| Mike
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Michael
Rutzen (1970) is well known as one of the few people in the world
who free dives with great white sharks. He took up working as
cage diving operator in 1994, after a career as a local fisherman.
He started free diving with white sharks in 1998.
Michael Rutzen has been a member of the White Shark Cage Diving
foundation since its inception. During this time he was at the
forefront of developing and pioneering techniques that are now
the backbone of the industry. With Shark Diving Unlimited he guided
several world-renowned still photographers and film crews, and
started a series of internationally acclaimed documentaries.
Currently Michael gives field support to all the authorized research
projects on Population Dynamics studies, DNA and Isotopes sampling
programs and studies through the Marine and Coastal Management
of South Africa and was also involved in satellite tagging and
recent acoustic tagging.
Mike has personally escorted the following members of Royalty
for Educational and Shark Cage Diving encounters:
■His Majesty King Abdulla II of Jordan
■His Royal Highness Prince Harry of the United Kindom
■Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar
■Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan of Abu Dhabi
■The Royal family of Jeddah |
MICHAEL
RUTZEN AND SOME CELEBRITIES |
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Michael
Rutzen and Brad Pitt |
Michael
Rutzen and Halle Berry |
Michael
Rutzen and Matt Damon |
DOCUMENTARIES
AND CONSERVATION TALKS |
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Unique images with Michael Rutzen free diving with great white
sharks have been featured in many International Magazines and
books to promote white sharks conservation:
■ Of Sharks and Of MEN –
Desmond Prout-Jones
■ Smithsonian magazine, June 2008
■ The Telegraph 2008
■ Tunza 2009
■ Sport Diver 2010/2011
■ Elgin Grabouwer June 2012
■ Leadership magazine Edition 333
– Sharkman: SA’s great white guru
Mike has also appeared in the following conservation documentaries,
working with and alongside international film makers as field
expert, cameraman and safety diver:
■ 2005 – “Beyond fear” (National
Geographic)
■ 2006 “Sharks man-eaters or misunderstood?
(A John McIntyre Production in association with PADI, Sport Diver,
Shark Diving Unlimited and Blue Planet Aquarium)
■ 2007 – “Sharkman” (Discovery)
■ 2009 – 60 Minutes with Anderson
Cooper – CNN, CBS
■ 2008-2009
– The Great White Shark, A Living Legend (BBC Natural World)
■ 2010 – Shark Night (Discovery French
TV)
■ 2010 – Great White Shark (IMAX
3D)
■ 2010 – Dark Tide (Warner Brothers
featuring Halle Berry)
■ Sharkmaster for the TV show Stan
Lee’s Superhumans
Mike developed a PADI Specialty course to improve the Conservation
and Awareness of the Great White Shark. He travels the globe every
year to give his presentations to create white shark awareness
to show the real nature of this great predator and to share his
knowledge and involve as many people as possible in his conservation
battle.
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TALKS,
PRESENTATIONS AND SEMINARS |
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Mike
has hosted his presentations on the following seminars devoted
to Marine Conservation:
■ Blue Planet Aquarium (Chester):
Saturday, August 19th (several years)
■ Royal Automotive Club, London UK
2005
■ UK Dive Shows London and Birmingham
(2004 to 2010)
■ American Business Council (Miami,
2009)
■ Marina di Grosseto Sunday, 15th
November 2009 (Italy)
■ University della Calabria Monday
16th November 2009 (Italy)
■ Trieste, Wednesday, 10th February
2010 (Italy)
■ University della Calabria Monday
15th February 2010 (Italy)
■ Mission Blue (Dr. Sylvia Earle
Project)
■ Atlantis the Palms, Dubai May 2012
■ Plymouth University, United Kingdom
May 2012
■ Trieste, Italy May 2012
■ Hull University, May 2012
■ Prague, Czech Republic 04-06 October
2012
■ Langebaan Yacht Club, South Africa
24 November 2012
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