Getting scientists and marine biologists involved
- 47:30 Rewilding weekend
- 48:27 Sage advice
- 48:42 How are you cooking Jack Mackeral and Koheru?
- 49:53 Eat What You Kill
- 50:46 99 Spearo recipes
- 51:06 Where do you get your cooking inspiration?
- 52:06 New Zealand fisheries management
- 53:16 Funny stories
- 57:06 What’s in your equipment bag?
- 58:28 Vava’u trip in Tonga
- 58:54 Whales
- 63:42 Another funny story
- 64:43 Spearo Q&A
- Who is your most influential spearo or speara?
- Bucket list fish?
- Favourite dive buddy?
- Describe your spearfishing experience in one sentence
- 67:27 Contact details
- 68:03 Final thoughts and outro
Listen in and subscribe on iOS or Android https://link.chtbl.com/Download_This_Episode
Important Links
- Salt Sisters Website
- Salt Sisters on Instagram
- Renee on Instagram
- Amber Jones on Instagram
- Eat What You Kill
- New Zealand Fishing News on Instagram
- Noob Spearo Facebook Community
- Noob Spearo Instagram
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:)
- 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 $
- Noob Spearo MAD GEAR | ‘Spearo Dad’ | ‘Girls with Gills’ | ‘Jobfish Tribute’
- 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
