Madyson Clost

What is meant for you, will find you. • • A quote that I never fully understood or trusted until recently. I knew from a very young age that the ocean would always be apart of my life. You grow up loving big and mysterious creatures, only to find out later in life just how much we humans take them for granted. I followed our system and went to school, I pushed myself in times when I wanted to give up. I lost the only influence at the time that made me want to push through, and hopefully… just might work with him one day. • • I sit here now, in disbelief as to how things panned out for me. I joined a trip, the very first trip of a project that would eventually be so well known that people all over the world would be talking about it. And since then, that trip has brought me back here year after year. @projecthiu ( @sharkgirlmadison ) is something I hold very close to me, and I’m beyond excited to announce that I’ll be heading back to Indonesia at the end of next month to help manage the project and the new shop that will be opening up in Lombok. • • If I could go back in time, to the nights I cried at school. The days I felt I was dragging myself through life, to the many times of doubt and questioning. I wish I could go back right now and tell that girl where we are now. So I’ll end with this, no matter what your goal is. Whatever your dream is? Whatever brings you joy/ is your passion? Do. Not. Give. Up. Everything happens for a reason 🤍 • • 📷: @caraghcreative

Three different stories, but all that lead to the same place. One who dropped out of school, focused her efforts by getting her hands dirty and throwing herself into a broken and corrupt system. One who buried her youth into books, studied until her heart nearly stopped, and came out on the other side smarter than most the people in her field. And one who found loop holes in the system, went to school for a short amount of time and never gave up on dreams that would eventually lead to shark conservation. Now put all three of them on a shark fishing boat. Proof that no matter what path you take, when you apply yourself and work hard enough, anything is possible. Maybe I’m bias, but girl power is the best power out there. And using that power to save sharks? Even better. • • 📷: @tannerunderwater 💁🏼‍♀️: @sharkgirlmadison & @travelingchels 🦈: @projecthiu

Somedays the only thing standing between this fate and survival for the sharks, is our ability to hire the fishermen & that depends on your support. We want to add a 4th boat to our roster next month, help make that possible... remember each vessels has the capacity to catch up to and in excess of 60 sharks per trip, that's how many we can save each month through alternative income...

Indonesias sharks need your help now more than ever, will we tell our children that we stood by and watched a generation be wiped out, or that we did something to help? Even if we fail, we're working with shark fishermen turning on the trade... we're saving hundreds of sharks each month... slowing down their ability to take out this generation of old sharks... whatever you can contribute, while we still have time to act, will help us make the most change possible...

I’m getting bad at posting, so here’s one of my favs from the Maldives 📷: @tannerunderwater

Really special to have moments like this with the ocean and its beautiful creatures. Grateful to have the friends I have, that make moments like this happen 💙 And it’s always special getting to share space in the water with you @sharkgirlmadison And a big thank you to @rio_sumbawa for taking care of us and giving us the best experience.

I remember watching moments like this one on documentaries growing up. Watching someone I idolized risk it all for sharks. I knew one day I would somehow be doing the same, I didn’t have a plan, I didn’t know how it would happen, I just knew. And as the world changed, this story of fishermen being the enemy became the only truth people knew and believed. Now I stand with not only the fishermen that people once, or still do demonize. But I stand with one girl who started a project out of nothing. A project that gives these men a second chance, a better chance. Once you’re on the ground and you see the work being done, you quickly realize it isn’t about sharks anymore. It’s about us. The humans. 📷: @dario.ganz

celebrated 31 with these giants last month 💙 📷: @sharkgirlmadison

The toys that I once surrounded myself with, now lay lifeless next to me. If I were to stand here next to my 7 year old self, surely most of this would never make sense and the heartbreak would be indescribable. However, for the children growing up here, this is normal for them. As much as I also feel that heartbreak now, there’s a numbness that comes with adulthood. One that helps us bare the things that are often too difficult. It started with an idea to save sharks, but quickly became about saving the fishermen and their children too. One day you’re a kid, and anything in the world is possible. At least, that’s what we’re taught. And the next day, reality sets in and we succumb to societal norms. The first time I witnessed the fin trade was through a documentary I hold close to my heart, I was 12. Now, 18 years later, that documentary led me here. I’m not just watching a documentary anymore, I’m living it. Let this be a kind reminder that it starts with our youth; what and how we are taught matters. Had I not of had the parents I had growing up, I wouldn’t be standing here doing absolutely everything I can to make a difference. For sharks. The fishermen. Their families. Their children. They’ve done everything they can to provide for their families, and now so will I. For them and for sharks. Thank you @sharkgirlmadison for trusting me enough to be here and to be by your side. @projecthiu is doing things no other shark conservation is doing, and that is all because of you. 📷 : @cameron_nuttall3

just me in my natural habitat these days 📷: @dario.ganz

What was meant to be an ordinary day at the market, if you can call it ordinary, turned into a morning of indescribable emotions. After having walked around and seeing several boats arrive that day and unload their catch, me and @sharkgirlmadison finally went to find a place to sit and meet with a potential new boat that was hoping to join us in tourism. It’s wasn’t long till I noticed Madison had left and was taking some time to return. The moment I saw her message to me, I was up and quickly pushing through a crowd of people to get to her. I wasn’t sure yet, but I knew something was deeply wrong. Raisa, our beautiful 3 meter long tiger shark, lying lifeless on the market floor. Every other shark was lying in uniform and most have been finned already, while she laid parallel to them with her fins still attached. As if she had been waiting for us to see her one last time, in full form. I made eye contact with Madison, and it’s one of those feelings that just go unspoken. The defeat, the helplessness, the frustration, the chills that engulf you. We’d been working so hard, hiring more and more boats each month. And in this one moment, it all felt hopeless. Her life will mean something beyond just those few months of data. She’s the beginning of something that will pave a path for not only the sharks in Indonesia, but all over the world. She is living proof that just because she had a tag, doesn’t mean she isn’t fair game anymore. Because of her and the information she gave us, we now know for a fact that our research has truly only just begun. Watching her lay lifeless on that floor was devastating, but what would be more devastating is if we let that stop us. Her story will be revolutionary and therefore, she will always be with us. 📷 3 & 4: @tannerunderwater

7 years ago I stepped onto my very first shark fishing boat. Seven years later, that same boat has completely retired itself from shark fishing and has welcomed tourism as their new alternative income. Now for the first time ever, three boats have been hired in the same month. Doing this has prevented the catch of 200 sharks and/or possibly more. Everyday our crew thanks us, thanking us for giving them this option. When really, we are the ones thanking them… for trusting us and standing with us. Project Hiu is so much more than just saving sharks, and being on these boats nearly everyday is a reminder of that. @projecthiu