Our
Mission
Why Spearfishing?
Spearfishing is arguably the most sustainable way to fish our world's oceans. You are seeing the exact fish that you are about to take home to the dinner table, making sure it is actually the species that you are targeting and that is of legal and sustainable size. There is no bycatch. Our mission at Bellows Spear is to promote sustaining our sea's species and keeping our world healthy and happy while teaching people about the bounty of fresh food that lies within our beloved oceans.
About Us
Our Founder's
Story
My very first dive in California was in the summer of 2021. My friend asked me to tag along while he went spearfishing in Palos Verdes just to see if I would enjoy the sight seeing aspects of it and experiencing nature in a new way. Little did I know I would completely fall in love with it all.
I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and lived there up until 2020. As you can imagine, there wasn't much free diving or spearfishing going on there so I didn't even have a clue as to what the sport was. While in Chicago, I was attending school and going through the motions of trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, all while picking up some real bad habits with drugs and alcohol. In 2020, I decided I couldn't live the way I was living anymore and made the move alone across the country to Los Angeles. Once in California, I got sober and started to pick up the pieces of my hectic life. Life started to have a way better outlook. I fell in love with the beauty of southern California from the mountains to the ocean and I was trying my best to take it all in. One thing I did miss however was the unexpectedness of my life in Chicago and constant adrenaline rushes. I was determined the find that same exhilarating feeling in sobriety. Then came the day that my best friend brought me to Palos Verdes and I saw a whole new world of excitement laid out before my eyes all taking place underwater. Some time passed and that friend moved down to San Diego to become a Navy SEAL and he gave me his speargun. Within the same week he moved I was purchasing my first wetsuit, fins and a weight belt. I have been diving Southern California ever since, pushing myself to get better at my new found passion with every dive.
Spearfishing has given me the adrenaline rush I was looking for and has also provided me serenity and peace because the only thing you can really think about while you're holding your breath underwater is to take things slow and enjoy the absolutely beautiful world around you. I made the decision in 2023 that I want to share my passion for spearfishing and freediving with as many people as possible. It has changed my view of this world and our oceans immensely. We have a sustainable and easily accessible bounty of seafood and adventure at our fingertips here in California and in many other places around the world as well. My goal is to spread that awareness to everyone and teach like-minded individuals how to get involved!