Ever met someone whose story just needs to be told?

That’s exactly what I felt when I met Terry, a man whose best friend is a giant manta ray named Willy.

I was anchored in a remote spot in the Sea of Cortez when a beat-up trimaran named “manta” sailed in and dropped the hook next to me. The guy on deck looked like he’d been living out here for decades; because he had. Over the following weeks, we became dive buddies. Terry was a veteran, a former Hell’s Angel, a sailor, and a conservationist. But I didn’t know about Willy yet.

It wasn’t until years later, sitting in his cabin, that Terry pulled out a box of old video tapes. What I saw changed everything: footage of Willy slapping a massive wing against the hull of Terry’s boat to get him to come and play was a daily ritual. Terry would gear up, slip into the water, and ride on Willy’s back through the blue. A wild manta ray, visiting a human every single day for years. Terry was the first person to ever ride a giant manta.

I knew immediately I had a documentary. What I didn’t know was that I was about to spend seven digits figuring out what the film was actually about.

Six Months Later

I wish I could share a simple truth about how to tell a great story, but the reality is that every doc is different and it is going to take some time and money to figure it out.

When I first started developing Terry’s story, I thought the film was about manta rays. A man and his wild animal friend. I spent months interviewing Terry on that angle, searching for a deeper understanding. Terry couldn’t explain it to me and meanwhile $$ was burning up.

Then I realized the way in might be on a different approach. Why would a man choose to live alone on a sailboat in one of the most remote stretches of ocean in North America? How does someone who has lived hard finally find peace through the friendship of an animal? What was Terry not telling me about his past that was the key to why he was open so deeply to Willy? In the end, the human animal bond is the thing that makes you lean forward. But the documentary lives in the deeper layer beneath.

Every documentary has a hook, it’s the thing that makes someone say “wait, tell me more.” It’s the engine behind “word of mouth” spreading your film from one person to another. A man who rides a giant manta ray every day” is worth mentioning to your friend. This hook gets an audience in the door, but if the entire film doesn’t get beyond that hook in Act II and Act III, you’ll end up with long YouTube video instead of a documentary.

The story is the human truth underneath. It’s the question your character is wrestling with, whether they know it or not. For Terry, it was: what does it mean to have a friend who didn’t know his past and how would that connection change his future? The best docs may never say it in words, but it is something you feel intuitively through the experience of the film.

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Why Substack?

I’ve directed two independent documentaries—The Last Dive, which premiered at Tribeca in 2025 and was honored with Best Cinematography in a Documentary Feature and many other awards since, and Make People Better, which is streaming on Amazon, Apple and other places. I’ve also produced many films for PBS and universities over the years. Every step forward on this journey was facilitated by a mentor who shared knowledge with me and my willingness to do the hard work.

The old distribution models that they taught me are disappearing as fast as the newspapers. The traditional path used to be a major festival premiere, followed by a distribution deal, and the world sees your film! That journey now exists only for a handful of documnetaries. As the industry consolidates into two, or perhaps just one, dominant streamer Typically, it is the two or three that win major awards and offer streamers a level of prestige they can sprinkle like stardust across the rest of their slate. As the industry consolidates, I suspect they will care less about that stardust. If there is only one place to watch, where else would audiences go?

That’s why I don’t think the future of real documentaries runs through Netflix and I suspect even the true crime boom has a shelf life. Perhaps the future is something more like what we’re doing right here: communities of real people helping each other discover worthwhile work. Filmmakers sharing knowledge and resources. Audiences who trust each other’s recommendations more than algorithms.

That’s what I want to build with this Substack. A place where we figure things out together, build community, and make connections that spill out into the real world. I look forward to what I might learn in the process!

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What’s Coming

Over the next several posts, I’m going to share my journey of how The Last Dive went from that moment on Terry’s boat to a finished film premiering at Tribeca and eventually its public release. There were points where the whole thing nearly fell apart. I’ll share how I raised over a million+ dollars in financing, how I built the creative team, and how we launched an impact campaign. The journey isn’t over for this film, but just beginning and Substack will be my home base for updates.

One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is that I live on a sailboat in the Sea of Cortez with my wife and 3 year old son. Ocean expeditions, diving, and exploration is a big part of our life and often the source of my inspiration. So, if you like adventures, I do plan on telling personal stories of some of the wildest things that have happened to me. Also, I’m working on a novel right now too. I might share some chapters from that and ask for feedback.

The common advice often given to aspiring filmmakers is “just start making films.” That’s not wrong. I would add that finding an original story is hard unless you are doing original things, then it’s easy. You might be ready to think strategically about what kind of documentary you’re actually making and why, which I’ll touch on in my next post.

If that sounds useful or interesting, subscribe. I’m glad you’re here.

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Next post: An update on “Where’s Willy?” And some thoughts on how I identify what type of documentary I have and it’s commerical potential before I invest too many years and $$.