For day three of The Superyacht Forum, we have invited a panel of the superyacht industry's most prolific influencers to discuss the perception of yachting. The panel titled 'Influencing the superyacht industry' will be taking place on the 16th November, at 14:30 local time.

For this dynamic panel, we would like to do things a bit differently by having all the speakers attend virtually. So, not only will this be broadcasted to our delegates who are physically attending the forum, but this will also be recorded live on The Superyacht Group's social media channels. With the people involved, we believe that we have a great opportunity for a candid chat about the perception of the industry to go viral within the yachting community. The influencers on stage have a combined following of 1,093,700 people.

Our moderator for this panel will be Margarita Amam, Managing Director of IMS GmbH. Last year, Margarita was part of a panel that discussed the ‘next generation’ of both workers and owners and the need to attract engagement from a more diverse talent pool. We have ensured that everyone taking part in this panel has at one point in time been a crewmember on board superyachts.

Speakers:

Jared Watney

 

 

 

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Youtube: 178k subs

Instagram: 35.7k followers

Jared has over 21.3 million views on his youtube channel, 176k subscribers, and can’t walk down the French Riviera without getting stopped by crew members telling him he is the reason that they are in yachting. His business Ocean Air Media has produced content for yachts such as the 72m Axioma and 62m CRN Rio, and companies such as BlueOcean Yachting, Sony, and Damen Yachting.

Tumi Mhlongo

 

 

 

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Seasons on Below Deck: 1

Instagram: 33.8k followers

Tumi Mhlongo rose to fame as the second stew in Below Deck Down Under season 1, Tumi has a Bachelor’s degree in Design and Visual Communications and uses her interior design skills to captivate her audience on her social media channels. Below Deck Down Under attracted over 8.5 million viewers in its first season alone.

Hannah Ferrier

 

 

 

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Seasons on Below Deck: 5

Instagram: 843k followers

​​Hannah Ferrier achieved fame as one of the crew members featured in Below Deck Mediterranean. After her five-season stint with the show, Hannah became the CEO of Ocean International Training Academy. Although she admits having over 769,000 Instagram followers is ‘a bit weird’, Hannah is using her presence and influence on social media to educate her audience on the true nature of both Reality TV and working in the superyacht industry.

Melanie White

 

 

 

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Books published: 1

Instagram: 3.2k followers

Melanie White, a former chef and stewardess, has released a book titled ‘Behind Ocean Lines’ that reveals some of the darker experiences she faced while working on superyachts. White revealed that her prime motivation for writing the book was to put seafarers' mental well-being under the spotlight while also acting as a catalyst for further conversation around sensitive topics within yachting.

Tristan Mortlock

 

 

 

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Instagram followers: 20.2k

YouTube: 191k Subs

Captain Tristan Mortlock uses his platform to showcase his life and duties in the SuperYacht world. His vlog includes all aspects of running a Superyacht, Shipyards, crew, multiple destinations, charters, sales, yacht tours, ship handling and everyday life for Superyacht crew. The channel also dives into accident reports and live Q&A's.

Gemma Hulbert

 

 

 

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Instagram followers: 16k

Gemma, the founder of ‘The Yacht Stew’ has over 10 years of experience. She worked her way up from Junior Stew to Chief Stewardess and excelled in all other roles in between. What started out as a platform for Interior Crew to connect and share has evolved into a vibrant, progressive Training Academy. As TYS has grown, Gemma has built a team that seeks to educate and coach whilst still keeping the community at the heart of TYS. 

Whether stakeholders of yachting like it or not, there is no denying that influencers, YouTubers, and reality TV stars are the main people showcasing the superyacht industry to the rest of the world. There are now a lot of young people entering the superyacht industry because of influencers and content creators, so how do they cope with that responsibility? Are they showcasing the reality of what it’s like to work on board or is it all glitz and glamour? Can these people come together to discuss how their platforms can be used to change the general perception of yachting?

The industry is also always referred to as being in a ‘bubble’, and at the very least, these influencers are bringing yachting into the real world. The audience can ask questions to the panel about growing their profiles on digital platforms and appealing to the next generation of young people. Perhaps the former crewmembers can teach the top shipyards a thing or two about attracting new audiences and creating raw and honest content for the next generation. 

The program outline is now live and can be viewed here. There is a dynamic group of industry leaders and outsider thought leaders from the automotive and technology sectors, sustainable development and Silicone Valley to come, with further announcements in the coming days. 

The Superyacht Forum in Amsterdam represents the flagship event in our 365-day mission to inspire, create, discuss and share content with everyone in The Superyacht Group Community.  Be sure to join us at The Rai once again for The Superyacht Forum 2022. Please click here for membership registration, renewal and purchase. 

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